Post-Bac 2021-2022 Admissions

Started by boxalarm
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bryn mawr goucher post bac uva
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boxalarm

boxalarm

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Hi everyone!

I don’t see a thread like this anywhere so I figured I’d start one. How is everyone’s application cycle going for next year’s post Bac cycle? I applied to UVA, Goucher, Bryn-Mawr and Loras. So far I’ve got interviews at UVA and Goucher, plus an acceptance at Loras.
 
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Hey there! I'm impressed both by the fact that you've already submitted and that you've heard back so quickly. I am waiting on my letters of recommendation and considering paying for a Personal Statement review/edit session, but plan to have everything wrapped up by mid-October at the latest. I'm applying to nearly the entire common application (lol) because I have a huge upward trend, but was a disaster at my first university.

Best of luck to you and would love to hear about how your interviews go. Do you mind if I PM so that we can keep in touch?
 
For sure feel free to PM. I was so anxious to get them sent in haha that’s why I did it so early
 
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Hey, cool to see this! Till now I’ve been looking at posts from 2016 haha. I applied to UVA, Goucher, Bryn Mawr and JHU, and have so far heard back with interview invites from Goucher and UVA.

I found it really difficult to get a sense of stats these programs are looking for, so I’ll also say I have about a 3.6 undergrad from a top-5 school, with 2220 SAT.

Fingers crossed!
 
happypuppy said:
Hi all. I am also applying to PBPM programs for the 2021-22 academic year. I was just recently "verified" by PostbacCAS, but still waiting on one of my LORs. I am applying to BM, Goucher, and UVA. How long did it take for you all to hear from programs about interviews after your apps were finalized?
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I heard back the next day or so after verification/completion (UVA doesn’t wait for verification)
 
UVA was quick for me too, about a day. I'd say a week for Goucher? (although I had the app submitted before they started reviewing on 9/1 lol)
 
Hi all,

It's good to see other people in the same situation! I'm applying this cycle and pretty much across the board (about ten in total). So far have submitted to Goucher and Columbia.

I am interested to see how the interview will go this year. If anyone has one do share!

@microwavecoffee if you are still considering a review service, for the price I found MotivateMD to be pretty great.
 
Does anyone have any good links (maybe to SDN) on any steer on what these interviews are like? I’m thinking why medicine and some chat about the CV basically? One of them is an hour which is quite long really relative to other interviews I’ve had, haha. I’m a bit nervous. Excited though!
 
Postbacccareerchanger said:
Does anyone have any good links (maybe to SDN) on any steer on what these interviews are like? I’m thinking why medicine and some chat about the CV basically? One of them is an hour which is quite long really relative to other interviews I’ve had, haha. I’m a bit nervous. Excited though!
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I found this thread before. Someone who went to Goucher described their interviews, generally. Its a bit old though. Have Goucher Postbac Qs?

"I interviewed at Bryn Mawr, Scripps, Goucher, Penn, Tufts and a few other places. In general, interviews were of a "narrative" nature; in other words, my interviewers wanted me to tell the story of my journey towards medicine. While I told the story, they interrupted to ask more specific questions about aspects of my background and experiences they were most interested in. I suppose postbac applicants are well-advised to think through how they'll tell that story, because it's incredibly important in postbac admissions, and equally important in the medical school admissions process.When I did postbac interviews, there were few if any of the "hardball" sorts of questions you sometimes get during the medical school admissions process (though, to be fair, my med school interviews have most all been similarly conversational thus far)."
 
Be able to talk about why you want to become a physician. Why the career change? Do you understand what the road ahead looks like? The admissions committees already have your resume, transcripts, personal statement, etc. so don't just regurgitate information like a broken record. Have a friendly, yet professional, conversation and it'll likely work out. Once you have an interview, it's yours to lose. They've already scrutinized your statistics and just want to see what type of person you are/are you just here to try out something different because you hated your last job. If you're fresh out of undergrad, be able to explain why you weren't a pre-med.
 
Das_Nooch said:
Hi all,

It's good to see other people in the same situation! I'm applying this cycle and pretty much across the board (about ten in total). So far have submitted to Goucher and Columbia.

I am interested to see how the interview will go this year. If anyone has one do share!

@microwavecoffee if you are still considering a review service, for the price I found MotivateMD to be pretty great.
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Hey thanks for the suggestion. Did you use them and if so did you do the starter or premium package? I'm really stumped on my personal statement (even as someone with a degree in English), so I'm tempted to pay but definitely want to make sure I'm getting good advice.

Also: I'm 1 recommendation and a completed PS from hitting that submit button. Things are definitely getting real.
 
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LGL25 said:
Be able to talk about why you want to become a physician. Why the career change? Do you understand what the road ahead looks like? The admissions committees already have your resume, transcripts, personal statement, etc. so don't just regurgitate information like a broken record. Have a friendly, yet professional, conversation and it'll likely work out. Once you have an interview, it's yours to lose. They've already scrutinized your statistics and just want to see what type of person you are/are you just here to try out something different because you hated your last job. If you're fresh out of undergrad, be able to explain why you weren't a pre-med.
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Thanks for the advice. May I ask, did you do a postbac somewhere and what your experience was like?
 
Hi everyone,

I applied to UVA, Goucher, Bryn Mawr, JHU, and GWU. Application was verified on 21 September(I got held up with one transcript). I've heard back from UVA with an interview. Bryn Mawr and GWU notified me that they were looking at the application on the 22nd but nothing more from them and no word from the others.

Background:
Military --> A.A. in music performance 3.56 GPA --> B.S. Liberal Arts 3.8 GPA --> 322 GRE(no sat or act) 162V 160Q 5.5AWA --> only limited personal experience with medicine: medically discharged from military, assisting family members(parent with cancer, grandparent with numerous issues) so, no formal shadowing, volunteering, etc

Not sure how my lack of medical experience is going to reflect on my application, I tried to address it in the personal statement.

Not very many participants on this or reddit. I find that strange. I guess post bacs aren't so popular, but they seem awfully competitive.

Good luck everyone, I'll be sure to update if I get interview offers/denials.
 
englishtomed said:
Hey all,

I applied/am applying to basically the same set as everyone else--Bryn Mawr, Goucher, JHU, UVA, and Scripps. I submitted applications to UVA, Goucher, and JHU on the 21st also heard back from UVA basically the next day. Fingers crossed for the other two. And I'm working on the supplemental questions for Bryn Mawr and Scripps now, but woof, that BM second essay is such a broad prompt.

Re Microwavecoffee: I have a fair bit of clinical/volunteering/shadowing experience from when I was an undergrad, but that was 10 years ago. I've volunteered in other fields consistently since then, and was slated to begin volunteering at a hospital the week before the shut down the volunteer program because of COVID... They started back up in August, though, first with phone calls to patients, and now in person volunteering.

On a different note, though, has anyone else had problems with the standardized test companies? I'm trying to get my ACT scores sent to the schools, but the company and its customer service is a nightmare.

Ditto to what GobStaaber said, good luck all, and I'll add updates here.
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Trying to get a hold of the ACT Is an absolute nightmare right now. I called so many times and eventually got through on a Saturday. I ended up sending a check and a paper request form about three weeks ago and the check still hasn’t been cashed. I have no idea if it’s going to work or not. Very frustrating.
 
boxalarm said:
Trying to get a hold of the ACT Is an absolute nightmare right now. I called so many times and eventually got through on a Saturday. I ended up sending a check and a paper request form about three weeks ago and the check still hasn’t been cashed. I have no idea if it’s going to work or not. Very frustrating.
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I had the exact same experience. No idea if it is going to work, the check is still just floating around I guess. So annoying!
 
GobStaaber said:
Hi everyone,

I applied to UVA, Goucher, Bryn Mawr, JHU, and GWU. Application was verified on 21 September(I got held up with one transcript). I've heard back from UVA with an interview. Bryn Mawr and GWU notified me that they were looking at the application on the 22nd but nothing more from them and no word from the others.

Background:
Military --> A.A. in music performance 3.56 GPA --> B.S. Liberal Arts 3.8 GPA --> 322 GRE(no sat or act) 162V 160Q 5.5AWA --> only limited personal experience with medicine: medically discharged from military, assisting family members(parent with cancer, grandparent with numerous issues) so, no formal shadowing, volunteering, etc

Not sure how my lack of medical experience is going to reflect on my application, I tried to address it in the personal statement.

Not very many participants on this or reddit. I find that strange. I guess post bacs aren't so popular, but they seem awfully competitive.

Good luck everyone, I'll be sure to update if I get interview offers/denials.
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Update: Just did UVA interview.... it went decently...scheduled for 45 minutes and it took ~30. Two interviewers, they were both kind and made it easy though I still got nervous. It began with a narrative question - explain your path, why those decisions, and why this decision now. Why a doctor not a nurse/other healthcare profession. They were VERY apprehensive about my lack of medical experience(especially from the physician's standpoint, i.e. my personal experiences didn't exactly suffice) their suggestion was to do online shadowing - virtualshadow on instagram (im not on instagram) and also on youtube. So for those of you lacking experience I'd be on that and make sure you're mentioning it during the interview. Should give you a bump! Do it to it... The realist in me expects a denial... but I'm optimistic, they said one to two weeks for a decision.
 
GobStaaber said:
Update: Just did UVA interview.... it went decently...scheduled for 45 minutes and it took ~30. Two interviewers, they were both kind and made it easy though I still got nervous. It began with a narrative question - explain your path, why those decisions, and why this decision now. Why a doctor not a nurse/other healthcare profession. They were VERY apprehensive about my lack of medical experience(especially from the physician's standpoint, i.e. my personal experiences didn't exactly suffice) their suggestion was to do online shadowing - virtualshadow on instagram (im not on instagram) and also on youtube. So for those of you lacking experience I'd be on that and make sure you're mentioning it during the interview. Should give you a bump! Do it to it... The realist in me expects a denial... but I'm optimistic, they said one to two weeks for a decision.
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Thanks for the update, GobStaaber. I'm rooting for ya!

For those that are curious, I am doing this every week: https://virtualshadowing.com/

I started late, but have accumulated 12 hours and plan on continuing to do it along with another one. I don't actually know how much it will help but given your experience maybe it will! I jumped on a new one today but wasn't on long enough to get the assessment, but I think they're doing it daily (www.webshadowers.org). I think Dr. Ryan Grey started one this week too so these opportunities are becoming way more widespread.
 
microwavecoffee said:
Thanks for the update, GobStaaber. I'm rooting for ya!

For those that are curious, I am doing this every week: https://virtualshadowing.com/

I started late, but have accumulated 12 hours and plan on continuing to do it along with another one. I don't actually know how much it will help but given your experience maybe it will! I jumped on a new one today but wasn't on long enough to get the assessment, but I think they're doing it daily (www.webshadowers.org). I think Dr. Ryan Grey started one this week too so these opportunities are becoming way more widespread.
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Thanks Micro! I'll be sure to check them out. I think it will help, it was the only alternative they suggested so there must be some merit. I also heard back from GWU with an invite to interview and Goucher with a denial yesterday. Which likely means bryn mawr is out... maybe JHU as well -____- options narrowing... confidence... faltering...... bank account... DWINDLING...... Gatekeepers... growing in strength..... might have to consider a DIY.
 
GobStaaber said:
Update: Just did UVA interview.... it went decently...scheduled for 45 minutes and it took ~30. Two interviewers, they were both kind and made it easy though I still got nervous. It began with a narrative question - explain your path, why those decisions, and why this decision now. Why a doctor not a nurse/other healthcare profession. They were VERY apprehensive about my lack of medical experience(especially from the physician's standpoint, i.e. my personal experiences didn't exactly suffice) their suggestion was to do online shadowing - virtualshadow on instagram (im not on instagram) and also on youtube. So for those of you lacking experience I'd be on that and make sure you're mentioning it during the interview. Should give you a bump! Do it to it... The realist in me expects a denial... but I'm optimistic, they said one to two weeks for a decision.
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Thanks, for sharing about your experience with UVA. Rooting for you, too. I have an interview with them next week. I have also done some of the virtual shadowing that were shared above- so I think it counts for something if they suggested it.
 
Did anyone reformat their resume before uploading it to PBCAS? Do most programs expect something similar to what you would use if applying to a job?
 
madein1995 said:
Did anyone reformat their resume before uploading it to PBCAS? Do most programs expect something similar to what you would use if applying to a job?
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That's a good question. I used the same one I would apply for work with(chronological). I did this because I felt like it supplemented the story I told in my personal essay. Kind of like a road map function. I don't know what the best option is. I could see a functional resume being useful if you have a lot of different experiences you're trying to highlight without sacrificing coherency. Someone out there probably has a better or more definitive answer to this.
 
madein1995 said:
Did anyone reformat their resume before uploading it to PBCAS? Do most programs expect something similar to what you would use if applying to a job?
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I didn't do tons of reformatting, but I did tailor it a little bit. I had worked in a completely different field, and had a lot of details about that field. I downsized to the important parts and made sure my medical experience was near the top of the resume. I'm no expert, but I wouldn't think you'd want a 5 page resume with tons of minutia, maybe just 1-2 pages of relevant highlights.
 
I looked up a standard medical school resume and just followed the template because a lot of my volunteer activities and shadowing didn't exactly have a place on my current "job oriented resume". I felt as though schools would be looking for something a bit different. Did not take much time because a lot of it is just copied and pasting from your activity section (at least in my case) then reworded to be a bit.
 
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Thanks GobStaaber, boxalarm and Das_Nooch! I currently have my education followed by medical experience, then other professional experience and end with volunteer work and skills (not sure if I need the skills section...). I have up to 3 bullet points for each experience related item so in total I'm at about a page and a half. I think it's on par with what programs would expect formatting wise?
 
Besides knowing your story and why you want to get into medicine is there a list of questions we should be prepared for?

also does anyone have advice for conveying enthusiasm. I am reallly excited about med/becoming a physician but I’ve been told in the past that I don’t convey excitement well lol.
 
turning_pnt said:
Besides knowing your story and why you want to get into medicine is there a list of questions we should be prepared for?

also does anyone have advice for conveying enthusiasm. I am reallly excited about med/becoming a physician but I’ve been told in the past that I don’t convey excitement well lol.
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Haha I would just make sure you smile a little bit if that’s the case. I think if you have a good story it will naturally come through
 
boxalarm said:
Hey y’all I was fortunate enough to get an acceptance to goucher and I accepted it. So I hope to see some of you there next year!
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That's awesome, congrats! Still waiting to hear from Goucher, but I have interviews lined up with Bryn Mawr (my top choice, so I'm sweating bullets), UVA, and GW. I saw that someone further up the thread interviewed with UVA the other week – anyone have advice/pro tips from their interview with Bryn Mawr or GW? Thanks!
 
I also received an acceptance from Goucher and accepted! (I also interview at GW and was accepted there as well, and had a Scripps interview scheduled for this week but withdrew my application once I accepted Goucher's offer). If anyone has any questions about the process or anything, let me know! Happy to help
 
microfisher91 said:
That's awesome, congrats! Still waiting to hear from Goucher, but I have interviews lined up with Bryn Mawr (my top choice, so I'm sweating bullets), UVA, and GW. I saw that someone further up the thread interviewed with UVA the other week – anyone have advice/pro tips from their interview with Bryn Mawr or GW? Thanks!
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I thought UVA did a great job of making you feel comfortable, I think just being able to explain any bad grades and explaining why you want to be a doctor. I never felt put on the spot, even when they asked about the one D on my transcript, which I was 100% expecting.
 
englishtomed said:
I'd love to hear about your interview at Goucher, if you don't mind. Was it the standard questions about why the career change, why medicine, etc.?
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They asked a lot of questions about my experience which I thought made it an enjoyable experience, it was very personalized. And for sure the normal why medicine stuff, why now. Nothing that I would think would trip you up.
 
boxalarm said:
Hey y’all I was fortunate enough to get an acceptance to goucher and I accepted it. So I hope to see some of you there next year!
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Congrats on your acceptance! 🙂 If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take for Goucher to get back to you with a decision after the interview?
 
englishtomed said:
I'd love to hear about your interview at Goucher, if you don't mind. Was it the standard questions about why the career change, why medicine, etc.?
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My interview was really lovely and not intimidating at all, the directors were so nice and it was very conversational, at the beginning they asked about my background and then interrupted at times to ask more detail about things I mentioned. There were no hardball questions and it felt like they wanted to see me succeed. Hope that helps and lmk if you have more questions!
 
chick33 said:
My interview was really lovely and not intimidating at all, the directors were so nice and it was very conversational, at the beginning they asked about my background and then interrupted at times to ask more detail about things I mentioned. There were no hardball questions and it felt like they wanted to see me succeed. Hope that helps and lmk if you have more questions!
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Congrats!! 🙂 If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take after your interview for them to get back to you with a decision?
 
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Hi everyone! So, I was recently accepted to Goucher and UVA, along with a few others! I just had an interview with Bryn Mawr and believe that I will hear back in the next week or so. Either way, I am leaning towards Goucher. Happy to talk to anyone who has questions about the interview process or general questions about the application process. Just keep in mind that if you are receiving an interview, then these schools are very interested in you. The interview is yours to lose; so, just be confident and genuine as to why you want to become a physician. If you are making this risky decision, then you should be able to speak coherently as to why you are making the change and why now. Best of luck to everyone!
 
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turning_pnt said:
@PostBac2021 Hi! I have an interview coming up for Goucher. Any insights on what to prepare for?
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As I mentioned before, just be able to clearly state why you want to be a physician, what experiences led you to this conclusion and why now. Honestly, Goucher was one of the more relaxed interviews for me. They really wanted to get to know more about me and learn my motivations and ideals. Just be prepared to expand upon anything that you have on your resume, transcript or application in general. Again, from my perspective, it seems as though these interviews are genuinely for them to learn more about you and for you to learn more about their program. I was not asked any questions that seemed out of scope. Hope that helps!
 
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