How important is it to go back to school full time?

[tom8848]

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Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and have been reading all the posts for some time now. I can really use some advice from you guys now. Thanks in advance.

I am a non-trad, and thinking of going back to school to do all the pre-reqs. Since I already have a job, so I was considering taking classes part time. The advicer at my local college strongly suggest me doing full-time instead of part-time, cause according to him, medical school want to know I'll be ready to be a student again.

Can you guys tell me what's medical school's take on part-time pre-reqs?

 

[Isaiah]

Good question, I'm in this position myself.

My impression is that "they" seem to care more about the end result. They're unlikely to penalize you for having obligations and a life, while at the same time they won't view said life as a mitigating circumstance if your grades are less than optimal.

 

[tom8848]

Thanks, Isaiah.

Just that this is gonna be a big jump, so I want to make my decision more carefully.

I read a post somewhere say med school refuse to take in the class he took part-time, and ended up w/o any academic experience for the past some years. Kinda of scared me :-(

 

[Nasrudin]

Be careful with asking others what you should do in this regard because whatever they're plan for your life is you can't crash on their couch when things get f'd up for you when you follow their advice. In fact that's my new criteria for taking advice here. If I can't crash on their couch whatever they're saying is total b.s. And you can't crash on my couch so you know....

Your replies will come in 2 classes:

1. "Yes only full-time students are sincere of enough to join the medical clergy." These people either went straight through school and wear shirts with Che Guevara on the front to show that their down with brown people. Or they just sold their stock options to try something more neato.

2. The occassional person saddled with kids or minimum wage jobs who have no choice.

Adcoms just like supreme court justices selectively apply the policies of their respective insitutions in exact accordance of w-ever-tf they feel like on that particular day.

Don't sweat trying to figure out what in god's name that will be.

 

[budhak0n]

I'm no expert but I would venture to guess it's up to the individual.

I think you're probably best served to show you're dead serious by going full shebang .. but if you have a cushy job for a Pharm firm and what you're doing is related anyway.. Who would care?

It's completely dependent on the person. I would just think that the more contact you have with the "industry" .. the better off you will be ... b/c then they know that YOU know what you're getting yourself into with all of this.

 

[budhak0n]

Thanks, Isaiah.

Just that this is gonna be a big jump, so I want to make my decision more carefully.

I read a post somewhere say med school refuse to take in the class he took part-time, and ended up w/o any academic experience for the past some years. Kinda of scared me :-(

LOL if I walked into any educational institution and they told me that classes I took when I didn't have a full credit load didn't count... I'd say I'm sorry sirs .. there's really no interview necessary.

Have a nice life. I think what people fail to comprehend often is that education is a two way street. No matter what your personal insecurities may be and granted medical education is a more select group that gets to pick and choose... but in reality... Schools need students.. just as much as students need schools and if somebody is going to try and pull that nonsense with you.. You'd probably be better served "withdrawing" your so called application..

That's just abusive and downright giggle producing.

 

[Luxian]

Just finish the pre-reqs. You totally do NOT have to do it full time. I haven't taken classes in five years and I have four interviews under my belt.

I did run into problems with just a single school. They wanted me to have taken all my pre-reqs in the last six years, but they didn't actually say anything about being full time.

Do what you need, but don't sacrifice your livelihood cause this schmo said it might help you out!

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Just finish the pre-reqs. You totally do NOT have to do it full time. I haven't taken classes in five years and I have four interviews under my belt.

I did run into problems with just a single school. They wanted me to have taken all my pre-reqs in the last six years, but they didn't actually say anything about being full time.

Do what you need, but don't sacrifice your livelihood cause this schmo said it might help you out!

Exactly. I did the extra prereqs I needed parttime while working fulltime, and it was a non-issue. If your grades are good, and you do well on the MCAT, no one has any good reason to doubt your academic ability.

 

[thoffen]

I did the same thing. If your grades are good enough, and your MCAT is solid, then it won't matter. If you need to pull up a low GPA, full-time post-bac is a good idea.

 

[HanginInThere]

Just finish the pre-reqs. You totally do NOT have to do it full time. I haven't taken classes in five years and I have four interviews under my belt.

I did run into problems with just a single school. They wanted me to have taken all my pre-reqs in the last six years, but they didn't actually say anything about being full time.

Do what you need, but don't sacrifice your livelihood cause this schmo said it might help you out!

Exactly. I did the extra prereqs I needed parttime while working fulltime, and it was a non-issue. If your grades are good, and you do well on the MCAT, no one has any good reason to doubt your academic ability.

This is how I did it (working full-time and taking classes part-time), and if anything it has been a positive point of discussion during my interviews. Showing that you can handle the academic requirements of classes while you're also putting in the time to support yourself isn't going to hurt your application.

...I read a post somewhere say med school refuse to take in the class he took part-time, and ended up w/o any academic experience for the past some years. Kinda of scared me :-(

That doesn't sound right from everything I've read or from my own experiences. Just make sure your classes are from an accredited university and I don't think you'll have any problem.

But you're right to want to make sure you aren't missing any steps in your preparation. Based on this thread, I'd take the opinions of the advisor you talked to with a serious degree of scepticism. Try talking to someone from another local school if there are others around, get a book or two about applying to med school, check web sites and maybe call admissions offices at one or two med schools you'd want to apply to, ask questions here, etc. Do as much as you can to be confident that you're taking care of everything you need for a successful application.

And good luck!

 

[njbmd]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and have been reading all the posts for some time now. I can really use some advice from you guys now. Thanks in advance.

I am a non-trad, and thinking of going back to school to do all the pre-reqs. Since I already have a job, so I was considering taking classes part time. The advicer at my local college strongly suggest me doing full-time instead of part-time, cause according to him, medical school want to know I'll be ready to be a student again.

Can you guys tell me what's medical school's take on part-time pre-reqs?

If you are working full-time, taking part-time coursework is wise. You need excellent grades in your pre-reqs and you need to live indoors while you are getting those grades. As long as your academics are good, you don't need full-time coursework especially if you are working full-time and need the income. The most impressive thing that an applicant can present is solid academics regardless of full or part-time status. Good luck!

 

[paintballdoc]

Do not stress over being part-time versus full-time. Just do well in the classes you take and do well on the MCAT. I have a friend who took classes part-time and was accepted to medical school. He recently finished 3rd in his class.

 

[HanginInThere]

I did the same thing. If your grades are good enough, and your MCAT is solid, then it won't matter. If you need to pull up a low GPA, full-time post-bac is a good idea.

I am a non-trad, and thinking of going back to school to do all the pre-reqs. Since I already have a job, so I was considering taking classes part time. The advicer at my local college strongly suggest me doing full-time instead of part-time, cause according to him, medical school want to know I'll be ready to be a student again.

I'm thinking more about your advisor's recommendation, and trying to figure out why you'd need to do it. Are there any red flags in your academic record? What was your undergrad GPA? How did you do in science classes? How long ago were you a student?

When you say "all the pre-reqs", you mean you need to take both semesters of all four basic sciences? Taking classes part-time, you're looking at a minimum of two years to get through them, right? If you do well in the classes, that should be plenty of work to demonstrate your current ability to handle the academic demands. Plus you'll be investing enough time that your decision won't look hasty or not carefully thought-out.

 

[tom8848]

This is my first post, and I'm really surprised to see so many good replies. You guys are the best.

A little bit about myself. I am 25 now and got my UG degree in Electrical Engineering a few years back. My cummulative GPA is 3.4. I don't know how medical schools calculate science GPA, but I put all my math, physics and engineering class together, and got a 3.58 out of it. I don't think there's any red flags, just that my grade fluctuate a lot. I could have 4.0 for one semester, and 2.9 for next one. It totally depends on what classes I take, I'm generally good with science classes, and got screwed pretty bad by the writing and foreign language classes. I hate those :-(

I know my GPA is below average, but I still want to give it a shot, just couldn't give up my real dream 🙂 The school I contacted is UT Dallas, I didn't even get into all these details about myself. The reply I got back was pretty generic. It talks mostly about the pre-reqs, and this is the part he suggested me to go to school full time.

"In general, post baccalaureate students need to complete 40 credit hours before they apply to medical school and a total of 60 credit hours before they begin medical school. Luckily the Pre-Med pre-requisites total up to be just about 60 credit hours. If you have already taken some of the pre-requisites you will need to make up the difference in upper division Biological sciences. The key to remember is that any science class that is more than seven years old will need to be repeated. So if you took General Biology as an undergraduate and it will be more than seven years old you should take it again, but you will not need to repeat the lab. Additionally, if you received less than a B- in any science or math class you will need to repeat it as well. Finally, medical schools want to see post baccalaureate students complete at least two semesters of full time coursework (at least 12 credit hours a term). They ask for this to make sure you are ready to be a full time student again."

What do guys think?

 

[Nasrudin]

T. Finally, medical schools want to see post baccalaureate students complete at least two semesters of full time coursework (at least 12 credit hours a term). They ask for this to make sure you are ready to be a full time student again."

What do guys think?

You're in good shape. A 3.4 in Engineering is f'n good **** man. 12 units of Bio'ish type courses is doable with other obligations and all the other necessary app building stuff, especially for some one with your background with the possible exception that some good problem solvers get physically sick from ingesting large amounts of facts but you probably already know what you're getting into.

Anyway the person sounds like s/he is trying to steer you towards rigorous preparation so there's nothing wrong with that as long as your balancing that against your own priorities. You just need the right time investment to do well.

 

[pingouin]

In my interviews, my part-time post-bacc coursework only came up once, and after I explained my work load in addition to that, it was dropped as an issue.

One of my LOR writers told me that he weaved my work vs school commitments into his letter, noting the maturity and time management skills required to balance everything. I was very grateful for that one.

 

[hollywoodfl]

I am debating the same thing right now. I have been lurking on these forums for a short while, and I see that the questions that I have seem to be common to many others on here.

I am finishing a Master's in Psychology, which I did full time, while working full time, and I think that I would go completely nuts if I kept up that pace for another two years.

The question that I have that is related to this question is 'How much does where you take the classes matter?' I am trying to decide between two state schools in my area and two private schools. Obviously the in-state tuition is much more attractive, but I don't think the reputation is nearly as good as one of the private schools. I was told that I should forget about the junior college, since schools will not look on that favorably.

 

[thoffen]

This is my first post, and I'm really surprised to see so many good replies. You guys are the best.

A little bit about myself. I am 25 now and got my UG degree in Electrical Engineering a few years back. My cummulative GPA is 3.4. I don't know how medical schools calculate science GPA, but I put all my math, physics and engineering class together, and got a 3.58 out of it. I don't think there's any red flags, just that my grade fluctuate a lot. I could have 4.0 for one semester, and 2.9 for next one. It totally depends on what classes I take, I'm generally good with science classes, and got screwed pretty bad by the writing and foreign language classes. I hate those :-(

I know my GPA is below average, but I still want to give it a shot, just couldn't give up my real dream 🙂 The school I contacted is UT Dallas, I didn't even get into all these details about myself. The reply I got back was pretty generic. It talks mostly about the pre-reqs, and this is the part he suggested me to go to school full time.

"In general, post baccalaureate students need to complete 40 credit hours before they apply to medical school and a total of 60 credit hours before they begin medical school. Luckily the Pre-Med pre-requisites total up to be just about 60 credit hours. If you have already taken some of the pre-requisites you will need to make up the difference in upper division Biological sciences. The key to remember is that any science class that is more than seven years old will need to be repeated. So if you took General Biology as an undergraduate and it will be more than seven years old you should take it again, but you will not need to repeat the lab. Additionally, if you received less than a B- in any science or math class you will need to repeat it as well. Finally, medical schools want to see post baccalaureate students complete at least two semesters of full time coursework (at least 12 credit hours a term). They ask for this to make sure you are ready to be a full time student again."

What do guys think?

You sound like a carbon-copy of my application (see my mdapps). UT-D's recommendations are certainly not the same for every medical school, so don't be paranoid about repeating calc III or something. Only go to school full-time if it works for your schedule and life. For me, it wasn't really an option.

FYI, "science GPA" is BCPM - Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math - for AMCAS anyway. So only include classes under those specific headings. There are some judgement calls for other classes, e.g. an engineering dept. stats class.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I really disagree with the recommendations given to you by UT-Dallas. Maybe they're true for a few medical schools, but I don't think they're true for most schools. For example, you do not need to retake all prereq classes that are over 7 years old unless you're applying to one of the 2 to 3 schools that specify that, and I think those are generally willing to waive that. And no, schools do not necessarily expect to see you resume fulltime classwork before matriculation. If that were the case, you'd probably see very few nontrads get admitted because it's not feasible for most of us.

My advice would be to contact individual medical schools that you're interested in and ask what they think.

 

[UVABranch]

It depends (like most things in this process). If you are going back to school and also trying to make up for a less than stellar performance in UG then "ideally" should would like to see how you fair taking upper level sciences jiggeling multiple courses. HOWEVER, they do recognize that many non trads need to work in order to even go to school, so they understand if it's part time. I second what njbmd said...the most important thing is getting the grade (and the knowledge). I would say if you take at least 2 classes/semester that's enough if you're working 40 hrs or more per week. If you have the ability (luxury) to go to school full time, then it will save you on the years to get the work done. One thing might be to talk to the Dean/Dir of Admin at a school you're interested in and see what they say. Some will tell you have their adcom approaches this situation. G'luck!

 

[Nasrudin]

The question that I have that is related to this question is 'How much does where you take the classes matter?' I am trying to decide between two state schools in my area and two private schools. Obviously the in-state tuition is much more attractive, but I don't think the reputation is nearly as good as one of the private schools. I was told that I should forget about the junior college, since schools will not look on that favorably.

There are two confluent streams of thought that can be reduced in complexity when you use your own common sense to evaluate your concerns. I say concerns because that is the apt description of what your saying which alleviates the absurdity of arriving at an answer in a public forum.

Consider two possible archetypal figures who might evaluate your application:

1. This individual went the pedigreed route and is cultured with the refined academic mind that can only be properly institutionalized at a select few universities.

2. This individual went to a no-name state school. Maybe they bartended at night. Maybe they liked the school's football team. Whatever you get the idea. There's nothing fancy on their resume and their degree of enculturation as to the superiority of their school is less-marked (they may even have a different sort of prejudice) but they got to where they are they same as anyone.

The relative concentration, or more accurately the gradient that exists between the two extremes, will vary with institutions such that you're relative success according to your place in the spectrum will vary accordingly. This a rough sandlot play drawn in the dirt but it is no less accurate than the mythical idea that there is some systematic and correct interpretation of an application to medical school based on the huge number of factors involved.

I point the pin-headed degree of academic incest that cross-polinates "elite" institutions with themselves in this dog and pony show as support for my idea and additionally the fact that state schools are populated by the graduates of their own public institutions.

Your decision is relative to so many individual factors as to make posing the question to people here which will undoubtedly point in opposite directions rather ineffectual. But good luck in any case.

 

[njbmd]

I am debating the same thing right now. I have been lurking on these forums for a short while, and I see that the questions that I have seem to be common to many others on here.

I am finishing a Master's in Psychology, which I did full time, while working full time, and I think that I would go completely nuts if I kept up that pace for another two years.

The question that I have that is related to this question is 'How much does where you take the classes matter?' I am trying to decide between two state schools in my area and two private schools. Obviously the in-state tuition is much more attractive, but I don't think the reputation is nearly as good as one of the private schools. I was told that I should forget about the junior college, since schools will not look on that favorably.

You need to take your course where you can get first, the course that meets your needs in terms of breadth and depth and second, the course that meets your needs in terms of cost. It is your performance in your coursework that counts and not where you took your coursework. If you receive a "B" in a course at a private school, it is not a good as an "A" in a course from a public school.

If your community college has the courses that meet your needs in terms of being sufficiently comprehensive for MCAT prep, then there is no problem taking your course at a junior college. Many medical student applicants have been quite successful in gaining admission to medical school with coursework from community colleges provided that coursework is of good quality and you performed well (no grade less than B+ for Pre-med coursework).

 

[montessori2md]

I did part-time while working (almost) full time, + the usual premed volunteering MCAT prep BS. Every faculty interviewer I had figured I'd have no problem w/ the courseload b/c with everything I was doing, my hours were in med student range (80+ hours outside of the house/week).

That said, I only applied to 3 schools, my tally now = 1 yes, 1 maybe, 1 no (to be fair, the "no" was from Gtown, and I was not well behaved there, they struck me as bizarre and disorganized, and the "yes" was from my state school who places a lot of weight on GPA and MCAT).

I think it's financially nuts to go to school full-time whilst one could be self-supporting, and maybe even save for med school, and I would be unashamed to say so if questioned by an adcom. All med students are reminded about debt at those finaid discussions on interview days, seems to me that Dallas is awfully silly to ignore that aspect of post-bac students' lives.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

What strikes me especially odd about this advice is that UT-Dallas is a commuter school that caters to non-traditional students. It's surprsing that their premed department would give advice like this. I'm also bugged by their usage of "must" for all their recommendations. Nothing's really a "must" in the application process.

 

[Valvool]

The Loyola website suggests that non-traditional premeds return to full-time study before applying to their program. That's the only place where I've seen that, however. I am the mother of young children and I take science classes part-time, at night, when my spouse is home. This is the only way I can do it right now, hope it doesn't count against me too much.

 

[Doctor J]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and have been reading all the posts for some time now. I can really use some advice from you guys now. Thanks in advance.

I am a non-trad, and thinking of going back to school to do all the pre-reqs. Since I already have a job, so I was considering taking classes part time. The advicer at my local college strongly suggest me doing full-time instead of part-time, cause according to him, medical school want to know I'll be ready to be a student again.

Can you guys tell me what's medical school's take on part-time pre-reqs?

Gonna offer a bit of a different perspective. Short answer is that it is very, very, very important to show that you can handle a full class load and still do well academically. Everyone has other stuff they do, jobs, extracurriculars, research, etc., and most also do full time classes. You don't want your application to look like you took it easy to get straight A's. You want to get straight A's while going full throttle. 😀

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Gonna offer a bit of a different perspective. Short answer is that it is very, very, very important to show that you can handle a full class load and still do well academically. Everyone has other stuff they do, jobs, extracurriculars, research, etc., and most also do full time classes. You don't want your application to look like you took it easy to get straight A's. You want to get straight A's while going full throttle. 😀

I don't know, I don't think most nontrads go to school fulltime. Most trads do, but that's a different story. I agree that adcoms would be a big suspicious of traditional students who didn't go fulltime, but when you're established in a job and need to support yourself, going to school fulltime is often not a realistic pursuit.

 

[notdeadyet]

I don't know, I don't think most nontrads go to school fulltime.

I agree with this. But I think it's better that you do. And I understand their logic, too. I did some of my prereqs while working full time and got all A's. But when I saved enough, quit my job, and went to a full-time post-bac, my grades took a hit in the first semester as I adjusted to taking a full load of science classes with labs. You can be a great time manager in real life, but those skills don't always translate to time management with too much study. Med schools like to see that you've demonstrated that you can.

But it's like anything. It's better to get A's than B's. It's better to go to Harvard than Pudwater State. It's better to go to four years than hitting the community college first. And it's better to do your prereqs full-time demonstrating you can handle a full-time academic courseload. But you do the very best with what you can. Med schools understand that not everyone are in ideal circumstances...

 

[Nasrudin]

I agree with this. But I think it's better that you do. And I understand their logic, too. I did some of my prereqs while working full time and got all A's. But when I saved enough, quit my job, and went to a full-time post-bac, my grades took a hit in the first semester as I adjusted to taking a full load of science classes with labs. You can be a great time manager in real life, but those skills don't always translate to time management with too much study. Med schools like to see that you've demonstrated that you can.

But it's like anything. It's better to get A's than B's. It's better to go to Harvard than Pudwater State. It's better to go to four years than hitting the community college first. And it's better to do your prereqs full-time demonstrating you can handle a full-time academic courseload. But you do the very best with what you can. Med schools understand that not everyone are in ideal circumstances...

You see. I agree with you here completely. The problem is that when a person is strapped down to a less mobile situation and they come to such venues for advice they often, although not in this particular discussion amenably, get advice that states one superlative after another and are made to feel they are inferior for their inability to "bootstrap themselves up" to use use the middle class religious phrase.

Most of the soothsayers in these parts are not as complex as yourself to suggest a desirable aim and to allow for situational constraints in the simultaneous realities that constitute all of our actual lives.

Why? Well....that's a simple matter of deduction, but as you know, such tenuous conclusions tend to lead me to err.

 

[Free2B]

I was told by a rep that in the case of a student who is post bac and taking med pre-requisites they understand the demands of full time work and are realistic in you will not be able to go to school full time. Basically a post bac student has already proven themselves to be able to take on heavy academic work, so there are exceptions..

 

[notdeadyet]

I was told by a rep that in the case of a student who is post bac and taking med pre-requisites they understand the demands of full time work and are realistic in you will not be able to go to school full time. Basically a post bac student has already proven themselves to be able to take on heavy academic work, so there are exceptions..

This makes sense. I think if you graduated a couple of years ago and started taking night classes to satisfy prereqs, you're fine.

For some of us (ahem) mature applicants, it's more of an issue. When you've been out of school for 10 years, I think schools have more of a desire to see that you can still hack a challenging full-time courseload. I'm personally glad I had a year of full-time postbac to stumble with rather than stumble in MSI.

But it's all good. There's no "right" way to go about this, despite what folks may try to tell you...

 

[PB2464]

This is my first post, and I'm really surprised to see so many good replies. You guys are the best.

A little bit about myself. I am 25 now and got my UG degree in Electrical Engineering a few years back. My cummulative GPA is 3.4. I don't know how medical schools calculate science GPA, but I put all my math, physics and engineering class together, and got a 3.58 out of it. I don't think there's any red flags, just that my grade fluctuate a lot. I could have 4.0 for one semester, and 2.9 for next one. It totally depends on what classes I take, I'm generally good with science classes, and got screwed pretty bad by the writing and foreign language classes. I hate those :-(

I know my GPA is below average, but I still want to give it a shot, just couldn't give up my real dream 🙂 The school I contacted is UT Dallas, I didn't even get into all these details about myself. The reply I got back was pretty generic. It talks mostly about the pre-reqs, and this is the part he suggested me to go to school full time.

"In general, post baccalaureate students need to complete 40 credit hours before they apply to medical school and a total of 60 credit hours before they begin medical school. Luckily the Pre-Med pre-requisites total up to be just about 60 credit hours. If you have already taken some of the pre-requisites you will need to make up the difference in upper division Biological sciences. The key to remember is that any science class that is more than seven years old will need to be repeated. So if you took General Biology as an undergraduate and it will be more than seven years old you should take it again, but you will not need to repeat the lab. Additionally, if you received less than a B- in any science or math class you will need to repeat it as well. Finally, medical schools want to see post baccalaureate students complete at least two semesters of full time coursework (at least 12 credit hours a term). They ask for this to make sure you are ready to be a full time student again."

What do guys think?

I am a current post-bac student at UT-Dallas and just finished up my first semester. I was given the same generic response when I contacted the school for the first time. There are always exceptions.
I decided to take a light post-bac load (10 hrs...Bio/Chem/Physics) my first semester back, as I had been out of school for 7-8 yrs. I received a 4.0 this semester. I'm registered for only 10 hrs next semester as well. My undergrad GPA was only a 3.3, but I wanted to concentrate in doing well in only the prereqs. I didn't see the logic in taking one additional science elective so that I could be "full-time".
Anyway, send me a message if you have any questions about the school.

 

[TarHeel55]

I think you have been given excellent advice here. I thought I'd chime in as yet another data point that affirms what others have said.

On the question whether you must do your post-bacc work as a full-time student. Sure, there is a certain logic in adcoms wishing to see that you can handle a full-time courseload. But must you be a full-time student to demonstrate your academic preparedness? I don't think so.

I know my experience is only n=1, but just to give you an example, I've done twelve med school interviews this fall. I now have several acceptances. At only one school did an interviewer explicitly bring up the fact that my post-bacc work was done part-time. She said something like, "You did well in your post-bacc courses... but some members of the admissions committee will say, 'Sure but she was taking only one or two courses at a time'... but you did very well on the MCAT... I think that shows you can handle it." Now I can't say I succeeded with that particular adcom, because they don't release their decisions until March. But my positive experience with several other schools leads me to believe that full- vs. part-time post-bacc coursework is not a make-or-break issue.

On the question whether it matters where you take your courses. I agonized over this one, too, because I was fortunate to live in a city that offered choices among three 4-year state universities with varying degrees of name recognition, along with a private university with uber-terrific name recognition. I ended up taking my classes at one of the lesser-known state universities, simply for scheduling reasons. At not one single interview has anyone asked my why I took my classes at that school, rather than one of the others. Take-home message: as long as you are taking most of your classes at a four-year university, it seems that adcoms don't really care where or what that university is. I did not believe this two years ago, but there you go.

Much more important than the name of the university, I think, is to establish personal relationships with professors who can write you compelling letters.

I agonized and worried over all these same questions when I started down this path. I guess I just want to reassure you guys that, just as every non-trad's path is unique, there is no single "right" way to do a post-bacc. Just like notdeadyet said. Adcoms will look at your application holistically, and they will value the rich life experiences you bring to the table.

 

[obesedude]

Hi Tom,
I had the opposite experience that tarheels did. I went on several interviews too but at each interview they asked about if I was able to handle a fulltime courseload. I didn't really like being asked that not because it was not a legitimate question but rather because I felt it belittled my fulltime job (which had its own projects and deadlines just any class does). Still, I answered their questions and have been accepted at a couple of medical schools.

Like someone said earlier, if you want to go part-time and concentrate on doing your best, go for it (except don't take just one class) but if you do, expect the very real possibility about being questioned about why you only went part-time.