Post-Bacc Advice. Should I apply now?

[orions_belt]

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Hello everyone,

I'm pretty new here, and am looking for some advice. I want to apply to a career changer post-bacc, and am trying to decide if I should do so this year, or if I am better off waiting. First off, my stats

B.A. English from UCLA, 3.7 GPA
M.A. in Writing from Emerson College, 3.9 GPA
1390 SAT (780 V. 610 M.) - I don't remember my GRE score

I have some volunteer and leadership experience. I've been working full-time in Student Affairs at a large university for the past 2 years. But I don't have any healthcare or clinical experience. I'll begin volunteering in an emergency room this summer, and I'm applying for a Clinical Care internship through a nearby hospital, so I will begin gaining experience soon.

Do you think it would be better to wait and apply for post-bacc's next round? So next summer/fall? That way, I have more experience. I can write a good essay and I'll be able to tell a coherent story about "why medicine, why now?"

I want to apply to all of the top-tier post baccs (Bryn Mawr, Goucher, Scripps, Hopkins). Also CSU-Fullerton and U-Penn, maybe some others. Any thoughts on my chances and/or if i should wait?

 

[deleted248403]

Hello everyone,

I'm pretty new here, and am looking for some advice. I want to apply to a career changer post-bacc, and am trying to decide if I should do so this year, or if I am better off waiting. First off, my stats

B.A. English from UCLA, 3.7 GPA
M.A. in Writing from Emerson College, 3.9 GPA
1390 SAT (780 V. 610 M.) - I don't remember my GRE score

I have some volunteer and leadership experience. I've been working full-time in Student Affairs at a large university for the past 2 years. But I don't have any healthcare or clinical experience. I'll begin volunteering in an emergency room this summer, and I'm applying for a Clinical Care internship through a nearby hospital, so I will begin gaining experience soon.

Do you think it would be better to wait and apply for post-bacc's next round? So next summer/fall? That way, I have more experience. I can write a good essay and I'll be able to tell a coherent story about "why medicine, why now?"

I want to apply to all of the top-tier post baccs (Bryn Mawr, Goucher, Scripps, Hopkins). Also CSU-Fullerton and U-Penn, maybe some others. Any thoughts on my chances and/or if i should wait?

u should wait until next cycle. its late and you have no clear medical experience or reason for why medicine.

i know you stated u have a good story, but im skeptical. get a year of being dirty under your belt and ppl will start to take the why medicine bit more seriously

 

[ksyhe]

I respectfully disagree with robflanker -- IF you can actually tell a good story. Your numbers are a lot higher than mine, and I had very little direct clinical experience -- no hospital volunteering, and just a bit of on-the-job shadowing (I worked for a healthcare-related organization, but spent most of my time staring at a computer screen.)

What I did have was the skills to tell and sell my story -- I was also and English major with a related advanced degree. I'm definitely no Atul Gawande, but I had enough writing prowess to earn a fairly good living from writing/editing (which is what I did while staring at a computer screen). I got into several of the top postbacs you mentioned -- the admissions folks at these places really love quirky applicants and a good story! The director at my postbac actually told me to use my postbac personal statement for my medical school application, without changing a thing. So if you're a strong writer, you could totally pull it off. 🙂

If you're starting your volunteering/internship this summer, I think you should have more than enough clinical experience to apply in December/January. If you do decide to spend the year getting more experience, I'd also recommend heading to your local university and knocking out some of the less-standard prereqs that usually aren't part of most of these formal programs (e.g. Calculus, Statistics, Psychology). Good luck!

 

[firelight1]

I agree with ksyhe. Applying for the current application cycle (i.e., starting Summer/Fall 2015) does not mean applying NOW. Most of the program deadlines are around Feb-March. You have plenty of time between now and the application deadlines to volunteer, shadow, and formulate "your story". My post-bac in in your top tier list. I started shadowing in November with no health-related experience, applied in February, and started my program that same year. Good luck to you!

 

[orions_belt]

Thanks for the advice. Knowing that is possible this application round is good to know. I'm still not sure if I'll wait, but I'm leaning toward it. I want to be as competitive an applicant as I can.

I was actually thinking that I would take some math classes through concurrent enrollment at the UC Extension school near me. Good idea? Will it count toward prereqs if taken that way? I took AP Calc AB in high school and passed the exam with a 4, but I doubt that will count for anything. It's been 10 years so I probably need a lot of review before I even start.

 

[orions_belt]

I agree with ksyhe. Applying for the current application cycle (i.e., starting Summer/Fall 2015) does not mean applying NOW. Most of the program deadlines are around Feb-March. You have plenty of time between now and the application deadlines to volunteer, shadow, and formulate "your story". My post-bac in in your top tier list. I started shadowing in November with no health-related experience, applied in February, and started my program that same year. Good luck to you!

Can I ask what post bacc program you're in? I guess I thought by Jan/Feb it would be too late because of the rolling admissions and most spaces being taken. Good to know that may not be the case

 

[engr2dr]

Hello everyone,

I'm pretty new here, and am looking for some advice. I want to apply to a career changer post-bacc, and am trying to decide if I should do so this year, or if I am better off waiting. First off, my stats

B.A. English from UCLA, 3.7 GPA
M.A. in Writing from Emerson College, 3.9 GPA
1390 SAT (780 V. 610 M.) - I don't remember my GRE score

I have some volunteer and leadership experience. I've been working full-time in Student Affairs at a large university for the past 2 years. But I don't have any healthcare or clinical experience. I'll begin volunteering in an emergency room this summer, and I'm applying for a Clinical Care internship through a nearby hospital, so I will begin gaining experience soon.

Do you think it would be better to wait and apply for post-bacc's next round? So next summer/fall? That way, I have more experience. I can write a good essay and I'll be able to tell a coherent story about "why medicine, why now?"

I want to apply to all of the top-tier post baccs (Bryn Mawr, Goucher, Scripps, Hopkins). Also CSU-Fullerton and U-Penn, maybe some others. Any thoughts on my chances and/or if i should wait?

Hi Erika,
I am trying to do self study with TBR books and it is quite hard. I am post bacc. with enggn. background and have been out of college for 9 years. I want to take post bacc. classes but backed out on hearing that they are too expensive.

Could you please fill me in on how expensive the top tier post-bacc programs are? Are you doing them online?

Appreciate your inputs!
-bookworm.

 

[firelight1]

Can I ask what post bacc program you're in? I guess I thought by Jan/Feb it would be too late because of the rolling admissions and most spaces being taken. Good to know that may not be the case

Sent you a private message

 

[musicalfeet]

Go for it! I'm guessing your clinical care thing might be the CCE with COPE? It does take awhile to get started with them--I suggest trying to get at least a couple of shadowing sessions in (independently) while waiting for your clinical volunteering to go through. I've heard that you'll be quite competitive until about Late October--that's when interview slots will start to be filling up. Your numbers are good (your GPA is loads better than mine.....*envy*). The math SAT score might be an issue, although if you've demonstrated strong math skills in the form of taking some classes in college, I think you'll be fine.