Post Bacc Questions

Let’s say I get to a point where I have every other part of my medical school plan covered (volunteering, undergrad GPA fixed, etc) and need to take all the science pre-reqs.



I work 9-5 M-F and I make a very good amount of money, taking a year off may not be ideal or practical. Nearby, the only school that has classes/lab after working hours are community college classes.



Now lets say with a 3.5ish GPA, a 3.8-4.0 sGPA, and an above average MCAT, what do you think the chances are of a nontrad who spent 4 years working towards being a competitive applicant are in regards to gaining interviews or even acceptance to any MD program in the country?



Is community college going to hurt me here? I have some serious GPA fixing to do and then need to take the science classes afterwards.



I make 80k a year right now and am saving about 2k a month in prep to try and make my dreams possible. Quitting my job wouldn’t be ideal to take traditional 4 year classes for a year and would set me back quite a bit financially but I feel I would get a supreme advantage by getting stronger letters of recommendation, etc.

Here’s my 2 cents, having just gone through a post-bacc and the current application cycle.



You need recommendation letters from professors. You’ll get better recommendations taking traditional (not online, not community college) classes. Profs in the science department in 4-year institutions can befriend you, find research opportunities for you, and feel more invested. I have not experienced the same dedication to students in community college settings (and I used to teach at one). You will not necessarily HURT your application going this route, but you won’t do anything to improve it. Additionally many schools won’t take CC credit - get a subscription to the MSAR online and look at schools you want to go to. The MSAR will list schools that don’t take CC credit.**



However, if that is your only option, then you’ll have to make it work. Is your job flexible enough where you could take 2 classes in a semester and work odd hours? Or scale back to make a 3/4 time position where you make 3/4 of your salary but can spend that extra time studying?



**My experience is only limited to allopathic and the MSAR only covers allopathic. I did not apply DO and don’t know those particular requirements/preferences.

Meg2999 makes some good points. And if you have some serious “GPA fixing to do” then it will be preferable to prove yourself in courses taken at a 4-year institution. That will give more validity to your GPA, especially if it needs to be fixed. Medical schools generally respect courses taken at a 4-year institution more than those at a community college, although they do understand that sometimes there are extenuating circumstances.



Good luck!



Liza