Post Bacc: uc school or cal state?

[kjm]

I had a question about the importance of where one takes his/her post bacc. I need to go back and take my pre reqs but am looking at either my old college which is a UC school or a cal state school.

I think if I go to a UC school I'll be carrying a fulltime load. But if I go to the cal state school I think I will probably go part time and work.

I've heard arguments for either uc or calstate but I really want to know what you guys think.

Thanks in advance!
Kim

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[jmejia1]

my comments are based on my sole Cal State education and experience. i attend cal state los angeles. comming from a uc you'll definetly notice the drop in caliber as far as facilities are concerned; however, I've met many students here that initially did their undergrad at UCI, UCLA, USC and hands down they all agree that the education they've recieved at cal state surpassed thier experience at their undergrads. the organic chemistry professors are phenomenol. you have a choice of taking dr. amir who has a reputation that crosses all boundaries for giving extraordinary difficult exams but will teach you o-chem like no ones business. plus he has a gentle curve so sweating through his exams are not in vain. or you can take dr. paulson, who seems to win teacher of the year awards almost every year and makes use of a problem-based group learning for most of the course.

i'm getting beside myself, the fact that you might get a better education at cal state l.a., doesn't takea away that it's percieved as a "second tier" school and though many argue admission comittees don't really care where you went to school--they do. i think you need to way the pros and cons of attending either school system. visit cal states and speak with the premed advisors and ask them for thier opinion.

 

[kjm]

Thank you for the info jmejia1!

I will contact the premed advisors and talk with them. For me it's between cal state fullerton or uci.

Are you in med school now? How is everything going?

Any opinion on fulltime school vs. part time?

Thanks again,
Kim

 

[BeckyG]

As much as I hate to admit it, I think jmejia1 is right about the adcoms prefering the UCs over than the Cal state system. It's a "perceived" difficulty issue for the Adcoms, I think. They just assume the classes are harder and the competition for good grades tougher at the UCs. I personally think it's ridiculous, but it's better to be safe. As for the FT vs PT issue, I think full-time is good for post-bac work (if you can swing it financially) because Adcoms feel it "approximates" medical school course loads. However, going part-time is a completely reasonable option if you need to work (which I did).

When I had the choice, I took a couple of "extra" classes at UCLA with the undergrads rather than doing it through another school. I took 2 classes in the Fall and one in the Winter Quarter. (If you're wondering, I was a biochem major, so I had the pre-reqs; however, I had been out of school for 3 years when I applied and my pre-med advisor strongly advised recent coursework. I took a neuroscience course and a couple of English courses.) Anyway, I hope this is helpful. Good luck to you!

 

[BeckyG]

Following up what Dagny said, I took my classes via "concurrent enrollment" through the UCLA Extension program.

 

[kjm]

Thank you both of you for your input!!
I will contact cal state fullerton and see what they have to say. I'm in the middle of talking with uci about a post bacc program and we'll see what they have to say.

Thanks again!! And good luck!

 

[baylor06]

Kim...I'm a post-bac & I just completed 12 months of cramming G-chem, ochem, bio & physics. If you're looking for a good program. I honestly think the best on the West Coast. You really need to check out the program at Scripps College in Claremont.

I admit it's not cheap...however, the faculty is top notch, the classes are small AND the pre-med committee writes you a composite letter.

From experience I can say this program opened a lot of doors for this year's application process that would not have been available to me based on my undergrad career.

 

[Wednesday]

If you're looking into post-bacc programs in CA, you should also look at Mills. I did a year and a half at Columbia post-bacc and then transferred to Mills. The program is small and the students are all great and they have an incredible acceptance rate at the top med schools. It's more expensive than the state schools, but you really LEARN the material. I was way more prepared than anyone else in my Kaplan class when I started studying for the MCAT. It's also nice to be somewhere with other post-baccs because you are all going through the same thing.

 

[BeckyG]

Okay, I know I advocated the UC system before, and in truth I still do, but I wanted to let some of you know that graduating from a Cal state has worked for some people. I just started at UCSF, and 4 of my classmates came from the Cal State system (3 from Northridge and 1 from Long Beach). Granted, the majority came from the UCs and/or Ivys, but 4 of 141 came from the Cal state system. Note, however, that they graduated from Cal states -- I do not know if the post-bacc "world" in admissions is differeny. Just wanted to add this to the debate. Good luck!

 

[kjm]

Thanks again for all your suggestions!!
I'm still not sure which path to take for my post bacc but at least now I have more options!

Good luck to all of you!

 

[Wuracio]

Hey kjm I am in the same situation right now. I got my degree 2 years ago and I am currently looking for a place to finish up my post bacc. Do any of you know if those schools (Mills & Scripps) accept non CA residents? I am in WA and there aren't many schools like that who specialize in post bacc pre med programs. Are they hard to get in?