Hello I have read a few posts on here but needed a specific answer. My girlfriend is dead set on going to a post bacc program for med school b/c she messed up during her undergrad years. She started fall 2007 and graduated Dec 2011 with a BS in criminal justice and a general science minor. She has a 2.5 gpa and 23mcat and is AA female for what it's worth. She started as a biochem major and had to change majors to graduate on time b/c she was doing poorly. She has over 180 credit hours. Currently she had applied to Hampton university, Edward VCOM, and UMDNJ in new jersey. My question for you all: is it worth it to attend these programs for a SHOT at med school. They seem very costly (Hampton-40k+ 2yrs, E VCOM-20k). Nothing is garaunteed and I think she should be informed on whether she is making the right decision.
Post bacc worth it or not? Please help
- Thread starter Sjb2009
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Applying to med school with a 2.5/23 is not competitive at all.. Your girlfriend will need additional coursework after finishing her post-bac program.. You're right that she'll be spending lots of time (few to several years) and money to even have a shot at getting an acceptance.. Whether this is worth it depends on her, personally though I wouldn't take that risk. There's a thread somewhere on here with success stories from others in your girlfriend's situation, might give your girlfriend a better idea of what to expect.
Thank you for your reply. What additional coursework would she need to complete? She's been interested in nursing so that's her other plan. Also if she took the mcat again and increased her score to say 28 would that at least help her chances?
D
deleted248403
No - she needs a 30+ at least as well as the improved course work for a year or two.
A 28 is still sub par
D
deleted248403
She needs to figure out how much time and money she is willing to invest in this process. Because that will ultimately determine whether or not she should pursue it.
Some soul-searching is step #1 and then go from there
Some soul-searching is step #1 and then go from there
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Tell her to strongly consider DO schools. On DO applications, you can replace bad grades by retaking the class (of equal credit) and doing well. I say this because at a 2.5 GPA with 180+ hours, it is going to take a very long time to get it to a 3.0.
Her top priority right now is to get both her cumulative and science GPA to a 3.0. And when she gets a competitive MCAT score, she can decide what to do going forward.
Her top priority right now is to get both her cumulative and science GPA to a 3.0. And when she gets a competitive MCAT score, she can decide what to do going forward.
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She needs to do some deep soul searching. Are there other careers in medicine that she might consider? 2.5/2.3 at 180 credit hours is almost impossible to budge. She realistically needs 2 years of coursework + SMP for a shot at US MD. She also needs to improve drastically in the MCAT department.
Do you think there is any other career path for her besides medical school?
Regardless, as others have said, her priority right now is 3.0 for both science and cumulative GPA. What was her reason for doing so poorly? Can she handle difficult science coursework?
Well she was a 4.0 student all through high school and I guess it just must have been the adjustment to college. Her fresh and soph years were bad (biochem years). Got Ds and had to grade replace/ retake classes to only get Cs. Junior and senior years she switched to criminal justice and did a lot better getting 3.0s but to budge something like a 2.1 cum u gotta b getting 3.5+ u kno. I know she can handle the coursework she just needs a chance. Her other option which she seems pretty interested in is nursing where she could just go to a comm college and get an adn-bsn. I think her problem is the salary difference between the two. But the consensus here seems it would take a hell of a lot of extra schooling for to get into a MD or DO program. Thoughts?
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Correct, a hell of a lot of extra schooling is unavoidable. If she wants to go to med school, she needs to:
1. Figure out how to get mostly A's in hard classes, possibly by doing a few classes at a community college.
2. Then get mostly A's in hard classes at a university, mostly science, for at least another year of undergrad. A second bachelors, in a science, at 3.7+ would be a good idea.
The above is how to "catch up" academically to where you need to be when you graduate, if you want to go to med school. She then needs to do additional study (such as an URM postbac like Georgetown GEMS or Wake Forest or Hampton) and do really well on the MCAT in order to be an adequately prepared candidate for med school.
Postpone worrying about the cost of a formal postbac until the getting of mostly A's is under control. If she is able to turn it around and start working at the academic level expected of a med student, then the cost of a postbac is appropriate.
Note that with any retaken coursework on her transcripts, for US MD schools, both the old and the new grade are included in GPA calcs when applying to med school. Colleges get no say in how GPA is calculated. While DO schools are forgiving of retakes, you still have to get A's on the first try in hard classes to have academic credibility. So she can't just retake C's and D's and be done.
In short, people do get into med school from way-below-3.0, but it takes a multiple-year GPA comeback effort that makes no sense financially.
Best of luck to you.
Thx a lot for the responses everyone. So for example since she is interested in nursing, could she possibly go back and get her nursing degree adn-bsn or whatever. Get good grades 3.5+ then at that point while already having a career could she consider doing a post bacc if she's still interested in med school?
That is enormous amount of time and money to get a nursing degree, and then a post bacc for med school. I agree that she needs to do some soul searching to find her way in life. Her goals need to be 3.75+ given her past history.
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Nursing courses often don't count towards sGPA, so she would still need to boost that above 3.0.
Also, nursing -> post-bacc -> med school = $$$$$
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I noticed you mentioned the program at Hampton. I am currently in that program and I actually would suggest a post bac for her BUT she has to research them. There are several that she could do with her stats. Unfortunately most of the deadlines have passed for her to apply for entry next fall.
Does she want to stay in VA or is she willing to move? There are some that are one year which could cut the cost, and there are some with guaranteed admission. Some require taking the MCAT again, some don't. There are too many differences to list. I could tell her all she wants to know about the HU program. There is also one at EVMS called med masters which I believe has guaranteed admission. There is the GEMS program at Georgetown, a masters program at PCOM, one with guaranteed admission at OSUCOM called the bridge program, several programs at Drexel... the list could go on forever. Check out this site https://services.aamc.org/postbac/
I think her situation sounds perfect for a post bac, but that is me personally. I have so many friends that have taken that route and I am taking it as well. PM me if you would like any more info. Forgive me if I repeated something someone said before lol. I didn't feel like reading every reply 🙂
Does she want to stay in VA or is she willing to move? There are some that are one year which could cut the cost, and there are some with guaranteed admission. Some require taking the MCAT again, some don't. There are too many differences to list. I could tell her all she wants to know about the HU program. There is also one at EVMS called med masters which I believe has guaranteed admission. There is the GEMS program at Georgetown, a masters program at PCOM, one with guaranteed admission at OSUCOM called the bridge program, several programs at Drexel... the list could go on forever. Check out this site https://services.aamc.org/postbac/
I think her situation sounds perfect for a post bac, but that is me personally. I have so many friends that have taken that route and I am taking it as well. PM me if you would like any more info. Forgive me if I repeated something someone said before lol. I didn't feel like reading every reply 🙂
I would go via the special masters program route, particularly one with 'guaranteed' admissions to the affiliated med school.
Otherwise she is in for probably 4 or 5 years of grade remediation with no promise of anything at the end of that tunnel.
Special masters programs are high risk / high return. Do poorly, and chances at med school are out the window forever. Do well, and in the right program, you have a good shot.
One concern: typically these programs are for people with low grades but otherwise good MCAT scores - her 23 may be too low. Not sure, research it.
Finally: what about alternative health care professions, like PA? I have no idea how competitive these are, grades, etc., but if in her boat, I would look at this route.
Otherwise she is in for probably 4 or 5 years of grade remediation with no promise of anything at the end of that tunnel.
Special masters programs are high risk / high return. Do poorly, and chances at med school are out the window forever. Do well, and in the right program, you have a good shot.
One concern: typically these programs are for people with low grades but otherwise good MCAT scores - her 23 may be too low. Not sure, research it.
Finally: what about alternative health care professions, like PA? I have no idea how competitive these are, grades, etc., but if in her boat, I would look at this route.
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She should check out a few post-bacs/masters. Doing well in these might be her best chance of getting into a DO medical school within 1-2 years.
LMU-DCOM: http://www.lmunet.edu/academics/pmsp/
PCOM: http://www.pcom.edu/Academic_Programs/aca_biomed/BioMed_MS/biomed_ms.html
CCOM: http://www.midwestern.edu/Programs_and_Admission/IL_Master_of_Biomedical_Sciences.html
UMDNJ: http://som.umdnj.edu/gsbstrat/mbs/mbs-prg.htm
VCOM: http://www.vcom.vt.edu/post-baccalaureate/index.html
William Carey: http://www.wmcarey.edu/COM/Academics/2242/MasterofBiomedicalSc.shtm
If she wants to get into an MD school, she would need to raise her gpa up to at least 3.3+ and 30+ MCAT. That could take many more years.
My advice is that if she want to be a doctor to ultimately help/treat people, going DO route will save her more time and money.
LMU-DCOM: http://www.lmunet.edu/academics/pmsp/
PCOM: http://www.pcom.edu/Academic_Programs/aca_biomed/BioMed_MS/biomed_ms.html
CCOM: http://www.midwestern.edu/Programs_and_Admission/IL_Master_of_Biomedical_Sciences.html
UMDNJ: http://som.umdnj.edu/gsbstrat/mbs/mbs-prg.htm
VCOM: http://www.vcom.vt.edu/post-baccalaureate/index.html
William Carey: http://www.wmcarey.edu/COM/Academics/2242/MasterofBiomedicalSc.shtm
If she wants to get into an MD school, she would need to raise her gpa up to at least 3.3+ and 30+ MCAT. That could take many more years.
My advice is that if she want to be a doctor to ultimately help/treat people, going DO route will save her more time and money.
