Non-trads: where did you do your pre-reqs and where did you get in?

[Trismegistus4]

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Hi. I'm a prospective post-baccalaureate pre-med student: a music major who would need to take all the med school pre-reqs and boost a somewhat mediocre GPA. Though I accompanied my uncle (an endocrinologist) on rounds once in high school, and have talked to several doctors about this, I haven't done any volunteering or shadowing yet and I suspect this may keep me out of "prestigious" post-bacc programs like Bryn Mawr or Penn this year. Right now I'm trying to decide whether to spend a year boosting my record to get into a "prestigious" post-bacc, or just go ahead and start taking classes this fall.

So I thought I'd take a little poll of those non-trads who have successfully gone throught the admissions process. For all who needed to go back to school after college to take the pre-reqs:

1. Where did you do the pre-reqs, and was it a formal post-bacc or did you just take the classes ad hoc?
2. Did you do any shadowing/volunteering before starting your post-bacc coursework (as opposed to during it)?
3. How many interviews did you get? What med schools accepted you?

Thanks!

 

[daria]

I did the Penn program (took the minimum # of credits required to get a "covering letter") and took the rest of the classes ad hoc @ my local state school (much cheaper).

At the time, I'm not sure the Penn program was worth the $, but I think it's much better now (Their fantastic postbacc director had just left, and they had a relatively awful interim person. They have 2 people now - I've only met one, but she seems quite good. The quality of the profs for postbacc classes was also somewhat... uneven at the time.) The Bryn Mawr program is certainly good, but at the time cost about 2x the Penn program. As far as shadowing/volunteering to get into those programs, I had done about a week's worth of shadowing & had a brief internship as a health educator, but nothing else.

The Penn name probably helped me a little, but probalby only a little - it's hard to say whether or not I needed it even after the fact.

- Interviewed @ and got into Temple and the 3 UMDNJ schools (my state school).
- Didn't send in secondaries for Penn or Jeff (didn't fit what I wanted to do - and I probably wouldn't have gotten in)
- For some odd reason, never got any response whatsoever from Drexel.

One option might be to take a few of the basic classes (Chem, PHysics, Gen Bio) ad hoc & do a little shadowing/volunteering WHILE trying to get into a "prestigious" post-bacc program. It'll cost less if you do it that way, although it could add a year.

Good luck...

 

[HollyJ]

I did my undergrad at a relatively fancy schmancy undergrad, but my postbac classes (which included all of the prereqs) at a state school. I did not do a formal post bac, partly because I really did not have the money, and partly because I also needed to continue to work full time.

I got a 4.0 and did well on the MCAT, and no one even asked me about why I did my prereqs at the state school. I got interviews at every place that I applied, and was accepted at every place I applied, including 2 top 20 schools. Well, that's not strictly true; I didn't hear from a couple of the schools, since I went through the Texas match. I matched at my first choice, though.

Anyway, I don't think that it matters a whole lot unless a) you don't do well in your prereqs, b) you do poorly on the MCAT, c) you have a lot of undergrad craziness to make up for, or d) you're particularly unlucky.

 

[efex101]

Attended a 4yr undergrad institution in the South no-name, received interviews at every school I applied to except 4 so about 28 interviews, went to 11 of those and received 9 acceptances waiting to hear from two schools (one is non-rolling).

 

[mpp]

I did my undergrad at the U of Alaska Fairbanks graduating in 1996 (although I was a non-traditional student back then as well..starting college at age 22). Took pre-med courses at the U of Alaska Fairbanks and U of Alaska Anchorage in 2001. I did not do any shadowing and did not have clinical experience. I had been a Peace Corps volunteer in Zimbabwe between 1997 and 2000. I applied to 10 schools, was accepted after my first interview and canceled all the rest (had 4 invites at the time and had not heard back from the other 6).

 

[Laura JC]

I was a music/psych major and graduated from Michigan in 1985. Took my prereqs about 5 years ago, one or two classes at a time just on my own without a post-bacc program or an advisor, for that matter. I was living near one of Michigan's satellite school locations at the time, so I took them there. I too was trying to boost a mediocre grade point from undergrad (3.0).
I was able to get a 3.89 for my pre-reqs, which boosted my overall GPA to somewhere around 3.4.
I applied to about a dozen MD schools, got interviews at 5 of them (Wayne, Drexel, VCU, EVMS and GW). I got into all of them except EVMS. I didn't do any shadowing and had no clinical experience at all. I was a patient sitter for inpatients on suicide watch during college about 20 years ago, but I don't think that really counted as 'clinical experience'. : )

 

[Trismegistus4]

Wow, these are inspiring stories! Thanks for the responses, everyone. With all the paranoia in pre-med circles about having to have been president of your local Habitat For Humanity chapter, volunteered in an ER for 5 years, spent 1000 hours shadowing doctors, personally founded an orphanage, and done original research all while getting a 4.5 GPA in the science pre-reqs at Harvard to have any hope of getting into med school, it's great to hear that it's possible for normal human beings to do it!

 

[Bevo]

did my post bacc work at Univ of Texas at Dallas. A lot of post baccs go through there. Some more successful than others. I think one of the mods on here and on the oldpremeds.com site came out of UTD as well.

Premed advisor there has a ton of experience having worked on both sides of the application process.

He helped me raise my gpa and get my life back on track.
From my experiences at both my schools. At brandeis, I was always put down and discourcaged from ever trying. At UTD, they didn't care about what your stats where and what not. He wanted to help you and not the school.

 

[efex101]

Yeah you do hear a lot of horror stories but you still have to have much more than gpa, mcat to get in though...some schools look heavily at research, others at volunteering, etc...

 

[burlypie]

I took my post-bacc classes at a local state university -- I was about to do the Mills College program but then reexamined the price tag. No one, to my knowledge, ever looked down on the state school. If I didn;t get a good response from a school I'm sure it was due to my C+/B- in Ochem! (Horrendous teacher). I ended up with a 3.5 BCMP GPA and had solid, but not outrageous, MCATs.

I started volunteering as a health educator in a free women's clinic before starting my post-bacc work, so that I would be really sure of my decision to leave my job and to make such a big life change. It was the best thing I've ever done, and it helped me keep perspective during some times I wanted to quit!

I had 4 early (sept/oct) interviews: Jefferson, Temple, Drexel, and GW. I got into Drexel, Jeff, and GW right away, I've been waitlisted at Temple. I'm still waiting on UCI, UCLA and UCLA/Drew and USC for interviews.

It can be done...just do well and show them (and yourself, which is just as important for confidence) how dedicated you are.

Best of luck!

 

[hillofbeans]

I got a B.S. in chemical engineering from UT-Austin in 2000.

Needed biology classes. Took almost all of them at the community college in 2003. Applied to TX schools. Got interviews at all TX schools. Got accepted at my first choice.

I think you have to prove your mettle in a challenging academic curriculum. But if you've done that, you can fulfill pre-reqs outside the "rigorous" institutions. The adcom can verify your mastery of science pre-reqs by looking at your MCAT.

This advice isn't valid for entry to top-tier med schools. But I'll bet it works for the balance of the rest.

 

[omores]

Hi Trismegistus.

BA in Fine Arts from a tiny liberal arts college, 1989. MFA in painting, 1998. Not a single science class to my name before...

1. Post-bacc at State University of New York -- no formal program; just took classes. Could not swallow the notion of going far into debt before even getting into medical school.

2. No quantifiable exposure to the medical field before post-bacc, though plenty of interest.

3. Applied to 9 schools, none of them in-state (needed a change from New York). Interviewed at 5. Accepted at 4: Dartmouth, Case, Wash U and Duke (which I attend on a full scholarship).

It's certainly possible to do well without conventional preparation, especially if you take care to tell your story well -- you need to convince schools that your unusual background is not a "mistake" (whoops, wrong career choice), but rather something that has enriched you and that you will continue to draw upon in the future. Best of luck in the process!

 

[goldie]

I went to the Harvard Extension School, and got a great, cheap education. It costs a lot less than other private programs, has great facilities in a great city, and Owen's Dean's letters are incredible. Check it out!

 

[ironey]

You sound almost like me. I did a music major and then debated what to do about my pre-reqs. Due to money concerns, I ended up staying an extra year at my alma mater (a large state school) and then finished up the courses at a community college. After that I took a few years off and ran a business.

I did not need to "make up" for a mediocre GPA from undergrad so I wasn't too worried about what an adcom would say about the CC courses.

I'm a big one for doing it yourself. From my own anecdotal experience, the big name post-bac wouldn't have mattered.

Best of luck!

 

[HollyJ]

Trismegistus4, what's a "mediocre" GPA? Also, what undergrad did you attend?

 

[Trismegistus4]

Originally posted by HollyJ
Trismegistus4, what's a "mediocre" GPA? Also, what undergrad did you attend?

3.105 (includes a few C's, a few D's, and an F).
Gettysburg College.

 

[ecpiii]

Went to big name state school in 1987, never studied, majored in Poli Sci/drinking, no science what-so-ever, dropped out of college for a year to brew beer at a brewpub and surf, went back to finish in 1992, GPA 2.1 secondary to not dropping classes a couple of quarters (7 F's!). Lived in Tahoe for three years, ran brewpubs/consulting for three years after that. Decided to go to a no-name state school kind of out of the blue for science courses, got a 2nd bachelor's degree (needed the GPA boost, obviously), GPA 3.9 with honors research, great MCAT, post-graduate research fellowship for a year, went to state med school.

My path was a tough sell at some interviews, but I wouldn't change a thing. I definitiely did not receive invites from some schools because of the cumulative 3.0. School just all of sudden clicked in for me. I am now well respected for my experience and people/management skills, and am told by my classmates that I have a superior knowledge base and excel clinically.

Just goes to show there is more than one way to skin a cat. I went all the way to the 2nd bachelor's because I needed the GPA and liked the courses. Never give up! Good luck to all!

 

[divinemsm]

Graduated from Penn in '97...worked 2 years.....decided to take some classes to finish my pre-med requirements as well as add additional course work....organic II, cell bio, micro bio, physics II ( plus respective labs ). I felt it wasn't worth the money to pay big money at a " big name " school: plus I was pretty broke. ( It's not worth it to be pre-med at an ivy or equivalent school in my opinion anyway...my 2 cents ) Completed course work at the City University of New York -Hunter College...worked fulltime while studying for the MCAT and taking Orgo II...it CAN be done. Designated approx 19 schools on AMCAS, sent in 10 secondaries, interviewed at 5 schools, accepted to two, waitlisted at two( withdrew from one, rejected from the other ), rejected post interview at one. Good Luck !