Post bacc or not?

[nycpremed]

I'm in a dilemma. I want to get into medical school, but my grades are HORRIBLE. I've transferred from a two year school and havent taken science courses yet. I figured it would just be best to finish my major requirements (sociology) and then apply for a post bacc after I get my degree. I have no interest in courses other than science and social science courses and just figured it would be better this way. However,I spoke with the director of the premed program at my school, and she said I should complete the premed prereqs while in undergrad and try my best to pull my grades up while doing so. She also said it would be ideal for me to quit my 30 hour a week gob and try focusing solely on my studies since it seems to be hindering me from passing my classes but I can't right now because of my family's financial issues. What do you think. Sorry about the long thread btw lol. I also posted this thread in the what are my chances thread

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[TTfutureMD]

I am also a post-bac. I would recommend finishing undergrad and doing the best you can to get those grades up. Take some fun classes that you will enjoy and can do stellar in. Time Management is crucial seeing as though you have to work. If you take public transportation, use that time to be reading. Cut out all TV. If you have one in your room, get rid of it. Put it somewhere you will not see it. Trust me, TV consumes you and makes it very difficult to motivate yourself to do work.

Once you finish undergrad, I recommend taking a year to re-evaluate yourself and make sure medical school is what you want. I felt burned out in undergrad and am glad that I made the decision to take a year off by teaching. BEWARE: Taking a year off is not permission to sit at home watching TV all day or partying every night. Its a time for you to do something meaningful that will allow you to find out if you really want to sacrifice the next ten years of your life to school. Although, going into medicine entails a liftetime of learning. So you must love to learn. Once you have done that, look into some post-baccalaureate programs. These will help you stand out on paper.

I hope this helps. Try to relax and make the most out of the rest of your undergrad experience.

 

[PurpleHaze]

If you're still in undergrad, I would suggest taking some of those pre-med requirements now, and hope they bolster your GPA some. The sciences/maths get their own GPA in terms of applying to med school -- so that will help you out if you do well in them. Taking those courses in undergrad might also help your wallet some, since they won't cost any extra on top of tuition now. Going to post-bac will definitely cost you an extra year's worth of schooling, why do that if you don't have to?

I went to post-bac as well, so I understand where you're coming from with the horrible grades. Do your best, post-bac is definitely not the end of the world, but I would do my best to maximize my time and tuition money in undergrad, if I were you.

 

[ucsfstudents]

Try to finish undergrad as strong as possible. Postbac is a good option, but will not make up for poor grades. One of the mistakes undergraduates make, is working lots of hours. If you absolutely must work, and cannot get loans to cover your costs, then you should take less classes. This (working, small number of classes, great GPA) is better than this (working, average number of classes, bad GPA).

Sorry you're in this position. Hope everything works out!