Which post-bacc program to choose?

[cheshir3]

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I'm currently in my first semester of pre-reqs for a nursing degree. However, after taking these classes and seeing how easy they are, I've begun to really rethink my old dream of going to medical school. I've always wanted to do that but always chickened out and finally took the safe route with nursing. ( A commendable career, but I'm starting to think I don't want to wake up one day and hate myself for not taking that leap of faith and trying for med school.)

I've already received a BA in English (art minor) from MTSU (a decent state school) with a 3.56 (Cum Laude). I studied abroad in Japan, was in a few clubs (mainly freshman year), and had around a 3.7ish (roughly) in the few basic science classes I took. I'm currently trying to find some sort of medical volunteering opportunity, which is proving hard, but hopefully when I start applying to post-baccs I'll have something going on.

What would my chances be in a post-bacc program? Also, does anyone know about some decent programs other than the well-known ones (Bryn Mawr, Goucher, Scripps, etc.)? I'd like one that isn't really really hard to get into, is relatively inexpensive (as in, not as much for one year as what I paid for my entire college degree), and will get me into a good medical school. Does anyone know if the ETSU program is decent?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[IamAriDO]

@cheshir3

I think that there are many great programs out there but I would also like to mention that it is possible without going to one of the "organized" programs. I did a post-bacc "program" at the University of Toledo, I simply enrolled as a continuing education student and took the courses over this past year. I then took the MCAT and am now applying. I was able to get in state tuition (graduated from Ohio State in psych) and it was not that difficult in the sense that it wasnt harvard or anything. I did fairly well (3.7 throughout).

Do well, get involved and you'll get to your dream

IamAriDO

Just wanted to share that you dont need one of the "organized" programs although they can certainly help and such.

 

[cheshir3]

Thanks for the reply.

I've looked at just taking continuing education classes, but it seems like they would be harder to get loans for. Plus I'd like to have a community of fellow post-bacc students, pre-med advisors, and whatnot.

 

[Loon]

If you're a California resident (or don't mind paying private school prices as an out-of-stater), I can recommend San Francisco State University. There's a pretty solid postbacc/nontrad community here.

 

[gman33]

Thanks for the reply.

I've looked at just taking continuing education classes, but it seems like they would be harder to get loans for. Plus I'd like to have a community of fellow post-bacc students, pre-med advisors, and whatnot.

You can get $10500 in federal loans for post-bacc. It doesn't matter whether or not it is a formal program. Beyond that, you get private loans, which you can probably get either way. Those are credit based.

While some of the formal programs are quite good, there is not that much difference from an admissions standpoint. As long as you do well in your classes, that's all that really matters.

I started in a "good" formal program, didn't like it, and ended up finishing as a CE student at another school. It didn't make any difference in my admission.

 

[student1799]

Does anyone know if the ETSU program is decent?

Thanks for any advice.

Judging from the fact that you mentioned MTSU and ETSU (Middle Tenn. State and Eastern Tenn. State?), you must be from Tennessee. I'm not, and I'm not familiar with the program, but based on a quick glance at the MSAR [the big orange factbook about all the US med schools], it seems like a reasonable choice. #1, ETSU has a med school, so if you do well at their postbacc, that would probably give you a boost in their admissions process. #2, ETSU is public, so the tuition is probably reasonable. #3, TN has 4 med schools (2 public, 2 private), and all of them except Meharry appear to heavily favor in-state students. Your GPA seems competitive for these schools, especially if you do well in postbacc.

So if your aim is to attend med school in your home state, going to the ETSU postbacc seems like a smart idea.

 

[Meditrix]

You can get $10500 in federal loans for post-bacc. It doesn't matter whether or not it is a formal program. Beyond that, you get private loans, which you can probably get either way. Those are credit based.

While some of the formal programs are quite good, there is not that much difference from an admissions standpoint. As long as you do well in your classes, that's all that really matters.

I started in a "good" formal program, didn't like it, and ended up finishing as a CE student at another school. It didn't make any difference in my admission.

Hey there, I was wondering about this $10500 in federal loans available. Is this received directly through the whole FAFSA in conjunction with the respective financial aid office spiel ?
Sorry, I am new here, probably should have introduced myself first 😀
I am a non-trad student, presently paying out-of-pocket. I tried to get some extra money to supplement my payments, as I work full-time yet have not alot of money to spare... so I was just piqued when I saw that it IS possible to get federal loans (albeit, not aid, but at least it's something!). I did fill out all the required doc's, but something must have slipped through because I did not get any offers for federal loans...

 

[cheshir3]

sudent1799, thanks for the thoughtful reply! ...yeah, I know this is late...Kinda forget about this thread. Whoops :/


I finally decided which school to go to for my pre-reqs, so thanks to everyone who replied to my questions.