Non-Traditional Pre-Med Track

I was initially very anxious about not completing my pre-med requirements during my time as an undergraduate.  But I soon found out that there is no reason to worry!

I want to share things I learned along my own road so that the next non-traditional pre-medder may feel less nervous about her journey.

I discovered my interest in medicine too late to complete course requirements for medical schools while an undergrad.  After a panicked meeting with Stanford’s premed advisor extraordinaire Patricia Lewis, I learned more about post-bac programs.  I did not just waste my college years (which were the first few words out of someone else’s mouth when I told her about my decision to do a post-bac, but I digress), but managed to focus on my interests (or learn what my interests were!) while in school.

Post-Baccalaureate Programs

The Association of American Medical Colleges offers a great search tool for finding postbaccalaureate programs.

Some are structured for individuals who have taken no/few medical school requirements.  Others are for those who want to improve their GPAs.

I applied to different types of programs.  My intention was to apply to different types, see which ones accepted me, and then figure out specifically what I want.

A non-exhaustive list of my considerations when selecting programs:

• Costs: Private schools tend to cost more than public schools.  However, the caveat is that many private schools have significantly better financial aid.
• Formality: I essentially have to take all premed course requirements.  Some students don’t.  It may be possible to finish requirements by taking a few courses at a local college.  Determine which requirements I needed.
• Duration: Most programs are either one or two years in length.  Also to include in a consideration of duration is the glide year, which refers to the year many students “take off” school to apply for medical schools.  The glide year can be avoided with linkages.
• Linkages: Some programs offer conditional early acceptance arrangements into partnered medical schools.  Rather than requiring essentially a year to apply to medical schools, linkages can grant admission the same year one completes a post-bac program.
• Location: Weather, opportunities, and the like are very important!
• Schedule: One of the most helpful things I found was to speak with students who are in the different programs.  Learning what their schedules were like was incredibly helpful.
• Structure and support: The purpose of the post-baccalaureate program is to learn the material for medical school requirements.  I wanted to make sure that the structures and support systems of the school I eventually chose was most in line with the way I learn.

Specific Questions

Someone recently emailed me questions about post-bac programs and I wanted to make my responses public.  I welcome more questions because when I was first considering the pre-med/post-bac path, I wished there was someone there to answer my questions.  Email me: nicole [at] tantoco.com

What is it about your course that gets you excited each day? [about going to Mills]
Though at times feel as though I am in the trenches with the courseload, it is comforting that the post-bac program (peers and faculty) is small, warm, and welcoming.  Professors really seem to be interested in teaching the information. And though I am not particularly riveted by physics, it’s less of a chore to complete this requirement knowing that my professor truly wants me to learn theories/concepts.

What is it you are studying and what made you decide to choose this?
I am currently enrolled in biology, chemistry, developmental biology, physics, and accompanying labs.  I plan to complete my medical pre-reqs in two years.  I wanted to take physics this year because I anticipated that I would struggle more in it, so wanted to get that out of the way sooner.

I plan to take biochemistry over the summer (at another school), and complete organic chemistry and calculus (possibly one more class).

I decided on my schedule because:

• I knew I would take two years.  Many students are able to jump into organic chemistry (because they previously took general chemistry) and complete the program in one year.  I wasn’t one of those.
• I looked up the requirements of several different medical schools and decided that I wanted to complete as many “additional”/”recommended” courses in the two years that were not the basic four sciences (biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics).  This is why I plan to take biochemistry, calculus,  developmental biology, and maybe genetics.  The argument is somewhat: I-want-to-give-med-schools-as-few-reasons-to-skip-over-my-application-as-possible-so-taking-additional-courses-seems-right-to-me.
• I am not feeling as rushed as many other students are feeling.  This meant I was more comfortable taking two years instead of one.  Some students took courses over the summer (before the Mills program began) so that they could condense courses into 12 months.  People are at different stages in their lives, and I respect that.