Session 68 Our poster this week is trying to decide between two postbac programs in New York and is worried about picking one that may be looked less upon based on the name. We take questions directly from the OldPreMeds.org forums and answer them here on the podcast. "Old premed” is a relative term as you could be a 23-year-old “old premed” or be a 40, 50, or even 60-year-old “old premed.” In this case, an old premed refers to a nontraditional premed student. So if you consider yourself one (or even if you're a traditional student), you are welcome to be a part of our community and we'll be happy to answer any questions from you. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: "I'm having a hard time deciding between Fordham or Hunter for my postbac. While Hunter is cheaper, I do not want to get caught up in their bad bureaucracy or have to take an extra semester because I couldn't get a class seat. Additionally, I cannot apply to Hunter until January versus my Fordham admissions rep saying he would process my application in two weeks and I can start this summer. It's more risky applying to Hunter and I don't want to delay my goals for a year on the chance I might not get in. Fordham's night and weekend classes would usually free up my schedule for shadowing and volunteering while letting me study during my peak hours as a morning person. Hunter seems to offer more resources, guest lectures, advising. Both programs offer committee letters. My biggest fear is Fordham won't be prestigious enough and harm my application. Is my final GPA truly what med schools care most about?" Here are my insights: [03:06] Is It Good Enough? This comes up a lot when parents and students try to decide which institution to go to for undergrad, for postbac, or for medical school because you're worrying about the name of the school and how it will affect your application to medical school or residency. "Is it good enough?" That is the never-ending cycle of question. My simple answer is - Yes. It is good enough. Schools are accepting students from all over the country and the world. They are taking students from community colleges or rural liberal arts schools. They are also taking students from the big names like Harvard. And it's based on numbers. My alma mater, the University of Florida, has one of the largest state schools in the country and they typically produce the most medical school matriculants every year. It's a huge, well-known state school and it's not known for the academics, in fact, it's one of the top party schools. But it's still a great school that produces a lot of students. Hence, it's not the name of the institution that you will be judged upon by medical schools. [05:06] How to Choose Your School Sure, there are medical schools that would look at an institution’s name and some admissions committee members may have their biases. But this should not be the driving factor in your decision, but rather, everything else that you talked about in terms of how it works with your schedule, how it fits with your internal clock as a morning person, etc. This is how you should be judging these things and not based on the institution's prestige. On The Premed Years Podcast, I talk a lot about choosing a school that will make you great, not choosing a great school. Just because a certain school has a great name attached to it doesn't mean you will flourish there. You need to choose a school that will help you be great and will let you shine. Links: OldPreMeds.org The Premed Years Podcast University of Florida Fordham University Hunter University