Postbac Advice

[collegegrad]

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Hi all,
I recently graduated college with a 3.0 undergrad gpa. Took all prereq courses (did mediocre). Plan on doing an informal postbac by taking upperlevel classes at another university. It will probably take 1 to 2 years to pull my GPA up so I can be a competitive med school applicant. I am asking for anybody's advice. Should I do this as a nondegree student? Or since it will take 1 or 2 years, might as well make it a second bachelors?

 

[DrBubbles]

With a 3.0 GPA, have you considered a Special Master's Program? There are quite a few of them out there. I started at a 3.18, took three quarters of a series of Anatomy and Physiology while working full-time, and did one year of an SMP, and I got up to I think a 3.48 with an A- and the rest As. And I have a Master's degree now. And I'm a happy MS1 at my first choice med school! So maybe one year of post-bac, one year of an SMP, get an MCAT in there somewhere, and then work for at least a year. That way, when you apply, you'll have a higher gpa on your record, a master's degree, and you'll be a non-traditional student. Honestly, though, what made the biggest difference for me was taking some time after college NOT studying for anything. Then, when I went back to school 9 months later, I got all my good grades. I hope you figure out what works best for you--I think you're definitely on the right track. Best of luck!

 

[thoffen]

Doing a post-bac, non-degree or second degree doesn't make one lick of difference. The GPA is what's important.

SMP is a different story.

 

[postbacker]

SMP is the way to go if you can get into one with a 3.0 (recent anecdotes suggest that the minimum GPA for these programs is moving up into the 3.3 to 3.4 range)...also, you will need to take the MCAT for an SMP...so you might be well advised to do at least couple of upper level sci courses to raise your GPA, and simultaneously prep and take the MCAT...realistically you might be able to enroll in an SMP in the fall of 2009, and you might even take an initial shot at med school in next year's cycle, with the SMP as your fall back plan...

 

[Isoprop]

1 year postbacc with straight a's will net you a 3.2. definitely worth it. during your 1 year, get the MCAT written. if you scored above 30, apply to an Special Masters Program.

There's a forum on postbaccs if you scroll down on SDN.

if you are in the postbacc now, and you do well on the Jan MCAT, you have a shot of getting into a SMP 2008. If not, take the MCAT next summer and apply for 2009.

 

[Jericho1057]

I graduated from undergrad with a 3.27 GPA and a 3.1 science GPA. Every semester I was at school my CUM improved. Nonetheless, I knew I didn't stand a chance of getting into med school so I went to the Georgetown SMP in 2007. I graduated from this program with a 3.7.

I took the MCATs twice
30 Verbal 8 Biological 9 Physical 13
32 Verbal 8 Biological 11 Physical 13 (most recent)

This year I am volunteering at my local fire department and getting certified as an EMT. I am also conducting research at a local laboratory on breast cancer.

I applied to a couple of schools last year but only got an interview from Georgetown... i Didn't get in. I am applying to a bunch of med schools (26) for 2008. I have devoted a lot into getting into to med school and I am getting a little gunshy. Does anyone have an idea of what my chances actually are?

 

[queenbee]

as a non-trad and with your stats - it's really important to apply broad and wide. i'm not saying that there's anything wrong with your stats - but you cannot just apply to a "couple" of schools when you're up against tens of thousands of students for not that many spots.

if you take a look through the progress thread, or read through people's profiles, or take a look through mdapplicants, you can get a better idea of the types of schools that typically fit your stats.

you should also look into both MD and DO schools to increase your chances of getting in somewhere.

 

[Isoprop]

yes and apply early. get everything ready for june 1 for next year's cycle. get your lors ready, and try to find the secondary questions from the preallo board. you want to be ahead of the game next year. you have a real chance of getting in if you apply broadly and early. just keep volunteering and adding to your EC list!!!