After searching throughout the forums and taking advice from fellow sdn members, I came to realize a postbacc program is best in my situation. It will give me time to increase my gpa and increasing my chances of admission to medical schools. I've been looking around for postbacc programs and I've seen plenty. The problem is I'm not sure what I should be looking for in a postbacc. I would prefer to go somewhere that would guarantee me a spot in medical school given I achieve the minimum MCAT score and a postbacc gpa that the school requires. Otherwise, I prefer to go to a place that has majority of students being accepted into medical schools. If any of you have any recommendations in mind, please share them.
Postbacc
- Thread starter fre3play
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My honest recommendation? Any random, podunk college within easy driving distance of your house with the classes you need. You're past the point of prestige; you just need to take. lots. of. courses. and. rock. them.
It doesn't have to be a specific postbacc program (honestly, I think most of those are ripoffs)...any college courses count. While there are specific 'premed' postbaccs, most of those are tailored to people who haven't taken the basic sciences you need for med, not GPA repair. Furthermore, if you need GPA repair, you're likely not going to qualify for a linkage program if you DO find one!
It sounds like you are looking more for an SMP than a postbacc...some of those DO have linkage, and most have high acceptance rates into medical school for students who do well in their program.
Look in the Postbacc forums; I don't think you'll find the magic bullet you're looking for, but if you do, please let the rest of us know. 👍
It doesn't have to be a specific postbacc program (honestly, I think most of those are ripoffs)...any college courses count. While there are specific 'premed' postbaccs, most of those are tailored to people who haven't taken the basic sciences you need for med, not GPA repair. Furthermore, if you need GPA repair, you're likely not going to qualify for a linkage program if you DO find one!
It sounds like you are looking more for an SMP than a postbacc...some of those DO have linkage, and most have high acceptance rates into medical school for students who do well in their program.
Look in the Postbacc forums; I don't think you'll find the magic bullet you're looking for, but if you do, please let the rest of us know. 👍
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Im not sure what region/State you are from but I have had several friends go through different post bacc programs in Ohio successfully. Mostly University of Toledo, it's not "guaranteed" acceptance however the average is usually over 80% (last year I think only 5 or 6 people of the entire class didn't matriculate and at least one of them made the choice not to.) Its worth checking out. There are other similar programs, let me know if you have any questions.
Best of Luck!
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What are your stats? GPA/SATs/etc
If they are good, I would highly recommend a top tier postbac if you can afford it. If you have mediocre stats, then the best options for you are DIY programs and programs with low requirement links.
If they are good, I would highly recommend a top tier postbac if you can afford it. If you have mediocre stats, then the best options for you are DIY programs and programs with low requirement links.
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The better programs have top-notch advising, superior to that of pretty much any ugrad pre-med committee I've ever seen. The classes are structured so that you can typically take them all in a year and not be too overwhelmed. There are also alumni connections which help with getting good gap year jobs as well as helping with researching schools. They also typically have the largest number of link options, many of which are considered top tier med schools. The reason they have so many links is because these med schools are familiar with the reputation of specific postbacs and actively try to recruit students from these programs. The advising and reputation of the postbacs are probably the two biggest reasons the top tier postbacs are worth the money.
Other programs can also be successful, but these are the programs that help provide the greatest boons to you and your application.
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But we have SDN!! That's right, I remember now...I still have (good) advising from my school, so this was a non-factor from me.
Again, that's only useful if you are going for career-change rather than gpa repair...if you've taken the classes, these programs aren't really ideally organized.
Again, something people may have from undergrad...or they may already have a job.
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Believe me, the advising goes beyond what SDN is capable of providing. SDN is a great resource, but when I say advising, I mean more like the school being able to hand hold you throughout the entire process. Timelines and schedules are set for you so that you don't fall through the cracks. I don't doubt that there are good pre-med committees, but the advising we received was above and beyond, to the point where a select group of people complained about being treated like children.
And yes, these programs are only for career changers, and for those with a solid academic background as well. In fact these programs will not accept you if you've taken more than one of the pre-reqs during understand. When I hear postbacs, that's generally what comes to mind. For GPA-repair, I think more SMPs and the sort. I do not have as much familiarity with SMPs.
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Cool. Thanks for spelling that all out; it makes a lot more sense than when I tried to formulate it...bottom line being that if you're looking for GPA repair, you a) probably won't qualify for a linkage program and b) probably need to DIY because most fixed post-baccs expect you to take the premed requirements.
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Basically only "formal" program I know of really that will let you take upper level undergrad science is UPenn's Specialized Science program. I completed this program this past May and am currently accepted to several medical schools.
It was a great program, but not necessary if you can just go somewhere nearby where you live and take courses. Just take full course loads (4-5 courses per semester) and ace them. Or if your GPA isn't terrible (above 3.3 but still below like a 3.6) I would suggest an SMP instead.
It was a great program, but not necessary if you can just go somewhere nearby where you live and take courses. Just take full course loads (4-5 courses per semester) and ace them. Or if your GPA isn't terrible (above 3.3 but still below like a 3.6) I would suggest an SMP instead.
https://services.aamc.org/postbac/
This is a great resource for looking up post bacc programs near you and to see if any of them have linkages.
This is a great resource for looking up post bacc programs near you and to see if any of them have linkages.
Can you share your experience in that postbacc program? Can you also tell me your cGPA/sGPA along with mcat scores? I am really curious as to see where I stand right now.
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Shoot me a message and I'll answer when I can
