If a postbac school has a linkage with some med schools, but I'm not able to do well enough to get into one of the links, is there any advantage of going to a school with a linkage program vs. one without? In other words, do linkages with med schools benefits those that aren't able to get into the linkage group of the program?
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Importance of postbac linkage?
Started by urrugby
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This is just my two cents, but if you can't do well enough to get into any linkages at a school, you're looking at an uphill battle to get into med school at all, since at least some linkage programs have the average numbers for acceptance as their linkage requirements. I think the bigger question is why you don't think you'll do well when you haven't even started?
Hi urrugby,
I don't know all of your specifics, so I can't comment on the specifics of your situation. Here is my general understanding though.
Assuming you haven't taken any of the basic sciences before (the usual situation for linkages) and you have a gpa above 3.4 and a good MCAT, than you should be able to get into an allopathic medical school if you apply broadly. Basically, you would be in the same situation as an undergrad with the same gpa. Linkages generally are looking for 3.6 or above, which is average. Plenty of people get into schools (allopathic and osteopathic) with below average gpa.
The linkages, I believe, reflect that the medical schools with these agreements with your postbac are familiar with your program and find it respectable. To do the undergrad analogy again, it would reflect the difference in going to schools with different pedigrees. That being said, the contribution of your program's pedigree pales in comparison to your actual gpa and MCAT. Medical schools will not likely take into account the pedigree of your program until after they culled applicants for gpa and MCAT, read the personal statements, and read the LORs. It is probably up there with your Extra-curriculars.
If I were in your shoes, I would be nervous if my gpa was below a 3.3. If that is your case, I would take more upper-level science classes and boost my gpa.
I don't know all of your specifics, so I can't comment on the specifics of your situation. Here is my general understanding though.
Assuming you haven't taken any of the basic sciences before (the usual situation for linkages) and you have a gpa above 3.4 and a good MCAT, than you should be able to get into an allopathic medical school if you apply broadly. Basically, you would be in the same situation as an undergrad with the same gpa. Linkages generally are looking for 3.6 or above, which is average. Plenty of people get into schools (allopathic and osteopathic) with below average gpa.
The linkages, I believe, reflect that the medical schools with these agreements with your postbac are familiar with your program and find it respectable. To do the undergrad analogy again, it would reflect the difference in going to schools with different pedigrees. That being said, the contribution of your program's pedigree pales in comparison to your actual gpa and MCAT. Medical schools will not likely take into account the pedigree of your program until after they culled applicants for gpa and MCAT, read the personal statements, and read the LORs. It is probably up there with your Extra-curriculars.
If I were in your shoes, I would be nervous if my gpa was below a 3.3. If that is your case, I would take more upper-level science classes and boost my gpa.
Personally, I think the only benefit of getting into a linkage is that you can get to skip the glide year.
People get into medical schools of their choice all the time, via linkage or not.
