Temple U- Post Bac- Basic Core in Medical Sciences

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ANF1986

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Link to program-http://www.temple.edu/medicine/education/post_bac_programs_career_changer.htm

I wanted to get some feedback from some people who have applied or are currently completing the program. I'm asking specifically about the BCMS, and not the SMP thats offered. Also if you applied and were accepted, or were rejected, could you please post your stats if you feel comfortable doing so.

Here is some information on the program...

BASIC CORE IN MEDICAL SCIENCES (bcms) PROGRAM

The Basic Core in Medical Sciences Program is designed to meet the needs of an individual who has a college degree in a non-science major, wishing to pursue a career in medicine. The ideal student will have a record of strong academic performance, without a background in the pre-medical science requirements. The program offers students basic undergraduate science coursework in the College of Science and Technology. The program also includes educational and extra-curricular activities at the School of Medicine, including an MCAT preparation course and a non-credit-granting seminar series providing mentoring opportunities and an introduction to review of the medical scientific literature.
Unique components of the program are:
  • Formal MCAT preparation
  • Structured mentoring opportunities with TUSM faculty
  • Opportunity for conditional acceptance into Temple University School of Medicine
  • Opportunity to advance to the TUSM Masters Degree in Biomedical Science Program
Overview of the Program
  1. Students will enter a 12-month, 32 semester hour non-degree-granting program.
  2. In the first and second summer semesters preceding the full year of study, general chemistry classroom and laboratory requirements are completed. This is designed to accommodate students without undergraduate backgrounds in the sciences.
  3. In the fall and spring semesters, the students will complete a rigorous, structured curriculum, consisting of biology, organic chemistry, and physics with their respective labs.
  4. The students will have a weekly seminar, with opportunities to include mentoring and an introduction to the review of the medical literature.
  5. The students will take an MCAT preparation course in the spring semester of the program.
  6. Following successful completion of the course work, the students will take the MCAT examination.
  7. Students who have maintained a 3.5 GPA and have achieved MCAT scores of at least 30, no section less than 8, will be granted special admission status to the School of Medicine
  8. Upon completion of the 12-month program, students not directly entering the MD degree program may enter the TUSM MS Program in the Biomedical Sciences if their science GPA has been at least 3.0.
Details of the Academic Program

Students will enroll in the undergraduate science courses in the CST.

Curriculum:
Summer 1:
Chemistry 1031 and 1033 (1st session)
Chemistry 1032 and 1034 (2nd session)

Fall Semester:
Biology 2112
Organic Chemistry 2201 and 2203
Physics 1021 or 2021

Spring Semester:
Biology 1111
Organic Chemistry 2202 and 2204
Physics 1022 or 2022​


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Additional info for admissions...

Criteria for Selection to the BCMS Program

Prospective students will have a strong academic background and abilities in non-science disciplines, and will have demonstrated the motivation and commitment to pursue a career in medicine. The application process will be conducted in the TUSM Office of Postbaccalaureate Admissions. The following credentials and characteristics will be essential for the successful applicant:

  • SAT scores >1200
  • Overall undergraduate GPA >3.3
  • No more than 2 pre-med requirements completed in college
  • May not have taken the MCAT
  • Relevant medical experience and community service
  • Supportive letters of recommendation from the undergraduate institution and recent employers (if applicable)
 
Anyone know anything? (I'm also considering it.)
 
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I applied to this program. the FAQ page says they will be interviewing people one day per month in January, February, and March. I'm assuming they will be notifying people shortly...I really love this program and hope I get an interview. I have applied to several other programs as well but I just have a good feeling about the direction of their program and Temple in general...If anybody else has applied to the BCMS program and heard anything let me know. Id be interested to find out if they have notified anyone yet...
 
They have changed the postbacc some, but I did it at Temple a couple years ago. I'm now an M1 at Temple Med.

The postbacc used to be run by the UG school; now it's run by the Med school. I'm not sure, but I guess you still take classes at main campus.
The classes themselves really come down to the instructors. Some were very good, some not so good.

Feel free to PM me if I can answer any questions.
 
I'm applying to the Temple postbac as well, but am having trouble getting in touch with their admissions to ask some questions ...

Anyone know if the email listed on the website ([email protected]) is correct?

Good luck to the rest of you!
 
Yes, that is the correct email address. Someone should respond. Otherwise call directly.
 
I saw on their website that the undergrad GPR requirement was a 3.3. I graduated with a 3.0 but did a post bacc consisting of all upper level sciences and earned a 3.92 over 42 hours. however my cumulative wont be 3.3 due to my number of hours. could i still apply? id like to do this so i dont have to go caribbean. i know i can succeed b/c the curriculum has courses that ive already taken and they have linkage.
 
anyone else out there going to be attending the basic core this summer?
 
congrats!!! :thumbup::thumbup:

how was the interview process? i'm starting to become anxious about it.

the interview process was nerve wracking. It was an all day event with a tour, one on one interview with a member of the medical school faculty and a student interview (either a current postbac student or med student).

The reason why i was anxious about it was because I truly want to go to Temple - I love their philosophy and their community involvement and their brand new medical school building. It was definitely my first choice and I know it will be a great program. The other amazing this about their program is that when you interview for the postbac, you are also interviewing for their linkage (something you would have to do again in the fall if you attended any of the other top programs)

So, needless to say, I am thrilled and excited to be starting in May.

As for the next round of interviews: I called Grace Hershman after i was accepted to say thank you and just talk with her for a moment. She said the pool of applicants this year was "amazing" and that there were some "extremely well qualified applicants". That being said, she mentioned that there would be one additional interview day for the basic core on March 31. It is already the 10th, so im pretty sure notification will be going out very soon if it hasn't already. Imed, have you been offered an interview?

I wish you the best of luck - another thing i might add. there were 16 interviewees the day I interviewed and I believe they are trying to keep the class to around 15 spots. So im not sure what that means for how many people they are going to accept out of the next batch. But she did say, that she 'would hate to deny someone a spot who is qualified. I gather from that that if they truly like you, they will make room for you.

PM me if you have any questions. good luck.
 
Thanks for the great info, Robames, and congratulations! I have applied for the advanced core (later interview schedule) and am wondering how you were contacted for an interview. Anything in particular that they focussed heavily on during the interview? Did the interviewer make you feel comfortable or was it a more intimidating format? Did you get to talk with other students who are in or completed the program? Will it be too late for you and others to apply for financial aid? Sorry for the million and one questions; I have applied to 4 SMP type programs so far and Temple is def my pre interview first choice. Ok, one more question: were most of the applicants instate? Any out of staters? Would you mind sharing your stats? Thanks & best wishes to you!
 
Still havent figured out what this means or how to use this function!
 
Still havent figured out what this means or how to use this function!

it stands for "private message" you can click on a members name and send them a private message.
 
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Thanks for the great info, Robames, and congratulations! I have applied for the advanced core (later interview schedule) and am wondering how you were contacted for an interview. Anything in particular that they focussed heavily on during the interview? Did the interviewer make you feel comfortable or was it a more intimidating format? Did you get to talk with other students who are in or completed the program? Will it be too late for you and others to apply for financial aid? Sorry for the million and one questions; I have applied to 4 SMP type programs so far and Temple is def my pre interview first choice. Ok, one more question: were most of the applicants instate? Any out of staters? Would you mind sharing your stats? Thanks & best wishes to you!


I was sent a letter inviting me to interview.

the interview focused on my personal life actually, my life experiences, some medical talk, some talk about grades but was pretty laid back.

we had an entire day which we spent with current med/postbac students and that was very informative - it was a great day.

its my understanding that as long as you have your fafsa filled out - that temple will accommodate its postbac students and help them with financial aid. there is a limit i believe of 12,500 for federal loans and after that we have to come up with the rest of the money on our own through help or private loans.

most i believe were in state - not sure though, there were quite a few out of staters.

my stats are not incredible - i have a good 3.7 gpa from rutgers, but an 1130 SAT (taken a decade ago) and no GRE. I understand the advanced core need to have taken the mcat right?

any other questions, i would be glad to answer them. although the basic and advanced cores are extremely different - i can do my best to help.
 
I submit my application last week and I have not received any confirmation or anything from Temple. Do they usually send an email notifying applicant regarding the status of their application ?

any info would be great.
 
I submit my application last week and I have not received any confirmation or anything from Temple. Do they usually send an email notifying applicant regarding the status of their application ?

any info would be great.
Im assuming you submitted for the advanced track. If you submitted for the basic core program, last week would be past the deadline.
 
No word yet but I applied to the Advanced Core so the timeline is probably slightly different. Thanks for all the great info! It makes it comforting to know that the questions are more personal.

One last question, did you get a feel for the type of applicant they're looking for? The 1) older, non-traditionals or the 2) need-a-second-chance-to-prove-my-worth applicant?

Thanks again!

Its totally different for the basic core. for advanced core, I assume they are looking for #2 - or people that may have taken too many of the prerequisites without any intention of applying to med school, but are too advanced in the sciences for the basic program.

Basic core, they are looking for people that have excelled in their profession/and or in undergrad non science who they think can be successful doing a rigorous hard science course-load
 
I mailed my application about 2 weeks ago and I wanted to know if they have begun contacting people for the March interview? Also, I noticed they pushed back their application deadline from March 1st to the 15th which is interesting. I'm not sure if they did this because they were behind because of all of the snow or if they weren't getting as many applications as they wanted.
 
... how you were contacted for an interview.
I got an email when I got invited to interview for the ACMS last cycle.

I submit my application last week and I have not received any confirmation or anything from Temple. Do they usually send an email notifying applicant regarding the status of their application ?

any info would be great.
They are not generally very good with that. I never got one and they seem to be pretty bad about communication.

I mailed my application about 2 weeks ago and I wanted to know if they have begun contacting people for the March interview? Also, I noticed they pushed back their application deadline from March 1st to the 15th which is interesting. I'm not sure if they did this because they were behind because of all of the snow or if they weren't getting as many applications as they wanted.

Probably because they were still getting a lot of applications. Last cycle, they extended the ACMS deadline a little also, because they were still getting a lot of apps.

I am an ACMS student now. I don't know a ton about the BCMS but if anyone has any general questions about Temple or the post-bacc I will be happy to help if I can.
 
They have changed the postbacc some, but I did it at Temple a couple years ago. I'm now an M1 at Temple Med.

The postbacc used to be run by the UG school; now it's run by the Med school. I'm not sure, but I guess you still take classes at main campus.
The classes themselves really come down to the instructors. Some were very good, some not so good.

Feel free to PM me if I can answer any questions.

Yes, the BCMS have classes at the main campus. They come to the Med school for MCAT class.
 
So has anyone heard back about March BCMS interviews? I just received a message that my application is complete and saw that the deadline had been pushed back from March 1st to the 15th. Has anyone who interviewed in February heard back yet?
 
anyone else applying to the bcms program? anyone hear anything yet?
 
I also applied to BCMS to start this summer. I've heard nothing, and I am a bit confused because I thought they would have invited people for interviews by now and would have been done with them by this time, but i didn't get a rejection letter either.

Cornell- have you heard anything?
 
No, I haven't and I'm kind of confused. They pushed back their deadline to March 15th so it's only been a week since that time, however, classes start in mid-May so I hope they hurry up! There must be other people on this board who are applying or interviewed at the beginning of February?
 
Hi,

I also just applied to the temple post bac. i was wondering if anyone was able to get in contact with the post bac office? I have been calling for the past week to confirm my application status.
 
Hey Ices, when did you apply? I applied in mid-february and it took them about 3 weeks to hear back via e-mail that my application was complete. The deadline was pushed back from Mar. 1st to Mar 15th (see previous post). Did you apply for the BCMS?
 
I applied about two weeks ago to the BCMS program.
 
Good Luck to everyone!
I completed Temple's post bac program a decade ago (back when it was all through undergrad). Ended up staying at Temple for medical school as well!
 
it's almost april-- i'll i've heard from them is crickets.
 
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So I just spoke with them on the phone. App is still under review and there will be an interview day in April. Decisions will be made "in the next few weeks." I'm okay with this, I guess, because I can live at home in the philadelphia area but if that weren't the case it's mighty difficult for people. whatever, i want to go.
 
Yeah, I applied to BCMS too. Still have yet to hear back. I believe they're still processing applications for the April interview date. I'm crossing my fingers! I really want this.
 
I really hope they get back to us soon! If you hear anything, either via e-mail or phone let us know-- there are at least 5 people on hear waiting to hear back from them.
 
This is getting silly-- still haven't heard anything, I'm assuming I didn't get in-- has anyone else heard back yet?
 
I called on Friday the 16th and they said we should know within the next week whether or not we got invited to interview. Then again, they've said that twice to me and it never happened.
 
I wish everyone well in the application process.

All the best,

msd
 
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Didn't get in--got my letter yesterday. Hope you fellow SDN folk had better luck--- looks like I'll be taking my pre-reqs in the CUNY system (probably Hunter).
 
hello! i applied to the ACMS program three months in...the deadline is june 1st...did anyone hear back yet? I am getting very anxious! Thanks in advance! :)
 
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