Post-Bacc Advice

[essbee2010]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi I graduated at the end of May from a small liberal arts college in New England (nescac school) with a Bachelors degree in History and Economics. I ended up with a cumulative gpa of 3.18 and have not taken a science course since high school (except a chem for non-scientist class for distribution requirements to be fulfilled). In high school I only really enjoyed Biology and received a 1900 on my SATs. I think I took the Bio SAT subject test, but I don't quite remember. I am interested in applying to post bacc programs for either Summer 2011 or Fall 2011 and plan to volunteer/work in a medical clinic to gain some experience/insight. I doubt I would be accepted into the top tier programs like Hopkins, Bryn Mawr, etc - but would schools like BU, Harvard Extension, NYU, Columbia, Tufts, Brandeis accept me? How are schools like Wellesley, UConn, Northeastern, UMass-Boston, Temple and Drexel and Georgetown regarded in the unofficial ranking of post-bacc programs? I'd like to stay on the east coast preferably in the north. Thanks for the insight!

I've also taken Calculus I -- B+ (and Statistics, but I'm not sure if thats actually important here)

 

[betterlate]

Hi I graduated at the end of May from a small liberal arts college in New England (nescac school) with a Bachelors degree in History and Economics. I ended up with a cumulative gpa of 3.18 and have not taken a science course since high school (except a chem for non-scientist class for distribution requirements to be fulfilled). In high school I only really enjoyed Biology and received a 1900 on my SATs. I think I took the Bio SAT subject test, but I don't quite remember. I am interested in applying to post bacc programs for either Summer 2011 or Fall 2011 and plan to volunteer/work in a medical clinic to gain some experience/insight. I doubt I would be accepted into the top tier programs like Hopkins, Bryn Mawr, etc - but would schools like BU, Harvard Extension, NYU, Columbia, Tufts, Brandeis accept me? How are schools like Wellesley, UConn, Northeastern, UMass-Boston, Temple and Drexel and Georgetown regarded in the unofficial ranking of post-bacc programs? I'd like to stay on the east coast preferably in the north. Thanks for the insight!

I've also taken Calculus I -- B+ (and Statistics, but I'm not sure if thats actually important here)

If you're already in the area, go to Harvard Extension School. They're a v. good informal program, relatively cheap, & night classes will enable you to work (and thus lessen your debt load) while going to school. I've heard terrible things about Columbia, & rumor has it Temple is a toxic program to be avoided at all costs (Note: I have no first-hand knowledge of either program - mostly those impressions are via friend-of-a-friend info, so take it w/ a grain of salt.) I have a friend who had a good experience @ Tufts postbacc. Drexel is generally well-regarded as a postbacc, plus they are a school that really likes their nontrad students (according to the aforementioned friend who went there for med school). I know nothing about UMASS-Boston, but it is worth checking out. I think it and Harvard extension school might be similarly priced, although they may differ according to the organization/supports available to postbaccs.

WRT getting into a program, my general impression of informal postbaccs is that anyone who is able to pay can get in. I have no idea how accurate that is, or how much it varies by the specific school.