I NEED Post Bacc Help!!

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FLCBRUIN84

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Hi guys,

I'm graduating from UCLA this spring with a BS in Biology. I received good grades up until my mother passed away recently and my grades plummetted. Science GPA 2.7 Overall 2.8. I have not taken the MCAT but really want to do a program that is geared at GPA boosting for future applicants. Please let me know programs that are geared towards my statistics. I am not underprivileged, unless you can count the death of a mother as educationally constricting and I have finished ALL the pre reqs. So far I know of programs at Rosalind Franklin, Harvard Extension, and such. I want to apply to UCI and UCSF's programs but like I said i'm not underprivileged and don't think I'll get in. Let me know the best programs you know of!

Thanks.
 
if you go to aamc.org and click on medical schools and then look on the right there should be a link for post bacc programs where you can seach based on different criterea. Also some UC schools have open campus deals that are programs where you can take classes. it is a do it yourself post bacc. Good luck.
 
San Jose State, SF State have less strict requirements to get in. Most of the UC post-bacc programs have a 2.7-2.9 GPA. For example, UCSF requires a min science GPA of 2.75 and overall GPA of 2.93, while UCI requires a 2.8 in for your cumulative and science GPA's. I think UCD requires an overall GPA of 2.7. Of course as you pointed out, the UC programs often look for individuals with some sort of disadvantage in life. HOWEVER, at least UCD has a caveat:

Our focus on disadvantaged students reflects, in part, the fact that people who come from these communities are often a) disadvantaged and b) tend to go home to these communities as medical professionals. However, we also recognize that people who do not come from a disadvantaged background may also have a strong commitment to practicing medicine in these communities. If you are not disadvantaged, we will carefully consider your volunteer and other extracurricular activities to assess your commitment to practicing in shortage care areas.

An alternative, or an intermediate option to post-bacc would be to take courses in a non-degree earning program such as UC Extension. You can do this for aslong as you want, but it is expensive. There are other threads which describe the cost of doing UC Extension. However this can serve as a stepping stone to boost your GPA enough to get you into a post-bacc program

Other post-bacc programs exist, such as Mill's and Scripp's. Successful completion of this program guarantee's admission to med schools that they are linked to. However both school's have a high GPA requirement to even apply...about the 3.0+ range.

One last alternative is grad school. Be warned, grad school courses do not improve your undergrad GPA. Although having a masters or PhD degree can only be seen as a positive thing, it depends on what you want to focus on. In your case I highly recommend doing something that improves your undergrad GPA. However some schools encourage you to do either post-bacc or grad school, such as UCLA. So depends on your goals, how much money you have (or willing to spend), and how long you're willing to work on improving your stats. 😉
 
relentless11 said:
San Jose State, SF State have less strict requirements to get in. Most of the UC post-bacc programs have a 2.7-2.9 GPA. For example, UCSF requires a min science GPA of 2.75 and overall GPA of 2.93, while UCI requires a 2.8 in for your cumulative and science GPA's. I think UCD requires an overall GPA of 2.7. Of course as you pointed out, the UC programs often look for individuals with some sort of disadvantage in life. HOWEVER, at least UCD has a caveat:



An alternative, or an intermediate option to post-bacc would be to take courses in a non-degree earning program such as UC Extension. You can do this for aslong as you want, but it is expensive. There are other threads which describe the cost of doing UC Extension. However this can serve as a stepping stone to boost your GPA enough to get you into a post-bacc program

Other post-bacc programs exist, such as Mill's and Scripp's. Successful completion of this program guarantee's admission to med schools that they are linked to. However both school's have a high GPA requirement to even apply...about the 3.0+ range.

One last alternative is grad school. Be warned, grad school courses do not improve your undergrad GPA. Although having a masters or PhD degree can only be seen as a positive thing, it depends on what you want to focus on. In your case I highly recommend doing something that improves your undergrad GPA. However some schools encourage you to do either post-bacc or grad school, such as UCLA. So depends on your goals, how much money you have (or willing to spend), and how long you're willing to work on improving your stats. 😉

Are all these programs geared at students who have already completed the pre reqs. I know Scripps definitely is for career changers.
 
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