Post Bacc Anyone?

[Erin]

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Curious to hear about experiences with Post Bacc programs! I am currently deciding if it would be better to stay at my current university a fifth year to finish the prereqs and take a year off to apply or if I should enter a post bacc program and go to med school the year after. I am finishing up my third year of college (majoring in accounting) and have none of the prereqs, but know that med school is really what I want to do. Does anyone have this experience or another to share?

 

[Posy]

I was in the postbacc program at Columbia and found it to be an extremely good program for a variety of reasons, but it was very expensive. The advantages are that it is a good network for volunteer and job opportunities and that the counselors really know how to help you position yourself for school. I have luckily been very successful with my applications, and feel that it was in part because of this program - many of my interviewers commented that I "picked the best program." But for someone coming right out of college, staying where you are is just as good in a lot of ways - you may be plugges into the community enough to search out these programs for yourself, and you can concentrate on your studies rather than moving to reestablish yourself elsewhere. really it depends on what you want!

 

[alina]

You'll be much better off financially if you postpone graduation for a year and stay at your undergrad school. My first three undergrad years were extremely difficult and I wasn't ready to face a fifth year but I really regretted graduation when I started looking at post-bacc programs. All of the post-bacc program I looked at (Vermont, Columbia, Tufts, Goucher, DuQuesne) offered financial aid but as loans only, and since I wouldn't be working towards a degree, the terms were much worse than Stafford and Perkins loans. If you're ready to face a fifth year now, don't graduate!

 

[Carbon Klein]

My undergrad GPA was not that great (3.5 science and 3.45 AO from UC Berkeley). I got rejected without a single interview.

I did a one year's Masters and got 4.0 and did my second AMCAS. I got three interviews and rejected by all three after one waitlist turned south. In retrospect, I blame my interviews. The post bac helped me to get the interviews so it was worth the one year I invested.

FYI I finally caved and applied to St Georges. 2.5 years later, I dropped out and did my 3 MCAT (Aug 99) and did a 3rd AMCAS. My grades pretty much stayed at a high level now, so I got into a MD/PhD program I'm not a non-traditional, but I'm definitely not a traditional student either. I am determined and motivated, that's probably why I got in this time. Good luck with your pursuits!



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