Post-bacc questions

[studentdoctor2021]

Hi!
If I'm doing a DIY Post bacc, should I enroll in undergrad science courses or grad science courses?

There's a school I'm looking at that offers science undergrad courses for 16k per 4 courses as a NON-degree seeking student, but that same school has a post-bac program that u have to apply to and u can be part of their pre-health post-bac studies program and take those same courses. Why are they the same thing (same cost too?) but shown as different options? should I apply to do the pre-health program at the university or just enroll as a non-degree seeking student in their school and take the same courses without having to apply? Or will there be a benefit of doing this program? (they do seem to some linkages, although not to the medical schools I'm interested in) and I believe they offer pre-med advising and a certificate so is it worth it?

ALSO, I really can't figure this out but I just want to do a post-bacc program for 1 year, whether it's DIY or a SMP/certificate program, but how do I know how many classes to take? I'd like to not take 4 each semester so I can have more space to do research/a job/clinical activities. How much would people recommend for someone graduating from college with a 3.5 cGPA, 3.4 sGPA?

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[studentdoctor2021]

I'm inferring that you took the prerequisites already, so you just need to boost your GPA a bit. I think your GPA is borderline, not bad, so I would just take upper level undergraduate science classes that are relevant to medical school and interesting to you. 16k is expensive, find a cheap state school nearby (four year NOT community college). Commute, etc if possible to save money. It takes a ton of credits ($$$) to boost GPA. Depending on your coursework/credits, GPAs won't budge much per class. Use GPA calculators to figure how many credits will get you to around 3.6 or 3.7 sGPA as an ideal target. cGPA in particular will move very slowly so focus more so on sGPA.

SMPs are for very low GPAs and won't impact your undergraduate grades. They are just to prove that you can handle med school classes. I would avoid an SMP in your case.

Certificates and even advising aren't a big deal. You have SDN for the latter. Certificates are worthless. Try and find a school that offers a committee letter. If you need to be in the postbac to get the letter, than do it. Linkages vary. I think Temple has a guaranteed linkage but otherwise they aren't something to count on. Aside from that, there is little difference between DIY and postbac.

If you didn't take the prerequisites just take them and get As and you should be fine. Get straight As!

Thanks!!! So I have all the pre-reqs and my last bad grade is also from sophomore year, but I can't go to a home university bc of family issues so that's why I am looking at other schools near my college and I plan on working part-time. I think for 12k I can take 3 upper level science classes per semester, so 24k for 6 total (24 course units) all in science and if I get As in all of them my cGPA goes up to a 3.66 (if I take 8, it can only go up to a 3.68) so is 6 classes the better move? (my sGPA also goes up to a 3.6 with 6 post bac classes) compared to 8 since it saves me money and it can only move my GPA up by .02?
Is working in research and volunteering advisable while trying to do get As in post bac courses?

I'm still leaning towards the certificate program at the schools I'm looking because they don't charge extra for being in these programs vs taking the same classes without being in a program, the only difference is going through an admissions process to get in which I could do.

 

[Steelgrave]

Thanks!!! So I have all the pre-reqs and my last bad grade is also from sophomore year, but I can't go to a home university bc of family issues so that's why I am looking at other schools near my college and I plan on working part-time. I think for 12k I can take 3 upper level science classes per semester, so 24k for 6 total (24 course units) all in science and if I get As in all of them my cGPA goes up to a 3.66 (if I take 8, it can only go up to a 3.68) so is 6 classes the better move? (my sGPA also goes up to a 3.6 with 6 post bac classes) compared to 8 since it saves me money and it can only move my GPA up by .02?
Is working in research and volunteering advisable while trying to do get As in post bac courses?

I'm still leaning towards the certificate program at the schools I'm looking because they don't charge extra for being in these programs vs taking the same classes without being in a program, the only difference is going through an admissions process to get in which I could do.

I think the 3.6 sGPA benchmark is good. 3.66 vs. 3.68 cGPA doesn't matter. Having an upward trend counts for a lot. Make sure the professors are good before you take the course (ratemyprofessors). I took around the same amount of credits as you are planning and my cGPA went up by 0.14 total. After a certain point it really stops budging. But my sGPA went up by more, around 0.2.

Not the best idea to get overzealous and do research, volunteer, and work while taking these classes. I would recommend doing just 3-4 hours of volunteering per week along with the part time job. Getting As is the most important thing right now. Down the road, if you find your schedule easy, add in another day of volunteering so you can do both clinical and non-clinical volunteering.

There's no harm in applying to be in the official program. It's better than not being in the program as long as they don't force you to take specific classes you don't want to take.

 

[Goro]

Hi!
If I'm doing a DIY Post bacc, should I enroll in undergrad science courses or grad science courses?

There's a school I'm looking at that offers science undergrad courses for 16k per 4 courses as a NON-degree seeking student, but that same school has a post-bac program that u have to apply to and u can be part of their pre-health post-bac studies program and take those same courses. Why are they the same thing (same cost too?) but shown as different options? should I apply to do the pre-health program at the university or just enroll as a non-degree seeking student in their school and take the same courses without having to apply? Or will there be a benefit of doing this program? (they do seem to some linkages, although not to the medical schools I'm interested in) and I believe they offer pre-med advising and a certificate so is it worth it?

ALSO, I really can't figure this out but I just want to do a post-bacc program for 1 year, whether it's DIY or a SMP/certificate program, but how do I know how many classes to take? I'd like to not take 4 each semester so I can have more space to do research/a job/clinical activities. How much would people recommend for someone graduating from college with a 3.5 cGPA, 3.4 sGPA?

Any rising GPA trends??
State of residence??

 

[studentdoctor2021]

Any rising GPA trends??
State of residence??

yes! sophomore year was really low with 2 Cs and 1 D
junior year was a 3.9, retook the course I needed to and got an A
senior year was 3.9

so cGPA at the end 3.52, sGPA 3.4 sGPA from NC

I'm thinking of doing a (diy) post bacc year and taking 6 higher level bio classes & getting As to raise my GPA up to a 3.66 (sGPA will reach 3.5)- does this sound good? or should I take more? I'm thinking of doing part time research with it, is this something you would recommend while taking classes? I don't want to not volunteer/do research for a whole year and then apply with old extracurriculars.

Or should I just wait to have a job the year after I have finished my post bacc classes and applied to schools?

 

[Goro]

yes! sophomore year was really low with 2 Cs and 1 D
junior year was a 3.9, retook the course I needed to and got an A
senior year was 3.9

so cGPA at the end 3.52, sGPA 3.4 sGPA from NC

I'm thinking of doing a (diy) post bacc year and taking 6 higher level bio classes & getting As to raise my GPA up to a 3.66 (sGPA will reach 3.5)- does this sound good? or should I take more? I'm thinking of doing part time research with it, is this something you would recommend while taking classes? I don't want to not volunteer/do research for a whole year and then apply with old extracurriculars.

Or should I just wait to have a job the year after I have finished my post bacc classes and applied to schools?

I don't think that you need a post-bac, just a strategic list!
And a good MCAT score.

 

[studentdoctor2021]

I don't think that you need a post-bac, just a strategic list!
And a good MCAT score.

I would agree, but I no longer have my current senior spring semester grades (they're all mandatory credit/no credit) so I feel like I haven't shown enough improvement and I could show more, specifically for MD schools. Do you think I'll have an even better outcome with the extra year?

Basically my pre-med advisor is telling me to take a year off and take classes since my GPA isn't above a 3.5 and medians are 3.7. What MCAT score would u suggest?

 

[Goro]

I would agree, but I no longer have my current senior spring semester grades (they're all mandatory credit/no credit) so I feel like I haven't shown enough improvement and I could show more, specifically for MD schools. Do you think I'll have an even better outcome with the extra year?

Basically my pre-med advisor is telling me to take a year off and take classes since my GPA isn't above a 3.5 and medians are 3.7. What MCAT score would u suggest?

You'r adviser is an idiot. Even with your cGPAs, many schools (like Wayne State) weight the last 2 years heavier. Therefore, many schools will see the 3.9s.

 

[Goro]

For MCAT shoot for > 511