- Joined
- Jun 12, 2006
- Messages
- 321
- Reaction score
- 1
Hey all,
I noticed a lot of commentary about Georgetown's post-bacc program here, some of it not what I saw there, thought I'd comment on my own experiences for the benefit of anyone out there thinking about GU. About me: I did the program June 05-May 06, w/ April 06 MCAT--prior to this, I had been in the health politics and policy world, and the last science class I had was in high school. I am 26 now and am starting med school at Johns Hopkins this August. I thought the program did a great job in getting me "from scratch" to being ready for MCAT in about 10 months, with a good enough record to get into my first choice school.
Structure: It is true that the Georgetown program is less structured than many other post-bacc programs; I considered this an advantage, but I can understand why some people might be turned off by it. Prof. Esrick, who runs the program, is pretty hands-off, so if you need something, you will probably need to be proactive and seek him out. I was able to do Gen Chem in the summer, then Bio, Physics, and Orgo during the year and take the MCAT in the spring, rather than have to stretch it out more (as other, more structured programs that I looked at, require), which I definitely wanted to avoid. If you want/need a very structured environment/lots of advice throughout the process, you might be better off elsewhere, to be perfectly honest. This was sometimes a source of frustration for some students in the program.
Classes: It is also true that you are in classes with the undergrads, rather than in post-bacc-only courses. While this can make getting good grades competitive, I think it gave me an advantage--you are getting the same pre-med committee consideration and letter, so it's an apples-to-apples comparison, and if you do well, the Committee will take good care of you--in particular, ask Dr. Neale for a letter of recommendation if you can, he really knows what he's doing with those. The post-baccs tend to stick together, personally I had a study group with 4 other "geezers" that was pretty steady throughout the year.
Cost/location: Georgetown is more expensive than most other post bacc programs, and DC is an expensive city to live in, so plan accordingly. However, it is also a cool place with lots of opportunities to do interesting things/internships, and a huge academic medical center on campus if you want that exposure during the post-bacc. I didn't take advantage of that opportunity but wish I had, it can only help you in this process. Oh, and the main campus library is a better place to study than the science library.
Results: I don''t know if the program keeps more official stats, but from my circle of friends I've kept in touch with since the program ended, we have done very well in the application process: from my group, people are going to Hopkins, Mt. Sinai, Duke (this person is a foreign national and so applied very broadly to like 25 schools to be safe, and got something crazy like 17 interviews), UC-San Diego, and Tufts this August. In addition to these schools, I know people from my year got acceptances at but won't be attending: UPittsburgh (this is an awesome school, definitely apply here), Georgetown, Case Western, both New Jersey schools, Boston U., USC, and UVermont. The Georgetown name has held up pretty well for us.
Overall: the Georgetown post-bacc will get you where you want to go, but you will work hard, pay top dollar for it, and must stay on top of some things (getting letters of rec in order, signing up for an MCAT class, etc) that I gather are taken care of for you at other places. PM me if you have questions I haven't addressed, and good luck! This is an exciting journey you are beginning!
I noticed a lot of commentary about Georgetown's post-bacc program here, some of it not what I saw there, thought I'd comment on my own experiences for the benefit of anyone out there thinking about GU. About me: I did the program June 05-May 06, w/ April 06 MCAT--prior to this, I had been in the health politics and policy world, and the last science class I had was in high school. I am 26 now and am starting med school at Johns Hopkins this August. I thought the program did a great job in getting me "from scratch" to being ready for MCAT in about 10 months, with a good enough record to get into my first choice school.
Structure: It is true that the Georgetown program is less structured than many other post-bacc programs; I considered this an advantage, but I can understand why some people might be turned off by it. Prof. Esrick, who runs the program, is pretty hands-off, so if you need something, you will probably need to be proactive and seek him out. I was able to do Gen Chem in the summer, then Bio, Physics, and Orgo during the year and take the MCAT in the spring, rather than have to stretch it out more (as other, more structured programs that I looked at, require), which I definitely wanted to avoid. If you want/need a very structured environment/lots of advice throughout the process, you might be better off elsewhere, to be perfectly honest. This was sometimes a source of frustration for some students in the program.
Classes: It is also true that you are in classes with the undergrads, rather than in post-bacc-only courses. While this can make getting good grades competitive, I think it gave me an advantage--you are getting the same pre-med committee consideration and letter, so it's an apples-to-apples comparison, and if you do well, the Committee will take good care of you--in particular, ask Dr. Neale for a letter of recommendation if you can, he really knows what he's doing with those. The post-baccs tend to stick together, personally I had a study group with 4 other "geezers" that was pretty steady throughout the year.
Cost/location: Georgetown is more expensive than most other post bacc programs, and DC is an expensive city to live in, so plan accordingly. However, it is also a cool place with lots of opportunities to do interesting things/internships, and a huge academic medical center on campus if you want that exposure during the post-bacc. I didn't take advantage of that opportunity but wish I had, it can only help you in this process. Oh, and the main campus library is a better place to study than the science library.
Results: I don''t know if the program keeps more official stats, but from my circle of friends I've kept in touch with since the program ended, we have done very well in the application process: from my group, people are going to Hopkins, Mt. Sinai, Duke (this person is a foreign national and so applied very broadly to like 25 schools to be safe, and got something crazy like 17 interviews), UC-San Diego, and Tufts this August. In addition to these schools, I know people from my year got acceptances at but won't be attending: UPittsburgh (this is an awesome school, definitely apply here), Georgetown, Case Western, both New Jersey schools, Boston U., USC, and UVermont. The Georgetown name has held up pretty well for us.
Overall: the Georgetown post-bacc will get you where you want to go, but you will work hard, pay top dollar for it, and must stay on top of some things (getting letters of rec in order, signing up for an MCAT class, etc) that I gather are taken care of for you at other places. PM me if you have questions I haven't addressed, and good luck! This is an exciting journey you are beginning!
