Really need some advice...opinions..pretty please...any help...

[mizzoudude]

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Hey all,

SDN is one of the best things to happen to pre-med students. It is F**cking awesome! I have posted before on this, but need some more help/opinions from you guys/gals.

I am graduating this May ('05) with an undergrad in bio...GPA sucks..3.29 and an MCAT of 27. Needless to say, I did not get in anywhere I applied to. I am definately moving to California come this summer with some friends. There I intend to work for a year (make some money/pay off some debt/establish residency).

What are my options? I have all the pre-reqs, but I don't have stellar grades in all of them. Can anyone tell me about any post-bacc programs in Cali? I have the drive and desire to become a physician. I will not screw up like I did during undergrad (came from ultra conservative family and went buck wild in college). I am willing to work extremely hard (as partying is out of my system).

There is a post-bacc program with all the pre-reqs retaken in USC:
http://chem.usc.edu/undergraduate/premed.html
Anyone know about this program? pros/cons?
There is also the MPH route (I would love to do this if I don't get into med school). What MPH programs are good in Cali? That I can get into?
Anyone know about the Loma Linda Biomedical Certificate?

I really want to stay in Cali after I move (I love warm weather and it is the best for me to study in), but I am willing to move to Boston (I have read a crap load about their program and how great it is) even if it is cold as heck up there.

Please let me know about your experiences in Cali and what you guys think my best options would be. I know I have posted before, but it is crunch time and I need all the help I can get. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[cammy1313]

Hey dude,

As a Cali resident and a med school reapplicant, I have a couple of pearls of wisdom I can share with you. Given that you and I have similar stats as well, I can give you the abridged version of my story in hopes that it might help. Applied late after having taken the August MCAT. Got one interview turned waitlist turned rejection. Moved to Boston for the MAMS program. Got a 3.8, befriended some profs for letters of rec (and support, they are very encouraging). Applied early this cycle (June). Recieved 10+ interview invites, a few waitlists, two acceptances.

I had to leave Cali for my post-bac because my GPA wasn't low enough that retaking undergrad courses would help. Not to mention that I got some form on an A in most of my undergrad science courses and had very few that I hadn't taken yet. Also, had to prove without a shadow of a doubt that I could handle med school and what better way than to actually take the courses. Did well at BU, got into BU med. Got exactly what I planned for and I even got the option to stay in Cali from Drew but declined. Waiting on Irvine which is my top choice (but BU is definately an excellent default school).

My advice to you is, if you insist on staying in CA for post-bac to definately go the MPH route or look at San Francisco State's post-bac which looked pretty good to me. Truthfully, California is probably the last place anyone would want to move to for residency purposes when applying to med school. This is because entrance into CA schools is ridiculously competitive and most CA applicants have to go out of state.

If you have any specific questions I'm all ears. I know how you must be feeling and I'd be glad to help.

C

 

[lightnk102]

I think an SMP would be your best choice. I had a lower GPA than you did, but all the admissions committees I spoke to said that retaking pre-req's would not be a productive use of my time and money. It's rather unfortunate that most of the more popular SMP's are on the east coast. As Cammy mentioned, California is likely the least helpful state to move to for the purposes of getting into medical school.

If you were go any route in California, I'd recommend doing the MPH over retaking the prereq's. UC Berkeley has an excellent program.

 

[mizzoudude]

Hey dude,

As a Cali resident and a med school reapplicant, I have a couple of pearls of wisdom I can share with you. Given that you and I have similar stats as well, I can give you the abridged version of my story in hopes that it might help. Applied late after having taken the August MCAT. Got one interview turned waitlist turned rejection. Moved to Boston for the MAMS program. Got a 3.8, befriended some profs for letters of rec (and support, they are very encouraging). Applied early this cycle (June). Recieved 10+ interview invites, a few waitlists, two acceptances.

I had to leave Cali for my post-bac because my GPA wasn't low enough that retaking undergrad courses would help. Not to mention that I got some form on an A in most of my undergrad science courses and had very few that I hadn't taken yet. Also, had to prove without a shadow of a doubt that I could handle med school and what better way than to actually take the courses. Did well at BU, got into BU med. Got exactly what I planned for and I even got the option to stay in Cali from Drew but declined. Waiting on Irvine which is my top choice (but BU is definately an excellent default school).

My advice to you is, if you insist on staying in CA for post-bac to definately go the MPH route or look at San Francisco State's post-bac which looked pretty good to me. Truthfully, California is probably the last place anyone would want to move to for residency purposes when applying to med school. This is because entrance into CA schools is ridiculously competitive and most CA applicants have to go out of state.

If you have any specific questions I'm all ears. I know how you must be feeling and I'd be glad to help.

C

Thank you so much for your help and encouragement. I have lots of questions for you, if you don't mind answering. I could look all this up, but as you seem to be very helpful and you have been through the program, some help would be soooo appreciated.
1) How competitive is the program in BU? Do I have a chance with my stats? 3.2 and a 27?
2) What is the matriculation rate into a med school from the BU program? How long is the program? 2 years?
3)If the program is 2 years, will I be retaking the MCAT after my first year?
4) How much does the program cost? I want to move to Cali (enjoy a year..burned out from studying 4 years..and doing crappy...I want to grow up a little bit...I am not even 21..graduate this May though) and save some money. My parents are not rich and will not be able to help out too much. I hear the program is really expensive? I can get loans right? If I bust my ass, will it be worth it?
5) How encouraging is the staff and the organization?

I am sure my dumb ass will have many more questions. Thank you so much for all your help.

 

[Stratus2675]

Thank you so much for your help and encouragement. I have lots of questions for you, if you don't mind answering. I could look all this up, but as you seem to be very helpful and you have been through the program, some help would be soooo appreciated.
1) How competitive is the program in BU? Do I have a chance with my stats? 3.2 and a 27?
2) What is the matriculation rate into a med school from the BU program? How long is the program? 2 years?
3)If the program is 2 years, will I be retaking the MCAT after my first year?
4) How much does the program cost? I want to move to Cali (enjoy a year..burned out from studying 4 years..and doing crappy...I want to grow up a little bit...I am not even 21..graduate this May though) and save some money. My parents are not rich and will not be able to help out too much. I hear the program is really expensive? I can get loans right? If I bust my ass, will it be worth it?
5) How encouraging is the staff and the organization?

I am sure my dumb ass will have many more questions. Thank you so much for all your help.

do a search for this post (it will answer most of your ????)

Boston University MA in Medical Science

 

[notdeadyet]

Cammy is dead right about California being a bad choice to try to get residency in. There's a _reason_ that so many people are fleeing the state to set up residency elsewhere for med school purposes.

If you decide to come to California anyway, I looked into a bunch of schools for postbac purposes and here's the one's I looked into:

NorCal-
SFSU: Informal program, but cheap classes (about $3K/year). You have to jump through hoops sometimes to get the classes you want and can't be inflexible about schedule. Good, tight community of post-bacs there, but little formal advising. Need to apply as 2nd BA student.
Mills: Formal program, but very expensive (about $16k/year). Very small class sizes with specific sections devoted to postbacs. Convenient scheduling. Little MCAT advising and no help with setting up internships and whatnot.

SoCal-
(I know less about these programs, as I'm a NorCal guy)
UCSC: Great program, very competitive to get in and get good grades in. Good reputation. LOUSY place to live in LA, though. Prepare for lots of driving.
Scripps: Excellent program too, with great placement rates. Nice lifestyle and lovely area to live.

As for the MPH at Cal (UC Berkeley), I'd be careful about using this as a safe Plan B. It's one of the most competitive MPH programs in the country. You'd want to have a pretty stellar application to get in. A friend of mine was denied with nice stats and loads of professional experience in the field.

 

[tacrum43]

OP, coming to California to establish residency for medical school is ridiculous. That's like Canadian citizens coming to the U.S. to buy their prescriptions. The supply of medical school places is low compared to the demand (UCI is the "easy" to get into UC with a average GPA/MCAT of 3.7/33). Unless you have your heart set on going to a UC, I would not do it.

As for post-baccs here, there's SFSU and UCs (if you're disadvantaged or URM) or other programs if you need to take the pre-reqs, but it sounds like you've already done that. There is not much available here, and that's why I'm going to Georgetown's SMP (assuming that I don't get into any medical schools this year). Boston, Loyola and Georgetown are expensive and cost $25,000+, and Rosalind Franklin's program costs $35,000. There was a link a while back to the AAMC list of post-bacc programs. Maybe you should do a search and check that out.

 

[notdeadyet]

OP, coming to California to establish residency for medical school is ridiculous. That's like Canadian citizens coming to the U.S. to buy their prescriptions.

I'll use that line. I like it.

 

[PineappleGirl]

Truthfully, California is probably the last place anyone would want to move to for residency purposes when applying to med school. This is because entrance into CA schools is ridiculously competitive and most CA applicants have to go out of state.

Dude, what Cammy and everyone else is saying here is so true. Don't go the California if you're trying to find a good place to establish residency for med school. I would say consider Texas. There are tons of state medicals schools, it only takes a year to establish residency, and hey, it's warm there too. There's actually a thread that was circulating about this subject awhile back. I think it was called best state to be a resident of or something like that.
While I agree that there are some awesome SMPs on the east coast and in Boston, sometime you should be aware of is that if you do an SMP in MA and/or hang out for a year in MA, you will not be a resident of MA for the purpose of applying to UMASS Medical School. You have to live here for 5 (count 'em) FIVE friggin' years for them to even look at your application. 😡 (Bitter, moi?).

Okay, I've said my piece. Time for some deep breathing exercises. In...and out.....

 

[mizzoudude]

Thank you all for letting me know all this. I don't know what the hell I am doing with my life as everything seems so confusing. There are so many routes that I can take now and there are cons to all of them. I still have some questions...please post some answers if you can. I am panicking sooo much...should have done well in undergrad! Damn!

1) I am going to take a year off...need to get my life figured out and get ready for some hard work if I decide to become a physician. I would like to move to California so I don't regret missing out on a year with my friends and getting things straight.

2) Why would I want to do the BU program then, if they are not even going to look at my application??? What is the point of spending all that money and going through the program if they won't look at my application since I am not a state resident?

3) If I go through the MPH route in California (and get a 4.0), maybe do some research, retake the MCAT, etc. What schools do I apply to? I will have to apply to the extremely competitive Cali schools won't I? Or do you all think I could apply to some other out of state schools that would accept me?

4) Is D.O. school a better option? I have read the D.O. threads and I am not too sure on the manipulative therapies that D.O.'s are taught and I hear rumors that it is hard to get a residency with a D.O. Also, I hear that there is much discrimination against D.O's.

Please help me guys. I am a guy who is panicking after partying for 4 years. I am ready to buckle down and bust my ass. Thanks again. *Tears*