how to start a post bac

[jav316]

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hi everyone,
how would a nontraditional student go about starting a post bac program? it looks like you have to apply in january/february to do a post bac. if you have taken the prerequisites but have not received the grades you wanted, is it better to retake those or to work on a graduate level?
thanks 🙂

 

[Bhuddles]

hey, I'm dealing with the same thing. I have spoken to a number of current Med students who were in my boat of "lower than desired undergraduate GPA and career change". The consistent response is that taking some refreshers to prepare for the MCAT(BioChem, OCHEM) as well as boost the GPA seem like the way to go before getting in the middle of a post-bacc program. Not sure what region you live in but in VA there are some great masters/post-bacc programs with strong relationships to local Med schools. Good Luck. 👍

 

[Law2Doc]

hi everyone,
how would a nontraditional student go about starting a post bac program? it looks like you have to apply in january/february to do a post bac. if you have taken the prerequisites but have not received the grades you wanted, is it better to retake those or to work on a graduate level?
thanks 🙂

There isn't one right answer for all people; It sort of depends on your academic background and the timing. Here's my take (speaking as someone who retook most of the prereqs). If its been many years since you took the prereqs, or the prereq grades were pretty lousy there's nothing wrong with retaking the classes in a postbacc (esp. to show that with added maturity you are now able to tackle them). If its been a relatively short period of time or you didn't totally tank those prereq classes, it might be more advisable to take higher level classes, to show that you can handle higher level sciences. If you were a science major or an engineer, I think you'd generally need to lean toward the graduate level option.
Either way, you will need to know the prereq material for the MCAT. That's my two cents. People with differing opinions feel free to contradict me...

 

[divinemsm]

I agree with the previous posters, yet have something to add: I personally dont think it is neccessary to spend huge amounts of money on a post-baccalaureate program, as a local college will do the trick. Save yourself the both the cash and the huge headaches of overly competitive classmates ( as much as you can, in any event 🙂 ) As long as your grades are good, your letters of reccomendation strong, and your MCAT an acceptable number, you will be fine . My undergrad school had a post -bacc program, which I made the mistake of taking classes in as an undergrad, and all I can say is YIKES!!!! Those folks were haggling over a 94 % vs. a 95 %...barf-o.....There are PLENTY of people who end up going to high powered medical schools ( if that's your thing ) who went to No-Name University...saved money and less stress to boot...my own two cents....

 

[Emergency!]

I agree with the advice above as well. There are many different routes to go, depending on what your background is. I had a BS and MS in Ed prior to deciding to go to med school. However, as a Spanish major, I didn't take ANY of the medical school pre-reqs. I enrolled at the local branch college as a "continuing education student" and took the necessary pre-reqs. I didn't even have to submit a transcript, and I was a fairly high priority for scheduling. You can get 12 consecutive months of financial aid if you are taking courses necessary for admission into professional school. You can also enroll as a regular undergrad and pretend you are seeking another degree and then not be limited by the 12 months of financial aid. Nobody will ever hunt you down because you didn't actually finish the degree. This route allows a lot more flexibility and generally costs less money..

The advantage that some formal post-bacc programs have is that they have affiliations with some medical schools. The ones that have affiliations are generally fairly competitive for admission.