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I want to get this application cycle year's thread started. I will be applying this year. Who else plans to apply?
I was a student in the UVA Post-Baccalaureate Premedical class that finished in May 2014. Although I see that this is not an informational forum about UVA, I thought potential applicants would see the post, and I want to offer my perspective on the program.
4. There are only 2 linkages @ UVA currently: Pitt and GWU. Four of my classmates are linking with these schools. There are 5 Post-Bac students attending UVA medicine this fall from last year's class, although this is not through a linkage agreement.
I was a student in the UVA Post-Baccalaureate Premedical class that finished in May 2014. Although I see that this is not an informational forum about UVA, I thought potential applicants would see the post, and I want to offer my perspective on the program.
1. Since this is an eleven month program that fulfills all of the basic premedical classes, it is rigorous. Most of the lecture courses are offered with mostly or completely Post-Bac students. A few lecture courses are with the undergrads. Almost all of the labs are taken with the UVA student body, and some of the labs during the year were more tedious than I would have preferred. Since we were serious students, the Post-Bacs were generally toward the top of the class grading curves. As a career-changer, I treated the program like a full-time job and was successful academically. If you are on the fence about going to medical school, this program will demand that you make up your mind quickly and completely.
2. Med schools look for volunteer experience, so UVA includes that in the program. They also look for volunteering in their Post-Bac applicants' experiences. If you are not volunteering now, you should start ASAP. They want to see that you have vetted the career field and are making an informed decision, not just chasing a dream of becoming a doctor.
3. Your classmates are your biggest assets. My class was collaborative: we shared notes, we studied together, and we generally saw ourselves as resources, not competitors. Since there were a lot of us from different parts of the US, we explored C'ville together. UVA's PBPM is a small, personal program. I would encourage the next cohort to embrace that; the small size was one of the reasons I applied and decided to attend. The program also offers former-student TAs to help in each class and hires MCAT tutors to help with prep. Use the provided resources!
4. There are only 2 linkages @ UVA currently: Pitt and GWU. Four of my classmates are linking with these schools. There are 5 Post-Bac students attending UVA medicine this fall from last year's class, although this is not through a linkage agreement.
5. The advisers are a wealth of information. You will take a yearlong seminar course on the American healthcare system, which helps in medical admissions interviews (it's also helpful if you don't have a good grasp of the ACA and its history). The program also requires mock interviews, tutorials about the application process and a few movie nights to watch flicks related to medicine.
Best of luck to you as you apply and decide on a Post-Bac Program!