Senior - UC Berkeley undergrad...need help! :)

[Emilsinclair9]

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Hey guys,

I apologize if there is another specific thread regarding post-bacc options, best fits, etc, but I'm wondering what you guys would think of my situation, where I would be a competitive applicant into a post-bacc program, and what I need to do to get there.

I'll begin by saying that this is my first post on this forum (I have over 2,000 on College Confidential though lol), and I'm excited to acquire more knowledge about post-bacc programs in general. I'll be forthright when I say that I'm brand new to the idea of going to med school. Initially I wanted business school, but I've been reconsidering for many months, and I believe a career in medicine (MD) would be far more fulfilling for me.

Background about myself:

First, the bad:

I never graduated high school (received my GED instead).
I never took the SAT's or ACT.

I began at a community college in CA when I was 16 after having left high school. At my community college, I received 3 F's my first semester. 2 of these F's I received "Academic Renewal" for, meaning they appear on my transcript but do not influence my GPA. The other F I retook and got an A. I also have 1 W grade (Withdrawal). I have no clue how a prospective post-bacc program would view these grades.


Now the good:

I ended up leaving my community college with a 3.76 GPA.
I transferred to UC Berkeley as a Psychology major where I'm currently a 20-year-old senior.
I'll be receiving my BA in Psych in May 2012.
My GPA right now is a 3.52 at UC Berkeley. My goal is to have between a 3.6 and a 3.7 when I graduate.

I have not done any premed requirements to date, however, in Psychology there are a lot of bio/chem-related courses (Human Bio, Intro to chem (NOT gen chem), General Principles of bio) << none of these are premed requirements as I've checked, but I have received A's in all of these courses.



I recognize my academic career has been splotchy and fairly unorthodox, and I understand that I'm not the most perfect applicant. That being said, I'm highly motivated, do maintain a passion for practicing medicine, and am more than willing to do what it takes to be admitted to a solid post-bacc program.

If anyone has any insight into how college W's or F's with Academic Renewal are applied, that would really help me out. The 3 F's and W were from my first year of Community College when I was 16 (Courses: Business 100, Trig, and Speech 100)....not sure if that helps at all.

Anyway guys, my primary goal of this thread is to gage my chances of being admitted into a decent post-bacc program! If any of you have any insight, tips, advice....anything in general to contribute, I'd appreciate it so much! Thank you all for reading this.

All the best,

Emil

 

[DoctorCoat]

Hey guys,

I apologize if there is another specific thread regarding post-bacc options, best fits, etc, but I'm wondering what you guys would think of my situation, where I would be a competitive applicant into a post-bacc program, and what I need to do to get there.

I'll begin by saying that this is my first post on this forum (I have over 2,000 on College Confidential though lol), and I'm excited to acquire more knowledge about post-bacc programs in general. I'll be forthright when I say that I'm brand new to the idea of going to med school. Initially I wanted business school, but I've been reconsidering for many months, and I believe a career in medicine (MD) would be far more fulfilling for me.

Background about myself:

First, the bad:

I never graduated high school (received my GED instead).
I never took the SAT's or ACT.

I began at a community college in CA when I was 16 after having left high school. At my community college, I received 3 F's my first semester. 2 of these F's I received "Academic Renewal" for, meaning they appear on my transcript but do not influence my GPA. The other F I retook and got an A. I also have 1 W grade (Withdrawal). I have no clue how a prospective post-bacc program would view these grades.


Now the good:

I ended up leaving my community college with a 3.76 GPA.
I transferred to UC Berkeley as a Psychology major where I'm currently a 20-year-old senior.
I'll be receiving my BA in Psych in May 2012.
My GPA right now is a 3.52 at UC Berkeley. My goal is to have between a 3.6 and a 3.7 when I graduate.

I have not done any premed requirements to date, however, in Psychology there are a lot of bio/chem-related courses (Human Bio, Intro to chem (NOT gen chem), General Principles of bio) << none of these are premed requirements as I've checked, but I have received A's in all of these courses.

I recognize my academic career has been splotchy and fairly unorthodox, and I understand that I'm not the most perfect applicant. That being said, I'm highly motivated, do maintain a passion for practicing medicine, and am more than willing to do what it takes to be admitted to a solid post-bacc program.

If anyone has any insight into how college W's or F's with Academic Renewal are applied, that would really help me out. The 3 F's and W were from my first year of Community College when I was 16 (Courses: Business 100, Trig, and Speech 100)....not sure if that helps at all.

Anyway guys, my primary goal of this thread is to gage my chances of being admitted into a decent post-bacc program! If any of you have any insight, tips, advice....anything in general to contribute, I'd appreciate it so much! Thank you all for reading this.

All the best,

Emil

Most post-bacc programs recognize that students evolve over their years in college. Especially entering CC so young, you have had a lot of time to grow.

The good news: Post-bacc programs, Like San Francisco State's, will overlook early grades if you have demonstrated a strong academic record since and understand why those poor grades occur in the first place.

It sounds like you definitely have done better since then and you had a good reason (being very young and in college?).

The bad news: You still need to report those grades to most post-bacc programs and definitely to MD schools even if you retook them (not positive about DO schools for retakes).


Overall, I would say you sound like a competitive applicant for a career changer program. Your GPA is good and having all A's in any science courses you may have taken will show that maybe your potential in that area is even higher. If your extracurriculars are decent then I would say you have a very good shot at getting into a post-bacc program.

 

[Emilsinclair9]

Thank you so much for your response, DoctorCoat! I do have a few questions about SFSU's post-bacc program.

1) How expensive is it? I can live at home, as my family is from Burlingame, if I attend, so how much is it with tuition + books + resources etc?

2) Does it have any sort of linkage or good relationships with med schools?

3) Does it offer night classes? I love night classes lol.

4) Do you feel it prepared you well for the MCAT?


At this point, if I don't take the GRE, I'm debating between SFSU, Northwestern, and HCP. Thank you again for all of your help and input. I really appreciate it!

 

[DoctorCoat]

Thank you so much for your response, DoctorCoat! I do have a few questions about SFSU's post-bacc program.

1) How expensive is it? I can live at home, as my family is from Burlingame, if I attend, so how much is it with tuition + books + resources etc?

2) Does it have any sort of linkage or good relationships with med schools?

3) Does it offer night classes? I love night classes lol.

4) Do you feel it prepared you well for the MCAT?


At this point, if I don't take the GRE, I'm debating between SFSU, Northwestern, and HCP. Thank you again for all of your help and input. I really appreciate it!

1. The program is about $450-500 per unit of non "core-class" which is all courses except for Calculus, Physics, Chem, Intro Bio, O-Chem. If you take all electives (like I did) it's about $450 x 12-14 units per semester. For core class it is about $600 a unit for 13-15 units a semester. Books and resources were negligible for me since I wasn't doing core classes and I dont know the price of core class books.
Living at home is very possible and will save you a ton of money on rent. I know one of my friends commuted from home in Burlingame everyday and despite gas costs he saved a lot of money.

2. We have very good relationships with medical schools in Northern California, but no linkage agreements. We are also building a relationship with some medical schools in the midwest and beyond, but those relationships are too early to consider a strong tie yet. A linkage agreement may be in the future plans, but again it is too early to tell.

3. Most (90ish%) of the classes are between 8am and 6pm. All of them start at or before 5pm but a few can run pretty late. These classes are of course the exception to the rule.

4. The program I believe does a great job of covering the core classes you need for the MCAT and in some ways teach the material in a manner similar to how you will see it on the MCAT. A new addition (of my design) to the program is an MCAT study group / assistance course that helps fill in some gaps in MCAT preparation. That said, I would still recommend taking a MCAT prep course (from Berkeley Review in particular) no matter what school you may go to.