Post-Bac Advice

[financefiend]

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Hello All,

I am new to the forum but am excited as this seems like a rich collection of knowledgable people with some great advice.

Currently, I am a senior undergraduate going to a small liberal arts college in Kansas. Although it is a liberal arts school, a plethora of majors are offered at my school. I am a finance and psychology double major with a 3.96 GPA and some good extracurriculars (Student government 3 years, editiorial board of our business journal, etc.). In the past six months, I've been contemplating a career move to become a psychiatrist or possibly some other type of M.D. However, as I have very little in the way of science/math and do not have time to fit anything in at the undergrad level. I have been researching post-bac pre med programs and am interested in Columbia and Goucher. Is there any advice that you have tha would make my application more competitive as I know these programs are fairly selective? As my GPA is high, I am thinking more in terms of extracurriculars/other activities that would help to get me into one of these programs.

Thanks,

N

 

[NewmansOwn]

Hello All,

I am new to the forum but am excited as this seems like a rich collection of knowledgable people with some great advice.

Currently, I am a senior undergraduate going to a small liberal arts college in Kansas. Although it is a liberal arts school, a plethora of majors are offered at my school. I am a finance and psychology double major with a 3.96 GPA and some good extracurriculars (Student government 3 years, editiorial board of our business journal, etc.). In the past six months, I've been contemplating a career move to become a psychiatrist or possibly some other type of M.D. However, as I have very little in the way of science/math and do not have time to fit anything in at the undergrad level. I have been researching post-bac pre med programs and am interested in Columbia and Goucher. Is there any advice that you have tha would make my application more competitive as I know these programs are fairly selective? As my GPA is high, I am thinking more in terms of extracurriculars/other activities that would help to get me into one of these programs.

Thanks,

N

Columbia is not as selective as Goucher -- you may already know that. Also, those two programs are very different. Goucher is considered one of the best, along with Bryn Mawr and Scripps, whereas Columbia is considered more "what you make of it." Some people excel there and end up at great med schools, while a lot of people feel as though they fell between the cracks and that the competition to get a good faculty letter was intense and pointless.

Your GPA will be fine -- how are you standardized test scores (SAT or GRE)? If they're solid, all you'll really need to do is pick up some medically related extracurriculars. Try to make them as altruistic as possible and don't forget that anyone can volunteer at their local hospital -- try for something a little more unique or, at the very least, a little more interesting so you'll have something to talk at length about in your personal statement and during your interview.

 

[financefiend]

How selective is Loyala-Chicago? I've heard that they have a newer program and this would be closer to my original home.