Post-bacc vs undergrad classes

[doc4u]

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Can anyone shed some light on this topic. I am looking at some Post-bacc and also premed at some 4 year colleges. I honestly cannot see much difference other then a "pre med" advisor.

My wife and whole family are all docs, so I have plenty of advice. As far as a advisor picking up the phone to call programs, not worried there either. I just need to take the pre reqs and move on. I am not saying I have all the connections in the world, but I do have some inside lines, which I was told that I just need these classes.

Any advice? a formal Post-bacc or just a pre med program. I hold a BA and MS from Harvard, in Computer Scinece and Business, no medical.... Harvard GPA is 3.8. grad.

Thanks,
MDF

 

[Chrissy]

yeah, you don't need a formal post-bacc....take the pre reqs wherever is geographically and financially convenient and apply. my only advice would be to speak with an advisor at whatever school you choose BEFORE you start. It sounds like you dont need someone to hold your hand but an advising office to work with would be most helful as questions and such are likely to arise....

where are you from?

Can anyone shed some light on this topic. I am looking at some Post-bacc and also premed at some 4 year colleges. I honestly cannot see much difference other then a "pre med" advisor.

My wife and whole family are all docs, so I have plenty of advice. As far as a advisor picking up the phone to call programs, not worried there either. I just need to take the pre reqs and move on. I am not saying I have all the connections in the world, but I do have some inside lines, which I was told that I just need these classes.

Any advice? a formal Post-bacc or just a pre med program. I hold a BA and MS from Harvard, in Computer Scinece and Business, no medical.... Harvard GPA is 3.8. grad.

Thanks,
MDF

 

[riceman04]

yeah, you don't need a formal post-bacc....take the pre reqs wherever is geographically and financially convenient and apply. my only advice would be to speak with an advisor at whatever school you choose BEFORE you start. It sounds like you dont need someone to hold your hand but an advising office to work with would be most helful as questions and such are likely to arise....

where are you from?

dido!

 

[mshheaddoc]

take the prereqs at college and be done. 🙂 You'll be a shoo-in

 

[doc4u]

yeah, you don't need a formal post-bacc....take the pre reqs wherever is geographically and financially convenient and apply. my only advice would be to speak with an advisor at whatever school you choose BEFORE you start. It sounds like you dont need someone to hold your hand but an advising office to work with would be most helful as questions and such are likely to arise....

where are you from?

I live in CT.

There is one school near me, but for Postbacc they do not have a "premed advisor." I am not to worried but I believe in some cases some med school req. a premed advisor LOR.

I just want to get my classes done. This is been a passion for many many years. My wife who is a MD, PhD said I have more desire then here in medicine. I only read medical books, never even touch my books from grad school, just no interest.
I little family history in regards to medical. My wife is a MD, PhD, father in law (ENT) and mother in law (Endocrinology) are brother in law is a neurosurgical resident and my other brother in law is a GP. So I definitely have resources to tap into, but I still need these classes. As my wife would say, they are stupid. She never has any need for what she did as an undergrad or even in med school in her daily work. It’s just a way to weed people out, which is sad.


Worst case is I would need to go to Europe for 2 years and do 2 years clinical back in the states. As of now I hope it will be here in the US, although I may need some pull.

My undergrad GPA was approx a 2.5 (Political Science). I had some bio in college but no labs. I did a lot after college in the world of business and computer science that allowed me to get accepted to Harvard’s graduate program. I hope that my grad work will play some role. I will not finish that grad degree since I am jumping into premed and medical at full speed now. I will finish this semester only (fall), and will start premed in spring.

Any advice or thoughts please send them over…. I am soaking everything in like a sponge.


Regards,
MDF

 

[Chrissy]

I live in CT.

There is one school near me, but for Postbacc they do not have a "premed advisor." I am not to worried but I believe in some cases some med school req. a premed advisor LOR.

I just want to get my classes done. This is been a passion for many many years. My wife who is a MD, PhD said I have more desire then here in medicine. I only read medical books, never even touch my books from grad school, just no interest.
I little family history in regards to medical. My wife is a MD, PhD, father in law (ENT) and mother in law (Endocrinology) are brother in law is a neurosurgical resident and my other brother in law is a GP. So I definitely have resources to tap into, but I still need these classes. As my wife would say, they are stupid. She never has any need for what she did as an undergrad or even in med school in her daily work. It’s just a way to weed people out, which is sad.


Worst case is I would need to go to Europe for 2 years and do 2 years clinical back in the states. As of now I hope it will be here in the US, although I may need some pull.

My undergrad GPA was approx a 2.5 (Political Science). I had some bio in college but no labs. I did a lot after college in the world of business and computer science that allowed me to get accepted to Harvard’s graduate program. I hope that my grad work will play some role. I will not finish that grad degree since I am jumping into premed and medical at full speed now. I will finish this semester only (fall), and will start premed in spring.

Any advice or thoughts please send them over…. I am soaking everything in like a sponge.


Regards,
MDF

I still think you will fine wherever you go, but it would help to find a college where the premed advisor will at least be accessible. It sounds like you don't need the advice or guidance per se but you are right, a premed committee letter would only help. Are you near Yale? they have a fairly new post bacc program that is relatively structured.

 

[Pemulis]

As everyone else here says, you can go it alone, but I'll play devil's advocate for a moment on why you might at least consider a formal post-bac.

I'm currently a student in the Goucher post-bac program, and there are definitely some advantages to it. I too had a strong academic background and was pretty confident that I could make it to med school on my own, but here are the reasons that in the end I chose Goucher:

1. Get all the classes done in one year
2. Linkage options available, so I don't have to take a year off in between finishing post-bac work and starting med school
3. Adcom's REALLY respect the Goucher name, and having it on the app is another advantage. It's true that you can take your premed classes at pretty much any halfway decent school and do fine, but in a competitive app cycle, every advantage helps.
4. MCAT prep built into the program
5. My classes are very small, and we're completely separate from the undergrads. Furthermore, our teachers have the attitude that all of us are going to get into med school, and they are there to help us get ready for medical education, not to weed us out. This takes some of the stress out of the experience, because even though I have to work my tail off to do well in my classes, I know I'm not going to get zapped for points over some bulls--t, as happens at many other schools.
6. Following through on point 5, because of the above attitude, and the fact that our classes aren't graded on a curve, there is no competition between students. Hence, the atmosphere is very supportive and collegial, which strikes me as a much better way to spend the year than looking over my shoulder at all times to make sure that nobody is sabotaging my lab experiment.
7. The advising really is amazing. You might not feel you need it, but it's a huge advantage to have somebody who literally knows just about every dean of admissions in the country, and who can help you tailor your app to the schools which you are most interested in.

In the end it's a personal decision, but you might want to at least explore Goucher and also Bryn Mawr, which has a similar program.

 

[doc4u]

I still think you will fine wherever you go, but it would help to find a college where the premed advisor will at least be accessible. It sounds like you don't need the advice or guidance per se but you are right, a premed committee letter would only help. Are you near Yale? they have a fairly new post bacc program that is relatively structured.

Actually I am reading this with my wife and wse both never even thought about yale!! LOL

I live 20 min from Yale, can you PM some more info if you have any.

 

[doc4u]

I just wanted to give an update. I spoke with a premedical advisor and he suggested I finish my master program at Harvard University as well as take my postbacc classes. I know this will be hard, but I have a great GPA in grad school (CS and Business) and he seems to think its a great package.

I have also been allowed to do research at a local hosptial with some residents, so I beleive that will help, to have a couple research pubs prior to applying. As I think I stated prior, my wife is a MD and knows many people, and I hope that will help. In many cases its who you know, on top of what you know.

As of now, it looks like I will be applying for the 07-08 year for medical school.

I have also talked to other docs, and they think it is better for me to stay in my masters program. Med school will look if I quit then I didnt stick with it, and if I am still a student, they do not like to pull students from programs. For some reason it makes them look bad, to take other colleges students..... Any thoughts on this? I know it will be a hard road to do both, but I think it will up my chances to a US medical school for sure.


Another funny comment from a doc, "many docs are leaving medicine to computer science, why the hell you want to go to medicine?" That it was funny.

 

[LSJST5]

I would like to know what you found out if you don't mind sharing. I am currently in Rwanda finishing my Masters in public health. I did not know whether I should do a formal or informal post-bacc or attempt to take the MCAT with a prep class (and then fit my classes in)....Any feedback that you are able to provide me with would be great...


I am an American by the way...

Thanks for the help

 

[TracksuitsRock]

I know I am weighing in a little late but I also wanted to give my opinion on postbac programs. I believe they have HUGE advantages to just taking classes at a college/university.

First, it is important to show the medical schools that you can handle a rigorous schedule. Taking all of the basic sciences classes at once (and doing well) shows that you can handle the load of medical school. I have met with the dean of admissions at a top medical school and have been told that this is a big plus. Of course, you can do this by just piecing together classes from a university, so make sure if you don't opt postbac that you try to take the classes all at once.

The environment is very supportive, as detailed by another poster, and many of these programs have excellent reputations that go a long way with adcoms.

I know that my letters of recommendation are phenomenal. I attended a small postbac program where I got to know my professors and most importantly, my premed advisor. I think this is by far the best part of a formal postbaccalaureate program. You don't go unnoticed, and thus automatically have an advantage to the tons of students coming out of large undergraduate universities who have to send the professor a resume in order to get a standard letter. I have gotten many interviews and some acceptances and am sure that the letters helped me immensely!

It is a lot of money, but in my mind well worth it if you have aspirations for certain medical schools or certain tiers of schools. If all you want is to get in anyplace, then you should be fine taking classes and losing that edge that postbac gives you.

Good luck and let us know what you decide!

 

[TracksuitsRock]

I just wanted to give an update. I spoke with a premedical advisor and he suggested I finish my master program at Harvard University as well as take my postbacc classes. I know this will be hard, but I have a great GPA in grad school (CS and Business) and he seems to think its a great package.

I have also been allowed to do research at a local hosptial with some residents, so I beleive that will help, to have a couple research pubs prior to applying. As I think I stated prior, my wife is a MD and knows many people, and I hope that will help. In many cases its who you know, on top of what you know.

As of now, it looks like I will be applying for the 07-08 year for medical school.

I have also talked to other docs, and they think it is better for me to stay in my masters program. Med school will look if I quit then I didnt stick with it, and if I am still a student, they do not like to pull students from programs. For some reason it makes them look bad, to take other colleges students..... Any thoughts on this? I know it will be a hard road to do both, but I think it will up my chances to a US medical school for sure.


Another funny comment from a doc, "many docs are leaving medicine to computer science, why the hell you want to go to medicine?" That it was funny.

I didn't finish reading this post before I posted mine. I think if you can pull this off (which it sounds from your attitude like you will be able to) then it will look great on your application. You will have a solid app and it will be clear to the medical schools that you can handle a lot of work and be successful. That's awesome!