Postbac in Hunter NYC?

[mefistofel]

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Is there anybody who finished postbac in Hunter College (NYC)? Was the school helpful at all? They sya you have to give them al the recommendations and they will help you out. But is it really true? Thanks!

 

[pyau03]

Hi,

To be honest, I don't know much about Hunter's post-bac program. However, according to my advisor, you should choose a post-bac program with at least the same difficulty level as your undergrad. Let's say you are at one of the top-tier schools, you should also do a post-bac program at another institution of the same caliber. It's not good if the trend is reversed, ie: Ivy college and then post-bac at CC, adcoms will think that you are looking for an easy way out. Hope this helps. Good luck!🙂

 

[jobunny]

I took my post-bacc courses at Hunter and got into a couple of MD programs this year. I know several others who successfully applied to MD programs that also did their post-bacc there. I don't necessarily agree with pyau03. I received my bachelor's degree and a couple of other degrees from top tier schools, but went with Hunter b/c it was dirt cheap, and it was sufficiently rigorous to prepare me for med school and be considered seriously by adcoms.

I don't think a post-bacc education from Hunter will hurt you at all. Just make sure your grades and MCATs are solid, and you'll get in.

Good Luck!

 

[eedoctor]

Hunter College has a TON of post-bacc students, rangeing from philosophy to business majors to whatever majors. I haven't met any engineers yet, but I'm sure there are a few. The ages range from 23 to 35 or so, with an average around 26-27.

Biology and Organic Chemistry are standard classes and are the SAME at every school. Its up to you if you want to spend $4000 (at Hunter or City College) or $40000 (at Columbia or NYU). An easy decision if you ask me.

Columbia is super-nice and super-smart. However, I have met a number of Ivy-league graduates in the post-bacc program at Hunter. Most people carry the same opinion of why they chose Hunter (the price and its focus on health studies). Most people are simply preparing themselves for the MCAT.

In my opinion, its a standard public state university (just in a super-urban setting).

Everyone's heard of Hunter out east. The faculty is excellent, and the classes are very competitive and challenging. The Bio class is around 700 students and taught by a very cool lady. Her test mimic MCAT questions. My Orgo class is taught by an adjunct MD/PHD neurosurgeon (bad-ass).

You acceptance to med school will depend on your undergraduate GPA, research experience, etc., and most importantly -> your MCAT score.

An A+ at Columbia may carry slightly more weight than an A+ at Hunter, but I don't think its worth $40,000. I would put more emphasis on your MCAT score.

I would have rather done my post-bacc at my alma mater Univ. of Wisconsin, but I was sort of stuck in NYC (involved in a relationship). There is a TON of red-tape at Hunter and it is very crowded, but its worth the effort, if you want to stay in NYC. You've got to fight for everything -> getting into classes, getting your federal aid approved, etc. In the end, you'll prevail and you'll be happy.

Here is a few tips if you want to go to Hunter:
1) Stay at your job until school starts, save up as much cash as possible, NYC ain't cheap
2) If you want federal aid, apply as a transfer student
3) Start studying for the MCAT now!

 

[lawnboy313]

Hi,

To be honest, I don't know much about Hunter's post-bac program. However, according to my advisor, you should choose a post-bac program with at least the same difficulty level as your undergrad. Let's say you are at one of the top-tier schools, you should also do a post-bac program at another institution of the same caliber. It's not good if the trend is reversed, ie: Ivy college and then post-bac at CC, adcoms will think that you are looking for an easy way out. Hope this helps. Good luck!🙂

Yikes--this is terrible advice. The success rate of a post-bac program and how well its graduates do on the MCAT far outweighs where the school sits on the US News Rankings. If your advisor's advice were true, the Goucher, Bennington, and Bryn Mawr programs wouldn't have the success rate that they do--they aren't in the top tier of liberal arts colleges.

Furthermore, difficulty doesn't directly correlate with the ranking of the school. I've taken classes at an ivy league university, two small liberal arts colleges, and a state university, and I've found that the ivy league classes were the least rigorous of the bunch. Just my experience, but there is no need to perpetuate elitist BS on this forum.

There are some great things said about the Hunter program buried in past posts--check them out with a search.

 

[Chrissy]

just to add my two cents....I THINK what that poster meant about difficulty was somewhat true (and actually echoed by my undergrad premed advisor at an Ivy)....Hunter does have a great post-bac reputation, but everyone's background is a little different....in other words, many of the successful post bacs from Hunter and other city/state colleges did well as undergrads. If you got a 3.5 + from a top tier school and then went to Hunter and got close to a 4.0 you arent at a disadvantage applying from Hunter....however, if you are like me and did just ok at a top undergrad, going to hunter and doing well might not make up for my mediocre background....(ex. 2.5 princeton, 3.98 Hunter)....take this with a grain of salt but I battled with this dilemma ultimately choosing to return to my undergrad school to really prove i can do well anywhere....before my final decision i visited the admissions offices of several MD schools in NY and PA and all but 1 (UPenn) said they DO give consideration to the difficulty/reputation of your post bacc institution especially if you are trying to improve your record. Just to address a previous poster....these high ranking schools do include both schools with prestigious postbacc programs (goucher, BM) as well as schools everyone already knows as being competitive.

 

[Chrissy]

also i forgot to respond to one more thing: I also have taken classes at an Ivy, a competitive 4 yr private, and a city college and the Ivy was BY FAR the hardest of the all....i think it depends on the individual, the schools involved, and the classes you are taking....