DIY Postbacc or PCOM biomedical master linkage program

[Undesirable14]

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cGPA: 3.41
sGPA: 3.27
MCAT: 505

I applied really late, last month I believe, to PCOM MS and I just received my acceptance form for this fall of 2019. I am in a dilemma right now because my clinical hours are lacking so I just started my job as a clinical scribe. My ECs for reference: 50 hours of shadowing PCP and 100 hours of volunteering/clerical work at the hospital. Here are my options:

Option A: Quit Scribe and go to PCOM biomedical master program (about 40K a year). If I meet their requirement for GPA (I already met their MCAT requirement), I would have conditional acceptance. Their requirement for conditional acceptance I believe its cGPA: 3.3 and sGPA: 3.2 and that is including undergrad GPA. It called "conditional" because I need to do well in their interview apparently. That is my concern since my ECs are lacking and I feel they can just reject me on that even if I passed the requirements so I would end up potentially wasting 40K a year.

Option B: Continue Scribing and take DIY post-bacc science classes (8-12 credits, 3k a semester) and try to aced them as well as retake the MCAT in the spring.

Let me know which option is better. Thanks.

 

[Isoval]

I would lean towards the DIY post bacc.

 

[dial1010usa]

Option B, why waste $40k. You are at/above avg for DO. Apply broadly not just one school.

 

[Undesirable14]

That is true. Isn't PCOM one of the top DO school though? I feel like it would be good if I can get into PCOM over some newer/sketchy DO school. Anyway, it looks like I am taking option B then.

 

[Isoval]

That is true. Isn't PCOM one of the top DO school though? I feel like it would be good if I can get into PCOM over some newer/sketchy DO school. Anyway, it looks like I am taking option B then.

PCOM is one of the better schools.

However - with your profile, as long as you're not terrible in interviews, you should get a lot of love from middle-range DO (e.g. MUCOM) and maybe a little from the higher-range (e.g. DMU, KCU) with just a post-bacc. It is unlikely you will be shunted to the lowest tiers of the DO world with your profile and a productive PB.

For this reason, it's not a good idea to...
1) Blow literally 10x the price on a SMP
2) Go into a program that will make or break you for basically no reason.

If you mess up in the PB, that's a road block, not a wall. If you mess up in the SMP, you're finished. I see no reason to take a steep financial dent and academic risk if you are not currently in a position that requires it.

 

[Undesirable14]

PCOM is one of the better schools.

However - with your profile, as long as you're not terrible in interviews, you should get a lot of love from middle-range DO (e.g. MUCOM) and maybe a little from the higher-range (e.g. DMU, KCU) with just a post-bacc. It is unlikely you will be shunted to the lowest tiers of the DO world with your profile and a productive PB.

For this reason, it's not a good idea to...
1) Blow literally 10x the price on a SMP
2) Go into a program that will make or break you for basically no reason.

If you mess up in the PB, that's a road block, not a wall. If you mess up in the SMP, you're finished. I see no reason to take a steep financial dent and academic risk if you are not currently in a position that requires it.

Yeah, that was my concern if I go with an option A. I feel a lot better now for not taking this acceptance and go with option B instead. Thanks!

 

[Shotapp]

Never mind, you made the right choice OP

 

[Undesirable14]

What was the point of making this thread if you already made your decision OP?

When I was making this thread, I didn't make the decision. I was leaning toward option A as in 55-60%. Thus, I just need confirmation and justification for not choosing option B.

 

[Shotapp]

When I was making this thread, I didn't make the decision. I was leaning toward option A as in 55-60%. Thus, I just need confirmation and justification for not choosing option B.

I edited my post above after carefully reading your posts.