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At first I thought a one-year postbac was the best approach to take, as it gets you to med school as fast as possible (obviously). But having looked into the med school application process further, I wonder if saving yourself from a second postbac year prevents you from putting your best foot forward. The acceptance rates at the big one-year programs seem to indicate otherwise, but I wonder if that has to do with a highly selective admissions process more than anything else. What do you all think?
My argument in favor of the two-year post-bac is based on the following:
1) I was rejected from 2 top one-year programs, and I am looking for a silver lining heading into my two-year program. Just putting my possible biases on the table...😀
2) TIMING! Everything I've read mentions how important it is to get med school applications in the mail ASAP. Selectivity/competition rapidly increases as schools fill their seats. The typical one-year postbac has you taking the MCATs in the summer, thus making it impossible to get your application in the mail at the beginning of the cycle. Alternatively, you can take MCATs in April, having not yet even completed the science prerequisite coursework. I suppose it's possible to kill yourself to get ready, but let's be honest: with the intense workload of 3 lab sciences per semester, and the necessary volunteering and research you'll need to do in addition to that, the vast majority of people will not be ideally prepared for MCATs on this schedule. For similar reasons, you will be writing a personal statement, collecting LoRs, and prepping for interviews on this cramped schedule. Not to mention the increased possibility of slipping up with a bad grade. Hardly ideal circumstances for putting your best foot forward.
3) Electives. Experience (and A's) in science courses beyond the basic prereqs can only work in your favor. For example, in a recent discussion with a director of a postbac program at a university that also has a top medical program, it was mentioned that the majority of the students enrolled in the medical program had already taken microbiology (anecdotal evidence, I know.). A 3 or 4 semester postbac plus 1 or 2 summer sessions provides ample opportunity to enhance medically relevant areas of your transcript beyond the basics. The same can be said for increased opportunities for volunteering and research.
I suppose the argument in favor of the one-year postbac (aside from applying to med school a year earlier and saving some cash on the extra schooling) is that if you can manage to pull it off flawlessly, you are clearly demonstrating that you are a highly capable individual. I am just skeptical of the likelihood of that possibility.
My argument in favor of the two-year post-bac is based on the following:
1) I was rejected from 2 top one-year programs, and I am looking for a silver lining heading into my two-year program. Just putting my possible biases on the table...😀
2) TIMING! Everything I've read mentions how important it is to get med school applications in the mail ASAP. Selectivity/competition rapidly increases as schools fill their seats. The typical one-year postbac has you taking the MCATs in the summer, thus making it impossible to get your application in the mail at the beginning of the cycle. Alternatively, you can take MCATs in April, having not yet even completed the science prerequisite coursework. I suppose it's possible to kill yourself to get ready, but let's be honest: with the intense workload of 3 lab sciences per semester, and the necessary volunteering and research you'll need to do in addition to that, the vast majority of people will not be ideally prepared for MCATs on this schedule. For similar reasons, you will be writing a personal statement, collecting LoRs, and prepping for interviews on this cramped schedule. Not to mention the increased possibility of slipping up with a bad grade. Hardly ideal circumstances for putting your best foot forward.
3) Electives. Experience (and A's) in science courses beyond the basic prereqs can only work in your favor. For example, in a recent discussion with a director of a postbac program at a university that also has a top medical program, it was mentioned that the majority of the students enrolled in the medical program had already taken microbiology (anecdotal evidence, I know.). A 3 or 4 semester postbac plus 1 or 2 summer sessions provides ample opportunity to enhance medically relevant areas of your transcript beyond the basics. The same can be said for increased opportunities for volunteering and research.
I suppose the argument in favor of the one-year postbac (aside from applying to med school a year earlier and saving some cash on the extra schooling) is that if you can manage to pull it off flawlessly, you are clearly demonstrating that you are a highly capable individual. I am just skeptical of the likelihood of that possibility.
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