Decisions, decisions, decisions...In my last post, Road to Medical School, First Stop: Grad School, I mentioned that I had to make the decision or whether to I wanted to pursue a post-bacc certificate or Master's degree program during my gap year. Before applying to these programs, like many people, "post-bacc" was just a word that I heard thrown around when talking about academics, but never truly knew the definition until I was knee-deep in applications. So what better way to help share the knowledge that I found than here!
In order to understand how post-baccs and Master's degrees come into play when applying for medical school, let's take the time to break down the timeline of getting to medical school (briefly). Okay, you've graduated from high school and you're set on where you want to spend the next four years of your academic career. Since you're passionate about psychology, you decide to take it as your major and make sure that your elective credits are used to fulfill medical school requirements.
***PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: You do NOT have to major in biology or chemistry to get into medical school!!! As long as you make sure that you work in your pre-requisites, score well on the MCAT, and have meaningful and longitudinal experiences, you are good to go!***
During your time in undergrad, you also participate in research that interests you and get involved with clubs/organizations. Even though taking organic chemistry and physics in the same semester was a little tough, you're still pushing through and having a great college experience while you're at it! Now fast forward to junior/senior year, you know that you have fulfilled your pre-reqs, however, you want to deepen your knowledge and build your portfolio before applying to make yourself the best applicant you can be --- that's where post-bacc and Master's programs come in!
So let's get to the nitty gritty! Depending on the institution, post-bacc programs are more likely to be certificate programs that provide students with the science coursework needed to fulfill the pre-requisites for medical school admissions. For example, let's say that you majored in nursing or business and wanted to go to medical school, a program like this would allow you to take the biology, chemistry, and physics classes that you would need to apply. Depending on the school, you may have to take the GRE in order to apply! From talking to people in programs like this, your classmates come from all walks of life and career fields which definitely broadens and diversifies the perspective that is needed in the medical world today. Shout out to the non-traditional students!
In comparison, Master's programs, such as the Biomedical Master's Program at Pitt, are geared toward students (pre-med or pre-dent) who already have a strong background in science and have completed their pre-requisites. At this level, students take graduate level science courses and can customize what out-of-class experiences they want so they can get what they need from the program to boost their pre-med resumé (This is where and how I built up my experiences and most meaningful experiences sections for my application!) Depending on the school, the program can last anywhere from 12-months to 24-months or any combination of the two depending on whether you decide to go part-time or full-time. Some programs even provide their students with MCAT/DAT study resources from Kaplan to help their students prepare for the next steps in their academic career. If the program you're interested in offers a Kaplan package...TAKE IT! Studying for entrance exams with a program like Kaplan can cost anywhere from $50/month to $1900 and beyond with courses! Saving money while you study will have your bank account thanking you in the long run!
Last but not least, regardless if you choose to apply to a post-bacc or master's program, it is definitely worth it to look into programs that offer linkage opportunities to their medical school or other medical school partners. If this is an option for you, this is a great opportunity to take advantage of!!! Since you will be enrolled in a program, you will have access to faculty/staff that currently teach or participate on admissions committees who can be a valuable resource in knowing what medical schools are currently looking for in their applicants. Depending on the school this could mean a guaranteed interview with the school's medical program (depending on your MCAT/DAT score) or being able to apply through an accelerated route in the current application cycle given that you have met the programs requirements. If you make it through the application process and are accepted, this could eliminate having a glide year in between your program and graduate school!
Now for the big question...which is best? Honestly, it depends on what you want to gain academically and what you personally want from your program. It could be a GPA boost or wanting to get back into the swing of things before taking off into medical school. It all depends on what best suites you. From my experience, choosing to pursue a Master's program was the best option because I had completed all of my pre-reqs so repeating those courses didn't make the most sense even if the school was great. Secondly, despite having a solid GPA, the confidence I had in my academic abilities wasn't great at all (reminder: take negative criticism with a grain of salt and follow your dreams) and I wanted to change that. After taking the time to reflect, I realized that I enjoyed being challenged academically and learning in structured environments so I knew that enrolling in a post-undergrad program would definitely help me during my "gap year" and boost my confidence. I also wanted to make sure that I was in an environment that supported my academic goals, truly believed in me, and saw me as an individual --- so making sure that the program had a strong mentoring component was important as well. Lastly, I wanted to amp up my competitiveness with research exposure and as you guys know, all signs pointed to Pitt.
Regardless of what type of program you decide on applying to make sure that it's the best fit for you. Sometimes the best fit is in the next city away or state, or maybe even across the country. Whatever you decide, make sure that you believe in yourself and follow the opportunity. You'll never know the opportunity that awaits you if you don't go for it on a leap of faith!