Hey everyone,
Reading about everyone's progress with med school apps and interviews has been inspiring. I'd like to extend that sense of inspiration to those of us a little further behind the curve. So, for all those that are applying to post-bacc programs, come post about your progress here.
cheers,
Vera
OK, I’ll go first.
Last night I ordered/mailed in the last of my transcript requests from two UG schools, grad school, and also my GRE and ACT scores. (That cost me a hundo! No dinner out this week. 
)
I’ve done a first pass of answering the short and essay questions for both Goucher and JHU. (Writing is rewriting! I’m rewriting JHU’s right now.)
I have one LOR in to JHU, and have to procure two to Goucher, and another to JHU. My boss is out until Jan 21, but the apps aren’t due until March 31 so I have time.
I plan to ask a cardiologist/Robert Wood Johnson Fellow that I’m working on a research project with for the other LOR.
The only other thing I’m lacking is my HIGH SCHOOL transcript. This cracks me up, as I graduated in 1990 and it seems so irrelevant. Them’s the rules, though, so HS transcripts I shall get. However, the school is closed until January 7th, so I have a call scheduled for them for next week.
I plan on mailing in my completed applications in a week’s time. Then, it’s on to interviews!! And soon thereafter, a life of poverty and books. 
I can’t wait!!!
cheers,
Vera
Vera, I bet a lot of people would be interested to know - how DO you finance this venture? I don't know what JHU is but I know Goucher's one-year program was >$20K when I looked into it several years ago.
Do they help you with $$$ stuff? How does it work?
Vera, I'd like to get into a post-bacc program. Do you have a link that I can visit and what schools are offering what programs?
Mary, I've read some of your replies and postings and I just wanted to let you know that you are such an inspiration. How do you do it?
stormsStone,
Check out the following link for post-bacc programs/schools - Jack.
http://www.aamc.org/students/considering/p…stbac/start.htm
Hi Mary,
I’m going to end up taking out loans for this venture. Goucher’s financial aid maxes out at $3 or $4k, while JHU offers no financial aid. According to their websites, I’ll be eligible for Stafford/school-type loans for about $10k, and will have to get regular loans on the rest.
I decided to do this full-time because I spent the lat 5 years taking classes part-time for my master’s degree. Now, I just want to hurry up and get these pre-reqs DONE!
I am closing on a condo next month, it’s very inexepensive and the payment will be less than rent. So I’ll have some “play” in the finances department with home equity, appreciation, and whatnot. I decided that I needed SOMETHING tangible/stable before I went into the economic free-fall of leaving my job and being a full-time student, so I bought myself a little place.
I’m having a hard time talking to someone at my high school to get my transcript! And no one has returned my messages this far. Annoying. This weekend I’m going to wrap up the applications, and then this phase will be over. Exciting! It will be interesting to interview and hear about what the programs and schools have to offer. Part of me is very attracted to the linkage programs the schools have, but part of me is looking forward to some potential incredible glide year experiences. But I’m getting ahead of myself there. 
Jack, that’s exactly the link I used. Thanks for posting it!
cheers,
Vera
Im applying
Rejections : TCOM, CCOM, VCOM
Waiting : UHSCOM, LECOM, TUCOM, COMP, PCOM, PCSOM, NYCOM, ROSS, AUC, SGU, (SABA)
Hi Bevo,
Wow, those are a lot of apps to get through!!! I’m focusing on schools that are close to home for the time being. I feel like for the bost-bacc, I have enough opps close to me. There are a number of great programs in DC, but I don’t want to deal with the commute.
Good luck with your apps!
cheers,
Vera
I’d recommend applying to Barry Universities Post-Bacc/Masters Program. You can take the pre-reqs PLUS get medical classes in before you even start. It takes 30 months from start to finish I think for track 3.
Apply at Barry
jpatter916, thanks for the link. i visited the site and it was full of information, just what i was looking for. however, i got discouraging news from havard extension program. the director there told me that if he was on the admission committee, he would not admit me into medical school due to my poor undergrad gpa. hmmm… and i thought the purpose of these programs exist to help students like me to at least compete in the medical school application pool.
Unfortunately, post-bacc programs want students that did well as UGs. (I know the programs I’m applying to said not to bother applying if you didn’t have at least a 3.0/4.0 GPA.)
I think that others on OPM have dealt with this stumbling block by pursuing a second Bachelor’s degree, or participating in special “second chance” programs. I can’t remember what the specific term is, but evidently there are programs out there that serve to act as a clean slate for UG records that aren’t totally stellar.
The other thing to remember is that one person’s opinion doesn’t make or break your chances. Do your homework, network, and explore different options. They are out there!
Good luck,
Vera
Hi to everyone, I have had an enjoyable morning and afternoon reading all the posts and have finally decided to add my own story.
After getting Bachelors in Nursing and working as a Nurse Practitioner (got my Masters in 1999) I have finally decided what I knew 10 years ago (but i let a doctor friend dissuade me to some degree)…i really need/want to go to med school. so like so many of the posters to this awesome site…i have started the internet crawl to start the post-bach programs. It is hard for me to believe that after all this schooling I never thought to take the science courses. I am hoping that things will follow some sort of organized course but I am thinking that will probably be the exception. Right now I am 41 yrs old (just turned) with a teenage and a 10 year old and a spouse who probably thinks I'm a little nuts. I wish everyone out there luck (it seems to be a necessary commodity) and will follow your ups and downs regularly. May our paths cross soon…
Lizzie,
with a BSN under my belt, what I did when I went back to school at age 41 was simply take the science prerequisites at my local university. I did not have an option for any sort of formalized post-bacc program, so I designed my own. I started small - the fall of my first year, I only took pre-med general chemistry, which had dissuaded me from pursuing medicine 20+ years earlier! This time, with the proper motivation and perspective, I did fine. Having “proved” to myself that I could do it, I then rearranged my work schedule in order to take two courses during the spring semester, then the following year quit work altogether to take the remainder of my science courses. I took ONLY the required courses - a full year each of gen-chem, biology, organic chem and physics. I didn’t apply to any schools that required calculus, but in my first trip through undergrad I’d taken it (but got a C!).
I tell this just to show that there are a lot of ways to make this work. If you run into roadblocks by looking at your situation from one perspective, think of different ways to achieve the same result. Good luck!
HI Everyone,I thought I'd share my story about post-bacc programs. I'm 29 now. I got my BS in 1996. Then my masters in Psychology in 1999 from Towson University in Maryland. After deciding to pursue medicine, I applied to Towson's post bacc program. I got a 3.5 overall in my masters program, but a 2.89 overall undergrad. I submitted all of my transcripts and LOR (one from a doctor), wrote a personal statement, and interviewed with the director himself. I was told that my undergrad GPA was not very good. As a result, the director could not get three other committee members to agree to let me into the program--in spite of him telling me how much he liked me and thought I could get into med school and do well. He told me to take two science courses at Towson--and do well--then reapply. So, I did. I took Bio I with the chair of the dept--who liked me enough to send the director a letter in support of my application. I reapplied in the spring, and was let in. I was so happy. So--it can be done. I have always been a longshot for medical school...and I know it. But I WILL TRY!!!..and so should anyone who truly believes he/she can do it.
Sad part is---because of my husband's work, we had to move--and I was only in the program for one semester. Talk about things never being easy!!! Constantly having to prove myself..so what else is new?
ANyway...best of luck with post bacc stuff. You'll do just fine!!! Anna
Thanks for the above advise and support. I am actually considering taking a class at University of RI but I am a bit worried as I will be away for 1 week and miss a class …(something that really never bothered me as a undergrad…in fact; i welcomed missing classes). I think if I cost it out it would be cheaper to do it more piece meal than enroll in a formal program of post bach but I am not sure if that will hurt my chances of getting into med school. On that note…has anyone looked into the 'premed advisor/guidance' services? Also…as an older student I don't think i even took SAT's. What does one do about that problem? Lastly (this one's for you mary) how do you fund your education as well as your kids? Will I be more broke than I already am for the rest of my life? Thanks to all…have a great day.
ooohhh…one more thing ! i made a trip into my attic this morning and dragged out all of the stuff fro m 1995 that i had packed away from my Kaplan course and MCAT prepartion…it’s good sometimes to be a packrat.
I don’t think I’ve heard of schools preferring a formalized post-bacc program vs. someone just doing the prerequisites on their own. It IS true that some post-bacc programs have linkages to medical schools and so can provide you with a “leg up,” but it’s the candidate who’ll prefer that method, not the medical school.
Finances - when I started this, my husband had a very well-paid job and my income was comparatively small, so stepping out of paycheck mode didn’t make a big impact. Now, he’s got a different, much less well-paid job and it is painful every month to know that I am not bringing in any money. Only three more semesters to go! If we really got in a bind, we could borrow additionally for some living expenses - unlike many medical students, I am ‘only’ borrowing my tuition and fees.
Everyone’s money situation is different, you do what you can to make it work.
Oh, SATs: when I applied to be a non-degree seeking student at George Mason University, I wasn’t asked for my SAT scores, only my college transcript - I guess their thinking, which seems sound, was that I must’ve had reasonable SATs in order to get into college in the first place. I wasn’t asked for SATs on my med school secondaries, but I have heard of some places asking for them. Sometimes they are entered onto one’s high school transcript - you can find out. I do know that if you are unfortunate enough to have to dig out ancient SATs, it’ll take you some time (and $$) with the Educational Testing Service. Do NOT do it if you don’t have to.
Wooo hooo! Mine are DONE!!
They are signed, sealed, and ready to be dropped off at the post office. My checkbook is $110 lighter! Now all I have to do is wait for the interview calls to come (hopefully…)
While at first my UG grades were less than stellar, there is a definite “upward trend.” 4.1/5.0 cumulative. And my graduate GPS was a 4.5! I had no idea. So, that’s positive.
I think my personal statement is definitely recycleable come application time for the real kahuna. Which is a good thing, I spent a lot of time over it! And my wonderful SO, who was an English major in a previous life, re-read many drafts, commenting on grammar, useage, and occasionally arguing about style. 
I was so lucky to have his comments!!!
My boss is back Tuesday so I will ask him for my LOR. He’s got a rec he can recycle for me from a fellowship, so that shouldn’t take long.
The thorn in my side the my HS transcript. NO ONE answers the phone at the school counseling office, and not one of my messages has been returned. I’m going to have to start getting demanding. I am NOT going to fly out to Chicago just to make this happen! 
Hooray, hooray, I’m done!
–Vera
Hi all~ I’m brand new to the site and am looking forward to getting to know everyone here. I’ll do a proper intro at a later time. Since it’s been so long since you last posted Vera I assume you were finally able to get an answer out of your h.s. but just to throw in a possible alternative route for anybody else out there with similar problems to phone calls or expensive plane flights you could also see if your school has a website or your school district has a website. I went to a Chicagoland hs myself, and when I was applying to my current university I found that I was able to email a guidance counselor at my hs and they were kind enough to forward the email to the appropriate location - somebody at the school board office. Two weeks later I had a copy of my transcript in hand and another on it’s way to my university. I hope you all get everything you strive for, and I’m sure we’ll all be chatting a ton soon!
Jessica
Colorado Springs