Post-bac after submitting the primary application? Pros and Cons!

[oblongataforreal]

Hello everyone,

My background:
In early 2014, I was a junior when I took the MCAT and got an average 27 with a 6 on verbal, which bombed my score. I didn't apply to any school till 2016 application, last year. Although my resume is filled with research, clinical work, leadership and EMT stuff, I got rejected or didn't hear back from none of the schools I applied to. My overall GPA is 3.77 with a downward trend averaging 4.00 in the first two years and 3.5 in the second two years. The first two years I studied in a community college and the second two years at a university taking mostly core classes.

I'm going to retake the MCAT on June 2016 to give it another shot for 2017 application round. If everything goes well and, hypothetically, I get accepted to a MD or DO school, next year (2016-2017) will be my gap year. I know there are tons of things to do during the gap year. But, I'm thinking about going to a post-bac program. So what do you think?
Is it effective to go to a post-bac program after submitting your primary application? OR I have to complete the post-bacc and then apply to the medical schools?


There are some PORS and CONS to going to a post-bacc program:
Pros:

• You can experience studying the first-year-medical-school-material
• It will be counted as the first year of medical school (for some programs)
• You get to know many MD school faculties and admission officers of the medical school participating in the post-bacc program
• You gain more experience with extracurricular activities.
• You can improve your GPA
• With a few extra credits, you can receive your master's degree

Cons:

• It's actually expensive $$$$
• It's very time-consuming
• In my case, I should mention it in my primary application but it's GPA has to be sent to the medical schools as a transcript update.
• I'm not sure if it'll be as effective as it would be for someone who'd submit the application after completion of a post-bacc program.

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[first_time_poster]

If you want to do a post-bacc in your gap year, go ahead, but it's not going to factor into the present application cycle because the grades won't be part of your application.

 

[whatever5]

What's the point? Your GPA is fine.

 

[takeurmeds02]

There's no point whatsoever after you've already submitted your primary. Further, your gpa is fine. Postbacs are only designed to improve a gpa. MCAT retake seems to be what will boost your app and if possible, I'd take it sooner than June.

 

[Goro]

The MCAT is the problem, the declining gpa, less so, but still an issue.

I suggest applying g to med school AND and SMP, and entering the latter if you got shut out in the former.

Hello everyone,

My background:
In early 2014, I was a junior when I took the MCAT and got an average 27 with a 6 on verbal, which bombed my score. I didn't apply to any school till 2016 application, last year. Although my resume is filled with research, clinical work, leadership and EMT stuff, I got rejected or didn't hear back from none of the schools I applied to. My overall GPA is 3.77 with a downward trend averaging 4.00 in the first two years and 3.5 in the second two years. The first two years I studied in a community college and the second two years at a university taking mostly core classes.

I'm going to retake the MCAT on June 2016 to give it another shot for 2017 application round. If everything goes well and, hypothetically, I get accepted to a MD or DO school, next year (2016-2017) will be my gap year. I know there are tons of things to do during the gap year. But, I'm thinking about going to a post-bac program. So what do you think?
Is it effective to go to a post-bac program after submitting your primary application? OR I have to complete the post-bacc and then apply to the medical schools?


There are some PORS and CONS to going to a post-bacc program:
Pros:

• You can experience studying the first-year-medical-school-material
• It will be counted as the first year of medical school (for some programs)
• You get to know many MD school faculties and admission officers of the medical school participating in the post-bacc program
• You gain more experience with extracurricular activities.
• You can improve your GPA
• With a few extra credits, you can receive your master's degree

Cons:

• It's actually expensive $$$$
• It's very time-consuming
• In my case, I should mention it in my primary application but it's GPA has to be sent to the medical schools as a transcript update.
• I'm not sure if it'll be as effective as it would be for someone who'd submit the application after completion of a post-bacc program.

 

[oblongataforreal]

A post-bacc is not an SMP (special masters program). It is the latter that is more likely closer to medical school experience. A postbacc is typically just the premed classes that you would take in UG.

Applying without completing a substantial portion of the postbacc is not much advantage.

Ok, so how about SMPs? Would that be counted as the first year of medical school?

 

[oblongataforreal]

There's no point whatsoever after you've already submitted your primary. Further, your gpa is fine. Postbacs are only designed to improve a gpa. MCAT retake seems to be what will boost your app and if possible, I'd take it sooner than June.

I was going to take the MCAT in May initially but then I thought it'll take AAMC 4 weeks to evaluate your application and 4 weeks to get your MCAT score back. So if I submit my application and take the MCAT at the same time early June, they boyh will be ready early July.

 

[takeurmeds02]

@amirmh If you submit your app on the very day it opens, you can have it verified by the next day, if not the same day, like I did. You also want to take the MCAT as early as comfortably possible so you can give yourself another retake if necessary and also use that to determine if you should indeed apply this particular cycle or not.