Questions about post-bacc program

[ronaldo23]

I made a somewhat similar thread a while back, but did not get many answers, so I'll specify my questions more.

1. What GPA range would you recommend having before applying to medical school application, and when is it definitely necesary to do a post-bacc (assuming rest of app is decent but not outstanding in any specific area: MCAT around 30-32 good ecs etc)

2. It seems from SDN that many people do a post-bacc and then succesfully apply to medical school. But how hard are these programs and what percent will succeed in getting into med school? Are most people who do the post-bacc succesful with getting in to medical school? I know at my undergrad, every science class is curved to a C+ and B-; is it the same way at post-bacc? Are the classes overall harder/are they graded easier? How well do you have to do to have a good shot? Is it smarter to go to an 'easier' college to get higher grades? what are the best programs?


I can't imagine anything worse than shelling out 40-80K more and then not ending up getting into med school if I don't get straight As in the post-bacc


thanks yo.

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[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

I made a somewhat similar thread a while back, but did not get many answers, so I'll specify my questions more.

1. What GPA range would you recommend having before applying to medical school application, and when is it definitely necesary to do a post-bacc (assuming rest of app is decent but not outstanding in any specific area: MCAT around 30-32 good ecs etc)

2. It seems from SDN that many people do a post-bacc and then succesfully apply to medical school. But how hard are these programs and what percent will succeed in getting into med school? Are most people who do the post-bacc succesful with getting in to medical school? I know at my undergrad, every science class is curved to a C+ and B-; is it the same way at post-bacc? Are the classes overall harder/are they graded easier? How well do you have to do to have a good shot? Is it smarter to go to an 'easier' college to get higher grades? what are the best programs?


I can't imagine anything worse than shelling out 40-80K more and then not ending up getting into med school if I don't get straight As in the post-bacc


thanks yo.

thoughts:

post-bacc programs encompass several options, it sounds like likely you're thinking the formal, georgetown/loyola/ etc route? I'd define post-bacc as a program for non-medical people to gain needed primarily basic pre-med courses, physics/chem/labs etc. For more advanced knowledge, I'd call that a "special master's program". The intent on a post-bacc is to prep for the mcat/gain basic knowledge, the SMP is to gain advanced knowledge. SMPs give graduate credit, most schools look primarily at undergraduate GPA when deciding to interview or not, so SMPs would not do so much here, but they would "prove" you can handle med school level work.

I enrolled as non-degree student in a local 4 yrs college, simply enrolling one-by-one in the basic science level post-bacc premed courses I needed. This worked for me b/c 1) cheap, did not require moving 2) good flexibility of completing additional, advanced courses. 3) its an accredited 4 year college, which many adcomms consider.

To answer: GPA "recommended?" Not really possible to answer this. Higher is better, always, all else being equal. Higher GPA can compensate for other weaknesses, I'd shoot for being in the middle of the gpa "range" for a school as listed in the current MSAR if possible.

I felt that earning less than mostly As in my post-bacc would indicate a poor ability to succeed in med school, my opinion is that grades in a post-bacc should be mostly As. At my school, the average grade is a c+/b-. Lots of work to earn mostly As.

In my opinion, I'd go with the "easier" school and earn As rather than the tougher one & earn Bs. I don't think it would be a good investment to move cross country, pay 40K, enroll in a top program, and hope to get in to med school. Unless you've got lots of discretionary income, the benefit is too incremental to do that. And as you said, there are no guarantees of admission, there is a guarantee that you're 40K more in debt.

Instead, I'd go for bulking up on ECs, gaining diverse shadowing experience, volunteer in community settings, get leadership experience, research experience, etc. If GPA is the main concern, take a bunch of undergrad science classes, preferably some or most being advanced science courses such as genetics, physio, etc. to bring the GPA up.

Sorry about not being more numerically exact, some post-bacc programs will give you % accepted in med school from their program if you call them, much of it comes down to how hard you work at school, how well you interview, the mood of the interviewer, the perception of your ECs, and the value you can bring to a med school as a diverse/interesting candidate.

 

[mishelli]

There's another thread around here that talks about this, but I'll briefly go over it since I, myself, am trying to decide whether or not to go to one of these programs.

The Georgetown SMP boasts a 60% acceptance rate for students who apply while they are doing the program and a 80+% acceptance rate overall. Gtown is a bit odd in that they strongly encourage you to apply in the summer before the program starts. Personally I think that's too much work, but you can get around that and wait until the following year to apply if you prefer. Additionally you take classes with MS1s and you're graded on their curve. It's a lot of work. I also hear mixed results about what adcoms want performance-wise during post bacc programs (some think As and Bs are good, some think anything less than a 4.0 is unsatisfactory).

Loyola guarantees interviews to students with a certain minimum level of performance in the program. I think it's a 3.5. They also boast a 85+% acceptance rate of their students.

Overall, if you've got a decent undergrad science gpa (I have a 3.4) I think an SMP is going to be only of limited use to you. Personally, I'm leaning more towards getting a job/paying off some of my loans, and taking classes part-time to beef up my gpa some. Alternately, if you're ambivalent, an SMP is nice because it's easier in a lot of ways. You just hand over your money and bam, you're done. You follow the program schedule, you apply to med schools and hopefully you get in.

 

[ronaldo23]

if I'm looking at a 3.4 overall and a 3.1-3.2 science GPA, would you guys recomend a SMP? Or just informally take some science classes post-graduation to improve that GPA...