Is a post Bach in my situation worth it?

[laterthanever]

Hi!

Appreciate you taking the time to read, I will try to be as succinct as possible.

I did some nursing courses a lifetime ago in Africa, came to the US and have been here for over 10 years. Have a bachelors in a non science major with a 3.9 gpa. I know I have to take all my sciences. I work full time for corporate America. Northwestern has a pre med program geared towards career changers which costs about 50k, I already have 36k in undergrad student loans and I’m trying to justify going to the premed program at Northwestern.

I don’t know if it would be worth it. Their program claims to provide the student with all the tools needed to successfully apply to med school e.g. advisors, LORs, shadow opportunities etc which I would obviously need.

So I guess my question(s) is:

1. Do I bite the bullet and take the program?

2. Are there any other options I’m over looking?

3. Has anyone attended the program at Northwestern and if so can they share their insight about this program? I.e. pros and cons

Thank you very much!

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[Bonne Nuit]

I don’t know about Northwestern’s program specifically, but you could also take all your prerequisite courses at a cheaper state university (a “DIY postbac”) and save a lot of money. I went this route and spent about $22K. I finished in 2018 so it’s probably a little bit more expensive now. You’ll obviously have to arrange all your clinical experiences, shadowing, MCAT prep, and LORs by yourself if you do a DIY postbac.

If you desire the structure that a formal postbac program provides, I’d shop around before committing. What you really want is a program with a linkage - a guaranteed interview or even acceptance to the associated medical school if you meet certain performance criteria. All the formal postbac programs are pretty expensive. It’s up to you to decide whether you want to spend $40-50K vs. a DIY route which will cost about half as much.

 

[Goro]

Hi!

Appreciate you taking the time to read, I will try to be as succinct as possible.

I did some nursing courses a lifetime ago in Africa, came to the US and have been here for over 10 years. Have a bachelors in a non science major with a 3.9 gpa. I know I have to take all my sciences. I work full time for corporate America. Northwestern has a pre med program geared towards career changers which costs about 50k, I already have 36k in undergrad student loans and I’m trying to justify going to the premed program at Northwestern.

I don’t know if it would be worth it. Their program claims to provide the student with all the tools needed to successfully apply to med school e.g. advisors, LORs, shadow opportunities etc which I would obviously need.

So I guess my question(s) is:

1. Do I bite the bullet and take the program?

2. Are there any other options I’m over looking?

3. Has anyone attended the program at Northwestern and if so can they share their insight about this program? I.e. pros and cons

Thank you very much!

I don't think it's worth it unless you need the structure, which is one of the benefits of such programs.

You can easily do a DIY post-bac.

And because you walked right into it, and hope you don't mind being a straight man (in the comedy sense), this is what a post-Bach really ;ooks like

 

[2ndlifedoc]

Interesting and important perspective. Given these top Postbacc programs are selective themselves would you say you and your peers all had top stats to get in them in the first place? Were there any outliers (i.e. it seems some med schools including many DOs accept a wide range of applicants based on holistic factors)? Did you have a backup plan if you did not get into the Postbacc program you went to and what was your road to get there?

 

[FrostedMooseFan]

Interesting and important perspective. Given these top Postbacc programs are selective themselves would you say you and your peers all had top stats to get in them in the first place? Were there any outliers (i.e. it seems some med schools including many DOs accept a wide range of applicants based on holistic factors)? Did you have a backup plan if you did not get into the Postbacc program you went to and what was your road to get there?

Good question @2ndlifedoc -- Most applicants who get into top premed postbac programs do have reasonably good stats (college GPA > 3.5, SAT/ACTs> 80th percentile.) But there are, of course, exceptions to any rule. Certain programs care more about holistic factors and your story of why medicine (Scripps, Goucher), while others care more about what college you went to and your GPA (Hopkins, Bryn Mawr).

Some programs specifically seek out applicants who have had unusual career trajectories (military, substantial time abroad - like Fulbright, Teach for America/Americore, etc). Some programs care more about a history of service and a strong work ethic in your college coursework. If you were a poor student in undergrad who didn't do well on standardized testing, you will have a difficult time getting into medical school. Since the top career changer postbac programs want their graduates to get into strong med schools, they will not gravitate toward people they view as poor med school applicants.