The CU-ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ post-baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program is finishing its third year with an expected 16 non-traditional students one step closer to applying for medical schools.
The program is designed for βcareer changersβ who were academically successful as undergraduates β earning a minimum 3.3 GPA in a non-science field β but have not completed the core science prerequisites needed to apply to medical school. It also provides students with personalized advising, tutoring and assistance in applying to medical schools through the committee letter process.
Launched in 2011, the program provides an intimate, cohort-style academic experience for groups of 20 or fewer students. Together, the cohort takes courses and labs in biology, chemistry and physics over the course of one intensive year and three semesters: summer, fall and spring. Joseph Walker is a former football coach, and is part of the 2013-2014 cohort, which completes the program on May 9.
βI was a college football coach, so Iβve spent a lot of time around orthopedic doctors and surgeons,β Walker said. βTheir ability to bring health and healing to athletes intrigued me. I was inspired and decided to follow my love of helping others by becoming a doctor. βThe program is intense and rigorous, but I know itβs preparing me for medical school.β
Walker and his classmates will mark the conclusion of their program in a private gathering. Following completion of the program, most students prepare for the Medical College Admission Test and apply to programs the following year. Preliminary metrics show that students from the program gain acceptance into medical schools at positive and competitive rates.
Maya Appley completed the program in 2013 and served as a tutor for students in the 2013-2014 program. She has been accepted into multiple medical schools, but she has narrowed her options to the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Tulane University in her home state. Appley was a peace and conflict studies major as an undergraduate and was working as a clinical assistant for a midwife when she realized she wanted to pursue medicine.
βI loved the clinical work I was doing but realized that I wanted to be able to work with a wider variety of patients, and medicine seemed like a great fit for me,β she said. βSomething that appealed to me about the CU-ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ program was that it is geared towards students with little to no science background, so as a cohort, we were more or less in the same boat. The faculty and program staff were very understanding and supportive of the challenges we faced as βcareer changers.ββ
The program is co-sponsored by the CU-ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ College of Arts and Sciences and Division of Continuing Education. Applications for the 2015-2016 cohort will begin fall 2014. For more information about the program or the application process, visit the programΜύ.