Post Bac vs 2nd Bachelors

[translator1]

Hi has anyone taken the 2nd bachelors degree route? I am a college senior without a science background. I have just decided to pursue med school but am not clear on what the best route is. I've heard that a 2nd bachelors is more favorable. Any suggestions? Thanx

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[r_salis]

I think a full-time course-load of science pre-reqs is more impressive to the admissions committees than a second bachelors. With a second bachelor's you will end up taking a lot of courses that aren't directly applicable toward your pre-med work that would be (essentially) wasted effort. Taking a full-time schedule of pre-med courses shows that you are able to handle the rigors of a challenging curriculum. Also, just taking pre-req classes is less time consuming.

 

[scota]

Okay, my situation is similar to that of the original poster. I too am a senior w/ a limited science background. What do you mean by a full load? I will begin taking courses at SFSU in summer 2004. I will start off with a semester of general physics, just to get a feel for science. If I take general bio, general chem, and second semester physics in the fall of 2004, is that too heavy a load? Should I take 3 science classes per semester? I will NOT work, but will do some sort of volunteer work for 4-6 hours per week. Thanks for the feedback

 

[AndrewWKRules]

3 sci classes a term isnt that bad...you should be fine.

 

[r_salis]

Hi scota -- that's the same type of schedule I took -- 3 science courses plus labs (at the school I went to, some of the labs counted as separate classes). It ended up being between 14-16 credits a semester. You're smart to start out with a lighter semester, then if you can ace a couple of all-science semesters as a full-time student you'll show the admissions committees that you'll be able to handle med school.

Good luck!

Originally posted by scota
Okay, my situation is similar to that of the original poster. I too am a senior w/ a limited science background. What do you mean by a full load? I will begin taking courses at SFSU in summer 2004. I will start off with a semester of general physics, just to get a feel for science. If I take general bio, general chem, and second semester physics in the fall of 2004, is that too heavy a load? Should I take 3 science classes per semester? I will NOT work, but will do some sort of volunteer work for 4-6 hours per week. Thanks for the feedback

 

[roja]

I took a different course, because of a different undergrad. I had a degree in film and had worked for a few years. (read: no science). I decided to do post bacc for no other reason that I needed financial aide loans and it doesn't cover a second bachelors.

Didn't seem to hurt me. I took 15 hours a semester usually with 3-4 science classes. You need to make sure you do very well in the science courses.

Volunteer and shadow. It's key.

 

[translator1]

Thanks for the info. on the diff. between the post bacc and the 2nd bachelors. The fact that finacial aid is avail. for the post bacc as well as the fact that admissions prefer post baccs and post baccs aren't as long def. convinced me on the post bacc path. Does anyone know of a good post bacc programs in the mid west? (OH., IL. , IN., or MI.) Or any excellant post baccs in general. Thanks

 

[LoneCoyote]

i got the 2nd bachelors and am really happy that i did it that way. i did it at state school and they counted all the stuff from my liberal arts degree for the the core classes so i just had to do the science classes in the major. in the end, i only had to stay 1 extra semester to get a degree in biology than i would have had i just done the basic prereqs + the extras some schools want, i.e. biochem, stats, genetics. i feel like doing the whole major gave me a better overall feel for the subject. i came in with almost no science background at all. i got to do reseaarch with professors much easier than the people who were just doing the prereqs post bacc because i was enrolled as a "major" in the dept. with access to advisors and other services. i have also found that for my year off while i apply, having the 2nd degree has made it easier to find a job. i think it just depends on what you want... if you are looking to just get it done asap, then it is probably not worth the second degree. my courseload was very heavy... one semester i had 4 science classes with lab and an independent study (19 semester credits total), plus volunteering. i worked hard but it was worth it. feel free to pm me if you have any questions

 

[snapdad]

I went for the second bachelor's approach, mainly because the school I was at didn't have a formal post-bac program and it was the only way I could get financial aid. Because it was the same institution I got my B.A. from, all the original core classes (e.g., english, humanities) applied to the second degree, i.e., I wouldn't have had to retake them. This allowed me to focus exclusively on science courses. Once I had my med school prereqs out of the way, I just stopped taking classes. I haven't received the impression from any adcoms that this is unfavorable...my impression has been that all they care about is that I completed the prereqs, I took the science classes at a decent university, and that I had a full load of science courses at the time.