I guess no one knew the answer to my post. Is everyone sure they don't know?Important

[blaque1703]

Does anyone know about people who have gotten themselves into medical school by taking med school courses as non-matriculated or non-degree seeking students? For example, they take the classes and do very well and apply to be admitted into the actual program. I would think that if they do great in the actual courses, they would most likely get accepted, since it's all about who can handle the rigorous curriculum of medical school. If anyone has any information, please let me know.

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[katiekate]

Does anyone know about people who have gotten themselves into medical school by taking med school courses as non-matriculated or non-degree seeking students? For example, they take the classes and do very well and apply to be admitted into the actual program. I would think that if they do great in the actual courses, they would most likely get accepted, since it's all about who can handle the rigorous curriculum of medical school. If anyone has any information, please let me know.

Some Post-Baccalaureate programs for people who need to enhance their application have their students take some of the same classes that med students take. For instance, I think at GW the Post-Bacc students take micro histo and maybe A&P with the actual med students. If the post-bacc students receive a B or higher then they will be offered an interview. That may not be exact, but if you look at the program descriptions for these programs it will tell you more about the courses. In addition, some of these programs are for degree/certificate seeking students, some are for non-degree seeking students. It all depends. But I am pretty sure you can't just register for a med school class and expect to be admited if you do really well in it. Hope that answers your question a little. the aamc website has more info on the various different post-bacc programs that register themselves with the AAMC.

 

[blaque1703]

Some Post-Baccalaureate programs for people who need to enhance their application have their students take some of the same classes that med students take. For instance, I think at GW the Post-Bacc students take micro histo and maybe A&P with the actual med students. If the post-bacc students receive a B or higher then they will be offered an interview. That may not be exact, but if you look at the program descriptions for these programs it will tell you more about the courses. In addition, some of these programs are for degree/certificate seeking students, some are for non-degree seeking students. It all depends. But I am pretty sure you can't just register for a med school class and expect to be admited if you do really well in it. Hope that answers your question a little. the aamc website has more info on the various different post-bacc programs that register themselves with the AAMC.

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Believe me, I have researched post bacc and masters programs in many many schools. Problem is that I don't have the scores that they require to be admitted into those programs. Funny isn't it, I never thought that it would be sooooooo competitive to be admitted into a program that helps students gain admission into ANOTHER competitive program. Does that make sense? I just wish that I could get another chance to show that I can do it. But I also don't want to spend years retaking courses either. Do you know what I mean?

 

[MediMama23]

In short, no.

Would med schools even allow non-matriculated students into their classes? I would think none did. It'd be too easy for Jesus, Joseph and Mary to plead their case to get into the classes with the students. The post-bacc programs are the only ones that I can think of that let students do this.

 

[blaque1703]

In short, no.

Would med schools even allow non-matriculated students into their classes? I would think none did. It'd be too easy for Jesus, Joseph and Mary to plead their case to get into the classes with the students. The post-bacc programs are the only ones that I can think of that let students do this.

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Do you know one that will accept me with a 2.4 gpa and a 13 my second time taking the MCAT? Am I totally hopeless unless I spend years retaking courses. I'm trying to avoid spending years retaking courses. I know that I have to kick butt and take the MCAT over but who will give me chance?

 

[chaeymaey]

Try Barry University in Miami, Drexel MSP, and American University in DC. They're post-baccs that can include undergrad and medical coursework and help you out with the MCAT. And they're not as difficult to get into as Gtown/BU. Drexel might be the hardest to get into out of these 3. You may also consider a DO post-bacc. They tend to have more linkages than MD postbaccs.

 

[blaque1703]

Try Barry University in Miami, Drexel MSP, and American University in DC. They're post-baccs that can include undergrad and medical coursework and help you out with the MCAT. And they're not as difficult to get into as Gtown/BU. Drexel might be the hardest to get into out of these 3. You may also consider a DO post-bacc. They tend to have more linkages than MD postbaccs.

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Thank you. You were very helpfull. I appreciate it.

Anyone else have more suggestions, I'm ready to receive them.

 

[silkworm]

I think all the post-bach programs that offer forms of guaranteed admission to med school are for career-changers or disadvantaged students.

Have you researched Drexel's MSP program? It doesn't offer guaranteed admission but seem geared toward students with both GPA and MCAT troubles. The only stated admission criteria on the website is that the applicant's MCAT score must be lower than 27.

Also, if you had a lot of trouble with the undergrad classes I don't think it's a wise idea to dive into medical school classes now; If you can't lift the 15 pound dumbells it's folly to try for the 50 pound ones. You may waste a lot of money and shatter your confidence. Better to exercise the brain and develop academic disicipline through official or unofficial postbach.

Things are not hopeless, but it may take a couple of years for you to be in shape to apply.

 

[chaeymaey]

Barry has a linkage with St. George, just in case you need it.

 

[relentless11]

With the exception of Special Masters Programs such as Georgetown, taking med school courses might not work any better than more undergraduate/graduate coursework. Thats assuming you can even take med school courses in a non-degree earning program.

Georgetown's SMP is well known thats why it works. However if you take med school courses through a less known program, most schools may even think the class is a grad school course. Med school coursework is still graduate level, and thus would count on your grad GPA, NOT post-bacc, regardless of the program.

The other factor is, taking a few med school courses does not fully show your capacity to do well in med school. You are taking a select group of courses, not doing the whole curriculum. Essentially if you took 1-2 med school courses a semester/quarter, and get A's, although this is a good thing, it still doesn't say you can handle a full med school semester/quarter where they take more than 2 classes. Lastly, since most people apply with only undergrad grades, undergrad coursework is emphasized over grad/med work.

For my PhD program, I am required to take our med school's general pathology, systemic pathology, and medical statistics course. With the option of taking the year long pharmacology/toxicology series. Despite all that, our med school's director of admissions says that I should still take undergrad courses if my program allows it (which it does) in order to improve my application. This is why advisors emphasize doing post-bacc and take ONLY undergrad upper division coursework. They usually discourage doing a masters/PhD since some programs do not let their students (or students do not have time) take undergrad classes as electives.

Pretty much, it won't hurt you to take those classes, but don't put too much stake into those classes being a quick way to get admitted into a med school. If thats the case, I wouldn't be planning to take undergrad classes while finishing my thesis over the next 2-3 years, even though I will finish my core grad curriculum this quarter.