10 Best Premed Post-Bacc Programs for Career Changers (2024)

One of the most difficult aspects of comparing career changer postbacc programs is getting all of the information in one place. For all the non-traditional career changers out there, you are in luck. We’ve assembled a table of the best 10 premed post-bacc programs for career changers. That is, for individuals who have not yet taken most of their science coursework. We will let the table speak for itself. However, a couple of points to note about premed post-bacc programs.

How to Evaluate Premed Post-bacc Programs

Some of the major factors to consider when evaluating a program are program location, program size, student-to-advisor ratio, full-time v. part time, whether the program is integrated with undergraduate programs, linkages, and attrition rate.

Size vs. Student-to-advisor ratio

When selecting a program, the size of the program is important. Do you want to be in a class of 15 students? How about 30? 100? 500? However, this may seem more important than it actually is. In any large program you are likely to find a small group of friends, which will make the program feel smaller. What’s more crucial is the student-to-advisor ratio.

Full-time v. Part-time

In addition, program lengths vary. For Scripps, Hopkins, and Columbia, the variability is in large part whether the program is full-time or part-time as well as how much science coursework you have already taken.

Having the personalized attention of an advisor during the medical school application process is not to be underestimated. Fine-tuning your application and giving you personalized advice vastly increases your chances of getting into medical school.

(If you're interested in one-on-one advising on how to get into a premed postbacc program, we offer general advising sessions, personal statement revision, and interview prep services!)

Video Postbacc Guide

Integration with Undergraduate Program?

Another big determining factor to consider is whether your post-bacc classes will also include undergraduates or not. For Hopkins and Columbia, it is especially important to note that you will be graded on a curve against (possibly crazy?) pre-med students.

Your quality of life will (most likely) be vastly better at smaller programs like Goucher, Bryn Mawr, or Scripps because those programs, even when integrated with undergraduate programs, are kinder grades-wise to the post-baccs. When applying to medical school, your GPA will likely matter a lot more than you think so it’s best to be at a kinder, easier program.

Linkages

One last point about the number of linkages. Having more linkages is a good thing if you are considering that option. However, not all linkage programs are created equal. While Columbia and Bryn Mawr may have a lot of linkages, you will want to dig deeper as to how many students successfully link each year. There are programs where very few of the linkage applicants successfully link, while other programs ensure a greater likelihood of success. Be sure to dig deeper into how often applicants are successful with these linkages!

Best 10 Premed Post-baccs:

With that in mind, here are Personal Premed‘s Rankings of the 10 top pre-med post-bacc programs (2024):

1. Goucher

2. Bryn Mawr

3. Scripps

4. Hopkins

5. George Washington

6. Columbia

7. Georgetown University

8. UVA

9. Washington University in St. Louis

10. NYU

Methodology:

The bulk of this data was obtained from publicly available sources, especially program websites. Where noted with an astericks, the data is anecdotal from previous program attendees, including from our former advisees.

Please keep in mind, this is a table written by two people who you probably do not know. Our preferences may not align with yours, so our #1 and your #1 postbac may be different programs. And for god’s sake, take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt.

How to Get In to a Top Premed Postbacs?

For more resources on how to get into the best premed postbac programs, be sure to check out: