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- Mar 30, 2007
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Hey everyone, this is my first posting on SDN, so forgive me if its a little long and complicated.
Alright, so here's my current situation: I'll be graduating in about a month from a state school here in CA w/ a BA in philosophy and haven't taken any of the prereqs for med school yet. I realize that I was late in deciding to pursue a career in medicine but nevertheless, after about a year and a half of soul searching and learning as much about the profession and requirements for med school as I can, I still want to become a physician.
I've met with the premed advisor on campus a few times, and she's told me that with my somewhat underwhelming overall gpa of 3.34 (will be slightly higher after I graduate), and with almost no science classes under my belt (none of the prereqs anyway), dreams of matriculating into an allopathic school sometime in the next couple of years, aren't complete fantasies, and she reaffirmed my decision to apply to postbaccs this coming fall or the next. She seemed to think it unlikely though, with the exception of maybe SFSU, that I get in anywhere except the really costly, really selective private programs, like Scripps or Mills, and that even these would be a stretch for me. I would like to get a sense for how accurate this info is though, so I just have a few general questions about these programs, and about premed stuff in general, that I would really appreciate getting feedback on, especially from students who are already enrolled at either Scripps, Mills, or SFSU.
1) How difficult is it to fund programs like these? What's the best way to do so? Will I be eligible for federal loans as a postbacc?
2) Just how selective are these programs? What do they look for in a candidate; that is, besides the obvious things like gpa, test scores, and relevant experience, what do they want to see, and how much do admissions officers weigh these factors individually? Based on my gpa, what kind of a chance am I looking at for getting into programs like Scripps or Mills or SFSU?
3) Finally, what's the quality of these programs like compared to one another? If it came down to it, and say I was accepted into all three, which one would be the best, why?
4)W/regards to SFSU. I've seen and heard different things about whether to do the formal program or the 2nd bacc option. What's the debate on this? Which one is the better option?
5)Also, I wanted to know what the general opinion about taking prereqs at community college is. I know that it would possibly disadvantage me to take all of the prereqs at a community college, but what about just taking gen chem I and II, and calculus at a community college before matriculating into a postbacc? would this hurt my chances when it comes time to apply to med school?
I know that this is a lot to ask, but I really appreciate any answers and/or advice that anyone is willing to give me. Thanks everyone!
Alright, so here's my current situation: I'll be graduating in about a month from a state school here in CA w/ a BA in philosophy and haven't taken any of the prereqs for med school yet. I realize that I was late in deciding to pursue a career in medicine but nevertheless, after about a year and a half of soul searching and learning as much about the profession and requirements for med school as I can, I still want to become a physician.
I've met with the premed advisor on campus a few times, and she's told me that with my somewhat underwhelming overall gpa of 3.34 (will be slightly higher after I graduate), and with almost no science classes under my belt (none of the prereqs anyway), dreams of matriculating into an allopathic school sometime in the next couple of years, aren't complete fantasies, and she reaffirmed my decision to apply to postbaccs this coming fall or the next. She seemed to think it unlikely though, with the exception of maybe SFSU, that I get in anywhere except the really costly, really selective private programs, like Scripps or Mills, and that even these would be a stretch for me. I would like to get a sense for how accurate this info is though, so I just have a few general questions about these programs, and about premed stuff in general, that I would really appreciate getting feedback on, especially from students who are already enrolled at either Scripps, Mills, or SFSU.
1) How difficult is it to fund programs like these? What's the best way to do so? Will I be eligible for federal loans as a postbacc?
2) Just how selective are these programs? What do they look for in a candidate; that is, besides the obvious things like gpa, test scores, and relevant experience, what do they want to see, and how much do admissions officers weigh these factors individually? Based on my gpa, what kind of a chance am I looking at for getting into programs like Scripps or Mills or SFSU?
3) Finally, what's the quality of these programs like compared to one another? If it came down to it, and say I was accepted into all three, which one would be the best, why?
4)W/regards to SFSU. I've seen and heard different things about whether to do the formal program or the 2nd bacc option. What's the debate on this? Which one is the better option?
5)Also, I wanted to know what the general opinion about taking prereqs at community college is. I know that it would possibly disadvantage me to take all of the prereqs at a community college, but what about just taking gen chem I and II, and calculus at a community college before matriculating into a postbacc? would this hurt my chances when it comes time to apply to med school?
I know that this is a lot to ask, but I really appreciate any answers and/or advice that anyone is willing to give me. Thanks everyone!