Post-Bacc a good option?

[Max E Million]

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So I am currently wait-listed at VCU medical school, but at this time my chances seem slim to none. I got accepted to VCU premed graduate certificate program and Washington University post-bacc and hoping to get accepted at Harvard Extension School. Given my stats and the fact that I have already taken and done well in medical school pre-reqs, which of these program might be a better option for me?

Stats:
sGPA: 3.83
cumGPA: 3.88
MCAT: 27Q

I've done a few months of shadowing and a few months of research and have been involved in a few organizations on campus as well as held meaningful officer positions at some.

My undergrad academics have been great, so I don't need the basic pre-reqs. I want to take higher level courses to show that I can really handle med school, and I need to improve my MCAT score and be more involved in clinical experiences.

Do I even need a post-bacc? Some people say just retaking the MCAT should be fine, but I have already been out of school for a year and don't want to be out for another.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks.

 

[aSagacious]

Do I even need a post-bacc? Some people say just retaking the MCAT should be fine, but I have already been out of school for a year and don't want to be out for another.

I agree with this sentiment. Assuming you have all of your ECs in place, your GPA is awesome and you needn't waste your money with more coursework (this is coming from a guy who's going to be in the VCU CERT program this fall). Retake the MCAT once you're consistently scoring a 30+ on your full length practice exam and you should be fine. You might also want to consider your school selection and have someone (knowledgeable, like an AdCom member) look over your essays.

 

[rentedmule]

I pretty much have the exact same numbers as you Max and waitlisted at a few schools still. I am studying for an MCAT retake right now and reapplying shortly.

I agree with Sagacious, not sure what a post-bac program would do for you since most people do them to bring their GPA up to par.

 

[Max E Million]

Thanks for the help guys. I realize a post-bacc is probably not the best option for me; but like I said, I don't want to be out of school for another year. Also, it's a little too late for me to retake the MCAT and re-apply this year, and applying next year would mean another 2 years of gap (total of 3 years of gap since undergrad). I am kind of leaning towards VCU's grad cert because I like the idea of continuing into a master's program. I always wanted to have a more significant research experience than what I got during my undergrad, and I believe this program might suit me well in that regard. Also, I only stayed in touch with 1 of my professors since undergrad, so I'm concerned about securing LORS for whenever I re-apply. Keeping that in mind also, I feel like a post-bacc might be helpful, if not beneficial.

Btw sagacious, I looked at your stats, and they are pretty good. Amazing extracurriculars too! It just sucks that after all that you are still waitlisted. Good luck!

And rentedmule, good luck with the MCAT!

 

[patel2]

Thanks for the help guys. I realize a post-bacc is probably not the best option for me; but like I said, I don't want to be out of school for another year. Also, it's a little too late for me to retake the MCAT and re-apply this year, and applying next year would mean another 2 years of gap (total of 3 years of gap since undergrad). I am kind of leaning towards VCU's grad cert because I like the idea of continuing into a master's program. I always wanted to have a more significant research experience than what I got during my undergrad, and I believe this program might suit me well in that regard. Also, I only stayed in touch with 1 of my professors since undergrad, so I'm concerned about securing LORS for whenever I re-apply. Keeping that in mind also, I feel like a post-bacc might be helpful, if not beneficial.

Btw sagacious, I looked at your stats, and they are pretty good. Amazing extracurriculars too! It just sucks that after all that you are still waitlisted. Good luck!

And rentedmule, good luck with the MCAT!

I see where you are coming from, but a post-bacc is a terrible idea, unless there is some sort of guaranteed linkage from VCU into the med school if you meet certain requirements. Even then, it's still a very risky maneuver to put all your eggs in one basket and bank on a strong perfomance, when a mediocre performance can lead adcoms to question the validity of your 3.86 GPA.

The truth is that the MCAT is what is keeping you out of allo schools...there's really no dancing around that, and no amount of 4.0 in SMPs or Post-baccs will compensate for this, even if it seems like the better short term decision in terms of time and keeping busy. You could try to opt for like a late august test date, but if you aren't prepared then you will need to just take it in the late fall and study hard from now until then. The parallel would be a kid with a 3.0/38 considering retaking the MCAT, rather than considering an SMP.

Sure, it may mean another year off than you wanted, but with a 30+ you will be a shoe-in at allo schools. You could always find some research job or just do some volunteer work to fill up time, or if you are willing to consider DO schools you have your choice of pretty much any school for this cycle.

 

[Max E Million]

Hmm... so someone said a 3-year gap without any continuing coursework might not look good. Med schools might think I have forgotten my material. Any thoughts?

 

[kachan0]

Hmm... so someone said a 3-year gap without any continuing coursework might not look good. Med schools might think I have forgotten my material. Any thoughts?

This probably varies for each school but I'd agree with the sentiment that 3 years out of undergrad without coursework is certainly not a plus. I was told by one of the deans at a school I'm waitlisted for that my 3 years w/o coursework was the main reason I was on the list versus being accepted. Apparently the adcoms seem to worry that we'd forget how stressful class is. Kinda makes sense...though I still was accepted by another school. I think it really just depends on how you spend your 3 years. And if possible, I'd suggest taking a few community college science classes here and there. 🙂

 

[Tapepsi]

Retake the MCAT. That was the real problem. Take it from someone with similar stats and great EC's who just barely made it in this year. An increase of 2-3 points on the MCAT can make all the difference.

 

[rollelephants]

The Cert program at VCU also offers an MCAT refresher course. This could keep you taking classes (very similar to first term medical student), as well as retaking the MCAT. It's an expensive option though, at 12,000.50 per semester, and no guaranteed acceptance linkage.