What do you think of my do-it-yourself post-bacc?

[surfguy84]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Wondering what you think about the quality/rigor of this post-bacc. I'm nearing the conclusion of hitting my pre-reqs and other classes I think will help me out by giving me a leg up on the mcat and/or admissions...

Feel free to let me know if theres anything else you believe I should take..Thanks!

Physics I/II
Chem I/II
Ochem I/II
Physiology
Gen Bio I
Genetics

*have already taken micro, epidemiology, and nutritional science in undergrad.

total science GPA is a 3.8, overall gpa is a 3.2, post-bacc gpa is a 3.9.

 

[surfguy84]

Also, meant to add....

If I plan to take classes AFTER I apply...will this matter much to schools and/or will they consider them? Granted all pre-reqs will be done, but I'm thinking about continuing to take post-bacc classes, i.e. biochem, perhaps a stats class, etc. Will this do me any favors or am I just wasting time and money?

 

[yehhhboiii]

how are you going to take these classes after you apply
you need an mcat score to apply and you can't take the mcat without having taken a single prereq

hm actually i guess you can take the mcat if you have 200 dollars to burn

 

[surfguy84]

Sorry, guess I wasn't clear. I've already taken/am currently taking all the classes listed (from physics I-genetics). The classes I would consider taking AFTER applying are biochem, stats, etc.

 

[oshkoro]

Sorry, guess I wasn't clear. I've already taken/am currently taking all the classes listed (from physics I-genetics). The classes I would consider taking AFTER applying are biochem, stats, etc.

If you have the time, I would strongly suggest taking biochem before the MCAT/before you apply. I took it after the MCAT and regret not knowing this stuff before I took the test.

 

[surfguy84]

If you have the time, I would strongly suggest taking biochem before the MCAT/before you apply. I took it after the MCAT and regret not knowing this stuff before I took the test.

I've heard that, but I'm simply not going ot have the time...unless I take the Jan 2015 MCAT and delay med school entrance by a year...I think I'll likely stick to my June 2014 MCAT date, then take biochem in fall 2014, and retake the mcat in jan 2015 if needed.

 

[C.glabrata123]

You can survive the MCAT without biochem, just study hard and maybe have access to a biochem textbook for reference. I found it much more helpful to study from textbooks than from review books when getting down to nitty gritty details.

Definitely try to take biochem before matriculating in medical school.

 

[SN12357]

I've heard that, but I'm simply not going ot have the time...unless I take the Jan 2015 MCAT and delay med school entrance by a year...I think I'll likely stick to my June 2014 MCAT date, then take biochem in fall 2014, and retake the mcat in jan 2015 if needed.

More and more schools require biochem, so look into that.

You don't address the math prereqs in your original post. Do you already have that squared away? It varies what schools require, but most have SOME kind of math prerequiste, whether it be 1 year of college math in general, or specifically calculus or statistics or some combination of both.

I highly recommend statistics either way.

 

[wiloghby]

I've heard that, but I'm simply not going ot have the time...unless I take the Jan 2015 MCAT and delay med school entrance by a year...I think I'll likely stick to my June 2014 MCAT date, then take biochem in fall 2014, and retake the mcat in jan 2015 if needed.

Your plan is nearly identical to what mine was. Mine was solely DIY as well and I had to take classes at a few different schools to make everything fit neatly in 2 years (summer fall spring summer fall spring). I also included social science classes as well.

Some schools will lament that you don't have the pedigree/extra assurance that comes with an established program. Other schools will realize you are awesome at setting goals, organizing insanely complicated plans to tackle them, and succeeding at said goals. And they will love you.

Anyway, it worked out for me.