pre med post bac vs pre health

My goal is to go to medical school so I am thinking of doing a post bac program. What is the difference between a pre health vs a pre med post bac program?


Also, all classes are already full for the fall semester in the CCs, any advice of what I should do this fall?

As far as I know, pre-health pre-reqs are mostly directed towards allied health professions (nursing, physical therapy etc) and will not be acceptable to medschools. Look for courses that are specifically classified as pre-med or designated as a core requirement for students of that major. For example, do not take “Intro to Bio” that is designed for pre-nursing majors (course title was just my example, by the way.) Look for “General Bio I” etc which will usually be a core requirement for Bio majors. Same for Chemistry and Physics. If in doubt, figure things out using IGETC. Or www.assist.org --> Explore Majors --> Majors, or Course Articulation. Basically you want to take courses that will at least transfer to the major of that subject. Bio for bio, chem for chem, etc. Since you work in education, you might already know of all this. If so, my apologies.


If you are unable to enroll this fall, use it to catch up on algebra, trig etc, or read ahead for the courses you plan to take in the future. You might also consider taking Psychology or other Behavioral Sciences if you’ve not already done so in your undergrad. If your path takes you past 2014 for the MCAT, you’ll be taking the new 2015 MCAT which will include a new section in the Behavioral sciences.

My program is technically a “pre-health” program. There is no difference between the pre-heath I am in as compared to pre-med programs. This is at LUC though, so your mileage may vary. If the program offers Chem, Bio, and Orgo, then there should be no problem with that program.


And I’m with Dullhead, if you have some time, preparing yourself for Algebra and other areas of study while you have some free time would be very beneficial.

Thank you! I looked at csu fullerton and they have a pre health post bac that has the med school requirements. So I’m thinking of that, if not, is DIY post bac it is.


I hope that I can get some courses this fall, but if not, I will have to do my best and be patient, maybe start my volunteer work.


Thanks again!

I should have clarified my response. In your first post, you mentioned taking classes at CC in the fall (DIY post-bacc at CC.) When taking classes at CC, you have to be careful to select courses that are truly pre-med and not pre-allied health, that’s all.