new member looking for options

[elvingomez]

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Hello everyone, i am new to this site and have been looking into pre med for a couple of months now. I am currently a technology major receiving my B.S. around april. I have been looking into San Francisco State's post-bacc program but have not had much luck finding any others. I'm in the L.A. area, and it would be great if i could find something close by. Another option i was considering was staying at Cal State University of Los Angeles. They don't have a formal post-bacc program, but can't i just follow all the guidelines for the pre-reqs on my own?The reason i ask is because i am on a quarter system at CSULA and feel that it would go by faster, or perhaps even get a head start here before going to SFSU... or is there some sort of advantage to a formal post-bacc program? i may have more questions, LOL, but this is all for now

 

[doc05]

I would suggest you take some classes at UCLA. The cal state schools aren't particularly good.

there is no need for a formal post-bacc program because you don't get anything out of them anyway.

 

[elvingomez]

oh, i was under the idea that they provided mentoring, MCAT prep, and some kind of letter of recommendation service. I tried emailing UCSB & UCSD but they pretty much told me that i had to have an objective and that my GE units from the cal state system do not transfer over, therefore, none of them would count. any insight on this?

 

[ussdfiant]

Originally posted by doc05
there is no need for a formal post-bacc program because you don't get anything out of them anyway.

That may be true for this case in particular, but is certainly not true in general. Without Temple's post bac program, I know that I would not be in medical school. It's more than the classes, it's the contacts you can make when in the program.

 

[vixey1230]

I took the post-bacc program at Scipps College (it's in the general LA area, Claremont to be specific... out east on the 10, towards Pomona).

I think post-bacc programs are a fantastic resource to help you on your way to medschool. Most med schools will want a premedical advisory committee letter, and the official post-bacc programs can provide that for you. Whereas if you just take classes on your own, you'll have a much more difficult time organizing your rec letters.

Also, the administrators of these programs have so many connections with administrators of the medical schools, that they can put in phone calls, get answers to any questions, etc. very easily for you. A lot of these programs also have convenient "linkage" programs, so you can go straight to one of their linked medschools given that you maintain some sort of GPA, pass the minimum MCAT requirement.

 

[elvingomez]

thanx for the reply.... how much is Scripps college? i heard of them somewhere on the net, but wasn't sure if they were reputable or not....

 

[hightide]

i go to UCSD and they do not have a formal postbac program. as a matter of fact, they don't give out BA/BS degrees to students who've already earned one (i had wanted to get a 2nd BS in bio to prepare for medschool). so, i do postbac work on my own at UCSD as an extension student. to do it right, i hired a personal premed advisor to help me out.

my advisor tells me exactly the classes i need to take to prepare myself for the MCAT and medschool admission. she also tells me when to do my MCAT prep, ltrs, essays, counsels me on parttime employment options, volunteering, everything really.

and needless to say, the sciences here at UCSD are great and very competitive. i recommend not giving up on UCSD yet...

 

[elvingomez]

high tide, you may be opening some doors for me that i thought were shut. how did you apply to ucsd, post bacc? and where did you find this pre med advisor? i have never even heard of that

 

[Anbessa]

hightide,

what's your pre-med advisor's URL? or business phone number?

 

[Lil IceBoy]

Elvin, is your real name Elvin Gomez or is it just a random alias?

I also went to CSULA, and am doing a postbac and Finch University right now. A couple friends from that school are going to do extension classes at UCLA and what not, but remember they ARE extension classes so you might not get in.

And I really do think it's dependent on how long you want to take it. I had a friend graduate from UCLA, take a couple of years off, go to CSULA for 2 years as some sort of postbac and now he's at Drew, he was waitlisted at the regular UCLA.

And yes, UCs do have postbacs, but the 15 spots at each UCs are for non-asians and non-whites.

PM me if you got questions, or AIM at Lil IceBoy

 

[elvingomez]

yes, it is my name, i was just looking for something i wouldn't misplace or forget... too many aliases on the internet, lol

And yes i am also a minority. I am hispanic (or is that not considered a minority anymore?)

I'll AIM you soon, thanx for the support

 

[hightide]

to answer yr question, i didn't have to "apply" to UCSD to take my postpac courses. i'm an extension student. i crash courses, get the professor's signature on a form the first day of class (this ensures i'm registered), and pay for them by the 5th week. (chem and bio courses have more stringent guidelines). i do everything else as a regular student would, you wouldn't know the difference. contrary to what was said above about not getting into classes as an extension student, i have successfully crashed every crowded science and math course i've attempted, taking 12 units/qtr. the other premed postbac extension students i've met have had the same success.

only req: i think you have to have at least a C average, which i'm sure you do.😀

for guidance on a personal premed advisor, go to www.lewisassoc.com.

good luck!

 

[busupshot83]

Originally posted by vixey1230
I took the post-bacc program at Scipps College (it's in the general LA area, Claremont to be specific... out east on the 10, towards Pomona).

I think post-bacc programs are a fantastic resource to help you on your way to medschool. Most med schools will want a premedical advisory committee letter, and the official post-bacc programs can provide that for you. Whereas if you just take classes on your own, you'll have a much more difficult time organizing your rec letters.

Also, the administrators of these programs have so many connections with administrators of the medical schools, that they can put in phone calls, get answers to any questions, etc. very easily for you. A lot of these programs also have convenient "linkage" programs, so you can go straight to one of their linked medschools given that you maintain some sort of GPA, pass the minimum MCAT requirement.

vixey, nice info girl 😍

 

[Brickhouse]

Elvingomez -


SANTA MONICA COLLEGE!

I did mine there! Great professors, beautiful facility, lots of diversity both ethnically and academically, you're guaranteed to find others doing the same thing you are, and it's cheap!

When I made my decision, I walked into the counseling office, told them I wanted to do my pre-medical stuff, and although they don't have a formal pre-med advising committee, they can tell you what to take and give you a general plan. They basically handed me a packet with a list of the classes, and I just started knocking them off, one by one. I think I still have that list as a reminder of where I started!

If you want more info, pm me and maybe we can meet for coffee or something.

Good luck!

 

[elvingomez]

i didn't even know JC's offered the option... was it easy to get LOR's even though there is no pre-med comittee? do you mind me asking where you were accepted for med school?

 

[Brickhouse]

Hi! All pre-med classes are lower division (with the exception of maybe a few schools, UC Irvine to name one, that require some upper div. biology) so therefore you can totally do the pre-meds at JC!
If you make an effort to get to know your professors, they will gladly write you very positive letters, as did my O-chem and Physics professors, and I'm sure knowing you need the letters to begin with will help. The professors are fully phD'ed and very approachable.
I heard success stories while I was there, of others like me who completed thier premeds at SMC and did just fine.
I have not been accepted anywhere myself, however, but I already have two interviews coming up at GWU and Drexel and hopefully I'll get more down the road!

Good luck!