Flexible, public school post-bacs? Academic record enhancer

[kjj17]

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So I'm a rising senior. My science grades over the past 3 years are terrible...just took my MCAT today, it was my last hope for making my application good...have a pretty bad feeling (I was really sleepy and had terrible nerves - my focus was all off), so I started doing more research into post-bacs. I'm pretty sure it's my only option...

But it is definitely not affordable for my family (got through college with financial aid; and I don't want to rack up a lot of debt before even getting into med school).

So I am looking at public school options - I am hoping to take no more than a year and spend under $10K - if it is flexible enough that I can also take a part-time job, would be ideal!

I have searched the AAMC website and done a lot of of research, but I'd like to hear suggestions for good programs. Although I am a NY resident, almost all of the best options I see are in California...

There are the ones I am looking at, btw:
berkeley http://extension.berkeley.edu/spos/premed.html
sf http://online.sfsu.edu/~brothman/compare.html
cal state http://www.ce.csueastbay.edu/certificate/PreHealth/

Another option one of my pre-med advisors gave me was to see if any schools around me offered a flexible "a la carte" option for taking classes post-bac without belonging to any sort of certificate or degree program... but he didn't sound super enthusiastic about it. Haven't really heard of anyone doing this, but the main draw of this option - for me - was that I can continue to use my college's pre-med staff for my med school application process. I go to an Ivy with really good med school placement, so I would feel more secure to have them handle everything

Thanks for any input!!

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

You can build your own postbac program by taking the necessary classes at any state school. That's what I did; I took general chem during summer sessions at Oregon State and the other prerequisite classes at University of Alaska last year. In your case you will probably want to retake the classes you did poorly in and apply to DO schools, which allow for grade replacement. If you are retaking classes at a different school, make sure the replacement classes are at least as many credits as the ones you did badly in. If you got a C in a 4 credit chem class and then got an A in the same class at a different school where it was only 3 credits, the DO grade replacement policy won't apply. Many state colleges give instate tuition for everyone in the summer, which might help you with the cost of classes.

 

[Bru]

You should post in the postbacc forum here on SDN. There are actually quite a few options in NY depending on where you live. Stonybrook, Hunter and CCNY come to mind in you in NYC metro area.

 

[kjj17]

oh I was actually looking for a post-bacc forum but I couldn't find one? my bad!! thanks though! I did look at hunter but their continuing education is mostly for courses like ms word and and cpr and stuff... maybe I was looking in the wrong place haha

 

[kjj17]

You can build your own postbac program by taking the necessary classes at any state school. That's what I did; I took general chem during summer sessions at Oregon State and the other prerequisite classes at University of Alaska last year. In your case you will probably want to retake the classes you did poorly in and apply to DO schools, which allow for grade replacement. If you are retaking classes at a different school, make sure the replacement classes are at least as many credits as the ones you did badly in. If you got a C in a 4 credit chem class and then got an A in the same class at a different school where it was only 3 credits, the DO grade replacement policy won't apply. Many state colleges give instate tuition for everyone in the summer, which might help you with the cost of classes.

thank you!

 

[doctorwho101]

I actually enrolled in a post bacc program and ended up taking classes at my state school. There were a lot of reasons, including money, but I decided that I didn't want the weird evening school classes offered by the program (which also conflicted with my job at the hospital). It ended up working out really well for me, even though the commute was terrible. Make sure you check to see whether the post bacc program is suited to you/where you are right now and remember that you don't actually need any certificates or whatnot, just the pre-reqs. Just a thought...

 

[kami333]

oh I was actually looking for a post-bacc forum but I couldn't find one? my bad!! thanks though! I did look at hunter but their continuing education is mostly for courses like ms word and and cpr and stuff... maybe I was looking in the wrong place haha

What you want is either 2nd bachelors or non-degree student and once you are admitted you can take any course you want.

Continuing education is generally a more informal way for adults who are already working to take classes, it depends on the school but a lot of times they don't count towards academic credit (sometimes you get a certificate of completion), are cheaper (don't have to pay student fees) and often ungraded.

I've taken some continuing education classes in stuff like beer brewing🙂

 

[kjj17]

ahh got it. thanks so much!!!

 

[Bru]

SDN postbacc forums
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=71

Hunter
http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/prehealth/the-post-baccalaureate-certificate-program

CCNY
http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/prospective/science/pps/Elig_Second-Degree.cfm

I believe you need a bachelor's to apply to the formal programs but you can do CUNY as mentioned above you just may have trouble registering for classes.

 

[kjj17]

thank you!!!

 

[mehc012]

So I'm a rising senior. My science grades over the past 3 years are terrible...just took my MCAT today, it was my last hope for making my application good...have a pretty bad feeling (I was really sleepy and had terrible nerves - my focus was all off), so I started doing more research into post-bacs. I'm pretty sure it's my only option...

But it is definitely not affordable for my family (got through college with financial aid; and I don't want to rack up a lot of debt before even getting into med school).

So I am looking at public school options - I am hoping to take no more than a year and spend under $10K - if it is flexible enough that I can also take a part-time job, would be ideal!

I have searched the AAMC website and done a lot of of research, but I'd like to hear suggestions for good programs. Although I am a NY resident, almost all of the best options I see are in California...

There are the ones I am looking at, btw:
berkeley http://extension.berkeley.edu/spos/premed.html
sf http://online.sfsu.edu/~brothman/compare.html
cal state http://www.ce.csueastbay.edu/certificate/PreHealth/

Another option one of my pre-med advisors gave me was to see if any schools around me offered a flexible "a la carte" option for taking classes post-bac without belonging to any sort of certificate or degree program... but he didn't sound super enthusiastic about it. Haven't really heard of anyone doing this, but the main draw of this option - for me - was that I can continue to use my college's pre-med staff for my med school application process. I go to an Ivy with really good med school placement, so I would feel more secure to have them handle everything

Thanks for any input!!

The extension programs also allow you to do an 'a la carte' postbacc...I'm planning to utilize this because frankly, their evening/weekend hours and multiple locations make them nice if you have a job.