Take prerequisites now or do post-bacc?

[rlplucien]

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So here is my situation,

I am currently a sophomore in college, and I just started taking my science prereqs now. I am only in Bio 101, so I am obviously pretty behind. I am also behind in my liberal arts core classes because last year I began taking a lot of computer science classes. I know that was dumb, but I was accepted into a school in the UK (King's College London), and they were the classes that the school recommended I take. However, I did not end up going to that school because it would have been too expensive.

After the end of last year, I realized computer science was not for me, and that I should try to get into medical school because it is always what I really wanted to do. The reason I did not start college on that road was because I was hesitant about the huge time commitment, but I now realize I can't picture myself doing anything else.

Too long, didn't Read: I'm about a year behind in my classes.

Anyways, my question is if I should continue to take the science classes now, or if I should graduate with a different degree, and then do a post-bacc the following year? The benefit of this for me would be that I could major in something I am genuinely interested in (French), and I would also get to study abroad which is extremely important to me.

Is this a bad idea? Should I just keep taking the science classes now and forget about studying abroad and still probably graduate about a semester or year late?

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

Is this a bad idea? Should I just keep taking the science classes now and forget about studying abroad and still probably graduate about a semester or year late?

i would recommend trying to find some international opportunities during a summer. so it's bio this year, chem and physics junior year, then ochem senior year. take the mcat may/june of senior year, and submit the app that summer. you can major in whatever you want, maybe overload a semester or two along the way, and probably graduate after one extra semester (while you are applying). you could also travel during that spring after you apply.

there's really no right way to do it; decide on what suits you.

 

[gravitywave]

it really sounds to me like you want to major in French and have the study abroad experience, but you're worried about taking the extra time. one extra year is not going to make or break your medical career. do what you like now, medicine will always be there. you will also be a little more engaging to adcoms than the normal bio major. the only drawback is that you'll end up spending/borrowing more to complete your post-bac.

alternately, you could knock out gen chem this coming summer, do physics and orgo next year, and be on track, couldn't you? but you would still lose a lot of flexibility in terms of scheduling.

 

[rlplucien]

it really sounds to me like you want to major in French and have the study abroad experience, but you're worried about taking the extra time. one extra year is not going to make or break your medical career. do what you like now, medicine will always be there. you will also be a little more engaging to adcoms than the normal bio major. the only drawback is that you'll end up spending/borrowing more to complete your post-bac.

alternately, you could knock out gen chem this coming summer, do physics and orgo next year, and be on track, couldn't you? but you would still lose a lot of flexibility in terms of scheduling.

I thought medical schools don't like to see you taking the pre reqs during the summer because they want you take other classes along with them?

Can you use financial aid to do a post-bac? I get great financial aid at the moment because of my parent's financial situation. Is this aid from fafsa not eligible for post-bacs? That would probably be the main downside of going that route.

 

[gravitywave]

I thought medical schools don't like to see you taking the pre reqs during the summer because they want you take other classes along with them?

common misconception. take summer orgo and find out why it's a ton of work, 60+ hours a week for a lot of people. people in post-bacs take summer science all the time, and have no trouble being admitted.

Can you use financial aid to do a post-bac? I get great financial aid at the moment because of my parent's financial situation. Is this aid from fafsa not eligible for post-bacs? That would probably be the main downside of going that route.

the short answer is yes, although they won't throw money at you like they do for undergrad. you won't get any federal or institutional grants. you will be eligible for $12,500 in "fifth-year" Staffords, provided you haven't used them up in a fifth year of undergrad. i ended up borrowing more for my post-bac than i did for four years of undergrad.

 

[rlplucien]

common misconception. take summer orgo and find out why it's a ton of work, 60+ hours a week for a lot of people. people in post-bacs take summer science all the time, and have no trouble being admitted.



the short answer is yes, although they won't throw money at you like they do for undergrad. you won't get any federal or institutional grants. you will be eligible for $12,500 in "fifth-year" Staffords, provided you haven't used them up in a fifth year of undergrad. i ended up borrowing more for my post-bac than i did for four years of undergrad.

This is what I was afraid of! I was hoping to not have to take out a lot of loans.

There is another thing I guess I will bring up here that you might be able to help with. I have the opportunity to transfer to University of Chicago, Northwestern University, or Loyola University Chicago. I would really like to attend UChicago or Northwestern, but I think that if I went to one of those schools I should major in French then do the post-bacc so that my GPA doesn't get demolished by trying to cram in all of the prereqs. However, if if I go Loyola, I think I would be able to manage to squeeze in the prereqs because of the less demanding coursework then UChicago or Northwestern.

Would I be better off just going to Loyola where I would have an easier time, or challenge myself and go UChicago or Northwestern but then end up probably having to do the post-bacc?

I know that this is ultimately a decision I have to make for myself, but its a pretty tough decision.