Question regarding Post-bacc

[Drummerx139]

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Hey guys, I'm a little confused about the approach to take with a post-bacc. I've heard that they're usually used to boost gpa, but only if you're lacking some pre-reqs for med school. So if I graduated with around 3.3 - 3.4 cumulative gpa senior year, I assume I would enroll in a post-bacc the following fall. However does this mean I should be applying for this cycle (fall 2010) while I'm taking classes or do I wait until I finish the post-bacc, see how it boosts my gpa, and then apply the next cycle? Any suggestions and info on what to do would be of great help.

 

[kywii]

So there are actually serveral flavors of post-bac programs (career changers for those who have no med. requirements, gpa boosters, medical school linkage programs). It sounds like you may have completed your medical school requirements, but want to do additional work because of low undergarduate grades. Generally, post-bac programs are a year long with a glide year in between, where you work and apply to medical school. This means that if you do the post-bac from Fall 2007- Spring 2008, you would begin medical school in Fall 2009.There are also programs that link directly to medical schools and would allow you to skip the glide and start Fall 2008.

 

[MiniMoo]

Hey guys, I'm a little confused about the approach to take with a post-bacc. I've heard that they're usually used to boost gpa, but only if you're lacking some pre-reqs for med school. So if I graduated with around 3.3 - 3.4 cumulative gpa senior year, I assume I would enroll in a post-bacc the following fall. However does this mean I should be applying for this cycle (fall 2010) while I'm taking classes or do I wait until I finish the post-bacc, see how it boosts my gpa, and then apply the next cycle? Any suggestions and info on what to do would be of great help.

Post-bacc classes are any classes taken at the undergrad level after you've already graduated with your bachelor's degree and can be used to boost your GPA and/or fulfill needed pre-reqs. You do not have to be lacking pre-reqs to take post-bacc classes. There are both formal 1-year programs as well as informal programs where you just enroll as an extension or open university student at the school of your choice.

AMCAS only counts whatever classes in which grades can be verified with a transcript in their GPA calculations. So if you want medical schools to see your new (and hopefully improved) GPA with post-bacc included on your primary application, then you would apply after having completed those classes.

 

[Catalystik]

The informal, do-it-yourself type of postbac are much cheaper than the formal programs. You can also decide on the coursework you'll take rather than register for a preset series of classes. These are only going to help you if your get near-straight As, of course, as your purpose is to show an upward grade trend and to raise your GPAs.

You might also consider a Special Masters Progam (SMP) if you already have the prerequisites and understood them well enough to get a decent MCAT score. This type of program is meant to be a low GPA booster only for med school aspirants. Rather than being included in the uGPA, the GPA earned in this program completely overrides your previous academics. You are essentially paying for a med school audition, where you take coursework along with current med students and compete for high grades. If you do well, typically 3.5+, you have a good chance at a med school acceptance. Many of these programs give guarantees of an interview at their linked institution. This type of program is expensive and risky, without guarantees of an acceptance, but can really pay off if you're a hard worker and determined to excel.