Post-bacc advice.

[WHLTN]

Hello everyone! I've posted on here about my situation in regards to persuing medicine. I've finally made the decision to start a DIY post-bacc next semester. To those that have had successful post-baccs, how do you overcome the initial fears about going back to school? The thing I'm most worried about is taking the time to do this and not get in to med school, however I know it's always a possibility. I appreciate any and all feedback. Thanks guys!

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[caterwaiter]

Congrats on your decision! What helped my nerves was doing a LOT of research and planning. Talk to people you trust or consult reliable sources on the internet. Figure out exactly what you need to get done and how long you realistically want to take to do it. My biggest piece of advice would be to give yourself more time than you think you need. Don't overload yourself with difficult courses right off the bat--you need to do well, and getting used to studying can take some time. Allow extra time off to study for the MCAT, if you need to take it. Also consider whether you might need to get some extra/more recent clinical or non-clinical experiences. Finally, allow yourself time to write & revise a solid personal statement and AMCAS/AACOMAS essays. Good luck! Feel free to ask here or PM me if you have other questions.

 

[Big Tall Doctor]

It is not easy to make that decision to go back to school! I would say that it was very nerve racking and weird to be back in school especially if you would start at a new university. For me the fear about being back in school easily dissipated once I got started with classes. I found myself able to converse with my professors alot easier and most of them were really intrigued by my story and wanted to help in any way they could. Taking upper division bio classes, I would say most of my classmates were only a year younger than me or slightly older which made for easy conversations. The most common question you get is "what major are you studying?" which I would just laugh and say I'm taking classes for fun. For me I was planning on applying last year, but after a long look at myself and my application I decided against applying and immediately started taking summer classes at my local state university. I didn't figure out my post bacc until 1 week into summer session, so that was kinda hectic. The hardest part for me was the scramble to get into classes to start each semester, but you just gotta persevere and crash every course!
I don't know what you hope to gain from your post bacc, but for me I treated it as a chance to show that I could be an A+ student. It wasn't a year wasted since I developed study strategies and time management skills that I would have otherwise not had. Also the fact that it brought my gpa above a 3.0 and got me 3 interviews so far. As my colleague mentioned, you still have to do some research and look at your current application to determine how you can maximize the effects of your post bacc. For me the biggest weakness in my application was my gpa and that had to get fixed, I was certain that I was not going to get any notice if my gpa was below a 3.0. This made it easier for me to commit to a full year of post bacc courses.
Be sure to take advantage of other opportunities you might receive during your post bacc. I was able to befriend one of my professors and work in his research lab, an opportunity I would have likely not have been able to actualize if I didn't go back to school.
Delaying your application cycle one year is perfectly fine. Use it to pursue extracirriculars that excite you and really beef up your application!

 

[Blueprint Med School]

Is the post bac for GPA repair or for a career change? If you have a decent GPA, then a career change is typically pretty straightforward- do decent on the MCAT, take the prereqs, and then get some activities and you'll be just as competitive as anybody else.

If your undergrad GPA was weak and you took the prereqs, then it becomes harder to get in as you'll have to do GPA repair. If it's been an extended amount of time since undergrad and your recent courses are As, some schools will overlook the uGPA, but it'll still be an uphill battle.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[WHLTN]

Is the post bac for GPA repair or for a career change? If you have a decent GPA, then a career change is typically pretty straightforward- do decent on the MCAT, take the prereqs, and then get some activities and you'll be just as competitive as anybody else.

If your undergrad GPA was weak and you took the prereqs, then it becomes harder to get in as you'll have to do GPA repair. If it's been an extended amount of time since undergrad and your recent courses are As, some schools will overlook the uGPA, but it'll still be an uphill battle.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

My reason is for GPA repair.
Here is some background on my situation:

Do I even have a chance?

Hey everyone! I just want to give some background first: I'm a black male that graduated from undergrad about 2 years ago, and I started as a premed student. I was the typical naive premed Freshman that was in school for a Biology degree. I took Organic Chem. a total of 5 times(OChem l- 3...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[WHLTN]

It is not easy to make that decision to go back to school! I would say that it was very nerve racking and weird to be back in school especially if you would start at a new university. For me the fear about being back in school easily dissipated once I got started with classes. I found myself able to converse with my professors alot easier and most of them were really intrigued by my story and wanted to help in any way they could. Taking upper division bio classes, I would say most of my classmates were only a year younger than me or slightly older which made for easy conversations. The most common question you get is "what major are you studying?" which I would just laugh and say I'm taking classes for fun. For me I was planning on applying last year, but after a long look at myself and my application I decided against applying and immediately started taking summer classes at my local state university. I didn't figure out my post bacc until 1 week into summer session, so that was kinda hectic. The hardest part for me was the scramble to get into classes to start each semester, but you just gotta persevere and crash every course!
I don't know what you hope to gain from your post bacc, but for me I treated it as a chance to show that I could be an A+ student. It wasn't a year wasted since I developed study strategies and time management skills that I would have otherwise not had. Also the fact that it brought my gpa above a 3.0 and got me 3 interviews so far. As my colleague mentioned, you still have to do some research and look at your current application to determine how you can maximize the effects of your post bacc. For me the biggest weakness in my application was my gpa and that had to get fixed, I was certain that I was not going to get any notice if my gpa was below a 3.0. This made it easier for me to commit to a full year of post bacc courses.
Be sure to take advantage of other opportunities you might receive during your post bacc. I was able to befriend one of my professors and work in his research lab, an opportunity I would have likely not have been able to actualize if I didn't go back to school.
Delaying your application cycle one year is perfectly fine. Use it to pursue extracirriculars that excite you and really beef up your application!

Thanks for the reply. I haven't yet started on my applications yet. I still have some prereqs i need to improve on and complete. My plan was to wait an entire year aftet I graduated to go back to school, but I have an itch to go back sooner. Would you recommend me completing the year, or do you think I should wait and take this time to do shadowing and ECs?

My situation below:

Do I even have a chance?

Hey everyone! I just want to give some background first: I'm a black male that graduated from undergrad about 2 years ago, and I started as a premed student. I was the typical naive premed Freshman that was in school for a Biology degree. I took Organic Chem. a total of 5 times(OChem l- 3...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[WHLTN]

Congrats on your decision! What helped my nerves was doing a LOT of research and planning. Talk to people you trust or consult reliable sources on the internet. Figure out exactly what you need to get done and how long you realistically want to take to do it. My biggest piece of advice would be to give yourself more time than you think you need. Don't overload yourself with difficult courses right off the bat--you need to do well, and getting used to studying can take some time. Allow extra time off to study for the MCAT, if you need to take it. Also consider whether you might need to get some extra/more recent clinical or non-clinical experiences. Finally, allow yourself time to write & revise a solid personal statement and AMCAS/AACOMAS essays. Good luck! Feel free to ask here or PM me if you have other questions.

Thanks for replying. I know I definitely need more shadowing hours both clinical and non-clinical. This post-bacc is to do some major repair on my prereqs.

My situation below:

Do I even have a chance?

Hey everyone! I just want to give some background first: I'm a black male that graduated from undergrad about 2 years ago, and I started as a premed student. I was the typical naive premed Freshman that was in school for a Biology degree. I took Organic Chem. a total of 5 times(OChem l- 3...

forums.studentdoctor.net