Hunter College as a Pre-Med school

[jayski2030]

I'm starting this spring at hunter as a post bacc. WHat are people's experiences with the pre-professional office there and the difficulty of classes. Were the professors approachable? How about research possibilities within the college?

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[MaineDocToBe]

There is a post bac forum, you might want to do a search or ask there. However, I had a friend that completed her course work there and then went on to Mt. Sinai.

I think they're a strong school and a great alternative to Columbia. Why spend the money? You'll do well there. I went to a good undergraduate and did my post bac at a small state school, the money was right, the classes were solid and challenging. I got a good education.

 

[kito]

Word.

 

[argonut]

I am completing my post-bacc at Hunter College six years after graduating from UPenn. My experience at Hunter overall has been positive. The classes and professors are good, and I have enjoyed the other post-baccs that I have met in my classes.

On the other hand, I have found the administration and the premed office pretty awful. My experience with the premed office is very limited as officially my application was done through UPenn (a service they offer to alumni), however the few times I have gone in for advising I did not find the advice particularly helpful. I have heard stories from classmates who were told things like, "Forget it -- you'll never get in to school."

Basically, I suggest taking everything the advisor says with a grain of salt.

-J

 

[jayski2030]

I have a feeling that this forum can provide me with loads more information than the man in that office. How helpful are they when it comes to gathering all of your rec's and what not?

 

[argonut]

I can't comment on the gathering of recs since I did not use them for that service. I have not heard anything bad on that end of things. It's just the general advising and attitude that seems to be an issue.

Good luck!
-J

 

[acab]

Hunter offers an excellent premed program. Classes are highly competitive and most of them do not have a curve. The professors are extremely approachable. It has a medschool acceptance rate of way into the 90% (if I remember correctly). The students are very nice and cover a wide range of backgrounds, ethnicities and age.

At Hunter, you have to be a go-getter. Nothing will come to you. If you want to do research, you need to find out what labs work on something that interests you, and then go from door to door asking to work there.

The premed office is somehow overwhelmed with students (Hunter has 20,000 undergrads, and a lot of them are premeds). My advice: do things a lot in advance (such as getting evaluations, which you'll need from every professor and lab TA), keep your file with them updated, and, above all, treat them nicely and do not expect them to do things for you in a hurry.

Their postbacc club is a very good source of information. Good luck!