Post-bac Program Recommendations

[kgrotic]

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Hello, everybody.

I am a third-year graduating from the University of Chicago this June with a B.A. in Classical Studies and a 3.56 GPA. I am considering applying to pre-med post-bac programs, but identifying my ideal programs has been difficult even after reading posts here.

I don't need to boost my undergrad GPA, and I also believe that I'd be able to handle the most rigorous of post-bac programs. However, the idea of "hands-off" programs, as some people have characterized Penn, is not very appealing to me unless such programs are by far the most rigorous.

Here are the programs I've summarily researched:

Penn: Is it really "hands-off"? Does the faculty mostly comprise teachers from other Philadelphia schools? How is advising?

Harvard: There seems to be a general consensus that the teaching is excellent and relevant to MCAT subject material. Also, it's cheap?!

Johns Hopkins: Haven't read anything about JHU, really.

Goucher: A bunch of people rave about this one on this forum, but I've never heard of the place, and apart from what I've read here, Goucher is just a mediocre LAC. Is the program sufficiently rigorous?

Bryn Mawr: I know that Bryn Mawr is a great place, but does it stack up against Harvard/Penn?

Feel free to direct me to other threads on the topic which I may not have found in my search.

Thanks for your help.

 

[drizzt3117]

You might want to read some threads on here, but to give you a little background:

The top three formal postbac programs are Goucher, Bryn Mawr, and Scripps, for those who have no science background. Essentially 100% of students who finish those programs are accepted to medical schools, and their track records of putting students into top schools speak for themselves. The three programs are very different in terms of how they run classes, the available linkages, etc. I made a thread about the Scripps program, which I attended, here.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=455275

The "second tier" of postbac programs would include Harvard Extension, Mills, USC, Penn, Columbia, and probably Hopkins, although it's difficult to define because it hasn't been around for a very long time. 80-90% of graduates of these programs are accepted.

There isn't too much information about the Northwestern, NYU, or Sinai programs and their placement, etc. Loyola also has a program but I don't know much about it.

 

[killdevil]

Hello, everybody.

I am a third-year graduating from the University of Chicago this June with a B.A. in Classical Studies and a 3.56 GPA. I am considering applying to pre-med post-bac programs, but identifying my ideal programs has been difficult even after reading posts here.

I don't need to boost my undergrad GPA, and I also believe that I'd be able to handle the most rigorous of post-bac programs. However, the idea of "hands-off" programs, as some people have characterized Penn, is not very appealing to me unless such programs are by far the most rigorous.

Here are the programs I've summarily researched:

Penn: Is it really "hands-off"? Does the faculty mostly comprise teachers from other Philadelphia schools? How is advising?

Harvard: There seems to be a general consensus that the teaching is excellent and relevant to MCAT subject material. Also, it's cheap?!

Johns Hopkins: Haven't read anything about JHU, really.

Goucher: A bunch of people rave about this one on this forum, but I've never heard of the place, and apart from what I've read here, Goucher is just a mediocre LAC. Is the program sufficiently rigorous?

Bryn Mawr: I know that Bryn Mawr is a great place, but does it stack up against Harvard/Penn?

Feel free to direct me to other threads on the topic which I may not have found in my search.

Thanks for your help.

Drizzt has it right. The general consensus is that the top three formal programs are Bryn Mawr, Goucher and Scripps. Acceptance to all three programs is highly competitive; all are equally rigorous and all have 100% acceptance rates into medical school. Scripps and Goucher have class sizes of around 30 students, and Bryn Mawr has around 80 students every year. All three have linkage relationships with various med schools that allow you to skip the glide year between the end of the program and med school matriculation - this is a huge plus (at Goucher about half of the class ends up linking every year, though I personally didn't). I see that you're graduating from U. Chicago - should you happen to want to return there for medical school, Goucher and Bryn Mawr are (I believe) the only two postbac programs in the country that have linkage relationships with Pritzker.

I attended the Goucher program last year and can answer any questions you may have about it. You're right that Goucher isn't a top-tier liberal arts school (I had never heard of it before I applied to the PBPM program there), but the teaching in postbac-only science classes is dazzlingly good.

Penn is basically night school, as far as I remember, and the program size is very large. Harvard extension is inexpensive but unstructured - if you decide you want an unstructured postbac experience, it's as good as any.

Hopkins is a newer program, broadly similar to those of Goucher, Scripps and Bryn Mawr in that it's a formal, structured postbac. However, you're tossed into giant classes with undergrad Hopkins premeds, making the environment a bit too competitive and stressful for my taste. For this reason, it's the only one of the formal programs I didn't apply to.

 

[drizzt3117]

Drizzt has it right. The general consensus is that the top three formal programs are Bryn Mawr, Goucher and Scripps. Acceptance to all three programs is highly competitive; all are equally rigorous and all have 100% acceptance rates into medical school. Scripps and Goucher have class sizes of around 30 students,

Scripps class size is about 15 students per year +/- 3. From what I've heard, they've thought about adding Rochester and Chicago links but I haven't heard if they've done so as of yet. I think about 2/3 of Scripps students end up linking (almost exclusively to GW and Pittsburgh, although you get the occasional Western, Drexel, or Temple linkage) and the rest of them usually gain acceptance to schools in CA which is the motivation for many Scripps postbacs, being that it's a West Coast program. Occasionally students will go to top tier East Coast or Midwestern schools as well. I didn't link and will almost certainly be leaving the state to head east despite lots of CA love.

 

[GlobalHealth1]

Hello Chick Magnet,
I have applied to the Goucher Program, and am also very interested in the Scripps program. My only concern is that you get thrown into undergrad classes--however since the claremont colleges are fabulous, maybe that's not a problem? Any thoughts?

 

[2loveshuy]

Hello, everybody.

I am a third-year graduating from the University of Chicago this June with a B.A. in Classical Studies and a 3.56 GPA. I am considering applying to pre-med post-bac programs, but identifying my ideal programs has been difficult even after reading posts here.

I don't need to boost my undergrad GPA, and I also believe that I'd be able to handle the most rigorous of post-bac programs. However, the idea of "hands-off" programs, as some people have characterized Penn, is not very appealing to me unless such programs are by far the most rigorous.

Here are the programs I've summarily researched:

Penn: Is it really "hands-off"? Does the faculty mostly comprise teachers from other Philadelphia schools? How is advising?

Harvard: There seems to be a general consensus that the teaching is excellent and relevant to MCAT subject material. Also, it's cheap?!

Johns Hopkins: Haven't read anything about JHU, really.

Goucher: A bunch of people rave about this one on this forum, but I've never heard of the place, and apart from what I've read here, Goucher is just a mediocre LAC. Is the program sufficiently rigorous?

Bryn Mawr: I know that Bryn Mawr is a great place, but does it stack up against Harvard/Penn?

Feel free to direct me to other threads on the topic which I may not have found in my search.

Thanks for your help.

I really love Bryn Mawr. I'm now an undergrad senior there, TAing in the post bac. gen. chem lab, and I can personally tell you that BMC's post bac program is definitely top notch (its kinda pricey though). The faculty is awesome. You have tons of support and guidance, and you basically have a very good chance of getting into Med school or dental school if you work hard (like a 100% chance). You have all the support and everyone is really nice. I personally know that the post bacs are a very tight knit group and they're competitive with themselves and not with each other, so its a very caring environment to learn.
And most to all of the post bacs end up at really good Med school (a lot of Ivies). You should definitely tour the school if you have time and see why I talk to highly of it. Good luck.