University of Washington Post Bacc

[arainyday]

Hi everyone! Just wondering if anyone has done a post bacc at the University of Washington before. I went to the UW for my undergrad, so I'm familiar with the large classes and some of the other possible downsides that were mentioned in a previous post. I would love some feedback though about the support system for post baccs, even though the program is informal, how daunting the classes are and experiences you had in applying to med school.

I'm also curious about the application process itself. It's been a while since I've applied to college, and was wondering what kind of stats you had when you got accepted (how long you have been volunteering, gpa, etc). I'm probably being overly nervous about the whole thing...but it would be nice to know.

Thanks!

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[Meridian32]

Hi there,

Sorry for the late reply - I am not usually on this forum, but saw this post as I was searching through, and wanted to let you know about my experience.

I am a nontraditional student who worked in Seattle for several years before taking my postbac classes at UW. I have been at it for two years and am currently in my final quarter, finishing up biochemistry.

Other threads do a good job of covering the downsides of a UW postbac - for example, this one: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=525481.

My experience has been different. I had an excellent experience doing my postbac at UW and would do it again in a heartbeat. It is true that classes are very large, but I have been really impressed by the quality of instruction across the board. I did my undergrad at a top-ranked university and the instructors I have had at UW are easily on par with my original undergrad instructors, if not better. The intro Biology series at UW, in particular, is very well put together. I also found that most UW professors are very friendly and genuinely interested in helping students learn. I regularly attended office hours, and by the end of the quarter, most of my professors knew me by name (and a couple of them wrote med school recommendation letters for me).

The other thing that is amazing about UW is that it is a huge medical research center with a ton of undergrad-level research opportunities. Undergrad participation in research is not just tolerated, it is actively welcomed. I found an opportunity where I got to know my PI (a professor) well, spent a lot of one-on-one time with him and got what I think was a strong recommendation letter as a result.

UW can feel a bit impersonal because it is so large, but I have gotten to know a number of my classmates who have gone through the whole pre-med sequence with me, and they have been great for study groups and to sit with in class. A couple of these classmates are also older nontraditional students with interesting prior backgrounds.

Enrolling in premed classes as a non-degree student is a bit of a crapshoot, but in my first quarter (spring quarter), I was able to enroll in Bio 180 and Chem 142 successfully (although my enrollment in Chem 142 came right down to the wire). I applied for formal postbac standing twice and got in the second time, so I didn't have any registration problems afterwards. I do know a couple of people who have been able to take all their prereqs successfully through non-degree enrollment, but your experience may differ.

As a postbac student, you get access to UW premed advising. My adviser has been excellent and incredibly supportive, though I get the sense that the premed advising office may be a little understaffed.

I have been applying to med school in the current cycle and have two acceptances so far at top schools, one of which is UWSOM.

So in summary - I had an excellent experience and would not hesitate to do my postbac at UW again, but be aware of the downsides (covered in other threads).

 

[gehr4733]

Hi there,

Sorry for the late reply - I am not usually on this forum, but saw this post as I was searching through, and wanted to let you know about my experience.

I am a nontraditional student who worked in Seattle for several years before taking my postbac classes at UW. I have been at it for two years and am currently in my final quarter, finishing up biochemistry.

Other threads do a good job of covering the downsides of a UW postbac - for example, this one: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=525481.

My experience has been different. I had an excellent experience doing my postbac at UW and would do it again in a heartbeat. It is true that classes are very large, but I have been really impressed by the quality of instruction across the board. I did my undergrad at a top-ranked university and the instructors I have had at UW are easily on par with my original undergrad instructors, if not better. The intro Biology series at UW, in particular, is very well put together. I also found that most UW professors are very friendly and genuinely interested in helping students learn. I regularly attended office hours, and by the end of the quarter, most of my professors knew me by name (and a couple of them wrote med school recommendation letters for me).

The other thing that is amazing about UW is that it is a huge medical research center with a ton of undergrad-level research opportunities. Undergrad participation in research is not just tolerated, it is actively welcomed. I found an opportunity where I got to know my PI (a professor) well, spent a lot of one-on-one time with him and got what I think was a strong recommendation letter as a result.

UW can feel a bit impersonal because it is so large, but I have gotten to know a number of my classmates who have gone through the whole pre-med sequence with me, and they have been great for study groups and to sit with in class. A couple of these classmates are also older nontraditional students with interesting prior backgrounds.

Enrolling in premed classes as a non-degree student is a bit of a crapshoot, but in my first quarter (spring quarter), I was able to enroll in Bio 180 and Chem 142 successfully (although my enrollment in Chem 142 came right down to the wire). I applied for formal postbac standing twice and got in the second time, so I didn't have any registration problems afterwards. I do know a couple of people who have been able to take all their prereqs successfully through non-degree enrollment, but your experience may differ.

As a postbac student, you get access to UW premed advising. My adviser has been excellent and incredibly supportive, though I get the sense that the premed advising office may be a little understaffed.

I have been applying to med school in the current cycle and have two acceptances so far at top schools, one of which is UWSOM.

So in summary - I had an excellent experience and would not hesitate to do my postbac at UW again, but be aware of the downsides (covered in other threads).

Did you feel that the curve system was difficult to navigate? Also, I need to take Gen Chem series, Physics II, O-Chem Series and one more Biology, do you think that is feasible to do all of these at UW or did you have better luck going into a formal post bacc where you didn't have to compete to get into classes? (I'm assuming you didn't get first picks at registration as a non-traditional)

 

[DrMidlife]

Here's how to figure out what you're in for, trying to get into UW prereqs as a nonmatric.

Enrollment numbers in classes, past and present, can be found here: http://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/

It's 5 weeks into Fall quarter now, so you can't see what registration is like. But if you watch the numbers during December/January, you can see what happens. If you see open seats in any of these classes now, that means that people dropped. Assume they dropped too late for you to get a seat, if there are only 1-2 seats open per class now.

Bio prereqs are Biol 180/200/220. Labs are included.

Gen chem prereqs are Chem 142/152/162. Labs are included.

Physics lecture prereqs (w/o calculus) are Phys 114/115/116. Labs are separate, Phys 117/118/119.

Ochem lecture prereqs are Chem 237/238/239. Labs are Chem 241/242. Note that you don't get a full year of ochem lab at UW. Note that you can take a short lecture sequence of ochem, Chem 223/224. Note that if you don't take a full year of lecture+labs, assume you will need to fill that space up with biochem lecture/lab for some med schools. Honors OChem is a good option if you can get in - lectures are Chem 335/336/337, labs are Chem 346/347.

If you want to try for Genetics, look at Genome 371. Biochem lectures 405/406 are easy to get into. The better biochem series is 440/441/442, which is hard to get into. Biochem lab 426 is extremely difficult to get into.

UW's premed advising page is here: http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/prehealth/fields/premed.php

UW's grading system is on a 4.0 number scale. The Chem department is very public and transparent about defining a C grade for a course: it's a 2.6 or 2.7. Other prereq sciences are similar. So no, the curve system isn't difficult to navigate, it's just really, really hard to get a 4.0 (which is an A) in any of the prereqs.

To sum up, yes you should be looking at a formal structured program so that you don't have to figure out how to survive on your own. One example of a formal structured program: apply and get admitted to do a 2nd bachelors (at UW or another PNW school).

Best of luck to you.

 

[gehr4733]

Here's how to figure out what you're in for, trying to get into UW prereqs as a nonmatric.

Enrollment numbers in classes, past and present, can be found here: http://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/

It's 5 weeks into Fall quarter now, so you can't see what registration is like. But if you watch the numbers during December/January, you can see what happens. If you see open seats in any of these classes now, that means that people dropped. Assume they dropped too late for you to get a seat, if there are only 1-2 seats open per class now.

Bio prereqs are Biol 180/200/220. Labs are included.

Gen chem prereqs are Chem 142/152/162. Labs are included.

Physics lecture prereqs (w/o calculus) are Phys 114/115/116. Labs are separate, Phys 117/118/119.

Ochem lecture prereqs are Chem 237/238/239. Labs are Chem 241/242. Note that you don't get a full year of ochem lab at UW. Note that you can take a short lecture sequence of ochem, Chem 223/224. Note that if you don't take a full year of lecture+labs, assume you will need to fill that space up with biochem lecture/lab for some med schools. Honors OChem is a good option if you can get in - lectures are Chem 335/336/337, labs are Chem 346/347.

If you want to try for Genetics, look at Genome 371. Biochem lectures 405/406 are easy to get into. The better biochem series is 440/441/442, which is hard to get into. Biochem lab 426 is extremely difficult to get into.

UW's premed advising page is here: http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/prehealth/fields/premed.php

UW's grading system is on a 4.0 number scale. The Chem department is very public and transparent about defining a C grade for a course: it's a 2.6 or 2.7. Other prereq sciences are similar. So no, the curve system isn't difficult to navigate, it's just really, really hard to get a 4.0 (which is an A) in any of the prereqs.

To sum up, yes you should be looking at a formal structured program so that you don't have to figure out how to survive on your own. One example of a formal structured program: apply and get admitted to do a 2nd bachelors (at UW or another PNW school).

Best of luck to you.

Once again thanks for the advice, I'm sorry I should have clarified that I would plan to matriculate and do a 2nd bachelors. My big worry however is that I do need to basically get a 4.0 from here on out. I received two B's in my prereq classes: Biol I and Physics I (albeit I took Biol I in 2007). So there's an inherent risk with UW it seems. Perhaps a different program that's more GPA friendly is the way to go? I'm very motivated to work hard in classes right now and intend to make it my number one priority. I'm a much more mature student now and ready to go back. That said, I know the UW is tough and perhaps it's not worth the risk. There is an incentive to stay in Seattle as my g/f lives here as well as my mother and sister. Just trying to sort through this all....