Post Bacc Programs
She earned an M. A. in Religious Studies at the University of
Virginia, focusing on Tibetan and East Asian Buddhist. Was
that any background for going on to medical school?
No, of course not. But it doesn't matter anymore.
"Eventually, I realized that I was more interested in a
service-oriented profession than a purely scholarly one,"
recalls Jennifer Carnahan.
After graduate school she had various jobs such as working for the
public library system in Madison, Wis., before concluding
that what she really wanted was to become a doctor.
In years past, she would have found it difficult to acquire the
specific science and other courses required to be accepted
to medical school. But today, in common with many others who
decide later in life they want to become doctors, Carnahan
found a school offering what is usually known as a pre-med
post-bacc program.
"In 2002, I entered the post-bacc program at Goucher College
where I spent a year completing the basic science
prerequisite courses for medical school," she says. She went
on to the
University of Virginia's School of Medicine.
Her story is not uncommon.
A growing number of post-baccalaureate programs are "designed
to give the requirements or additional experience and
competitive edge you need for entering a graduate health
professions program," says the Association of American
Medical Colleges (AMMC).
"Those programs are for students who did not decide to choose the
medical school, vet school or other professional school
route until late in their under-gradate career or after
graduation," the AAMC says.
The group also says the programs are helpful for pre-health
track students who need to finish some of their requirements
for getting into medical school.
"In recent years, more and more people have decided to apply to
medical school after having tried another career path, and
they are often successful applicants," says Robert Resnik,
associate dean for admissions and financial aid at the
University of California-Berkeley.
He points out that returning adult or post-bacc students often
show the kind of determination and maturity that medical
schools value.
Over the years, student interest in attending medical schools has
waxed and waned. A record 45,000 applicants for 15,000
openings signed up in 1996. But now there's about 35,000
applicants for the number of positions, which has remained
around 15,000, according to various records. But there's
been an increase in schools offering post-bacc programs.
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