Non Trad Just Starting with UofC . Need Advice Pronto!!

[892459]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi All,

Just got a reject from NorthWestern Post Baccalaureate. Super bummed but have already enrolled in U of Chicago for premed requirements. Any advice for a non-trad just starting out on her dream to become a physician? Have taken Cel bio and genetics this quarter.

Need advice on
1) What is the sequence of courses to take, would Cel Bio and Genetics qualify as Bio 1 and Bio 2?
My understanding is I need the following
Gen Chem 1 &2
O Chem 1 & 2
Physics 1&2
And maybe a College calculus (?) since I graduated in 2007? Also I dont have an A in any Math course in Engineering.

To provide some background I have an IT Engineering background from an accredited International University. Worked in consulting for 7 years, also have a Post Grad diploma in Financial services. High school GPA of 4.0. Undergrad in Engineering 2.8, Financial service 3.4. Brings me to a CGPA of 3.55. Any advice would be awesome!!

 

[operaman]

Welcome! There’s a lot of information to be learned here and it sounds like you have a lot of reading to do.

First, your cGPA is 2.8. High school and graduate school don’t count. High school isn’t even looked at and grad school is considered separately. You have a lot of work ahead, both in terms of gpa repair and getting through the pre reqs and doing all the other things needed to get in. You are looking at 2-3 years minimum. This is surely why you were rejected from the post bacc, because they know you would have no chance of acceptance after one year i the program.

Second, read everything posted by @Goro

Chemistry is the limiting factor for the prereqs since gen chem is done before Orgo and biochem. You are going to need to demonstrate a couple years of solid 4.0 work with a rigorous science load before Adcoms even consider you, so take your time and plan a rigorous schedule that also ensures you will get As.

Down the road, you will want to time your MCAT both to ensure you score well and also be able to submit your app one June 1st the year BEFORE you would matriculate.

 

[Goro]

Hi All,

Just got a reject from NorthWestern Post Baccalaureate. Super bummed but have already enrolled in U of Chicago for premed requirements. Any advice for a non-trad just starting out on her dream to become a physician? Have taken Cel bio and genetics this quarter.

Need advice on
1) What is the sequence of courses to take, would Cel Bio and Genetics qualify as Bio 1 and Bio 2?
My understanding is I need the following
Gen Chem 1 &2
O Chem 1 & 2
Physics 1&2
And maybe a College calculus (?) since I graduated in 2007? Also I dont have an A in any Math course in Engineering.

To provide some background I have an IT Engineering background from an accredited International University. Worked in consulting for 7 years, also have a Post Grad diploma in Financial services. High school GPA of 4.0. Undergrad in Engineering 2.8, Financial service 3.4. Brings me to a CGPA of 3.55. Any advice would be awesome!!

Read everything in this forum posted by @DrMidlife !

 

[892459]

Welcome! There’s a lot of information to be learned here and it sounds like you have a lot of reading to do.

First, your cGPA is 2.8. High school and graduate school don’t count. High school isn’t even looked at and grad school is considered separately. You have a lot of work ahead, both in terms of gpa repair and getting through the pre reqs and doing all the other things needed to get in. You are looking at 2-3 years minimum. This is surely why you were rejected from the post bacc, because they know you would have no chance of acceptance after one year i the program.

Second, read everything posted by @Goro

Chemistry is the limiting factor for the prereqs since gen chem is done before Orgo and biochem. You are going to need to demonstrate a couple years of solid 4.0 work with a rigorous science load before Adcoms even consider you, so take your time and plan a rigorous schedule that also ensures you will get As.

Down the road, you will want to time your MCAT both to ensure you score well and also be able to submit your app one June 1st the year BEFORE you would matriculate.

Thank you!! I know 2.8 reflects badly. I was miserable with the subjects and my lack of interest showed. For now do you think I should continue with U of C or think about the Loyola Post Bac, I am mid application there and their course doesn't start until summer. They have a more focused program, and provide a Letter of Committee. Curriculum-wise U of C is intense, so I'm hard at work right now!

 

[892459]

Read everything in this forum posted by @DrMidlife !

Thank you! Will clicking on "Follow' let me read their posts?

 

[operaman]

Thank you!! I know 2.8 reflects badly. I was miserable with the subjects and my lack of interest showed. For now do you think I should continue with U of C or think about the Loyola Post Bac, I am mid application there and their course doesn't start until summer. They have a more focused program, and provide a Letter of Committee. Curriculum-wise U of C is intense, so I'm hard at work right now!

I don't think there is a post-bac that will do what you need, honestly. Post-baccs are designed for people with good GPAs who just need to get the pre-reqs done and then take the MCAT. They are not generally in the business of serious GPA repair. NW did you favor with the rejection because they saved you a LOT of money that would not have gotten you into medical school.

Continue with UofC. You need 2 years of 4.0 science coursework before anyone will even think you can survive medical school. And you need to crush the MCAT.

To look up a user's posts, you can click on their name and search their past postings. There is also a search bar on the right and you can search by poster there as well.

 

[Goro]

Thank you! Will clicking on "Follow' let me read their posts?

Click on Profile gae, and then on Postings

 

[892459]

I don't think there is a post-bac that will do what you need, honestly. Post-baccs are designed for people with good GPAs who just need to get the pre-reqs done and then take the MCAT. They are not generally in the business of serious GPA repair. NW did you favor with the rejection because they saved you a LOT of money that would not have gotten you into medical school.

Continue with UofC. You need 2 years of 4.0 science coursework before anyone will even think you can survive medical school. And you need to crush the MCAT.

To look up a user's posts, you can click on their name and search their past postings. There is also a search bar on the right and you can search by poster there as well.

I'll keep that in mind! Also any advice on course load? I have two bio courses + 2 labs right now, and I am kind of thankful I didn't pick a third. They are 100 Units each. Is that optimal load, or should I strive for more?

 

[JustPlainBill]

Hello -- first -- good luck to you. Remember that the road of medicine is a marathon, not a sprint. A few things:

1) Adcoms like to see at least 1 semester with 12 to 18 hours of upper division biology/chemistry classes to prove that you can handle the work of medical school. Depending on the school, Cell Biology (biology 101) and Genetics can count as bio 1 and 2 (mine did).

2) BIG piece of advice -- you are laying the foundation of your understanding. DO NOT do just the minimum prereqs in your rush to get into the applications process. It will hurt you in the long run. You won't have the background that your pipeline colleagues have so you'll have to build the background BEFORE you can get to studying the material you need to know for tomorrow since new material is coming at you the next day that builds on today's information. Take your time, consider transferring your credits to an actual biology degree in a legit pre-med program. It'll help you immensely. You can likely get undergrad loans to help out and become a full time student.

3) Start getting your volunteer hours in. The adcoms will want to see longitudinal volunteer work along with hours in a medical clinical setting.

4) Make sure you take care of yourself both diet/exercise and sleep wise. develop those habits now...you'll need them during med school/residency. Being in good shape makes it that much easier.

Hope it helps....

 

[JustPlainBill]

Almost forgot -- you mentioned taking a post-back --- you should consider the post-back at Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. It's a pretty good program with the top 3-5 getting admitted to TCOM and the rest usually scooped up by other programs in Texas given the reputation and rigor of the program. I almost did it but got pulled off the wait list right after I applied to it. Probably should have done it for the background since I was not a pipeline candidate. Even though I had the prereqs, I still suffered during year one since I had to learn all the things my colleagues had learned just by being in pre-med programs from name schools.

 

[892459]

Hello -- first -- good luck to you. Remember that the road of medicine is a marathon, not a sprint. A few things:

1) Adcoms like to see at least 1 semester with 12 to 18 hours of upper division biology/chemistry classes to prove that you can handle the work of medical school. Depending on the school, Cell Biology (biology 101) and Genetics can count as bio 1 and 2 (mine did).

2) BIG piece of advice -- you are laying the foundation of your understanding. DO NOT do just the minimum prereqs in your rush to get into the applications process. It will hurt you in the long run. You won't have the background that your pipeline colleagues have so you'll have to build the background BEFORE you can get to studying the material you need to know for tomorrow since new material is coming at you the next day that builds on today's information. Take your time, consider transferring your credits to an actual biology degree in a legit pre-med program. It'll help you immensely. You can likely get undergrad loans to help out and become a full time student.

3) Start getting your volunteer hours in. The adcoms will want to see longitudinal volunteer work along with hours in a medical clinical setting.

4) Make sure you take care of yourself both diet/exercise and sleep wise. develop those habits now...you'll need them during med school/residency. Being in good shape makes it that much easier.

Hope it helps....

Thank you so much. Right now I'm in a GSAL (Graduate Student at Large) program, and I was going to take all the premed requirements in the first year and take upper div biology courses in the next year while volunteering. It's like 3K a course so I'm considering applying for a private loan. Any advise on financial institutions I could apply to would be great. Since it is not a degree I am still wondering about my chances of actually getting aid. All in all I think if I take 2 courses a quarter I am looking at a expenditure of 50K over two years and no degree. And since it is quarter on quarter, there is immense pressure to keep your grades up, (B- and you are put on probation). My quarter started on Jan 3rd, today is Jan 16th and I'm on like a 82% in cel bio and 72% in Genetics. So I am working harder. My advisor mentioned that two courses in Uof C are like 4 anyplace else, and really the schedule is no joke, because its like a ten week quarter as compared to 16 weeks in other unis.

Now my other option would to finish my application to Loyola (the legit premed program you mentioned) this would again be around 40K, without the upper div courses.

13 days into my quarter, and I am finally starting to get a grip. Bought some solution sets for Genetics (need help with problem solving) Hopefully it runs smoothly from here on out.

 

[892459]

Almost forgot -- you mentioned taking a post-back --- you should consider the post-back at Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. It's a pretty good program with the top 3-5 getting admitted to TCOM and the rest usually scooped up by other programs in Texas given the reputation and rigor of the program. I almost did it but got pulled off the wait list right after I applied to it. Probably should have done it for the background since I was not a pipeline candidate. Even though I had the prereqs, I still suffered during year one since I had to learn all the things my colleagues had learned just by being in pre-med programs from name schools.

Thanks! Any advise for instate Illinois? I'm based in Chicago, and it will be hard to pack up and move (re:husband, his job, our main source of income etc etc)