Please share your success stories and make mention of which program as well as the undergrad academic background. 👍
How effective are Postbaccalaureate Program In getting you into med school?
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I'm a Rosalind Franklin BMS student, and I know this is one of the best programs out there. BMS has a very high success rate for accepting students
who score reasonably well into the medical school. Personally, now that I am 2/3 of the way through, I think the program is a cakewalk.
You are graded on the exact same curve as the medical students. In classes, 15-25% of the medical students receive an A. You just have to do as well as those students with a FAR lighter workload, and ultimately end up with ~3.6 GPA or higher. The success rate for the program has been about 50% for the past two years for students accepted right into RFUMS. (100% for students who earn a 3.6 GPA or higher)
I'm willing to answer any questions you might have about BMS now that I no longer am concerned about how I do here.
undergrad background : bio major, 3.4 GPA including first semester of Fs, 3.8 without first semester. 36Q MCAT. Barely accepted with this academic record into a bottom tier state allopathic school...but it is allopathic, and the place is cheap, so I will go instead of into my SMP's school.
who score reasonably well into the medical school. Personally, now that I am 2/3 of the way through, I think the program is a cakewalk.
You are graded on the exact same curve as the medical students. In classes, 15-25% of the medical students receive an A. You just have to do as well as those students with a FAR lighter workload, and ultimately end up with ~3.6 GPA or higher. The success rate for the program has been about 50% for the past two years for students accepted right into RFUMS. (100% for students who earn a 3.6 GPA or higher)
I'm willing to answer any questions you might have about BMS now that I no longer am concerned about how I do here.
undergrad background : bio major, 3.4 GPA including first semester of Fs, 3.8 without first semester. 36Q MCAT. Barely accepted with this academic record into a bottom tier state allopathic school...but it is allopathic, and the place is cheap, so I will go instead of into my SMP's school.
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Do you mean postbacs for career changers or SMP-type programs?
I would like this thread to be open to any type of SMP program, be it career change or gpa fixers and anything in the middle.
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Well, overall, career changing (assuming you had an acceptable GPA in college) is vastly easier to do than GPA-fix. The majority of post-bacc programs are for career changers, and pretty much the only ones offering guaranteed 'linkage' (aka do this well and we WILL accept you to med school) are for career changers.
Oh I see, but is it really that easy? I mean I am sure that the courses are tough and very time consuming, but If you do well are the chances of getting in close to 100%?
Also how does it work for GPA-fixers?
Thanks a lot Habeed for the very informative replies 👍
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At the top postbacs, the acceptance rates to med schools are at or just about at 100%. If you go to Goucher, Bryn Mawr, Scripps and potentially a few others, you're basically guaranteed (assuming you can keep up with the program).
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Yes, it really is "that easy". But you have to take into consideration that the students who are accepted into the top three programs already have the exceptional LOR, undergraduate grades, extracurricular activities and demonstrated ability to excel that is necessary for acceptance into allopathic medical schools. All that is missing are the prerequisite courses...but it is reasonable to assume that had these students decided to pursue Medicine as undergraduates, they would have matriculated to medical school successfully. So yes, while that statistic of 100% seems a little unbelievable, it makes a bit more sense when you look at the profiles of the students who are offered acceptance.
I'm assuming these programs are for career changes. What about "gpa fixer programs"? Are they are guaranteed as career changing programs and what are the top "gpa fixer programs"?
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Not my area of expertise. I don't believe any have 100% acceptance rates, but there are definitely some highly regarded ones -- I feel like Georgetown is one of the top names I hear a lot.
Depending on how low your GPA happens to be, fixing it can be a much tougher road to walk than taking the prereqs at a career changer program. Career changers just have to prove they can do it. Folks who are looking to fix their GPAs need to not only show that they can do it the second time around, but that the first time around didn't showcase their true abilities.
Not my area of expertise. I don't believe any have 100% acceptance rates, but there are definitely some highly regarded ones -- I feel like Georgetown is one of the top names I hear a lot.
Depending on how low your GPA happens to be, fixing it can be a much tougher road to walk than taking the prereqs at a career changer program. Career changers just have to prove they can do it. Folks who are looking to fix their GPAs need to not only show that they can do it the second time around, but that the first time around didn't showcase their true abilities.[/QUOTE]
I see your point. Thank you for clarifying it for me. So i guess the gpa fixer program really depend on the gpa you finish your undergrad with. Since getting your gpa back up is a time confusing process, I imagine the length of these program depend on your undergrad gpa?
Any success stories of gpa fixer programs here?
Depending on how low your GPA happens to be, fixing it can be a much tougher road to walk than taking the prereqs at a career changer program. Career changers just have to prove they can do it. Folks who are looking to fix their GPAs need to not only show that they can do it the second time around, but that the first time around didn't showcase their true abilities.[/QUOTE]
I see your point. Thank you for clarifying it for me. So i guess the gpa fixer program really depend on the gpa you finish your undergrad with. Since getting your gpa back up is a time confusing process, I imagine the length of these program depend on your undergrad gpa?
Any success stories of gpa fixer programs here?
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Harvard is like 90-95% if you get the committee letter. Not sure without.
It's a requirement, atleast for me according to my letter, to get a 30+ and a 3.0 or higher to be considered.
I'm sure there are other considerations as well like soft factors. Not sure what their % rates are for Dental, Podiatry, Pharm, Opto. I'm sure they are about the same.
Even though its Harvard Extenstion, it's still Harvard and thought by Harvard professors. So don't let that fool you. It has been said on this forum 100 times, its not getting in thats hard its making it though. So true.
It's a requirement, atleast for me according to my letter, to get a 30+ and a 3.0 or higher to be considered.
I'm sure there are other considerations as well like soft factors. Not sure what their % rates are for Dental, Podiatry, Pharm, Opto. I'm sure they are about the same.
Even though its Harvard Extenstion, it's still Harvard and thought by Harvard professors. So don't let that fool you. It has been said on this forum 100 times, its not getting in thats hard its making it though. So true.
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So the harvard Diploma for Health sciences program through Extension school says following:
As a diploma candidate, you may not have taken any of these courses previously at another institution.
Does that mean, that pre-meds like me who want to improve their GPA a tad are out of question here ???
As a diploma candidate, you may not have taken any of these courses previously at another institution.
Does that mean, that pre-meds like me who want to improve their GPA a tad are out of question here ???
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If you've already taken the classes you'd take while in the program, the quote you've posted seems pretty clear to me. Maybe the coursework is flexible and you can take some upper-level science courses? That might not be the type of student they're looking for though.
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I agree with Newmans,
the Diploma program is really for those who want to focus their med school application attempt through a harvard lens. If you have taken most of the pre reqs then you can certainly take a couple a la carte courses, but if your not undertaking the actual admissions based portion of the program, which requires a certain amount of credits to earn sponsorship, then the migration to Harvard won't be worth it.
For those of you with questions about Harvard and the extension school:
The extension school is one of the 12 degree granting schools of harvard.
a graduate of the DPM program is eligible to join the Harvard Alumni Association, the Harvard Extension Alumni Association, and local chapters of the Harvard Club.
Furthermore, to touch briefly on the so-called contempt that exists towards extension school students, it should be noted that post baccs don't receive this type of treatment. The debate occurs between extension BA students and Harvard College BA students. Harvard college students feel they are the only students who should be able to receive a BA because of the rigorous acceptance process and high tuition of the College, whereas extension school BA students have no admission process, only admittance based on grades in a couple pre req courses.
As post baccs, you are in an admission based program that only exists in one school at Harvard, the extension; thus, you are outside the sphere of debate. I just wanted to clear that up because I know there exists a lot of ambiguity concerning the status of extension school students at Harvard.
With that in mind you should not make a decision to undertake a post bacc at Harvard simply because of the name, implicit to a Harvard student is humility. I would say Harvard is in the top 5, however BM, Scripps, and Goucher have by far the highest placement rates into medical school. Nonetheless, you are taught by Harvard profs. and receive a very high quality of education.
good luck... and Newmans I noticed your thread on BM....congrats on graduation...best wishes for your future medical endeavors!
the Diploma program is really for those who want to focus their med school application attempt through a harvard lens. If you have taken most of the pre reqs then you can certainly take a couple a la carte courses, but if your not undertaking the actual admissions based portion of the program, which requires a certain amount of credits to earn sponsorship, then the migration to Harvard won't be worth it.
For those of you with questions about Harvard and the extension school:
The extension school is one of the 12 degree granting schools of harvard.
a graduate of the DPM program is eligible to join the Harvard Alumni Association, the Harvard Extension Alumni Association, and local chapters of the Harvard Club.
Furthermore, to touch briefly on the so-called contempt that exists towards extension school students, it should be noted that post baccs don't receive this type of treatment. The debate occurs between extension BA students and Harvard College BA students. Harvard college students feel they are the only students who should be able to receive a BA because of the rigorous acceptance process and high tuition of the College, whereas extension school BA students have no admission process, only admittance based on grades in a couple pre req courses.
As post baccs, you are in an admission based program that only exists in one school at Harvard, the extension; thus, you are outside the sphere of debate. I just wanted to clear that up because I know there exists a lot of ambiguity concerning the status of extension school students at Harvard.
With that in mind you should not make a decision to undertake a post bacc at Harvard simply because of the name, implicit to a Harvard student is humility. I would say Harvard is in the top 5, however BM, Scripps, and Goucher have by far the highest placement rates into medical school. Nonetheless, you are taught by Harvard profs. and receive a very high quality of education.
good luck... and Newmans I noticed your thread on BM....congrats on graduation...best wishes for your future medical endeavors!
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Thanks so much! And to you, as well.
