is doing post-bacc part time/taking a long time to finish frowned upon?

[alestrx9]

Hi, I am doing post-bacc because I was an English major in college and did not take any science courses. I started out my post-bacc program as a full time student but now I will not be able to take more than 2 or 3 classes per semester for financial reasons (as a non matriculating student I am not eligible for financial aid and I need to work more hours at my job than I expected). I also can't take summer classes because I need to work during the summer to save money. As a result it's going to take me about 3 years to finish my post-bacc work (which I'm not thrilled about, but not very upset either because I will still be only 26 or 27 when I start med school and I'll be in a better place financially; i.e no credit card debt). However my adviser told me that taking so long to complete my post-bacc will look very bad to med schools. I reasoned with her that I also want to take upper level science courses instead of just the bare minimum pre-reqs, so that I'm better prepared for med school and taking longer will allow me to do this. Also, if I rush to finish within 2 years, I will need to take organic chem, physics and their respective labs and study for the MCAT at the same time which from what I've heard is like playing with fire.
Anyway I would love to hear what you all think about this and get some feedback. thanks

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[theseeker4]

Hi, I am doing post-bacc because I was an English major in college and did not take any science courses. I started out my post-bacc program as a full time student but now I will not be able to take more than 2 or 3 classes per semester for financial reasons (as a non matriculating student I am not eligible for financial aid and I need to work more hours at my job than I expected). I also can't take summer classes because I need to work during the summer to save money. As a result it's going to take me about 3 years to finish my post-bacc work (which I'm not thrilled about, but not very upset either because I will still be only 26 or 27 when I start med school and I'll be in a better place financially; i.e no credit card debt). However my adviser told me that taking so long to complete my post-bacc will look very bad to med schools. I reasoned with her that I also want to take upper level science courses instead of just the bare minimum pre-reqs, so that I'm better prepared for med school and taking longer will allow me to do this. Also, if I rush to finish within 2 years, I will need to take organic chem, physics and their respective labs and study for the MCAT at the same time which from what I've heard is like playing with fire.
Anyway I would love to hear what you all think about this and get some feedback. thanks

I think taking the classes part time and not doing anything else (i.e. not working) looks much, much worse than working while taking classes part time. If you do well, I don't think having taken the classes part-time will hurt you, as long as your time is filled with something.

 

[alestrx9]

Okay thanks. Do you think it matters that my job isn't anything special? It's just something I have to do for financial reasons because I can't get loans or financial aid being non-matriculating.

I just know that if I tried to do my post bacc in 2 years my GPA would not be as good as if I took more time to finish. My MCAT will also suffer if I have to take orgo, physics and study for the MCAT and work at my job all at the same time.

I don't know why my adviser thinks this is a bad plan though. If it gives me a higher GPA and MCAT score shouldn't that be the most important thing? She said that if I don't take a full course load it will show med schools that I can't handle the workload, but the thing is I took a full course load when I did undergrad and got a pretty good GPA then (3.5) and I was at a tough school. Even though I was an English major the classes were not easy and they were a ton of work.

 

[jkm07]

Okay thanks. Do you think it matters that my job isn't anything special? It's just something I have to do for financial reasons because I can't get loans or financial aid being non-matriculating.

I just know that if I tried to do my post bacc in 2 years my GPA would not be as good as if I took more time to finish. My MCAT will also suffer if I have to take orgo, physics and study for the MCAT and work at my job all at the same time.

I don't know why my adviser thinks this is a bad plan though. If it gives me a higher GPA and MCAT score shouldn't that be the most important thing? She said that if I don't take a full course load it will show med schools that I can't handle the workload, but the thing is I took a full course load when I did undergrad and got a pretty good GPA then (3.5) and I was at a tough school. Even though I was an English major the classes were not easy and they were a ton of work.

Many pre-med advisors =

I'm currently doing an informal/DIY post-bacc on a part-time basis while working/volunteering 50+ hrs/week. Like you said, grades are the most important thing. I think it looks better to take a moderate course load and get all As than to take a difficult course load and pull straight Bs (I learned the hard way.)

The job you have won't matter. Times are tough and the jobs we want are hard to get. Just don't play BF3/MW3 all day, as the previous poster alluded to.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

For some perspective, one of my interviewers made a comment about not taking classes part time because the students they have tried it on don't do very well. He said that while I was working 70 hours a week, volunteering, and raising a family. Just thought I would throw in some actual experience from one school.

 

[brianmartin]

You should do whatever it takes to get strong grades in the pre-reqs. If that means taking 3 years instead of 2 years, so be it. Work part-time in school, volunteer. Really, just do what you need to do, and in your spare time do what you feel is important or enjoyable.

I was a political science major. I took 3 years to do everything to the best of my ability and I got really good grades in the sciences, and did well on the MCAT. I applied once and didn't get in, took a year to work and volunteer...and the next year I was accepted. I'm now an MS2.

Really, 1 year difference does not matter. What matters is...do you really want to do this??

 

[ghostman]

I did a two-year postbacc route, took only my pre-req classes (2 classes/semester), took my MCATs 2 weeks after my last final exam and only volunteered about 5hrs/week (hospital limited our hours). I didn't have a job either. In retrospect, my workload wasn't that heavy, though it seemed like I spent every waking minute studying. I did well in my science courses and OK in my MCATs. My workload/timeline never came up on my interviews, but it's hard to say whether it has held my application back at any of the schools. I did this because I'm older than you. I have received a handful of acceptances so far.

So, two years and MCAT can be done with success, but likely at the expense of being jobless for those two years. If you can't swing that and don't mind spending an extra year in school, I think it's fine as long as you (1) take more than just the pre-reqs and do well -- B+ and up, (2) work a decent number of hours and (3) put some time in as a health care volunteer/shadowing. Make sure to include the fact that you worked to pay your way through school into your application. I feel that adcoms will understand that not everyone has parents to support their education.

 

[centrigeugle]

Taking extra time to do better might require you to explain it in an interview.

Taking less time and doing poorly means you won't even get an interview in whic to explain it.

I took seven years to graduate. I am candid about this I'm interviews, explaining that while, yes, in hindsight I would have tried to hurry more, I feel the extra time allowed me to explore more of the world and really decide that medicine is what I want to do. Only one person has brought up my timeline at all, and seemed perfectly content with my reply that I feel it was worth it to graduate without debt.

Take however long you need. As long as you can account for your time, I wouldn't stress.

 

[gravitywave]

adviser is wrongwrongwrong. you are on the right path.

most interviewers will review your file to the extent that they will figure out what you had going on, just make sure to list your job in the activities section of AMCAS, even if it's not medically related. they always want to know how you've been spending your time, just as would someone interviewing you for a job.