Post-Baccs in NYC (CCNY-CUNY, NYU, Columbia, Fordham)

[FintoMed]

Hi Everyone,

I'm 24 and I worked in finance for 5 years and now I'm looking into switching careers into Medicine. I went to a SUNY school, majored in Business Administration, and graduated with a 3.67 GPA. I recently got into the post-bacc programs for CCNY-CUNY, NYU, Columbia and Fordham.

I was wondering which program would be best for me to attend and if anyone could answer the questions I had below:
1. Would taking out loans for NYU and Columbia be worth it for the advisement and prestige?
2. Should I go towards City College and save myself a lot of money?
3. Will going to city college not decrease my chances of getting into medical school if I had a high GPA & MCAT?
4. I know the CCNY-CUNY post-bacc is quite recent. If anyone on here has/is attending their program, could you let me know about your experience?
5. Could anyone who attended CCNY-CUNY, NYU, Columbia, Fordham share their experiences as well?

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[deleted367183]

I absolutely loved my time at CCNY, but registration will be a problem unless you're in the special program, about which I know nothing. Take a look at my recent history for more details!! The short answer is yes, absolutely go to CCNY.

 

[FintoMed]

Nice! I saw that you got accepted into medical school. Did you get a committee letter when you did a DIY post bacc?

I absolutely loved my time at CCNY, but registration will be a problem unless you're in the special program, about which I know nothing. Take a look at my recent history for more details!! The short answer is yes, absolutely go to CCNY.

 

[deleted367183]

No. I had the opportunity, but I passed for various reasons. Now they have a real committee that is up and running, though. Arrrgh, I do not know if, now that the expensive special program exists, one must be enrolled in it to get a letter. That would be very uncool.

 

[GreenDuck12]

1. Generally speaking, postbac programs are not very selective in who they admit. For this reason, postbacs at Columbia and NYU don’t come with the same prestige that an undergraduate degree might have. Outside of a few small established postbac programs (goucher, bryn mawr, etc)with linkages, I don’t think any particular school is sufficiently prestigious to justify a substantial increase in cost. Linkages might be something that appeal to you and help justify the cost.
2. This would be a reasonable option and wouldn’t be stigmatized by an admissions committee. Personally, with many in state medical school tuitions and fees ranging from 35-50k per year plus COA, I would opt for the most economical option.
3. Simple answer is no. There are around 30,000 colleges and universities in the US. No admissions committee can track the relative strength or weaknesses of this many programs. That being said, you may find regional bias, or bias within a program that has historically accepted x number candidates from school z that they know to excellent. This tends to be less of a issue with postbac programs and non traditional applicants.

 

[A2022J]

Hello all! Quick question. I just got accepted into Columbia's postbac premed program but am thinking of going to CCNY to re-take/take the classes I need. Columbia is incredibly expensive and the only advantage is the name and the fact that it's an actual program vs. a DIY one. Any opinions on this would be greatly appreciated.