need some help...post-bac questions...

[TerryLo]

apologies for the dumb questions, but i was hoping to get some more information on some post-bac programs since i know so little about them. if i intend to improve my credentials, is it avisable to do post-bac vs. grad school? is it difficult to get into these programs? and also when you complete the program do you actually get some sort of degree, for ex. will you get a masters degree (yah yah yah, i know these questions are coommmpllleeetely ridiculous, so sorry sorry!)? and are these programs very difficult, i mean in comparison to undergrad studies? what type of classes do you have to take? and to those who have already completed a post-bac program, did it help you a lot when applying to med schools? Thaanks guys!! i'd appreciate any info...

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[hopefully07]

For me I did two post bac years…..the reason was because I needed to boost my science GPA. From what I was told the only way to do that is to take more undergrad classes (ex: post-bac). From filling out my AMCAS it seems that there is another whole section for your graduate classes…graduate classes do NOT factor into your undergrad science GPA. From what I’ve learned it’s this undergrad science GPA that is the most valuable for applying.

Ofcourse I could be completly mistaken…..but it seems that is you want to boost your GPA then go for the post-bac…..but if your GPA is already great and you just want to look “different” then maybe a graduate program could work

 

[foofish]

Of course I could be completly mistaken…..but it seems that is you want to boost your GPA then go for the post-bac…..but if your GPA is already great and you just want to look "different" then maybe a graduate program could work

Nope, that's definitely true....a postbacc (doing undergrad classes after receiving your BA) is for those who were not premed in college and still need to take the prereqs, and for those who need to improve their undergrad gpa. By its nature, a true postbacc cannot be a masters degree because you're taking undergrad, not grad classes. At least at some schools you can get a "certificate" for your postbacc...which I think is just some way to saying you completed the program, but otherwise has no real value (as far as I know). I did a postbacc and it took 2 years, but I was doing the prereqs for the first time. For most of the programs I don't think it's that hard to get in, but a lot of people drop out along the way (decide medicine isn't for them, or that they despise science, etc. etc.).

There are special masters programs that also have the aim of improving your application to med school, and as far as I know you take grad/med school classes, and is I think often seen as a way to prove that you can handle harder/upper level coursework....this seems more valuable for those who might have had a rocky start in the sciences, but did well enough that they can't take things over or already took upper level undergrad sciences...but that's just my impression.

Both are solid choices, it just depends on what you need to improve on.

There's an entire forum devoted to postbaccs/master programs....check it out.

 

[sendwich]

it depends on what you want to do. i had a pretty bad gpa coming out of college, did a DIY postbac (undergrad upper science) for a year, and then did the SMP at BU. my overall gpa and science are still not that great ( i probably needed more than just 1 year of undergrad science, but i've been fortunate to have schools weigh my postbac and SMP grades more heavily than my ug grades. i'd say, if you have a gpa greater than 3.0 and feel you're able to take on an smp-type of program, go for it. you can only take so many undergrad science classes, and also, can only raise it so far if you were a sicence major in college. gluck!!!

 

[BananaShake]

Dunno if someone mentioned this already, but some post-bacc programs have deals with medical schools so that, if you maintain a certain GPA in the post-bacc, you automatically go into medical school without having to take MCATS or applying to other med schools. Obviously, these post-bacc programs are harder to get into than other ones, but they make application red tape pain-in-the-neck stuff easier. Here's a list of post-bacc programs (with and without that assurance):

http://hpap.syr.edu/LISTPB.HTM