What post-bac programs practice big time grade inflation?

[UGAChemDawg]

Hello,

I originally went to college immediately after high school in 1997 with dreams of becoming a physician. For reasons that I don't care to mention here (nothing to do with partying or personal irresponsibility) I flunked out of college my first time around.

I recently started again in 2004, and I graduate the end of this academic year in the spring 2006.

Figuring that medical school was out, I majored in chemistry with the hopes of landing a job in forensic science or going to law school and working in chemical/biotech patents. Chemistry at my school is a particularly challenging major, so my performance since my return hasn't been particularly impressive. I have about a 3.1 since coming back, including a D in second semester organic chemistry.

With graduation looming, I've started to think about what I really want to do with my life and I just can't shake the medicine bug. But at the same time, I think that it will hurt me that I didn't do well even after my return to college. Most people in my situation who go to med school have a few bad years, leave, then turn in a stellar performance their second time around. I didn't have that luxury. Not because I didn't work hard, but because I thought medical school was out so I picked a major that I enjoyed that was too rigorous rather than something where I could get the grades necessary to go to medical school.

That being said, I don't have any regrets because I know I've given it my best effort. My grades aren't something that I have any control over in the program that I'm in. I've had classes (for example Introduction to NMR Spectroscopy that I'm currently in) where there have been semesters in which nobody got an A. I've busted my ass studying for hours every day and simply couldn't do better than a B, just because that's the nature of the beast. They're very hard-core here and like to break you down. It's not a very good place to be if you're in a position where your grad school/career prospects depend on academic performance.

I figure what I need to do (on top of the obvious clinical volunteering, etc) is to keep a high (3.8+, preferably 4.0) GPA over my last 60 or so undergraduate credit hours, as well as scoring high (over 34) on the MCAT, which won't be a problem I've always been a strong standardized test taker.

However, I don't want to end up somewhere like this again where the best you can hope for is a C. Basically, I'm looking for a program where I can pay $$$ and they'll basically hand me an A just for showing up.

That sounds like a horrible attitude to have, but I have no qualms about it. I've already paid my dues in a tough program where nomatter what you do it's never good enough and you have to bust your ass just to pass. I honestly believe that if I had taken the same courses at another college I'd have had at least a 3.75 easily. If I'm going to work that hard and study for hours on end every day, especially if I'm going to pay big $$$ for a post-bac program, I want something to show for it. I'm exaduarating a little when I say I expect them to give me an A for just being there, but I would like to be in a program where I know I at least control my own destiny and I know what the professor's expectations are and if I study hard and master the material I'll get an A. None of this give 2 people in a class of 30 an A even though your average was only 5 points lower than theirs.

So yeah, I wrote all that to ask this: Who are the big time grade inflaters in the post-bac world?

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[shkmiami]

I have looked for post-baccs that might practice or exhibit grade inflation as well since my GPA could use some major inflation. Bad news. I have found that it doesn't really exist in post-bacc programs because, *Shocking News*, the nature of the beast is such that all post-bacc students are competitive for grades because med school admissions is competitive. Most of the lower division pre-med req classes are graded on a strict curve, so competition for the A's is unavoidable. Only 15% to 10% will get As. It is the upper division courses usually that they assume you are competent to make it this far and you get a nice curve, like 25% get As, 50% Bs, and 25% Cs.
Even when you look back at undergrad pre-med classes they were always cutthroat, whereas the rest of the university had it easy. All my Education, Business, and Communication friends had like A+ averages. That drove me batty. It is the pre-meds and engineering students who don't get the benefits of grade inflation. And post-bacc students have it no different.
Plus if you think about it, if a particular post-bacc program practiced rampant grade inflation, don't you think it would hurt their students later down the line when rumor catches up with the med school admissions committees?
I think the better question is who you will be competing for those A with. I don't know about you, but I would rather take my chances competing against newbie premeds than against hungry post-baccs like ourselves. Some post-baccs like Univ of Miami just throw you in with the undergrad students which I think would benefit us grizzles veterens. Some like Rosalind Franklin put you in classes full of post-baccs.

 

[jamesrd]

Hate to break it to you guys, but if you use grade inflation to pump up your gpa, you're going to get slaughtered on your mcats. Med schools don't want stupid people, and unlike a lot of the standardized tests out there, the mcat checks not only reasoning, but tests knowledge you should get through your basic sciences. You wouldn't be doing yourselves any favors by going to an "easy" school, a 3.9 and 12 mcat isn't going to get you anywhere.

 

[Law2Doc]

Some post-baccs like Univ of Miami just throw you in with the undergrad students which I think would benefit us grizzles veterens.

The above is an interesting question, one I thought about when choosing my post bac, and I ultimately came to the opposite conclusion (which worked out well for me). Older postbacs have the disadvantage (as compared to undergrads) of not having been in school for a while, not recently having just taken high school AP science classes, and not being surrounded by pre-med types 24/7. Plus a lot of postbac programs are open to people who need to pick up sciences for other fields (dental, vet, path), who might be less intense in their pursuit or more satisfied with B's. A lot of nontrads try to keep their jobs or have significant family distractions during the process, which results in less study time for some percentage of the competition. And the attrition rate at some postbac programs is significantly higher than undergrad, suggesting to me that some people wash out and go back to their old jobs, and thus wouldn't provide the same level of competition. Thus I personally think that if you are a strong and dedicated nontrad candidate, you will do much better surrounded by other nontrads in a postbac than being placed in with the undergrad premed population. I could be wrong but that was my theory.
As for the OP looking for grade inflation, you won't find much in any formal postbac program because the class is filled with people gunning for medical school. You might be able to take open enrollment classes at some school with grade inflation (and design your own postbac), but it would be tough to find out which one has such rep. And the undergrad schools with the worst grade inflation reps often tend to do so because they have the attitude that they only let A students in in the first place, so it might be tough to get into such schools. I also agree with the latter poster that people who can't achieve high grades in undergrad level science courses on average can't achieve high scores on the MCAT, which will pose another hurdle for you and not one that grade inflation will help alleviate. Good luck.

 

[TheDervish]

I have looked for post-baccs that might practice or exhibit grade inflation as well since my GPA could use some major inflation. Bad news. I have found that it doesn't really exist in post-bacc programs because, *Shocking News*, the nature of the beast is such that all post-bacc students are competitive for grades because med school admissions is competitive.

In which case you are probably better off going somewhere that does not have a de jure post-bacc program and where you don't have too many people of your kind competing for those A's.

 

[NRAI2001]

Hello,



I figure what I need to do (on top of the obvious clinical volunteering, etc) is to keep a high (3.8+, preferably 4.0) GPA over my last 60 or so undergraduate credit hours, as well as scoring high (over 34) on the MCAT, which won't be a problem I've always been a strong standardized test taker.



I honestly believe that if I had taken the same courses at another college I'd have had at least a 3.75 easily.

So yeah, I wrote all that to ask this: Who are the big time grade inflaters in the post-bac world?

Guess, no matter how hard/competitive you thought ur undergrad was, there are many other undergrads who went to harder institutions than you. Unless if you did your chem major at berkeley (number one in the world for chem), u dont have a reason to bitch.

Why don't u go get your no problem 34.