Should I Write My Post-Bacc PS Like a Med School’s PS?

Session 122

Can the postbac personal statement be written like the medical school one? We also talk about formal vs. DIY postbacs and which one is better for your journey.

Listen to this podcast episode with the player above, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points.

By the way, the episodes in this podcast are recordings of our Facebook Live that we do at 3 pm Eastern on most weekdays. Check out our Facebook page and like the page to be notified. Also, listen to our other podcasts on MedEd Media. If you have any questions, call me at 617-410-6747.

[0:24] Question of the Day

“Should I write the personal statement for my postbac program like a medical school statement? If not, how does it differ?”

It would be similar unless there’s a specific prompt where you don’t want them the same.

Depending on the school that you’re applying to, many postbac programs are now using the PostbacCAS, a centralized application service for postbac programs.

PostbacCAS is similar to AACOMAs. A company called Liaison runs the two centralized application services.

[2:10] Reflecting on the Path You’re Taking

Our student said she was given a prompt asking her to be reflective. It made her think that they wanted her to write the postbac personal statement like you would a medical school statement.

As a non-trad student, it should explain why she is following the path she is taking now. That said, the student should write her medical school personal statement as her postbac personal statement.

[2:23] Personal Statement

Q: What else should I add in a personal statement?

A: Since you were given a 5,000-character count, you should spend some time answering one italicized prompt in the postbac personal statement. As the character counts are similar, your postbac personal statement is also going to end up being similar to what your medical school personal statement will look like in a year or two.

[3:40] Choosing Between a Formal Postbac and DIY Postbac

Q: Should I pick a formal postbac or a DIY postbac?

A: Our student said she is doing a postbac to prove to herself that she can take on science courses. Her undergraduate degree as a premed and undergrad for a short time is Psychology, which is not too heavy on science.

She was a Biochem premed in her first year, and then jam-packed her first semester with rigorous courses, such as Biochem Lab, Calculus, and English. In the next semester, she took more science courses. But then she felt overwhelmed, so she took a break to live life a little, then switched majors. It correlated with her dad being diagnosed with Stage 4 Hepatitis C, whose condition deteriorated as he went through chemotherapy. So she had to be there for her family a lot.

She just graduated from undergrad with a GPA of 3.49 and currently in grad school taking up a Master’s in Public Health with a 3.75 GPA. She took a trip to Honduras in her freshman year. She got to observe community health workers providing health education in the area. The experience naturally warmed up to her. She began to think that public health might not be so bad considering she intended to do social work at first.

From a GPA perspective, it’s not horrible but it’s on the lower side.

And so, a formal postbac is great in a way that there are some potential prestige and rigor that go along with it – and some medical schools may find that appealing.

However, what matters more is to look at the whole picture whether you did well or not.

Additionally, many factors affect performance significantly, such as finances, commitments, and the student’s schedule. That being said, if you think a formal postbac doesn’t give you enough flexibility, a do-it-yourself postbac may suit you better.

[7:37] When to Do a Postbac

“One benefit that a formal postbac gives you is there's some built-in advising in and around the premed world.”Click To Tweet

The whole point of a formal postbac is to have that built-in support there for you. And so, if you think you need or want that kind of support, then look at a formal postbac.

Now, if you’re structured, organized, and disciplined enough to choose the courses, then you might not need to do a formal postbac. But you have to figure out how to do well in those courses.

Now, the academic world doesn’t want anyone saying that they’re making a lot more money on formal postbacs. And yet there are plenty of students out there who go DIY anyway.

As for our student, she is leaning towards a formal postbac because she says she wanted to prove to the medical school that she can withstand the course load. However, she can still take a rigorous course load with a DIY postbac program but at a fraction of the cost. By getting as close to a 4.0, she can still prove academically that it’s possible to handle the rigors of medical school. You don’t have to do a formal postbac to prove that to medical schools.

[10:49] Showing Academic Rigor

Q: How would you recommend me to show academic rigor?

A: Get 4.0. Get good grades. There are a lot of question marks, myths, and a lack of understanding about what proving academic rigor is. If you get a 4.0, that’s proving it right there. No one is going to pick it apart and ask whether you had a DIY postbac. If you have a 4.0, then you have a 4.0.

“The schools are going to look at you holistically — at the big picture.”Click To Tweet

Schools look at the big picture. They won’t go into the details of what you did in a semester. At the end of the day, you did your postbac and got as close to a 4.0 as possible. And as long as you didn’t do just one class a semester, you’ll be fine.

So take as many courses that will fit into your schedule and finances and make sure to do well in them.

[12:37] Challenges of Non-Degree-Seeking Students

Our student added that if she opts for a DIY postbac, she will take it at public college that’s just four minutes away from her home. However, she has yet to check what it’s like to take classes as a non-degree seeking student there. She’s been looking at the application process, but it isn’t open yet. This is why she was leaning towards the formal process at first.

This is the drawback of being a non-degree-seeking student.

Another student shared her experience saying she couldn’t register for the courses as a non-degree-seeking student until the first day of classes. By that time, the heavier science classes would be full already.

There are some loopholes, though, and you could say that you’re going back to do a Biology degree. And now, you are a degree-seeking student. That means you now have the privileges of registering before non-degree-seeking students. And hopefully, classes are available. And then you just drop out when you’re done with classes. So you’ve basically pulled a fast one on them.

“Those loopholes are silly because they're there. And so why punish non-degree-seeking students in the first place?”Click To Tweet

[16:08] Recommended Courses to Push GPA

Q: As a non-degree seeking student, I only have Organic Chemistry 1 and 2 and then Physics 1 and 2 to take. What other courses do you recommend?

A: You should definitely take Biochem especially for the MCAT and have a GPA that is as upward as possible. Just take Microbiology, Anatomy, and Physiology. Pick courses that aren’t technically prereqs but will count as science courses and help your overall GPA and science GPA.