Post bac in Houston

I am a graduate from the University of St Thomas (May 2007) in Houston, TX. I graduated with a BBA in Finance. Since I was younger, I have always been immensely interested in the medical field. I realize now that Finance was not the wrong choice but not a path I wish to continue.


I am posting to get some advice for someone in my situation - a postbac student looking to get the required classes for med school. What is the graduation rate of non-degreeds or more importantly, what is rate of students accepted into tiered medical schools? What medical schools usually accept postbac graduates? Is the JAMP (TX only) program available for postbacs? What are some of the best banks understanding to a student in my situation? Also this my first time asking questions about postbac medical studies, is there more I should ask or know concerning these programs? There are a million more questions but I’ll stop there. Thank you for the help.


Ok…Im not going to stop there. Haha. So Ive been perusing the forum researching postbac programs in TX and few sounded great. So is UT-Austin really $500 per class? Do they offer scholarships or was that per credit hour? Beyond this a school which wasnt listed was my alma mater, University of St Thomas. I dont know much about the program as I was a Finance graduate but am leaning towards this. Does anyone have perspective between the UT-Austin program and University of St Thomas? Also Lamar University, in Beaumont, is it worth the lower cost (only $3500 a semester for a 15-18hr course load)?

I am also in Houston. I am a 38 years old with a BSIT and an MBA. I have been researching medical school for well over a year. $500 a class is probably cheap compared to St. Thomas. HBU is over $900 per credit hour. The only true post bacc program in Texas is UT Dallas. The other programs are simply undergrad pre-med or graduate programs for people looking to strengthen their application and/or MCAT score. The post bacc programs don’t necessarily follow a regular semester schedule and can be completed much faster. They also have better hours as they are intended for career changers. So if going to Dallas is an option for you, I would go that route. You will not be able to borrow as much via FAFSA for undergrad coursework since you already had a baccalaureate degree, so St. Thomas may not work out for you so well. I planned to attend HBU until I discovered that I would have to pay $2000 a semester out of pocket do to the loan cap. Lamar may be a great choice, but it is a long commute if you are in Houston. I am taking my prereqs at UHD. Not having a formal premed program at UHD, I will have to navigate the med school application process on my own (yuk), but it is the best option for me. There don’t seem to be any programs in place in our area for older premeds. This is surprising considering the caliber of our medical center. Hope this helps a bit.