State School Post Bacc Program

[sm640739]

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I hope someone can advise me:

I'm planning on applying for post-baccalaureate programs for Fall 2010. I currently am a senior at a State School in PA, and will be graduating Political Science/International Relations BA in May, with a GPA of 3.89 at the lowest. I've not taken science classes, and have been looking at the core programs at universities for Post-Bacc. My top choice right now is Penn, but I've been reading posts about many students not completing that program due to difficulty. Now, I consistently apply myself and do not ever give up on "difficult" situations, but is it worth putting myself through excessive stress when my current university offers a program, as well?

Penn's program offers possible "Linkage" to Penn Medicine.. which is where I ultimately want to attend medical school or residency. I know this is shooting high, but this is the GOAL. My father has been treated twice, successfully, for cancer at HUP, and it's my dream to work there. The state school I attend, on the other hand, has these linkage offerings at Drexel and Temple, but not Penn.

Assuming I just do not apply via linkage, and instead take the "glide" year to complete clinical experience or research, will having attended a State School for my Post-Bacc courses hurt my chance of admission to Penn? I am anticipating a strong MCAT score as well, because I test well and plan on studying like crazy.

Thanks!

 

[deleted248403]

1) You are misinformed about Penn Medicine. UPenn Post Bacc doesn't offer linkage to UPenn Med. Sorry.
*edit - im the mistaken one, sorry. You need a min of 33, 11 each section min, and a 3.6 in the program. And you have to be nominated by the program - which i dont think is automatic*

2) UPenn Post Bac isnt too hard. I've yet to see a story of someone not completing because it was too hard. I'm sure it happens, I just haven't seen it on SDN or from my fellow classmates.

3) No way you can predict your MCAT till you do the pre-reqs. If you suck at Orgo and Gen Chem for example, you'll find it tough to get a 35+

4) I suggest you look at the MSAR for info on UPenn Med. Its one of the top schools in the country and one of the hardest to get into. Where you won't make a massive difference, but your EC and resume in general will make a big difference assuming you do well in your pre-reqs.

PM me or ask in the Penn thread about any UPenn post-bac program