Looking into Post-Bacc

[jendet]

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Hi everyone,

I am a senior who has become interested in medicine after realizing that public policy and law is not the course I want to pursue. I've done some research into post-bacc programs and am trying to find out more since I think becoming a Pediatrician would really fit my personality and the things that I hope to get out of my career. I'm going to be pursuing volunteering opportunities at the local hospital next term, as well as shadowing doctors and meeting with current med school students to discuss their coursework.

I'm interested in the type of post-bacc programs that I'll be able to get into. My GPA is a 3.71 from an Ivy but the only science classes I have were distributive-killers (Astro and Geology) with an A- in both the intro classes I took. I also have a 3.91 from a community college where I took over 120 credits during high school -- will these grades count/matter at all?

My SAT was a 2100 and I took the LSAT (I was previously going to attend law school) and got a 170 but I haven't taken the GRE and am unsure whether this is necessary to apply to post-baccs. Does anyone know?


Thanks very much for any and all help you can give!

 

[Rooni]

I'm applying myself, so I'm not in the best of positions to give advice, but I have done a lot of research. I have no clue what those new SAT scores mean, but assuming yours are decent, you should be fine with a 3.71. Your community college credits, as well as probably your high school transcripts, will be taken into account as well. For most programs, you're going to need some sort of clinical volunteering (or work) experience. I'm not entirely sure how much is desired by individual programs, so I'll let the resident experts pipe up on that subject.

Aside from that, do some research. The search function on SDN and Google are your friends. You'll find people around here much more willing to help if it looks like you've been trying to help yourself.

 

[jendet]

I'm applying myself, so I'm not in the best of positions to give advice, but I have done a lot of research. I have no clue what those new SAT scores mean, but assuming yours are decent, you should be fine with a 3.71. Your community college credits, as well as probably your high school transcripts, will be taken into account as well. For most programs, you're going to need some sort of clinical volunteering (or work) experience. I'm not entirely sure how much is desired by individual programs, so I'll let the resident experts pipe up on that subject.

Aside from that, do some research. The search function on SDN and Google are your friends. You'll find people around here much more willing to help if it looks like you've been trying to help yourself.

Thanks, Rooni! I have been doing research and am talking with pre-med advisers at my school. However, I found when doing research for law school that I got some of the best advice and information from those who had gone or were going through the process so I'm trying to seek out others who are in a similar position.

 

[Rooni]

I got some of the best advice and information from those who had gone or were going through the process so I'm trying to seek out others who are in a similar position.

Very true. I wish you the best of luck in your search! I also decided my senior year in college to pursue medicine rather than music (my major), so we're in fairly similar situations.

The general consensus around these parts is that Scripps, Goucher, and Bryn Mawr are the three "top" post-bacc programs. Mills is also supposed to be excellent, and I've heard pretty good things about Drexel, although I don't know much about it. With a decent amount of clinical experience, I would imagine that you could be competitive for any of those with your GPA (and again, assuming your SAT scores are good). NewmansOwn is an extremely helpful fellow who attended Bryn Mawr a year or two ago, so if you're interested in BM, you might want to PM him or look up some of his old threads.

 

[NewmansOwn]

Rooni, nice to see you again. Congrats on finally applying -- BM would be lucky to have you.

OP, you don't need to take the GRE, in all likelihood. I, also, know nothing about the new SAT scale but your score sounds decent. Your LSAT is very high, however, and formal programs welcome those scores, as well, especially if they evelate the candidates application.

Focus on fresh, unique, non-contrived medical volunteer work for the next year and you'll be in very good shape for the aforementioned top formal postbac programs. My advice is always to go for a free clinic instead of a famous academic medical center for two reasons: 1) the free clinic needs you a hell of a lot more than the medical center does, and 2) as a result of #1, you'll develop closer relationships (aka - better LORs) and do more hands-on things (aka - better personal statement fodder) at the free clinic. If you live in a city or area with a medical school, get in touch with the Department of Family Medicine there and see about working in their clinics.

As suggested, you're always welcome to PM me with more specific questions.

 

[Rooni]

Rooni, nice to see you again. Congrats on finally applying -- BM would be lucky to have you.

Thank you! They're definitely my top choice, so I'm hoping they feel similarly 😛

Congrats to you on med school! I don't think your status said "Medical Student" when I was around before...

 

[NewmansOwn]

Thank you! They're definitely my top choice, so I'm hoping they feel similarly 😛

Congrats to you on med school! I don't think your status said "Medical Student" when I was around before...

Indeed, it did not. Medical school is actually a lot of fun; you'll agree with me when you get here.

And do let me know when you get an interview from BM; I'll brief you as best I can. Good luck.