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- Jan 18, 2015
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Long story short I graduated last month from Boston University with a BA in biology and a terrible GPA by med school admission standards (horrible sophomore year - had some personal issues I was dealing with and didn't put in the effort- brought my GPA down a ton and I ended up graduating with a 2.9).
Now I'm taking the summer off and am planning on finding a healthcare related job for the Fall. I'm also planning on doing something - either a postbac or just individual classes - to raise my gpa. I'm not really keen on doing a full on postbac because they can be really expensive and i don't know if I'll have the time to take on a full course load during my gap year because, as I said, I wanna work/volunteer.
For this reason I was considering to either take individual classes at Harvard Extension School (and perhaps applying for admission into their premed postbac program later) or just taking individual courses at my local community college Bunker Hill.
Both would be pretty affordable for me considering the alternatives but they do have their drawbacks. BUNker Hill is a community college and might be looked down upon by admissions (espescially since I'll need to take Orgo 2 there) but, on the other hand, I've heard Harvard Extension School can be really tough. I like the idea of going to Harvard extension school bc the courses will be challenging and a good prep for the MCAT but I'm worried it'll be *too* challenging. One big plus about Harvard extension school is that if I get accepted into the program I'll be able to get a comittee letter.
So:
1. Which do you think is a better option HArvard extension school or Bunker hill community college? Or do you have a another suggestion?
2. Is it bad that I haven't gotten any letters of recommendations yet? Should that sway me away from taking classes at Bunker Hill since it might look better if I got letters from Harvard profs?
3. Sort of unrelated but I took Orgo 1 way back in sophomore year, ended up with a C and have forgotten nearly everything I learned from that class. I barely showed up to class and the only reason I got a C was because the curve. I don't remember **** except for maybe nomenclature. Should I (can I?) retake orgo 1 before going on to orgo 2 or should I self review/teach myself?
4. Is 1 year gap year the norm or would it be ok if I took 2-3 years off?
Now I'm taking the summer off and am planning on finding a healthcare related job for the Fall. I'm also planning on doing something - either a postbac or just individual classes - to raise my gpa. I'm not really keen on doing a full on postbac because they can be really expensive and i don't know if I'll have the time to take on a full course load during my gap year because, as I said, I wanna work/volunteer.
For this reason I was considering to either take individual classes at Harvard Extension School (and perhaps applying for admission into their premed postbac program later) or just taking individual courses at my local community college Bunker Hill.
Both would be pretty affordable for me considering the alternatives but they do have their drawbacks. BUNker Hill is a community college and might be looked down upon by admissions (espescially since I'll need to take Orgo 2 there) but, on the other hand, I've heard Harvard Extension School can be really tough. I like the idea of going to Harvard extension school bc the courses will be challenging and a good prep for the MCAT but I'm worried it'll be *too* challenging. One big plus about Harvard extension school is that if I get accepted into the program I'll be able to get a comittee letter.
So:
1. Which do you think is a better option HArvard extension school or Bunker hill community college? Or do you have a another suggestion?
2. Is it bad that I haven't gotten any letters of recommendations yet? Should that sway me away from taking classes at Bunker Hill since it might look better if I got letters from Harvard profs?
3. Sort of unrelated but I took Orgo 1 way back in sophomore year, ended up with a C and have forgotten nearly everything I learned from that class. I barely showed up to class and the only reason I got a C was because the curve. I don't remember **** except for maybe nomenclature. Should I (can I?) retake orgo 1 before going on to orgo 2 or should I self review/teach myself?
4. Is 1 year gap year the norm or would it be ok if I took 2-3 years off?