Do post baccalaureate programs look good for medical school during a gap year?

[user5083]

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I don’t need to boost my GPA or do more research, but wanted to do something that would help my application. Would these make my application more competitive or are these mainly designed as GPA boosters/skill enhancers?

These are some programs I was thinking of:

• NIH: Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award (Postbac IRTA/CRTA) - Training Programs in the Biomedical Sciences - Office of Intramural Training & Education at the National Institutes of Health
• UNC: Program Overview | UNC PREP
• Sens Research foundation: Postbacc Fellowship - SENS Research Foundation
• Case Western: Program | Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program | Case Western Reserve University
• Broad Insititue: Broad Biomedical Post-baccalaureate Scholars Program (BBPS)
• UPenn: Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program | IDEAL Research | Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
• NIGMS NIH: National Institute of General Medical Sciences

 

[Mr.Smile12]

These programs are generally good to help anyone thinking about incorporating research into their career plan. Read carefully into each program because many are designed to help get people into Ph.D. programs rather than just MD. I would argue that anyone participating in these programs would likely be better positioned for MD/PhD, but it's not a guaranteed path.

So if you don't want to do more research, I would avoid these programs. Do more community service and clinical experience if you wanted to boost your MD application.