George Mason for Premed Requirements

[Erapitt]

Okay, so I live in Northern VA and have been contemplating postbac programs in the evening while working. The one around here that seems to fit the best is American's program, however, it is a rather expensive university compared to the state school George Mason. Would there be anything wrong with taking the classes at GMU or will that be looked down upon by the adcomms?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[dba2dr]

Okay, so I live in Northern VA and have been contemplating postbac programs in the evening while working. The one around here that seems to fit the best is American's program, however, it is a rather expensive university compared to the state school George Mason. Would there be anything wrong with taking the classes at GMU or will that be looked down upon by the adcomms?

Disclaimer: beats me how the adcoms regard anything!

AU's median SAT is 1225 vs. GMU's 1105.

There's a larger difference in raw numbers for the graduation rates -- Four/Six year grad rates at AU are 64/71, while GMU's 22/48. That big of a discrepancy in the 4/6 for GMU hints at either a *lot* of part timers, trouble getting into required classes, or both.

AU's main advantage is the fact that it has a formalized postbacc program; GMU does not. I can see having people to walk you through the whole admissions process as being quite helpful.

My guess based on the above is that American's got a better program -- I just can't tell you how much of a better program, and whether it is worth the extra $$$ or commute time!

I've looked for information on American's postbacc outside the standard departmental brochure, but haven't really had any luck. Hopefully bumping up this thread will draw a response from someone in the program.

 

[oneaat]

i spent last year taking premed (and other) classes at GMU. the main disadvantage to taking classes at GMU is that the pre-med classes aren't offered in the evening. orgo was either at 7:30 or 9:30 am, physics was either 9:30 or 10:30 am. because there is no structured postbacc program, you have to figure everything out on your own (and their premed advisor isn't that great). that being said, i chose not to do either the AU or g'town programs because i certainly didn't have 25K to throw down. the professors at GMU were all very nice and pretty good teachers. however, i was coming from a very good private university and at the risk of sounding snotty, there was definitely a greater variation in the abilities of my classmates.
i don't think that taking the classes at GMU will be looked down on, but i haven't been accepted to any med schools yet (but haven't been rejected either). feel free to pm me if you have any more questions.

 

[mamadoc]

Okay, so I live in Northern VA and have been contemplating postbac programs in the evening while working. The one around here that seems to fit the best is American's program, however, it is a rather expensive university compared to the state school George Mason. Would there be anything wrong with taking the classes at GMU or will that be looked down upon by the adcomms?

My disclaimer: I'm a PGY-2 so my GMU experience is from the late 90s. I did a "do-it-yourself" post-bacc at GMU and found the classes were **excellent.** How many are now available as night classes, I dunno - when I did it, only gen-chem was offered at night. (I was able to take physics and o-chem first thing in the morning, though, which could also be balanced with a job.)

GMU is a strong school that is getting better... but it is still a commuter school with lots of part-time students and people who come in and out while they balance life, money, work and school. I don't think you can compare traditional undergrad stats on things like retention and graduation rates because the populations of GMU and American are very different.

Given that you're going to go into debt (presumably) to go through medical school, trying to save money on your post-bacc is a fine goal and one that's understood by AdComs. If you are a self-motivated person who can push your own goals while doing your post-bacc work, I suspect you can do just fine at GMU.

 

[Erapitt]

My disclaimer: I'm a PGY-2 so my GMU experience is from the late 90s. I did a "do-it-yourself" post-bacc at GMU and found the classes were **excellent.** How many are now available as night classes, I dunno - when I did it, only gen-chem was offered at night. (I was able to take physics and o-chem first thing in the morning, though, which could also be balanced with a job.)

GMU is a strong school that is getting better... but it is still a commuter school with lots of part-time students and people who come in and out while they balance life, money, work and school. I don't think you can compare traditional undergrad stats on things like retention and graduation rates because the populations of GMU and American are very different.

Given that you're going to go into debt (presumably) to go through medical school, trying to save money on your post-bacc is a fine goal and one that's understood by AdComs. If you are a self-motivated person who can push your own goals while doing your post-bacc work, I suspect you can do just fine at GMU.

That being said, what about UMD's Science in the Evening? I just read on the site that all Science in the Evening students are charged in-state tuition rates. That puts it as cheap as GMU with a possible better reputation? Although, they give no stats to its worthiness. Hmmmmm.

 

[mamadoc]

That being said, what about UMD's Science in the Evening? I just read on the site that all Science in the Evening students are charged in-state tuition rates. That puts it as cheap as GMU with a possible better reputation? Although, they give no stats to its worthiness. Hmmmmm.

Folks here on SDN seem to put a lot of stock in "reputation" of a school, but I seriously doubt that AdComs think about it nearly as much. Your GPA, your MCAT, your LORs and PS - in other words, YOUR application - are more important than where you went. The med school admissions process is highly individualized; it's not like they sort out the apps into piles by where you went to undergrad or post-bacc.

Choose what YOU think will work for you. That is the way to do your best, present the best application, and maximize your chance of success. Projecting what the AdCom might think of the reputation of your school is just so low-yield compared to all these other things.

 

[PurpleHaze]

I don't think it matters where you take the classes as long as you do well in them.

Good luck!

 

[montessori2md]

UMD charges in state for ALL science in the evening students? Really? That would rock.

If you decide on GMU, pm me, I think that's what I'm going to do this summer. My concern is less the quality of the courses than managing to actually schedule the courses without an organized program. I only need 6 classes, but it looks like Mason's summer schedule is super condensed in such a way that I would have to be there 10 hours a day to take 2 classes at once, and then I'm afraid that there will be conflicts between, say, physics and ochem later. In any case, I figure between driving there and being in the classroom (let's not even get into study time), it's going to take 20-25 hours a week.

I agree about the money for AU and the other postbacc programs in the area. I'm honestly not impressed enough by their (or Georgetown's) info to throw 20k+ at them, especially since I have no intention of completing a certificate program. I just want the classes I need to prepare for the MCATs.

If I could stand it, I'd drive up to JHU so I could get the linkage to GWU med, but I just can't see how I could spend that much time in my car and study for the MCAT without a nervous breakdown.

 

[Erapitt]

Yeah, check out UMD Science in the Evening. ALL students under that program pay the in-state tuition rate.

 

[Herman Bloom]

Having split my pre-reqs between GMU and AU, I can give some perspective here. Based on my experience:

AU: small class size, mostly populated with postbac program students.
Good morning/evening schedule that would allow you to work
More expensive by a factor four (if you are in-state)

GMU: Larger classes, but overall *much* more rigorous academically than AU
Decent advising service: wrote me a great committee letter (I'm told)
Cheaper, as mentioned before

Overall, let me reiterate that I found the GMU classes to be much more thorough and challenging, probably becuase they are taught by well-established professors with a long track record of teaching the courses. At AU, the professors were less experienced. On the other hand, the small class size at AU was very conducive to getting to know the teachers.

So my recommendation would be to take them at GMU, since I believe you will be better prepared for the MCAT and save some money. Good luck to you.

 

[mamadoc]

I agree w/Herman about the rigorous curriculum at GMU. I also heard from a local AdCom member that GMU's committee "wrote excellent letters." When I was there, I was able to get around the large lecture size by taking labs with the **professors** - yes, for many of my classes, the prof actually took a lab slot! I wasn't able to do this all the time, but when I could, I felt it definitely made a difference.