Hanna Renaldi's Blog: Who Are Postbac Programs For?

Welcome to our med school blog post series, in which we’ll explore the A-Z of applying to postbac programs. In this post, we’ll start with the topic of WHO – who should apply to postbac programs?

Any student who would like to become a more competitive applicant to medical school can benefit from completing a postbac program or postbaccalaureate coursework.

Postbac programs or coursework can help you with completing and/or improving your:

1. Premed Prerequisite Requirements

Some students take additional coursework to complete the required prerequisite courses to apply to medical school.

2. GPA – Cumulative and Science

Other students take additional science courses to improve their academic record.

3. MCAT Scores, if assistance is provided

If you have a low MCAT score, simply retaking the MCAT – with a course – may be the best approach for you, unless you need assistance in other areas as well.

4. Activities, if opportunities are included

If you need to participate in more activities to strengthen your application, you may consider pursuing clinical experience, expanding your volunteer work interests, or applying to a research program. Most formal postbac programs offer these activities and more.

5. Application Essays

Often, programs provide support in outlining, drafting and finalizing your application materials.

6. Letters of Recommendation

The additional coursework that you complete – with stellar grades – will provide opportunities for you to request current letters of recommendation from your science instructors. Formal programs also provide these letters.

7. Team Building Skills

It is attractive to be able to include your postbac program or coursework on your application because it indicates that you thrive on teams in the classroom. Taking lab classes or completing research will show that teamwork is a strength of yours – that is, if you achieve positive results with high grades or publications.

8. Confidence

Taking additional classes will boost your confidence, as long as you excel academically. If you are struggling, ask for help. Don’t give up on yourself!

9. Maturity

By taking additional time to prepare for medical school, you will be gaining more life experience and therefore approaching your professional education with more maturity and more clearly defined goals.

By evaluating the strength of your AMCAS application realistically and kindly, you can identify the areas you would like to strengthen. Hopefully the above list will provide you with the evaluation criteria needed to locate areas you can change and improve. By using your energy to become a stronger applicant, you can avoid the self-doubt and uncertainty that often accompanies the decision to apply to medical school. Focus on those areas of the application that you have control over and do your best!

Alicia McNease Nimonkar is an Accepted advisor and editor specializing in healthcare admissions. Prior to joining Accepted, Alicia worked for five years as Student Advisor at UC Davis’ postbac program where she both evaluated applications and advised students applying successfully to med school and related programs.