Where to Post Bacc..

[MrBlue90]

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Hey there!

Soo, I am trying to figure out how to approach this idea of doing a formal post bacc program after graduation or take additional classes. I know that I have to do one or the other because I am not competitive for allopathic or osteopathic medical schools. My cGPA is a 3.2 and my sGPA is probably around a 3.0 (haven't calculated it yet). I have recently become more and more interested in osteopathic schools, but I haven't had the chance to shadow a DO. Hopefully I can do that soon, but as of now, I don't know which one I would rather pursue.

Anyway, I am in my 5th year of college and have one more semester to complete my concentration so I still plan to do well and improve that GPA a bit. I plan to take the MCAT in January of 2014, so hopefully I can do well in that area.

I am willing to take the time that is needed to have an application that is as competitive as possible, given what I have already done, but I am trying to figure out how to approach this year or 2 off after graduation. If anyone has any suggestions with any good post baccs that won't break my bank, or any other suggestions in general regarding classes after college, I would greatly appreciate them. Thanks!

 

[TexasSurgeon]

Hey there!

Soo, I am trying to figure out how to approach this idea of doing a formal post bacc program after graduation or take additional classes. I know that I have to do one or the other because I am not competitive for allopathic or osteopathic medical schools. My cGPA is a 3.2 and my sGPA is probably around a 3.0 (haven't calculated it yet). I have recently become more and more interested in osteopathic schools, but I haven't had the chance to shadow a DO. Hopefully I can do that soon, but as of now, I don't know which one I would rather pursue.

Anyway, I am in my 5th year of college and have one more semester to complete my concentration so I still plan to do well and improve that GPA a bit. I plan to take the MCAT in January of 2014, so hopefully I can do well in that area.

I am willing to take the time that is needed to have an application that is as competitive as possible, given what I have already done, but I am trying to figure out how to approach this year or 2 off after graduation. If anyone has any suggestions with any good post baccs that won't break my bank, or any other suggestions in general regarding classes after college, I would greatly appreciate them. Thanks!

I didn't read this entirely, but the AAMC has a search and filter website where you can input certain criteria and get feedback for the best list of postbacc schools for you

 

[Baobob]

Be careful about the semester vs quarter system when choosing your post-bac school, as the grade replacement/repeat on AACOMAS is a bit screwy going from a 2 semester series to a 3 quarter series.

For example I took one semester Physics I worth 5 semester credits, then another semester for Physics II also worth 5 semester credits. I then retook the Physics series as a Post-bac in a school that had a quarter system-the whole Physics series required 3 quarters with each quarter being worth 3.3 credits. I could not list those post-bac credits as repeats on my AACOMAS application.

So if you choose a school for your post-bac that does a quarter system-convert the quarter credits to semester credits first and be sure they are equal before signing up.

 

[gmcguitar4]

Take courses at the cheapest institution near you. Do not do any formal post-bac. Community college is fine if you don't have a cheap 4-year university close by.

 

[hallowmann]

Take courses at the cheapest institution near you. Do not do any formal post-bac. Community college is fine if you don't have a cheap 4-year university close by.

+1. Just make sure the retakes will count as grade replacements, i.e. the credits are equivalent or greater than the original ones and the college has most/all of the courses you intend to retake.

 

[MrBlue90]

Thank you for the responses! If I retook some courses at a community college or another institution, I would be taking undergrad courses, right? And those would affect my GPA, correct? Is there a spot on the AACOMAS App to list courses you would like to replace?

 

[TriagePreMed]

Thank you for the responses! If I retook some courses at a community college or another institution, I would be taking undergrad courses, right? And those would affect my GPA, correct? Is there a spot on the AACOMAS App to list courses you would like to replace?

Yes, yes and yes (if repeat is in progress).

 

[bionerd89]

Thank you for the responses! If I retook some courses at a community college or another institution, I would be taking undergrad courses, right? And those would affect my GPA, correct? Is there a spot on the AACOMAS App to list courses you would like to replace?

Yeah they would be undergrad courses. If you do re-take just make sure they are equivalent classes. On AACOMAS, you can select which course is the retake and they will only calculate that grade in your gpa