Post-bacc questions

Nontraditional Premed Discussion
1

Hi,


I graduated as a Finance major from Virginia Tech with no science courses. Played professional poker for a year and am now back in school at my local university taking solely science courses so I can get into medical school.

  1. I am only taking two courses, Biology and Physics since I dont have any prerequisites for the other science courses such as Anatomy, Microbiology, etc. How bad does this look? Should I have taken non-science courses to increase my courseload?

  2. I’m aceing biology but not doing too well in my calculus-based physics class, which I had to take because trig-based physics was not available this semester. The professor is terrible at teaching the material and his tests are ridiculously hard with the class average usually at 55-60 range. I’ll most likely get a ‘C’ in the course if I stick it through but am thinking about withdrawing from the course. How bad would a ‘W’ look on my transcript?

  3. I graduated Tech with a 3.48 GPA. Assuming I do well in my post-bacc science courses, will this increase my GPA?


    Appreciate any and all help!
2
  • minwoo Said:
...Played professional poker for a year and am now back in school at my local university...



Sweet! I was a bouncer & bartender for several years. I was unsure of whether or not to include this part of my background. Anecdotally, I only got interviews at programs where I revealed this info & it was regarded a positive people-skills building thing versus something sordid tantamount to prostitution. I am not deluded into thinking that info landed me interviews, but it did appear to inspire some interest by AdComs in my application...maybe just for being ballsy enough to put it there?

  • minwoo Said:
1. I am only taking two courses, Biology and Physics since I dont have any prerequisites for the other science courses such as Anatomy, Microbiology, etc. How bad does this look? Should I have taken non-science courses to increase my courseload?



My overarching thought is why fret over what you cannot change - it is what it is & no one presents a perfect application to medical school. Now, if you can facilitate it, it is certainly "best" to provide indisputable proof of you ability to handle a FT, science-heavy academic load, but many non-trads simply cannot pull that off due to an infinite palate of reasons: kids, jobs, bills, mortgage, family...In essence, you must orchestrate your life such that you maximize your academic & MCAT performances. If that menas 2 courses at a pop, then so be it. If it means a FT load, then great. The main point is do your best at all times & do not fret over what you cannot change.

  • minwoo Said:
2. I'm aceing biology but not doing too well in my calculus-based physics class, which I had to take because trig-based physics was not available this semester. The professor is terrible at teaching the material and his tests are ridiculously hard with the class average usually at 55-60 range. I'll most likely get a 'C' in the course if I stick it through but am thinking about withdrawing from the course. How bad would a 'W' look on my transcript?



My first question is: why in the hell are you taking calc-based physics? So what if you had to delay things a term or two! Don't be a masochist - withdraw from the torture chamber & take trig-based physics. As a practicing physician, I can do ALL of the math I need on a 4-function calculator...don't even need the stinking memory. So, unless you intend to be a bench-researcher, are a physics/calculus whiz or just enjoy self-mutilation - avoid calc-based physics & do the trig-based.

Regarding the 'W': read my advice above - DO NOT FRET OVER WHAT YOU CANNOT CHANGE. FOCUS YOUR EFFORTS ON MAXIMIZING YOUR ACADEMIC & MCAT PERFORMANCES INSTEAD OF LAMENTING THINGS YOU CANNOT CHANGE. And, what look worse, a really shitty grade in physics + a retake with probably not too much better performance OR a 'W' + stellar grade from taking the appropriate level of physics?

  • minwoo Said:
3. I graduated Tech with a 3.48 GPA. Assuming I do well in my post-bacc science courses, will this increase my GPA?



As best I recall - check with AMCAS & AACOMAS for the most up-to-date info - all work taken as an undergrad (degree-related work & all post-bacc work) are lumped together in the Ugrad GPA. All grad-level work will fall into a gradGPA.
3

Hey thanks alot for the response. I actually met my advisor today so I could get approval to drop calc-based physics but the dude tells me that big name medical schools require 2 semesters of calc-based physics. Is this true? I don’t want to eliminate my options of getting into a prestigious medical school so I decided to stick it through. I know I can’t get an ‘A’ in the course but a ‘B’ is possible if I ace my tests from this point forward. Today just happens to be the last day to drop classes so any additional input within the next few hours would be awesome :stuck_out_tongue:

4

Instead of taking advice from someone who obviously never went to medical school, do yourself a huge favor - call a couple of schools yourself to get the real answer. Honestly, and it is very frustrating, pre-med advisors frequently over-advise people into taking courses they do not need, calc-based physics for example. Unless it has changed markedly, no medical schools require this - even the prestigious ones. Hell, only a handful even require or encourage calculus. My first pre-med advisor told me the same BS & that all med schools required Mol & Cell Bio + Sub-cell + genetics to get in. Being a natural cynic, I checked this out for myself - and I was the one who was correct. Of course, he told me I would never get into medical school if I did not explicitly follow his advice because I was already shot in the foot for being too old. Obviously, that was incorrect too.


Matter of fact, one of the avenues I checked out when trying to learn the real answers was to meet with the Physics Dept Chair (this is at a very heavy-engineering school - UTDallas), who told me I was nuts for subjecting myself to the pain of UTD’s calc-based physics sequence that my pre-med advisor was wrong & nuts and the smartest plan was to take the trib-based sequence.


So, it is totally your choice. But, my advice to you is to take ownership in your education process and find out the answers to your questions directly from the schools themselves instead of allowing someone who may/may not know the answer dictate what you do. This is far too critical an element in your aspiration to become a physician…why trust it to someone who has minimal investment in you or in knowing the facts…afterall, how does the knowledge base of ‘getting into medical school’ inter-relate with being a Bio Prof? In fact, usually it the most junior or closest to retired Bio Prof that get stuck with the job…it is not usually considered a position of honor.

5

While it may be too late to be a direct difference in your decision, I’d like to echo OMD’s thoughts. My experience was much the same, even including dropping calc-based physics.

6

Off the top of my head (and I’m not taking time to check the MSAR to be sure), I don’t know of any med school that requires calc-based physics. Many require calculus, however. And the ugrad institution that I happen to know a whole lot about (Stanford) has just “normal” physics in its pre-med requirements list, not calc-based. FWIW. :slight_smile:


Cheers,


Judy