Taking pre-med classes after the fact?

WayOutWestMom
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 02:18:23 +0000

Competitiveness of formal pre-med post-bacc programs varies widely. Some (Georgetown, Mills College, JHU, Byrn Mawr, etc) are extremely competitive; others will accept anyone.

There are some post-baccs which offer linkages (guaranteed admission to partner med schools) to their top students.
These tend to be much more selective than other programs.

But aside from those, the selectivity of the post-bacc has very little bearing on your ability to gain an acceptance to med school–that depends on your performance in the post-bacc, your ECs, LORs, MCAT score, etc.

One consideration-- there is little or no financial aid for postbaccs except for unsubsidized federal loans (assuming that you haven’t already taken out the undergrad max in federal student loans). I wouldn’t advise going into substantial debt for a post-bacc for 2 reasons: 1) there’s no guarantee you’ll get accepted to med school; 2) med school is expensive and there is little FA except for unsub loans.

FWIW, my older D did a do-it-yourself post-bacc at a local college; she’ll graduate from med school in May.