post bacc work in chicago

[loopy]

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HI
I am in a very unique situation here. I did my undergrad work in the UK and majored in Biology with a very very poor GPA. Came to the US and want to do medicine here. I am a permenant resident now but dont know what to do. Most schools dont accept foreign degrees and those which do want atleast 1 year of further undergrad work here in the US and that also if you have a good gpa otherwise 2 or 3 years. I did consider applying for another degree here at chicago schools but i dont think i will get in due to my poor performance (havent heard from any). Post bacc programs are hard to get in as well due to the all foreign thing and poor gpa (spoke to loyola). Talked to a bunch of pre med advisors and they all suggest a post bacc if I get in other wise taking courses externally at a university. The problem with taking courses is that there is no financial aid avalible and no concrete path to take which may take the toll and get me super stressed. On the other hand i am not very sure about what courses to take as all advisors have different opinions. Seems like a total deadlock. HELP!

 

[chopper]

HI
I am in a very unique situation here. I did my undergrad work in the UK and majored in Biology with a very very poor GPA. Came to the US and want to do medicine here. I am a permenant resident now but dont know what to do. Most schools dont accept foreign degrees and those which do want atleast 1 year of further undergrad work here in the US and that also if you have a good gpa otherwise 2 or 3 years. I did consider applying for another degree here at chicago schools but i dont think i will get in due to my poor performance (havent heard from any). Post bacc programs are hard to get in as well due to the all foreign thing and poor gpa (spoke to loyola). Talked to a bunch of pre med advisors and they all suggest a post bacc if I get in other wise taking courses externally at a university. The problem with taking courses is that there is no financial aid avalible and no concrete path to take which may take the toll and get me super stressed. On the other hand i am not very sure about what courses to take as all advisors have different opinions. Seems like a total deadlock. HELP!

I don't know the rules about the permanent resident thing and federal financial aid. There are programs to give you some Stafford Assistance as a post-bacc, but you may not be eligible.

I also don't know about how medical schools look at foreign schools (although it definately works - we have a guy who trained at Oxford in our class, albeit he is a US citizen).

In either case, I would try to get ahold of medical school admissions comittees, not necessarily post bacc programs. Post bacc advisors can be good, but I feel they don't really know what medical schools are looking for. And they really start having problems with individuals who don't fit the 'traditional' non-traditional role, if that makes any sense. Only the med schools can tell you what the med schools are looking for. And even then, it is school specific.

So, my opinion (not that it is worth anything because I as well don't know exactly what the programs will say):

1. You need to make an appointment with and admissions person at Loyola, Rush, UIC - and ask them to give you honest advice on what it would take to make you a competitive candidate. Don't be surprised if they say it may be a longshot and take a while. But don't be discouraged either. They may give you a dire outlook, but I'm convinced they love a long shot and someone who is willing to do whatever to get into med school.

2. Realize that they may look at your situation and not take you seriously. Lots of people suddenly want to do medicine during an existential crisis in your life. With a poor past academic performance, the odds aren't good. So you may need some credibility before being taken seriously down the line. Look into classes at a local community college. It is cheap, and usually provides a flexible schedule. The courses to take: Bio, Chem, OCHEM, Physics. If you need math background, start there but the big four are what you need to prove yourself in. Oh - and needless to say, you need to do nothing less than outstanding (A's) if you want to be taken seriously.

3. Realize this will take you YEARS. Making up for poor past performance is difficult. Proving yourself in the US system after a foreign education is difficult. I don't want to take the wind out of your sails, but if you are having problems getting into an undergraduate program, think realisticly about what that means about getting into med school. It can be done, but make sure you are up for the challenge and sacrifice necessary. Do some serious soul searching to convince yourself that this is what you want to do.

Good luck. Keep on the board to update us on what you end up doing
Chopper

 

[nanaschool2000]

I don't know the rules about the permanent resident thing and federal financial aid. There are programs to give you some Stafford Assistance as a post-bacc, but you may not be eligible.

I also don't know about how medical schools look at foreign schools (although it definately works - we have a guy who trained at Oxford in our class, albeit he is a US citizen).

In either case, I would try to get ahold of medical school admissions comittees, not necessarily post bacc programs. Post bacc advisors can be good, but I feel they don't really know what medical schools are looking for. And they really start having problems with individuals who don't fit the 'traditional' non-traditional role, if that makes any sense. Only the med schools can tell you what the med schools are looking for. And even then, it is school specific.

So, my opinion (not that it is worth anything because I as well don't know exactly what the programs will say):

1. You need to make an appointment with and admissions person at Loyola, Rush, UIC - and ask them to give you honest advice on what it would take to make you a competitive candidate. Don't be surprised if they say it may be a longshot and take a while. But don't be discouraged either. They may give you a dire outlook, but I'm convinced they love a long shot and someone who is willing to do whatever to get into med school.

2. Realize that they may look at your situation and not take you seriously. Lots of people suddenly want to do medicine during an existential crisis in your life. With a poor past academic performance, the odds aren't good. So you may need some credibility before being taken seriously down the line. Look into classes at a local community college. It is cheap, and usually provides a flexible schedule. The courses to take: Bio, Chem, OCHEM, Physics. If you need math background, start there but the big four are what you need to prove yourself in. Oh - and needless to say, you need to do nothing less than outstanding (A's) if you want to be taken seriously.

3. Realize this will take you YEARS. Making up for poor past performance is difficult. Proving yourself in the US system after a foreign education is difficult. I don't want to take the wind out of your sails, but if you are having problems getting into an undergraduate program, think realisticly about what that means about getting into med school. It can be done, but make sure you are up for the challenge and sacrifice necessary. Do some serious soul searching to convince yourself that this is what you want to do.

Good luck. Keep on the board to update us on what you end up doing
Chopper

I agree w/ chopper. First of all, I want to tell you that Permanent Residents are ELIGIBLE to get all types of financial aids. Believe 100 percent. While I enrolled in Undergraduate, I was a permanent resident. I did not have any problem w/ getting financial aids. You are certainly eligible to get Federal Loans (subsidized, unsubsidized, stafford, etc). If you are looking for Scholarship, that is a whole different story. There are some scholarships that permanent residents are not eligible to apply. So you might have to look into it.

I dunno much about schools in Chicago. But I head many good things about Northwestern, loyola, and UIC. Just like Chopper said, I think it would be best to make an appointment w/ premed advisors @ those schools. I heard that loyola isn't so hard to get in. But that can be wrong since I heard it from other people. NO MATTER WHAT, don't be discouraged. You will be able to find many people w/ poor UG records who have successfully admitted to medical school after postbacc (of course that requires of dedications and efforts). I can suggest to do some volunteering work @ hospital. You might need that before you apply to med school.

 

[AlkaIL]

The Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies runs their post bacc. They allow you to take classes as a student-at-large (i.e. no gpa requirements) however their post bacc has a gpa requirement of 3.0 but I was told by them that you can take the entire post bacc student at large. However as a student at large no financial aid. It costs $1200/per class. Community college will take you. An entire semester costs $1200. UIC is another place you can be a student at large. There are many ways to do this. I would also look into having your foreign transcript evaluated professionally since school will want to see it in "American" form. All my foreign friends had to do this. Good luck.

 

[loopy]

Thanks a lot guys.
Just a general question, who all is in the admission committee in med schools I mean are other people not working in the admissions office like profs in admission committees as well?

 

[loopy]

what do you guys say about this degree program i was just offered a place today.
http://www.scs.northwestern.edu/ugrad/biological_sciences.cfm

 

[chopper]

Thanks a lot guys.
Just a general question, who all is in the admission committee in med schools I mean are other people not working in the admissions office like profs in admission committees as well?

It varies from school to school, but the admissions committee can be a large group of individuals consisting of administrators, faculty, and even current students.

Who would be most help to you is someone who works full time on admissions (the director of admissions or one of his/her subordinates). I've heard varying stories on how open they are, especially now in the middle of admissions season. But if you can catch them at the right time, they can be very helpful.