Postbac Suggestion for Engineer?

[NRGStar]

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Hey SDN, I'm trying to decide how to complete my basic science requirements. I was a physical sciences major, and have a masters in Civil and Environmental Engineering. So my physics and math requirements are definitely done. My GPA is about a 3.6 UG, 3.8 grad. I haven't taken ANY bio and have only taken 2 quarters of general chem without lab. So I have some work to do, but I think I could definitely do it in a year at a state school outside a formal program. Would it be worth doing a formal program at all, since I already have the physical science side of the prereqs completed?

The one thing that does appeal to me is the possibility of linkages and skipping the glide year.

 

[drizzt3117]

What area of the country are you in and do you have a geographic preference? Most of the formal postbacs seem to be located on either coast, and there's a somewhat strong regional bias in terms of acceptances.

 

[Chauffeur2MD]

OP, you might want to plan on taking more than one academic year if you have just 2 quarters of gen chem. The fastest you could do would be to take the second semester of chem, and then two consecutive semesters of orgo, with bio and labs throughout. That is going to be a tough schedule, even at a state school. For the MCAT, it may really benefit you to take gen chem from the beginning, especially if it has been a while since you last took it. Further, the sequence of topics in gen chem varies a little from school to school, so you may find yourself missing some important concepts. I am facing the same situation right now and am a little concerned about it.

As far as postbaccs are concerned, the linkage programs can be a real advantage, especially for those of us who are getting on in years ;-) (I am just speaking for myself here).

The other major benefits are reputation and the committee letter. Because there are relatively few postbac programs in any given region, med schools (esp. nearby) know, and usually respect, the level of competence they can expect from graduates of those programs. Further, the programs are usually designed so that the person/people writing the committee letter will have a chance to get to know you more closely than would an interviewer/committee from any undergrad institution. If you are the type to make a good impression over time, it can really help.

Just a few of my thoughts. Good luck!

 

[DrMidlife]

The one thing that does appeal to me is the possibility of linkages and skipping the glide year.

I don't get excited about linkages. The people in a postbac program who say "we'll take care of you" don't actually have any power. Show me a med school that reserves SEATS for N grads of a postbac program. Using a postbac program to get interview invites is a lot of money and effort when you can get an interview on your own merits.

That said, the structure of some of the postbac programs is worth the money. I rolled my own at a state school, and I wish I'd gone to Bennington.

I don't think you're skipping a glide year. Even if you can get your prereqs done in a year, you still have to take the MCAT after that year, and then you're ready to apply. And then you get to glide for a year.

(Others: am I on crack? Are there actually postbac programs that in one year simultaneously give you your prereqs, your MCAT, your application, and your interview, so that you start med school 1 yr after you start the postbac? If so, somebody shoot me.)

I'm a former engineer as well, so I completed math/physics/chem in the 80's. Last year, OChem slapped me silly: be ready to have your butt handed to you and be ready to STUDY even if you never needed to before.

So: if you feel like you're still on top of the material from gen chem, I'd pick a school based on its ability to fit your scheduling interests. If it's a big enough school to offer multiples of the different classes and labs that you need, that's good. You might not find a school that separates gen chem lecture and lab, and so you might need to suck it up and do lecture again. Lab is time-consuming, so your schedule might have bio & ochem lectures on MWF, 3 hr genchem lab on W, 3 hr ochem lab on Tues, 3 hr bio lab on Thurs. It'll be a fulltime load, for sure. Keep your GPA up!!!!

Meanwhile, you'll need to do some volunteering, which you should start now. Go smell some patients and push some stretchers. Be willing to be convinced by your volunteer experience that medicine blows.

The nontrad forum will be useful to you as well. Please keep us posted. Best of luck to you.

 

[ootsocsid]

(Others: am I on crack? Are there actually postbac programs that in one year simultaneously give you your prereqs, your MCAT, your application, and your interview, so that you start med school 1 yr after you start the postbac? If so, somebody shoot me.)

There are indeed postbac programs with linkages like this. Goucher, Bryn Mawr, Penn, Columbia, NYU, Tufts, Rutgers, and a few others all have a linkage to at least one medical school (some of these programs have linkages to as many as 7 or 8 schools). Generally you interview in the summer right after starting the postbac program (though some linkage schools interview you in the fall or winter after you've gotten some postbac grades already), and they evaluate you based on your undergraduate career and whatever you've done since then, and then if they like you, they conditionally accept you. The conditions are a GPA you must maintain in the postbac program and an MCAT score you must get in the spring. You cannot apply to more than one linkage though -- if they give you a conditional acceptance, it is a binding offer of admission.

 

[DrMidlife]

There are indeed postbac programs with linkages like this. Goucher, Bryn Mawr, Penn, Columbia, NYU, Tufts, Rutgers, and a few others all have a linkage to at least one medical school (some of these programs have linkages to as many as 7 or 8 schools). Generally you interview in the summer right after starting the postbac program (though some linkage schools interview you in the fall or winter after you've gotten some postbac grades already), and they evaluate you based on your undergraduate career and whatever you've done since then, and then if they like you, they conditionally accept you. The conditions are a GPA you must maintain in the postbac program and an MCAT score you must get in the spring. You cannot apply to more than one linkage though -- if they give you a conditional acceptance, it is a binding offer of admission.

Ah, I see. The structured programs I researched in detail (like Bennington) have no such linkages. Mills and Scripps, which I looked at (I'm left coast), have glideless linkage, but 2 years ago I wasn't interested in their linkage schools, so it didn't register. Which, in hindsight, is totally ******ed, because I just applied to all their linkage schools. Sigh. Gun please?

OP: my bad. Go be smarter than me, please.

 

[NRGStar]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'm in San Francisco and would like to continue to live here, so I'm thinking UC Berkeley extension which unfortunately has no linkages. I'm still pretty on top of my general chemistry.

I have lots of research experience, but none of it is in any way related to medicine. Think it will still count for something?

I am really lacking in medical experience, only have about 10 hours of shadowing and no medicine-related volunteering, though I have some limited non-profit and pro bono experience in my field.

 

[DrMidlife]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'm in San Francisco and would like to continue to live here, so I'm thinking UC Berkeley extension which unfortunately has no linkages. I'm still pretty on top of my general chemistry.

Give Mills a browse as well. Mills is co-ed for their post-bac program. Berkeley is a new program but I hear good things.

I have lots of research experience, but none of it is in any way related to medicine. Think it will still count for something?

Depends. Over the next year or so you'll probably be exposed to medical research activities and you'll get a sense of how your own activities compare. The commonalities of having to secure funding, submit to a systematic approval process, publishing, collaboration with multiple authors, etc. - these are important, imho. You don't need to compare yourself to somebody who ran a lab, just somebody who worked in one.

I am really lacking in medical experience, only have about 10 hours of shadowing and no medicine-related volunteering, though I have some limited non-profit and pro bono experience in my field.

If you possibly can, get in a hospital or clinic right away. This sets you up with exposure and contacts and perspective and you get to start clocking hours and gaining credibility. Where I live, the regular volunteer gig is 4 hours a week, and that's plenty. It's humbling and important. IMHO.

Go get 'em.

 

[naru]

FYI: some schools offer the entire year of ochem (orgo) in one summer. needless to say, it's brutal.

so theoretically, you can complete general chem during the academic year and take ochem in the summer.