Hi,
Im looking at a post bacc course leading upto joining medical course. I didnt realise that the whole 6 years is going to cost me 100K dollars. Is the course and career worth this amount? And it is going to be 6 years. People I tlak to keep saying that it is really hard work and I would find it too tough…I am getting worried that I would be wasting all that money for nothing.
I want to complete the post bacc in 16 months and get into medical school for fall 2007. But the advisor tells me to tak things easy and do it over 3 years. Is the post bacc course really all the difficult?
Can I go over what the advisor recommends for each semester and choose more courses? Will this get to her? Is it allowed by the registrar?
Any feedback from people already thro the post bacc and who are already doind the med course would be really really helpful.
Hi there,
If you are in a formal post bacc program, they do want you to take the courses under the schedule that has been proposed. This usually gives you a glide year to do some volunteering and shadowing.
Post bacc programs are expensive. You can do your own informal post bacc more cheaply but you lose out on the advising and coaching for things like the MCAT and the medical school interview.
It is also far better to take your time and do exceptionally well in your coursework. One year in terms of getting into medical school and not getting into medical school does not make much difference. Take your time and do very well. Take advantage of every resource that your program offers.
I entered medical school at age 46. I have good friends who entered over 50 and are doing very well. Relax, take your time and take advantage of everything that your post bacc offers. It is then, that the expense becomes worth it.
Natalie 
If you need to complete all the prerequisites for medical school, it is already probably too late to consider applying for a matriculation date of Fall, 2007. To start medical school in August 2007, you need to apply in the summer of 2006. To have a STRONG application in summer 2006, you’ll need to have completed the prerequisites and taken the MCAT. While it is possible to submit your application in the summer and take the MCAT in August 2006, it is NOT advisable to have many (if any) prerequisites left hanging at the time your application goes in, for the simple reason that your competition will submit apps with great MCATs, complete college transcripts with all prerequisites (and all good grades), etc. etc.
This is definitely a pursuit best done at a deliberate pace, NOT a sprint. Any shortcuts you attempt to take at the beginning are almost sure to end up costing you time in the long run.
As for the money, well, my informal post-bacc at the local state school only cost a few thousand dollars, but as Natalie points out, you lose some valuable resources if you do it that way. OTOH my M.D. cost me a cool $150,000 
so forgive me if I can’t worry too much about your projected $100K! I’m a family doctor, just about the bottom rung of reimbursements, and I anticipate making over $100K per year after I graduate residency. If I can’t pay off my loan while earning that much, there is something wrong with me.
Mary
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Im looking at a post bacc course leading upto joining medical course. I didnt realise that the whole 6 years is going to cost me 100K dollars. Is the course and career worth this amount? And it is going to be 6 years.
Is this a formal postbacc program with a linkage to medical school? If so, and the whole thing (pre-reqs and MD) is only going to run about $100,000 then I don’t think that’s too bad. Of course, you may be only talking about tuition costs, in which case, your costs will be considerably higher by the time you add in borrowing living expenses.
Is it worth it? Well, the rate of MD’s defaulting on their loans is extremely low, so I would have to say that most of them are finding the compensation to be enough to pay back their bills and enjoy a comfortable living. If you enjoy what you do while making a living, then I say its definitely worth it.
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People I talk to keep saying that it is really hard work and I would find it too tough…I am getting worried that I would be wasting all that money for nothing.
Yes, it is hard work. What concerns me more is why people think you would find it too tough. Do they doubt your academic ability or your drive? If so, do they have valid reasons for doubting it? (Poor academic background, a tendency to not follow through with things, etc.) Notice that people saying you are crazy for wanting to do this is expected. You will come across very few people who understand why you want to do this.
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I want to complete the post bacc in 16 months and get into medical school for fall 2007. But the advisor tells me to take things easy and do it over 3 years. Is the post bacc course really all the difficult?
While it is possible to take all of the necessary courses in 16 months, you still won’t be able to apply start medical school in 2007, as Mary has already pointed out. I would recommend that you take at least two years to take the pre-reqs. Are the pre-reqs really all that difficult? It depends on how good of a student you are and your ability in those subjects. However, you need to do very well in the pre-reqs/post-bacc and the better you LEARN the information in these courses, the better off you will be in preparing for the MCAT and in medical school. The pre-reqs are notorious at many schools for being the “weed-out” classes - they are NOT going to be easy.
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Can I go over what the advisor recommends for each semester and choose more courses? Will this get to her? Is it allowed by the registrar?
That depends on whether you are in a formal program or just taking pre-reqs as a non-degree student. If it is a formal program, than you probably cannot take more than what she recommends. If you are doing it yourself, you most likely can take more than she recommends. The only way the registrar wouldn’t allow it is if you exceed the maximum number of credits that they allow a student to enroll in per term, or if you didn’t meet the pre-requisites for a class (i.e. math requirement for chemistry or physics). In either of those cases, you would need the advisor’s approval to get around those. Will it get back to her? Depends on the size of your school. She will probably find out eventually, especially if you need to go see her again, because she will pull up your current academic record before she meets with you.
Before you embark on this path, make sure you throughly investigate what is needed to apply to medical school and the medical school application process. I have talked to fellow students who had no idea of what they really needed to do to get into medical school because their advisors didn’t know what they were talking about and because they didn’t take the responsibility for themselves to find out what they needed to do.
Don’t rush the process too much. Better to take extra time to do things right, have an outstanding application and get admitted the FIRST time you apply than to spend that extra time trying to improve your application and reapply.
Good luck. I hope this doesn’t sound critical or anything, but as you pointed out, it is an expensive proposition, and if you are going to commit to it, you want to know what you are getting into and what you need to do.
Amy
Thank you for giving me all that detailed info. I do appreciate it. It has given me something to think about.