Washington University in St. Louis

[pchan]

Wow, did anyone know they had a post-bacc program? It wasn't even on the AAMC post-bacc search thingy. Here it is:

http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~ucollege/postbacc.html

Heard anything about it, thoughts, comments, opinions, etc.? I'd imagine it's got some pretty good hook-ups with the med school but then again what do I know. Day courses are super expensive though, yikes, $1296/credit unit! But evening courses are $390/credit unit.

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[Captain Fantastic]

Yeah, I ran across it while I was in graduate school at Wash U.. For me the ~$78,000 tuition cost of the post-bacc program was a non-starter. Toss in living expenses for two years and there was no way I could afford it. The night classes are the only way it could be affordable.

I'm not sure what kind of hooks you'll get into the medical school. You'll have research opportunities but I wouldn't count on job shadowing and physician access. That was just my impression. I didn't go through the program so what do I know. Send the dean an email and ask questions. I always had good experiences meeting with the administration, faculty, and staff at Wash U.

 

[pchan]

Cool, thanks ed2brute! That's good info and advice, thanks again.

Yeah, I ran across it while I was in graduate school at Wash U.. For me the ~$78,000 tuition cost of the post-bacc program was a non-starter. Toss in living expenses for two years and there was no way I could afford it. The night classes are the only way it could be affordable.

I'm not sure what kind of hooks you'll get into the medical school. You'll have research opportunities but I wouldn't count on job shadowing and physician access. That was just my impression. I didn't go through the program so what do I know. Send the dean an email and ask questions. I always had good experiences meeting with the administration, faculty, and staff at Wash U.

 

[NonTradMed]

Washu has a program for shadowing physicians, and alot of students work at the med school there. So, there's a lot of opportunities for premed---the school is filled with them. But there's not much of a linkage program for their med school from what I know. Washu undergraduates there will not get in unless they have the numbers. If you take classes there, you will get a bit of advantage in that if you have good stats from their own school, washu med will remember you more easily and are more likely to interview you. But the program's strong points is that it's tough and if you do well, it will open up many med schools' doors, and the school's offers a host of research opportunities.

 

[sidewalkman]

It should be possible to take all of WashU's premed classes in the evening, thus cutting the expenses. The courses still look expensive on their own, but the cost of living isn't bad at all, so the cost of the whole program ends up being reasonable.

I too got the impression the linkage, formal or not, isn't all that strong with the med school. That's OK, though, because this is really an open-enrollment post-bacc with a certificate option thrown in. At University College, all you need to take classes is a HS diploma, and it doesn't appear that the premed classes are any different.

 

[pchan]

Oh, seriously, you think it'll be possible to get into the evening classes? Sweet. I just was worried that I woudln't finish on time if I did evening, like they won't offer Bio, Chem, etc. as often? But then again, I guess sicne it's a private school, enrollment issues wouldn't be as bad as like here in Californa (CSU and UC), with 100s of kids in UG science courses?

Did any of you guys go to WashU, you seem pretty knowledgeable abuot it? I'd defintiely love to hear more people's experiences. Low cost of living (how much we talking by the way, like for a studio or 1 bdrm? $800, or so?) + evening tuiton is making it pretty darn attractive, I gotta say.

 

[pingouin]

Oh, seriously, you think it'll be possible to get into the evening classes? Sweet. I just was worried that I woudln't finish on time if I did evening, like they won't offer Bio, Chem, etc. as often? But then again, I guess sicne it's a private school, enrollment issues wouldn't be as bad as like here in Californa (CSU and UC), with 100s of kids in UG science courses?

Did any of you guys go to WashU, you seem pretty knowledgeable abuot it? I'd defintiely love to hear more people's experiences. Low cost of living (how much we talking by the way, like for a studio or 1 bdrm? $800, or so?) + evening tuiton is making it pretty darn attractive, I gotta say.

you can probably go a little lower on the rent guesstimate depending on what you're looking for yes, you can pay $800 for one of the bigger buildings in the Central West End, or a complex which includes a pool, gym, etc. however, if you're willing to do a 1BR in a 2- or 4-family flat, you should easily be able to find something from $500-$600 that's pretty decent. neighborhoods to look in would be University City, Maplewood, Richmond Heights, and in St. Louis City proper- Dogtown and St. Louis Hills. All are within a 15 minute drive of Wash U's main campus.

I'm not as up on rent costs any more, but to give you a clue- I had a 1BR in a 4-family flat in St. Louis Hills for about 4 years, and left 3 years ago paying $450/month. So adjust upward for annual increases.. for my place, it included new hardwood floors, W/D hookups in the basement, storage locker, central AC, refrigerator, and oven/stove.

 

[pchan]

you can probably go a little lower on the rent guesstimate depending on what you're looking for

Sorry I'm from California so my figures are all messed up.

yes, you can pay $800 for one of the bigger buildings in the Central West End, or a complex which includes a pool, gym, etc. however, if you're willing to do a 1BR in a 2- or 4-family flat, you should easily be able to find something from $500-$600 that's pretty decent. neighborhoods to look in would be University City, Maplewood, Richmond Heights, and in St. Louis City proper- Dogtown and St. Louis Hills. All are within a 15 minute drive of Wash U's main campus.

Speaking of which, is a car necessary out in St. Louis? If I do go, i dont plan on taking any trips or anything. Basically all I'd need is to go to class, volunteer at a hospital, hopefuly work P/T at a hospital, and of course go shopping every once in a while to stay alive.

Also, is it hard to get P/T work at a hospital? What's the pay out there like?

I'm not as up on rent costs any more, but to give you a clue- I had a 1BR in a 4-family flat in St. Louis Hills for about 4 years, and left 3 years ago paying $450/month. So adjust upward for annual increases.. for my place, it included new hardwood floors, W/D hookups in the basement, storage locker, central AC, refrigerator, and oven/stove.

Wow this sounds so nice! I would love a $500/month place, I can't even imagine that.. that's wonderful.

By the way, someone above mentioned that the cost was like $78,000 / year, but if it's $390 per unit for night classes, then it can't be that much? Sorry I didn't catch that till right now, so just wnated to make sure there's not something I'm missing, like this is only for in-state tuition or something? (Although I thought Washington U. was a private school?)

But overall impressions of the school and neighborhood are pretty positive it sounds like? I'm just trying to get a good "feel" for the place to see if it's someplace I should seriously, seriously consider. Thanks!

 

[Erato77]

I just got my MA from Wash U and now looking to the Post-Bacc option there. I have spoken with the Dean in person and the program seems pretty solid. There is NO linkage program with the Medical School...but I believe after the first year (this is a 2 yr program), you get access of all of the traditional pre-med goody bag available to the rest of the Wash U Pre-Med consortium...i.e. advising, shadowing, etc. Not to mention the school has a treasure trove of research jobs available. Their Post-Bacc program is relatively new...only a couple years old. I don't know if that would/should be a consideration.

The cost is phenomenal...cost of living is awesome...and someone like me (coming from left-field) can have a shot at a good pre-med education at a fraction of the cost.

My only concern is whether Medical Schools will notice that it is a evening program and thus putting one at disadvantage when applying to strong Medical Schools...I am well-aware and a victim of "night-school" bias in other scholastic and career-fields. Is this an issue with Medical field as well?