Georgetown Post-Bacc Pre-Med Program

[soupMD]

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Hi Everybody,

I applied to several post-baccalaureate pre-medical programs and am starting to hear back from the admissions committees. I have been offered admission to both Georgetown and UVA thus far.

I haven't been very successful in finding much information on the Georgetown program on this or any other blog. I visited UVA, interviewed, and had lunch with a current post bacc student. The experience there was great. Georgetown, on the other hand, did not require an interview and I have yet to visit the campus or meet with any program staff.

Any information on the Georgetown program would be much appreciated!! I have a few specific questions...

• Does Georgetown have any linkages??
• What percentage of the Georgetown post bacc students are successful in applying to medical school?
• Any anecdotes or comments about the program at Georgetown would be great!!

I can offer up a bit of information that I gathered from the University of Virginia's post baccalaureate program....

• Linkages: Only two exist at the moment with GWU and Drexel. The UVA post bacc directors did say to me that they are working on three or more other linkages that will be in effect next year.
• Size: 20 - 30 students
• Classes: Taken with undergrads; some classes may be as big as 400 people in a large lecture hall, but the professors go out of their way to meet with the post bacc students (i.e. professors hold study sessions just for post bacc students)
• Volunteering Opportunities: Post bacc students are very much encouraged (perhaps even expected) to volunteer at various medical settings in Charlottesville (hospital, free clinic, jail clinic, rehabilitation center, etc). Looks great on med school applications and serves as a weekly reminder as to why you're putting yourself through a year of science boot camp!

Hopefully this is helpful to those of you considering the UVA program.

 

[kaleidoscopic]

Isn't UVA for career changers, and Georgetown for those who have already completed the basic requirements? I also thought one of UVA's linkage schools was U of Pittsburgh, not Drexel. I met with the program director and some students over the summer and thought it was a great program if you are an in-state student.

 

[soupMD]

UVA is for college graduates that have either taken little or no science.
I apologize for my mistake above - UVA's linkages are with GWU and UPitt, not Drexel ... got them mixed up for some reason.

The Georgetown Post-Bacc Program that I am referring to is NOT the SMP program. There is a post bacc program for college grads with little/no science background at Georgetown.
Here is the website: http://premed.georgetown.edu/postbac/

 

[emtdan]

You've already been accepted for Georgetown? Is this for the summer semester? I saw May 15 as the deadline so I wasn't planning to even apply yet.

Do you know what the applicant cap is?

 

[soupMD]

The deadline for summer admission is in april or may, but they review applications as they come in. I was surprised to hear back as quickly as I did, and even more so when they didnt ask for an interview. I'm going to the program office next week and will write a post with a bunch of info about the gtown post bacc program soon after.

 

[premedw]

although their may not be linkages,....i have a couple of friends in the SMP that ended up getting into Georgetown Medicine..directly into Yr 2 of medicine...so it should be ok

i think if you show alot of commitment and dedication ..you should have no problem getting into a med school..jus dont give up and remain positive...it honestly is the biggest crapshoot..even the best get rejected.

good luck!

 

[doctorbear]

The deadline for summer admission is in april or may, but they review applications as they come in. I was surprised to hear back as quickly as I did, and even more so when they didnt ask for an interview. I'm going to the program office next week and will write a post with a bunch of info about the gtown post bacc program soon after.

Did you get any information?

 

[standby90]

Is anyone still waiting to hear back regarding admissions for Summer 2010? I applied several weeks ago, and I still haven't heard. I'm starting to worry considering the fact that class starts June 7 and registration is probably already underway.

 

[soupMD]

GEORGETOWN PBPM 2010

Has anyone else made a decision to go to Georgetown's Post-Bacc Pre-Med program?? I am starting the program in September and am very excited to be doing so.

 

[meamop]

i have been accepted to gtown PBPM for fall 2010 and i have decided to go. i'm nervous but i know it's the right choice. anyone else?

 

[LBCelo10]

SoupMD & meamop,

Did you all end up going to Georgetown for the post bacc? What has your experience been like so far? I have been accepted to Georgetown, Northwestern, and Columbia's post-bacc programs for the fall of 2011, and I've yet to make my decision (just got accepted to Columbia about 2 days ago).

Right now, I'm kind of leaning toward Georgetown, but I haven't had too much luck finding reviews of their post-bacc program. Columbia has a lot of info all over the place, but I've seen some pretty negative things (50% attrition rate? terrible advising?) so I'm not so sure I want to risk it, even though it is Columbia (not that G-town is too shabby either).

Anyway, it's getting down to crunch time for me, and I'm really stressing out about this decision! Anybody with any sort of advice from ANY of these programs would be greatly appreciated!

 

[LBCelo10]

Anybody?

 

[molly123]

Hey soupmd,

I'm currently a student in the Columbia postbac program, and I'm happy with the experience I've had so far...I definitely haven't witnessed a 50% attrition rate! I think that statistic may be made up. On the CU Postbac website they report less than 5% attrition each semester, which is pretty standard for any program I think... you can read more about it here http://www.gs.columbia.edu/postbac/admissions-faqs

The advising at Columbia has been good. There are specific advisors for the post bac students, so they know the curriculum very well and are understanding of the stressors that come along with it. That was a huge draw for me; to know that the advisors would have only post bac students like myself to deal with and wouldn't be squeezing me in amongst a ton of other undergrad students with various majors.

I learned the most about the program by going to an information session and campus tour after I had been initially accepted. The tour really helped me get a feel for the program and campus life and the info session addressed all of my specific concerns. If you can get into the city for it, I highly recommend it!

Hope this was at all helpful...good luck with your decision making!

 

[banf345]

Hi guys. So I've been admitted to both the Columbia and Georgetown PBPM programs so far and am trying to find out a little more information. There seems to be relatively no recent information on the Georgetown program and there is a lot of mixed information about Columbia's program. Does anyone have any new information/advice/insight into how these programs work and what their respectives atmospheres and/or benefits are? Also, I have not applied there yet, but I've heard that the NYU program is good. Does anyone have any information on that? Thanks!

 

[JennD]

Greetings from Georgetown!

I'm currently in my third term of the post-bacc pre-med program here - I joined last summer. As for the few-years' old statements above of aloof/non-responsive administration, I can attest that there have been times where I did not get a full reply or complete answer to the questions I had from the program coordinators alone. However, they are fairly well connected with the faculty and know of ways for you to tap into the resources of the university at large. They highly support your system of independence, and your education is ultimately whatever you choose to make of it. In other words, they will not drag you through the way to get to medical school - it is up to you to reach your hands out to whoever you can as often as it takes to get a response. You design your course. You complete the necessary credits. You do the job.

Having said as much, the current environment of peers is nothing short of stellar. We are very supportive of each other, sometimes commiserating over the latest items added to our list of tasks, or quizzing each other over possible MCAT questions and strategies, or even getting together for a beer or pizza or something every other month because we just plain need a break from all of our studies. We keep each other informed as to possible plans that are going on amongst each of us as we move to apply to medical school. There's a weekly newsletter and a post-bacc student association committee. Volunteer and shadowing opportunities are open wherever sought and vigorously pursued. The university also has some amazing conferences and lectures that are free and open to the public or the entire student body from leaders in the medical, scientific, and foreign policy fields, thus enabling further extra-curricular education and networking opportunities.

The classes are amazing. Complete and clear levels of thinking are encouraged and developed even in the introductory science courses, and I have learned so much from all of my professors. One caveat though: organic chemistry is what it is - find a group of study buddies and stick with 'em throughout the course, because you'll need a support system through which to complete effective process-filtering.

Generally, this is the advice I can give with what I know so far. I would be more than happy to supplement my comments by addressing any questions posted.

 

[Floatin]

Hello JennD,

I was accepted to the Gtown Program for career changers. Are all your classes taken with Undergraduate students or are there separate Post-Bacc courses?

 

[Georgetown Student]

As a current PBPM student at Georgetown (2015), I wanted to write a post with some information I wish I had had prior to enrolling here. Here goes!

-Advising
The program website touts “one-on-one advising” and other academic support.
Nope. You can ask the undergraduate pre med advisor for advice, but advising is definitely not built into the program. In short, if you need some serious advice and counseling, you’re going to have to look elsewhere (friends, colleagues, or the advising system at your undergraduate campus)

-Classes
You’re in georgetown undergraduate classes, so the academic standard is up to snuff. Some professors (especially in the chem and physics department) are amazing and take a special interest in post bacc’s- offering some extra support. The classes were similar to those I experienced as an undergraduate- definitely challenging but doable with hard work.

one MAJOR issue with classes however, is registration. More often than not, there are not enough post bacc seats in the classes or lab sections and students are wait listed (for instance, there are 6 spots in Mammalian Physiology… and over 60 total post baccs). This is particularly shocking in a post bacc pre med program, where the whole point is that students are there specifically to take a set list of classes with little to no flexibility. Not being able to register has been a point of serious frustration every term. Its possible to get off the wait list, but either way its a huge headache and frankly goes to show how little Georgetown cares about its post baccs.
-Volunteer and seminar opportunities and information in the health field.
This is another claim made on the program website. Totally false, disregard this claim altogether. However, there is obviously a huge amount of opportunity to volunteer or work in the DC metropolitan area. You just have to find it on your own!

These are the major issues I’ve experienced with the program. In general, its very much a “do it yourself” situation. If you have specific advising or classroom needs, I wouldn’t recommend it. But if you are a capable person well on your way to med school but just need the classes under your belt, Georgetown has got what you need. Its realistic to get a solid GPA and find some opportunities that interest you in the area. Unlike the intensive programs (think Bryn Mawr, Goucher) you will have extra time on your hands to get some extracurricular experiences in if you are needing in that area. But be wise and don’t believe everything the program website says!

Good luck!