Post Bacc troubles.

[Rpod84]

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Hi all,

This is my first post although i have been looking in on the forums from time to time for guidance. My situation is as follows:

I am a Stonybrook University Graduate with a BA in Theatre Arts. I finished in December of 2007. I have since taken the general chemistryI and physicsI Hunter College with a semester GPA of 3.6 and General Chemistry II, Physics II Columbia University with a semester GPA of 3.5.

I was rejected from both of the Post BACC premed programs prior to starting as a non degree in fall of 2008.

I have since reapplied for columbia Universities Post Bacc Premed program and am currently awaiting reply from their admissions board.

During the admissions process I met with one of the assistant deans who stressed two points about the programs admission policies:
1) once you have applied once and are rejected there is little chance that you will be accepted if you reapply.
2) regardless of what my post undergraduate grades in science courses are the program is heavily based on my undergraduate grades, making my science grades irrelavent.


It has been my dream to go to medical school from a very young age and i have strived through getting a well rounded education knowing that i could apply for post bacc after college.

I do not know what to do regarding my possible rejection. In addition any subsequent applications sent to programs at other universities all have the criteria of having taken little or no science during admission. I have taken almost half of the premed sequence already.

My current options are:
1) get into Post bacc at one of the schools i am applying to.
2) continue as a non degree student at columbia, finishing the premed requirements and going from there.
3) redoing my undergraduate Degree to raise my undergraduate GPA.

Are any of these options plausable? what would you recommend I do?

Thankyou for the help
Roy

 

[apumic]

I didnt see your UG cGPA listed... Your 3.6 semGPA is fine.... Are you sure there werent other reasons for your rejection?

 

[gman33]

What is your ug GPA?

As to a formal postbacc program, there really is no need for it.
You just need to take the classes and do well in them.
Med schools couldn't care less whether you are a part of a formal program.

Post your stats and you can get some more advice about how to proceed.

 

[combatwombat]

If you want to do medicine, the post-bac program adcoms won't be able to stop you. Their only job is to look at applicants as a soulless collections of data (GPA, MCAT, ugrad uni, etc) and cherry-pick the best-looking ones in hopes of maxmizing the acceptance rates of their graduates, thereby making themselves look better.

Two years ago I was politely told by the assistant director of the post bac program I wanted to attend that I had a snowball's chance in hell of being accepted, and that I should not even bother applying. It was quite a blow at the time but I eventually decided to go and take the courses I needed as a non-matriculated student at the same university. I finished last month with a 3.83 average and along the way did better than at least a few of the students who were actually enrolled in the program.

Of course I still have yet to be accepted into any medical school, but bottom line, don't let some torpid admissions director tell you what you have the aptitude for.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

Maybe the reason you got rejected was most likely because of your UG gpa? Just curious...you started at Hunter post bacc...then you went to columbia non -trad? Did someone tell you that going to columbia non-trad will increase your chances of getting in their post bacc program?

At this point, you could try (if your UG gpa and since you have a decent sGpa) to take the MCAT, and apply to a masters program or something. That may help increase your chances.

Just keep doing well in your science classes, and dont worry too much about the columbia thing. I think post-bacc programs are good anywhere as long as you get them done and do well.

 

[student1799]

I actually went to the Columbia postbacc, and I have almost nothing positive to say about the place. It is insanely expensive, and they do virtually nothing to help you get into med school. In fact, considering that the grading in some of the key prereq courses--notably bio and orgo--is quite harsh, it's quite possible that Columbia could HINDER your chances of getting into med school.

As to why you didn't get in, I agree with others here that it's almost certainly your uGPA. As combatwombat says, most postbacc programs cherry-pick the students whose undergrad records make them most likely to get into med school, and med schools place much more weight on the uGPA than the sGPA.

Frankly, I'm surprised that you switched from Hunter to Columbia in the first place. IMO, you'd have been much better off staying at Hunter as a non-degree student, unless it was so difficult to get into the classes you needed that it would have taken forever to finish.

So what to do now? You have two choices: 1) stay at Columbia as a non-degree student 2) switch back to Hunter. Obviously, given what I've already said, I'd recommend #2. I don't think it will look too bad on your med school apps, because you got similar grades in both places (removes suspicion that you switched to boost your GPA). And if anyone asks you why in interviews, you can just say that Columbia was too expensive, and you decided to go for the cheaper school.

If you do stay at Columbia, though, I have one really important piece of advice: DO NOT on any account take bio there. Go to Hunter or City College instead. (If asked why, say that you had a schedule conflict.) There is only one prof who teaches intro bio, a woman named Mowshowitz, and she is PURE EVIL. She curves to a C+ and gives only about 10% A's. Worse still,she gives out plenty of C's and even D's. My postbacc grades were predominantly A's and A-'s, yet I pulled B- and B in her class, which made quite a dent in my sGPA. Just avoid her if at all possible.

Wherever you finish your prereqs, try to make A's from here on in. If your uGPA is low, you'll need a much better record in the science courses to help you get into med school.

Good luck.

 

[Jlaw]

There are lots of other post bacc programs out there to apply to. Why limit yourself to Hunter/Columbia?

Also don't worry about not getting into a formal program. All the formal program gives you is access to the pre-med advisor and first dibs in signing up for courses. As long as you can get into courses at Hunter or Columbia you aren't missing out on very much. If you really need a counselor to help with application stuff you can always hire one privately.

Best of luck to you, regardless of you under grad GPA it sounds like you are doing well in your pre-req classes. Keep that up and things will work out.

 

[JordanMaria]

What is your ug GPA?

As to a formal postbacc program, there really is no need for it.
You just need to take the classes and do well in them.
Med schools couldn't care less whether you are a part of a formal program.

Post your stats and you can get some more advice about how to proceed.

So, you're telling me there is no real need for a post bacc? If one just takes all of their pre-reqs as a non-degree student, are there any pros and cons? And if not, why do people even bother with post baccs?

 

[JordanMaria]

.

 

[Finance2MD]

So, you're telling me there is no real need for a post bacc? If one just takes all of their pre-reqs as a non-degree student, are there any pros and cons? And if not, why do people even bother with post baccs?

I'd like to know the same thing. If anyone can offer some insight, that would be great. 👍

 

[bydotte]

You don't need a post-bacc. I only had a couple of the pre-reqs so I went back to my local university and took them all, plus a few others (micro, biochem, physiology, etc), got a 4.0, and was told by 2 schools that my earlier grades (2.8 undergrad) would be overlooked. I wasn't in any type of program. Obviously this might not be true for every med school, but there's hope.

 

[surag]

You don't need a post-bacc. I only had a couple of the pre-reqs so I went back to my local university and took them all, plus a few others (micro, biochem, physiology, etc), got a 4.0, and was told by 2 schools that my earlier grades (2.8 undergrad) would be overlooked. I wasn't in any type of program. Obviously this might not be true for every med school, but there's hope.

which medical school are you attending/are you satisfied with where you are now?

 

[Krisss17]

Taking classes as a post bacc, is just that, you are taking these courses after you had received your bachelors degree. There is no need to take a formal post bacc unless there is a program that really, really appeals to you.

 

[lbdonz79]

So, you're telling me there is no real need for a post bacc? If one just takes all of their pre-reqs as a non-degree student, are there any pros and cons? And if not, why do people even bother with post baccs?

YES, you should take the post-bacc, mainly because of the committee letter, which can hold considerable weight with medical school admissions committees and can take the place of the 2-3 science letters of recommendation that you will have to procure. I highly recommend taking the program at NYU, which is where I did my postbacc. They will accept you even though you have already taken some science courses, and the program is well regarded. The classes are very rigorous, but the grading is fair, and everyone in my program liked it, as opposed to everyone I know who went to Columbia and hated it. If you have any questions, let me know.

 

[JordanMaria]

Thanks all for your answers. lbdonz, thank you for the suggestion. I looked at the website and it says you need at least a 3.0 to be a "successful" applicant, although it doesn't say you need that to apply. I only have a 2.91, largely due to freshman year when I got a 0.29. Do you think I could still get it, or know of any programs that I would have a shot? It seems that most are either for people who have all the pre-reqs but low GPAs, or who haven't done the pre-reqs but have good GPAs. Not for losers like me who fall into both categories.

 

[lbdonz79]

Alot of people in my program had 3.1's and 3.2's as undergrads (I was one of them), and we all made it into the NYU program and medical school. There was one person I knew who had a GPA under 3.0 from undergrad who was in the program, I don't know if she got into med school or not. Basically what I recommend doing is enclosing a letter to the director, who I believe is still Soomie Han, in your application, demonstrating that you really want to try the program and if necessary, would be willing take a few upper level science classes to supplement the basic orgo, chem, bio, and physics requirements. Just remember that you really want to be applying with a 3.7 postbacc GPA or above so you realy want to get A's in your classes.

 

[surag]

To be honest I'm not sure how effective this program would be for students with prior science background...I actually emailed the postbacc program there and this is what I received:

Dear SG,

Our program does not sound like the right match for you, as we feel that we can benefit students most when they have not taken any of the prehealth sciences. As ours is a career-changer program, students in our program have not already taken the science curriculum nor sat for the MCAT.

Best of luck in your future endeavors,
NYU Postbacc Program