Sorry about the long post...stress....I think answers could potentially benefit other science majors though?
I was hoping for some very individual advice--I was originally planning on a career in public health, so have a lot of coursework and practical experience in that field (and am not terribly interested in getting more). I'm a human biology major (bachelor of science) with a 3.7 overall and 3.5 science at an ivy and am graduating this may. i haven't taken physics, math, biochem or english, and have Cs in genchem and orgo II. obviously I haven't taken the mcats, but plan to take a course and am good at standardized tests (SAT: 1560). Ideally i'd like to finish those and mayyyyyybe get to retake one of those Cs?
Thusfar I believe UPenn and HES are the best post-bac options for me, though I'm somewhat wary of the latter after reading some conflicting posts here about students with significant science experience. I'm also considering mount holyoke (so expensive!), wash u, cornell, and berkeley. Any others that seem appropriate given the background?
I haven't done as much research into SMPs, but have had a hard time finding something that I qualify for, would allow me to finish up my reqs (not really what SMPs are for, after all), and is reputable. If an SMP sounds like a better option for me, I'm happy to be corrected or directed to do more research!
Finally, I was considering taking my remaining courses through a concurrent enrollment (w/ undergrads, get a transcript, but not enrolled as a student) at a UC or other school. This would be significantly cheaper and probably somewhat faster than the above options. The biggest downsides are that I wouldn't be eligible for a committee letter and wouldn't get advising, both of which I think I sorely need. I might be able to do this at my alma mater--still waiting to hear if this would qualify me for a committee letter there, and somewhat nervous about the potential to get non-As. How important is a committee letter?
I hope I am (or can be) a fairly competitive applicant for top schools, so I'm mostly concerned about which of these non-traditional routes is least frowned upon. I'm very interested to hear any thoughts or suggestions about these three options, or anything I have failed to consider!
Sorry about the tome, and I very much appreciate any advice at all..even if it's to direct me to another thread I have yet to find! Thank you thank you!
I was hoping for some very individual advice--I was originally planning on a career in public health, so have a lot of coursework and practical experience in that field (and am not terribly interested in getting more). I'm a human biology major (bachelor of science) with a 3.7 overall and 3.5 science at an ivy and am graduating this may. i haven't taken physics, math, biochem or english, and have Cs in genchem and orgo II. obviously I haven't taken the mcats, but plan to take a course and am good at standardized tests (SAT: 1560). Ideally i'd like to finish those and mayyyyyybe get to retake one of those Cs?
Thusfar I believe UPenn and HES are the best post-bac options for me, though I'm somewhat wary of the latter after reading some conflicting posts here about students with significant science experience. I'm also considering mount holyoke (so expensive!), wash u, cornell, and berkeley. Any others that seem appropriate given the background?
I haven't done as much research into SMPs, but have had a hard time finding something that I qualify for, would allow me to finish up my reqs (not really what SMPs are for, after all), and is reputable. If an SMP sounds like a better option for me, I'm happy to be corrected or directed to do more research!
Finally, I was considering taking my remaining courses through a concurrent enrollment (w/ undergrads, get a transcript, but not enrolled as a student) at a UC or other school. This would be significantly cheaper and probably somewhat faster than the above options. The biggest downsides are that I wouldn't be eligible for a committee letter and wouldn't get advising, both of which I think I sorely need. I might be able to do this at my alma mater--still waiting to hear if this would qualify me for a committee letter there, and somewhat nervous about the potential to get non-As. How important is a committee letter?
I hope I am (or can be) a fairly competitive applicant for top schools, so I'm mostly concerned about which of these non-traditional routes is least frowned upon. I'm very interested to hear any thoughts or suggestions about these three options, or anything I have failed to consider!
Sorry about the tome, and I very much appreciate any advice at all..even if it's to direct me to another thread I have yet to find! Thank you thank you!
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