Post Bac vs. Carib

[BMEengMD]

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Hi all,
I graduated Biomedical eng this may and have applied to carribbean schools and was accepted to Ross for jan 06. I have just recently heard of the post bac programs, some seem as though they have a real potential of getting you in a US med school.

so basically which ones do you guys recommend? do you think its better then just goin down to the carribbean? and do they all start in the fall or can you start in the spring as well?

thanks guys for you help!

p.s. I have a 27Q, and a 3.24 sci gpa and 3.01 undergrad gpa

 

[sidewalkman]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=225077

 

[Law2Doc]

Hi all,
I graduated Biomedical eng this may and have applied to carribbean schools and was accepted to Ross for jan 06. I have just recently heard of the post bac programs, some seem as though they have a real potential of getting you in a US med school.

so basically which ones do you guys recommend? do you think its better then just goin down to the carribbean? and do they all start in the fall or can you start in the spring as well?

thanks guys for you help!

p.s. I have a 27Q, and a 3.24 sci gpa and 3.01 undergrad gpa

The other thread cited is right on point. Your numbers are not so far gone that you need to consider the caribean route -- with a relatively minor amount of postbac GPA rehabilitation, and possibly an MCAT retake, you can make yourself an acceptable candidate to US allopathic schools. Thus the higher cost and professional hassles created by a caribbean education don't really make sense in your situation.

 

[BMEengMD]

The other thread cited is right on point. Your numbers are not so far gone that you need to consider the caribean route -- with a relatively minor amount of postbac GPA rehabilitation, and possibly an MCAT retake, you can make yourself an acceptable candidate to US allopathic schools. Thus the higher cost and professional hassles created by a caribbean education don't really make sense in your situation.

Thanks Law2Doc, but what are some good post bacs that have linkages?... and what chances do I have of getting into any good ones?

Should I only be looking at ones that have linkages, or do other types of post bacs provide a good chance of getting into med schools as well.

I do think that I will be retaking the MCATs and I believe that a post bac that can get you into a US med school is worth the extra time and money.

Once again I'm new to this and I appreciate all the help that you guys are providing.

 

[BMEengMD]

thanks for your help but I just wanted to know which programs are linked or at least guarrantee a medical school interview after successfully obtaining high grades in that program? one that I was able to find is Drexel's program.

are there any others?

thanks again

 

[Phil Anthropist]

thanks for your help but I just wanted to know which programs are linked or at least guarrantee a medical school interview after successfully obtaining high grades in that program? one that I was able to find is Drexel's program.

are there any others?

thanks again

Definitely consider Rosalind Franklin's MS in Applied Physiology and EVMS' MS in Biomedical Sciences - Medical Masters track. In previous years, if you did well in Rosalind Franklin's program, chances were more than likely that you'd be accepted.

Georgetown and BU also have pretty strong informal linkages.

 

[BMEengMD]

thanks Phil

 

[gnin]

...

 

[BMEengMD]

can a 27Q, 3.01 gpa and 3.24 sci gpa be good enough for these programs? I know georgetown's is very competitive, and probably out of reach, but how bout the others....I mean I don't want to waste a year of two.

oh yea, I currently work as a clinical research associate at a cardiovascular research area in nyc, it may help with the resume along with the other undergrad volunteering that i did.

thanks

 

[NRAI2001]

Honestly a 27Q, 3.01 gpa and 3.24 sci gpa isn't very good. Its about close to the avg for the top three carribean schools (gpa lower than avg and mcat is higher than avg). I think you would have to do substantial amounts of post bac work to bring ur stats up to be considered at most US schools. An SMP might be a better route, if you can get in, bc even there ur numbers aren't a shoe in, bc once ur in ur past numbers count for very little for direct admission.

 

[BMEengMD]

NRAI, thanks for that honest opnion. I felt this way too. I don't think that my gpa or mcat are anything that can be fixed with a year of courses alone. My most likely option is the SMP programs.

 

[NRAI2001]

NRAI, thanks for that honest opnion. I felt this way too. I don't think that my gpa or mcat are anything that can be fixed with a year of courses alone. My most likely option is the SMP programs.

No problem. If you can get that mcat score up a little more then i think u could definitely get into an smp. I m also planning to apply to a few. 👍

 

[Law2Doc]

Thanks Law2Doc, but what are some good post bacs that have linkages?... and what chances do I have of getting into any good ones?

Should I only be looking at ones that have linkages, or do other types of post bacs provide a good chance of getting into med schools as well.

I do think that I will be retaking the MCATs and I believe that a post bac that can get you into a US med school is worth the extra time and money.

Once again I'm new to this and I appreciate all the help that you guys are providing.

I think by postbac we are talking about different things. I'm suggesting taking more science classes someplace (any university) for A's until your GPA is higher. I agree that the odds of getting directly into a formal postbac program with linkages with your GPA is perhaps low. I also still think that retaking the MCAT and improving it by a couple of points once your GPA is higher might be a good idea to increase your odds.