Harvard vs Columbia: Is the money worth it?

[scubagirl]

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I have been accepted to both the Columbia postbacc program and the Harvard Health Careers program beginning in the summer though I haven't decided whether I'll start in the summer or fall. I am completely torn about which program I should do. Clearly, I would prefer to pay less. However, if paying less means sacrificing my chances of getting into a good med school or med school at all then I would rather just take out the extra loans. I have read lots about the acceptance rates at Columbia and Bryn Mawr, but I was wondering if going to these programs really helped applicants that much or if the applicants who are accepted would have gotten in no matter which program they attended. I don't know anybody who has done the Harvard program...Do people have relatively good success getting into med school after completing the Harvard Program. Would my chances be increased by going to Columbia or Bryn Mawr?

I need to do all my prerqeqs (gen chem, orgo, phys and bio) so I am still torn between doing everything in a summer, fall and spring or spreading it out over two years. If I plan to take out loans rather than work during this period and have no problem having a very intense course load, is it a bad idea to try to squeeze everything into a year including the MCATS?

thanks

 

[Pemulis]

I'm not an expert on either program, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but when I was checking out post-bacs, it seemed to me like the Harvard program was a much better deal than Columbia. There's a couple of rather large threads on both programs on this forum; use the search feature toward the top of the screen and you'll come up with plenty of threads with better info.

From what I understand, both Harvard and Columbia have great accpetance rates to med school--but, that's only if you count the people who actually finish their programs. They are both known for having large classes and using a lot of attrition to "weed out" students (I think Columbia is supposed to be worse at this, but don't quote me on that). This might not be bad, but think about it before making a decision, to be sure that you are ready for that kind of environment.

I don't think you can fit all the premed classes into one year at Harvard, and I know that Columbia makes you be enrolled for at least two years.

Finally, you keep mentioning Bryn Mawr, which is a whole different type of program. If you have an acceptance there, I would strongly suggest you consider taking it, because I think that is one of the few programs that really is worth the extra money. There you can do all the classes in one year, they have great advising and support, there are a lot of linkages, and the attrition rates are very, very, low, so the "true" acceptance rate into medical school is orders of magnitude better than at Harvard or Columbia.

Good luck.

 

[Crake]

PM me if you want specifics about Columbia

 

[scubagirl]

PM me if you want specifics about Columbia

I would definitely appreciate any information you could give me... I have met with Curtis Rogers and read everything I could find online but I would be interested to hear and inside perspective. I know it is individual but I wondered around what percentage of columbia premeds are accepted. Also does anybody do the program in a year there? Do you feel as though you have had enough support as far as advising? Basically any advice or insight you can give me would be extremely helpful...

Thanks so much

 

[Aladdin Sane]

seriously rethink columbia, the program is not worth it. i'm in my last semester and i am at the point where i just can't wait to leave because i hate it so much. just to give you a heads up, your typical postbacc will cheat, flirt, cut you down and make you feel like **** and use drugs to get to the top and stay at the top. about half of accepted students drop out of the program so by second semester of bio/orgo you are left with the most anal people.

seriously, if you are a laid back person you will not be happy here at all.

curtis rogers is feeding you a line of course because he's an admissions guy, i've felt like i've gotten no support from my advisor who has made no effort to get to know me. and there's no guarantee you get a committee letter because of their weird guidelines and you are ranked against other post baccs based solely on your postbacc gpa.