sparklepuff97
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Hello all! Psychology/Computer Science undergraduate senior/incoming (career-changer) post-bacc here. Firstly, I hope you are all feeling/faring well during this difficult time. Personally, I am feeling quite overwhelmed and am looking advice, if anyone here might have any insights into my current situation:
I have exploring a few post-bacc programs for summer and fall and am completely lost as to how to proceed. All of my previous pros/cons lists have been more or less thrown out the window by the current conditions and consequences of COVID-19. My most pressing question is: does anyone have any advice for picking a program?
All of my options have great "reputations" (not important to me but seems to be to my advisor), academic support systems for students and opportunities for research/clinical extracurriculars. If it helps, my current frontrunners are USC and Tufts.
The most complicating factors:
When will remote/online learning most likely end, allowing me to relocate to the institution? In the interim, I would have to deal with time zone differences with the mid-west/east-coast programs from where I live California, and wonder if different schools may resume in-person classes at different times given the varying COVID conditions across states/regions.
Additionally, do you feel it is worth pursuing a program with linkages (e.g. Tufts)? I intend on practicing good habits and working as hard as I can in all of my courses, but obviously cannot foresee my grades in class in novel fields. Guaranteed interviews or conditional acceptances seem like attractive options if you can earn them, but I assume they must be highly sought after (i.e. limited to a small number of people within a program) and/or have other drawbacks? Conversely, I also wonder if achieving a high GPA would (coupled with a strong MCAT/resume) would put you in a good enough position for medical school admission even if you attend a program without linkages? (e.g. USC)
A major goal of mine originally was also to start in summer 2020 to allow me a full semester off to review for a May 2022 MCAT exam, which I'm now doubting due to how difficult my Zoom lectures/exams/logistics/overall learning experiences have proven so far.
My academic advisor didn't seem to have any feedback on this aside from remarking that all of my options are good, which has made my feelings of anxiety/indecision skyrocket. I have contacted a number of the program directors to learn more, but otherwise I don't currently have a mentor figure to consult. I would appreciate literally any commentary on this matter, and can provide additional information if needed.
I have exploring a few post-bacc programs for summer and fall and am completely lost as to how to proceed. All of my previous pros/cons lists have been more or less thrown out the window by the current conditions and consequences of COVID-19. My most pressing question is: does anyone have any advice for picking a program?
All of my options have great "reputations" (not important to me but seems to be to my advisor), academic support systems for students and opportunities for research/clinical extracurriculars. If it helps, my current frontrunners are USC and Tufts.
The most complicating factors:
When will remote/online learning most likely end, allowing me to relocate to the institution? In the interim, I would have to deal with time zone differences with the mid-west/east-coast programs from where I live California, and wonder if different schools may resume in-person classes at different times given the varying COVID conditions across states/regions.
Additionally, do you feel it is worth pursuing a program with linkages (e.g. Tufts)? I intend on practicing good habits and working as hard as I can in all of my courses, but obviously cannot foresee my grades in class in novel fields. Guaranteed interviews or conditional acceptances seem like attractive options if you can earn them, but I assume they must be highly sought after (i.e. limited to a small number of people within a program) and/or have other drawbacks? Conversely, I also wonder if achieving a high GPA would (coupled with a strong MCAT/resume) would put you in a good enough position for medical school admission even if you attend a program without linkages? (e.g. USC)
A major goal of mine originally was also to start in summer 2020 to allow me a full semester off to review for a May 2022 MCAT exam, which I'm now doubting due to how difficult my Zoom lectures/exams/logistics/overall learning experiences have proven so far.
My academic advisor didn't seem to have any feedback on this aside from remarking that all of my options are good, which has made my feelings of anxiety/indecision skyrocket. I have contacted a number of the program directors to learn more, but otherwise I don't currently have a mentor figure to consult. I would appreciate literally any commentary on this matter, and can provide additional information if needed.
