Full load of classes required during post bacc?

[wclubin]

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[lyragrl]

It's been my impression that most post-bacc students work full time and therefore only take a part-time load. I know lots of part-time post-bacc pre-meds (wow! hyphen city!) who were admitted to med school.

 

[zzeyfzz]

with a full-time job, taking two courses is a big load for a postbacc. it's pretty standard for postbaccs, i'd say.

 

[beanbean]

It really depends on why you need post-bacc classes. If you have a solid GPA from undergrad but just need to take the premed prerequisites a lighter courseload should be no problem. You already have proved that you can handle a full-course load and succeed. However, if your undergrad GPA is lower than average and needs boosting it is important to demonstrate that you can excel academically under a heavy schedule. If you can only take 2 classes at a time due to your work schedule just make sure that you reference this in your application. There is a big difference between working and carrying a courseload of 2 classes and not working and only taking two classes. Not everyone can afford to take time off and go back to school full-time and med schools know this. Demonstrating that you can juggle full-time employment plus a couple of difficult classes successfully will be seen as a plus.

Just remember to keep everything in balance. If things are crazy at work or you are taking a really demanding class, register for 1 class for that semester instead of 2. Don't overextend yourself to much !

 

[rmp]

Hi,

Saw your thread and thought I'd throw my 2 cents. If you're a post bacc most likely you're taking courses to show that you have overcome earlier difficulties in your undergrad career, shore up your gpa etc. Therefore to show that you can handle the rigors of med school you need to take NO LESS than 2 courses per semester and make A's. Going back to school and taking one course a semester and making an A will not show to ADCOMs that you can handle biochem, anat, cell bio all taken at the same time.

Additionally I've been told that you should plan to take a bare minimum 20 post bacc credit hours, ideally 30. Reason being is that 20-30 credit of straight A's shows a good trend that is solid.

Do the above, retake MCAT if necessary and you'll be good to go.

rmp

 

[rmp]

One thing I forgot to mention was do not, repeat DO NOT withdraw from any course (i.e. get a W). A previous poster mentioned cutting back to one class if work got too hectic. It would be better to register for only one and do well than to be over ambitious, sign up for 2 classes and withdraw. My boss is on the ADCOM at my local med school and when I started taking post bacc courses she gave me a lot of good advice. She interviews applicants, every so often she'll mention some of the good and bad things applicant do in applying to med school.

Hope this helps.

 

[bnichols0330]

I had to go back and take post-bacc pre-reqs for med school b/c I didn't need all of them for my BS. I took 2 courses a semester for one year and then took only 1 course each semester my second year because that was all I needed. I don't feel that it had any effect on my application b/c I was accepted on my first attempt. If you are taking courses to prove that you have matured as a student the number of hours would probably matter. However, if you are simply taking courses to fill the pre-req requirements, then I don't feel it matters how many hours you take.