Why Are You Doing Well in Post Bacc!!??

[Eris]

What's the reason that people do so well in Post Bacc programs when they didnt do as well (as they wanted) in Undergrad. Did some of you guys who got 2.sumthin or low-mid 3.sumthin not do too well in undergrad science b/c you had trouble in science or is it b/c maybe you understand science relatively well but maybe you procrastinated or something?

I ask because I am not that great in science but I really want to be a dentist. Im considering to apply to Academic Enhancer Post Bacc.(ie Barry Univ or UMNJ). I think my weakness is in labs. If I dont have a good partner to help me in labs I would probably fail. Do people get really good grades in Post Bacc b/c the instructors do a really great job of helping you and make you understand the courses even when you are not so great in science?

What makes the learning and/or teaching methods in Post Bacc different from Undergrad that have so many doing so well in Post Bacc (as opposed to how they did in undergrad??)

Appreciate any help!Thank You!

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[Instatewaiter]

I feel for most people who do poorly in Ugrad and subsequently well in post-bac (or in my case SMP) either had multiple jobs, partied too much, didn't take Ugrad serious enough, procrastinated or were flat out lazy. So IMO it's more of a lack of trying or having extenuating circumstances. Generally post-bacs and SMPs are harder than Ugrad.

People who go through post-bacs are older, more mature, and have made a real decision to pursue medicine or dentistry. They therefore take their work more seriously. I don't feel that the difference is in teaching methods but rather a sense of urgency each post-baccer has.

 

[TypeA]

I agree with Instatewaiter...while there were a few things personally that weren't conducive to learning in ugrad, I am much more motivated in Post-Bacc and my grades show it.

 

[braluk]

Theres more I'd like to add onto Instatewaiter's post, which includes the population of students (like myself) who had to work multiple jobs (I had 3) or had outstanding circumstances which barred them from proper studying time. There are also many students who just have their priorities out of order (mine was working), and subsequently, when facing the possibility of being unable to achieve their dreams of practicing medicine, reorders their priorities (instead of working- I took out an entire full loan so I can dedicate time to studying 24/7).

 

[psyvo]

So i heard that post bac is generally harder than undergrad. Well what is it that makes it harder?

 

[Instatewaiter]

My bad braluk, add working during school and/or raising a family.

In terms of Ugrad post-bacs being hard:
You are taking all of the pre-req science classes, plus english and math (or upper level science classes depending on the type or post-bac) that most people spread over 3-4 years in only 1-2.5 years. Add onto this the stress of knowing you have to rock every test or not get into med school and you have a pretty hard situation. So it is more the fact that you are taking more classes in a condensced time frame than the actual classes being much harder. In addition you have to make sure to volunteer and do your applications.

In terms of SMP
Again the stress issue is a factor. Many people in SMPs have lower than average grades thus they really need good grades. For SMPs the classes are graduate level so they are much harder than Ugrad. Many SMPs take their classes with med schools and others w/ the graduate school. Either way the volume of information is significantly larger than anything in Ugrad. The major benefit of these is that you will be very prepared for the 1st year of med school by having taken most of the classes.

 

[braluk]

Stress in postbac=
compressed prereqs classes taken in less than half the time

Stress in SMP=
Could be considered second chance or end of the line. If you get low grades, you could very well even make it harder to get into medical school had you not taken an SMP in the first place. Newer, Harder material than prereqs compressed at the med school level.

 

[DoctorPhud]

Well, there are a lot of things that make a post bacc programme challenging.

First and foremost, as mentioned here ready, these programmes have a reasonably high degree of stress. This is because most of us taking them have been out of university for some varying amount of time. We have jobs and families and responsibilities which afford us less time than we might like to spend studying. At the same time however, we are also, we believe, made into better applicants through those experiences, so to a certain degree we accept it and put it on ourselves.

In general, the level of attainment is very high in a post bacc programme, which does also lend a degree of further challenge. People want to do well and they really do make an effort, by and large.

Last but not least, most people doing these programmes find themselves trying to balance their time between a packed course schedule and other aspects of their lives which they wish to make fit for a medical school application. E.g. I'm currently doing some research, working for a charity, reading for the MCAT, doing some volunteering, finding a doctor to shadow, editing some books, trying to spend some time with my wife and friends and taking a full load of courses at the Harvard Extension School.

So, as you can see, a post bacc programme in the end is not just about being able to do the course material and getting good grades. It is a programme of fortitude and good time management. If you think you can do these things and survive it you will do well, everything after that is up to the admissions officers at medical schools.

Good luck!

 

[Maxprime]

I think it's a strong combination of factors - not the least of which is knowing that this is your last/only shot left (for the most part).

Everyone has some reason that they screwed up in UG, if they're a smart & hard-working person that remedies that problem, they should have success as a post-bacc student. I've seen a lot of people not do well in UG and come to post-baccs thinking something would automatically be different and it wasn't. I think people who didn't do well need to find out why they didn't do well and maybe take some time off & really think about it - the LAST thing you want to do is repeat your poor performance from UG in a post-bacc.

 

[medanthgirl]

i'm definately at a different place in my life than i was as an undergraduate...a lot more focused. a post-bacc is def. a fresh start, but if you are going in knowing you have a weakness (labs) you will need to go in with a strategy or plan to break it up into manageable pieces...and stop thinking you can't do it! you will just pshyce (sp?) yourself out and set yourself up for a bad situation. i was an undergrad lab ta for 2 years, and i would see kids get freaked out about both the lab itself and then the write-up all the time. a good lab takes a lot of time to read things carefully, often more than once, and then time to sit down and really write about it just as carefully. make sure you give yourself time in your schedule to do that.

good luck!

 

[rhettoric]

I don't believe that post-bacc programs are necessarily harder than the undergrad classes. I can't speak for others, but in my program, I have the same course responsibilities as the undergraduate premeds, but I'm only taking the sciences. They have to take the other requirements for graduating with a degree as well. This gives me an advantage because I have more time than they do to focus on my studies.

That said, as a postbacc I feel that it's *much* more important that I excel and give the admissions comittee a very strong indication that, while my undergrad performance was lackluster, my focus has certainly shifted into one of productivity and achievement that me a competitive applicant.

If you had trouble with labs or sciences, those problems aren't going to dissappear just because you're older. What may have changed is your focus, maturity and dedication and utilizing these attributes will greatly increase your academic performance. At least it did for me!