UMass

[blaque1703]

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Does anyone know how competitive UMass post bacc is? What does a 2.4ish and a 13 on MCAT say. And if that isn't good enough for that school, do you know of which other masters or post bacc that will accept my stats?

 

[Sundarban1]

Does anyone know how competitive UMass post bacc is? What does a 2.4ish and a 13 on MCAT say. And if that isn't good enough for that school, do you know of which other masters or post bacc that will accept my stats?

Are you a MA resident?

I don't know of many formal programs, post bacc or SMP, where you would have a decent shot with those numbers. I would look into Harvard Extention Health Careers Program if I were you. You could re-take classes you did poorly in and take upper level classes as well. Once your GPA is up you will MOST DEFINITELY have to take the MCAT again.

 

[blaque1703]

Are you a MA resident?

I don't know of many formal programs, post bacc or SMP, where you would have a decent shot with those numbers. I would look into Harvard Extention Health Careers Program if I were you. You could re-take classes you did poorly in and take upper level classes as well. Once your GPA is up you will MOST DEFINITELY have to take the MCAT again.

🙁 I was hoping that I wouldn't hear that. But no, I am in Florida. I guess I'm out of luck huh?

 

[Sundarban1]

🙁 I was hoping that I wouldn't hear that. But no, I am in Florida. I guess I'm out of luck huh?

The average matriculant MCAT for allopathic schools is around 30, for osteopathic schools it is around 23-27+. Granted, there are exceptions but you are 10 points below the average for those schools.

I would definitely re-take those pre med requirements which you earned less than a B in addition to upper level science courses. Most schools say right on their admissions website that they will only consider applicants with GPAs over 2.75 both overall and science.

You could look to off shore schools, SABA for example does not require the MCAT for admission, but off shore schools are a whole different story I don't want to address now. If you want to stay in the US you definitely have to get the GPA up and RETAKE the MCAT.

Once you complete those classes take the MCAT over and try again. IF your GPA is still below average and your MCAT is 25+ I would look into the special masters programs if you are interested in allopathic schools.

 

[scrubsRcomfy]

🙁 I was hoping that I wouldn't hear that. But no, I am in Florida. I guess I'm out of luck huh?

the umass post bacc can be done without gaining admission into a degree- or certificate-seeking program. just show up and enroll. if you do well, you can then apply for the post bacc program. acceptance into this program depends on several factors- go to their website and look at what they have for pre-med advising. as a florida resident, you will not be eligible for in-state tuition, so it might cost you a pretty penny.

and unless you want to go offshore, then you will definitely have to take the mcat over.

 

[x_prometheus_x]

I recently attended an orientation for the Umass post bacc. There are no cut offs for the program, however they do want competitive applicants who stand a reasonable shot at admittance to med school. They suggest a 3.5, but I only have a 3.2. They don't even require a personal essay, just a recommendation. So if you want to give it a shot apply asap because they mentioned a rolling admission process. They also said this year it sounds like avg gpa for acceptance to med schools, that admissions are looking for, will likely be bumped up to 3.6. So I would keep an open-mind about D.O. schools and caribbean schools.

Good luck and study hard

 

[blaque1703]

the umass post bacc can be done without gaining admission into a degree- or certificate-seeking program. just show up and enroll. if you do well, you can then apply for the post bacc program. acceptance into this program depends on several factors- go to their website and look at what they have for pre-med advising. as a florida resident, you will not be eligible for in-state tuition, so it might cost you a pretty penny.

and unless you want to go offshore, then you will definitely have to take the mcat over.

But wouldn't I be paying out of my pocket? I as hoping to be able to get a some financial aid. I can't afford it myself.

 

[scrubsRcomfy]

But wouldn't I be paying out of my pocket? I as hoping to be able to get a some financial aid. I can't afford it myself.

whatever fin aid you get would be loans. i'm actually surprised when people want to move to MA to go to the UMass program- it's good, but i'm not sure of whether it's worth the out of state tuition. if you take classes at your state university (not community college), it'll be cheaper, and you can live at home. besides, living in FL is much better for applying to med school than MA. we only have private med schools and Umass med which doesn't take out of state applicants. Florida has quite a few public med schools, don't they?

 

[jebus]

Florida does have a few public med schools. To establish MA residency you have to live there for 5 years! That's a huge amount of time. Most other states require one year - some only one month (NJ). I think there are a few post-bac programs in FL, too. You can look them up here (http://hpap.syr.edu/LISTPB.HTM) and here (http://services.aamc.org/postbac/)
Also, a 2.4 is a huge obstacle to overcome - as is a 13 MCAT. If you take enough courses to give you the equivalent of another degree (and get a 4.0 in all of that course work) you will still only have a 3.2. That's the highest it will go. I don't want to discourage you from pursuing your dreams but think about what it is about being a doctor that appeals to you. There are a number of very satisfying careers which will allow you to accomplish some of the same things: nurse, social worker, teacher, biological researcher, etc. Again, I don't want to discourage you but I will encourage you to keep your options open.