Post-Bac Classes in Boston

[loomis]

Hi everyone,
Just registered today! Anyway I am looking to take some post-bac classes in the boston area and was wondering if any fellow SDNers have taken classes at Northeastern (University College). If so, what did you think about the school. The company I work for has an education discount with Northeastern and I was trying to decide if it might be better to take the discount or take some upper level bio classes at other post-bac places (i.e. Tufts, Harvard Extension, etc).

I'm applying for next year (2003-2004), so to all the other folks who are applying then, nice to meet you and looking forward to chatting along the way .

Thanks!

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[jonquille]

Welcome to SDN! I haven't taken any courses at Northeastern, and don't know anyone who has for post-bac (sorry). I did, however, take some classes at the Harvard Extension School. I didn't do their "post-bac" program, but I took some science classes (for graduate credit) and also some language courses. I was very impressed with the quality of the courses at Harvard Extension. I went to Yale undergrad, and thought that the quality of instruction was excellent at Harvard Extension. You can glide through the classes, but if you want to really apply yourself, the courses could be satisfying/challenging.

Compared to Tufts, Harvard Extension is EXTREMELY affordable, and your classes are with other post-bac people, not Tufts undergrads.

Harvard Extension is also very impressive in the variety of courses they offer -- lots of "upper level" or specialized courses. The URL is http://extension.dce.harvard.edu. As you can tell, I really enjoyed my classes at Harvard Extension -- these were also an important part of my med school application (and acceptance!!! ) -- I graduated four years ago from undergrad, and taking recent courses was important to show that my brain wasn't rusty.

Good luck, and PM if have any additional questions.

 

[conure]

Sorry I don't know much about Northeastern, but I seem to remember people discussing it here before.

I did post bacc at Harvard and like Jonquille I think it was fantastic. And boy was it cheap, around 700 I think per class.

I'm applying now too. good luck

 

[loomis]

thanks for the help!

 

[Fixed Gear]

I took one class through that. It was horrible, brutal torture. The subject matter was fine. THe exams were fine (I got a "A"). The other students SUCKED. When I took my core courses as an undergrad, a lot of the kids were competitive, but that was to be expected. People in my Harvard class were unfriendly, competitive to the point where I want to puke, rude, catty, snobby, mean-spirited, and uber-competitive. I never wanted to see any of those ****s again because they all seemed like genuinely awful people out to intimidate one another.

Ultimately, it's your choice. But that was what drove me from taking any more classes

 

[jonquille]

If you use the search funtion on SDN, I think you'll find a lot of threads about Harvard Extension, so you can find a variety of opinions.

 

[Biffer]

If this Harvard extension program is sooo cheap then why doesn't everyone do it?? after all, it does have the 'harvard' stamp of approval and all the resources that come along with a top notch Ivy.. Whats the catch? Would this be a good idea for someone with slightly below avg(3.3) undergrad GPA looking for a boost within a 1 year timespan? I am very confused about this post-bacc process and why anyone would pay over 35K for a 1yr program at a mediocre school while they have the (option) of H-extension. Are there other programs like this offered elsewhere?-

whats happening here,
biffer

 

[ExistentialistPhilosopher]

From researching postbac programs, this is what I've found out.

The thing with Harvard Extension's Health Careers Program is that there is not a lot of handholding or personal support. You're pretty much left on your own to do your thing, though you do have to go and see the Health Careers Advising Office once a semester, I think. Plus, although they have a high percentage of sponsored students who are admitted to medical school (85%), half or more of the students who are enrolled in the Health Careers Program are NOT sponsored, and drop out (this comes right from the mouth of Owen Peterson, Assistant Director of the Health Careers Program), so essentially the only people headed off to med school are the ones who aren't weeded out (just like in college). Columbia's postbac program also has a high dropout rate.

With structured postbac programs, like Bryn Mawr or Tufts, there is a very low rate of attrition (drop-out rate), since the programs are so selective in who they admit. Plus, both of these programs have med school acceptance rates of >90%, and they have consortial options with several medical schools, thus allowing you to eliminate the "glide year" during which you have to apply to med schools. There is also a lot more personal support available for the postbacs.

If anyone has anything to add, feel free.