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5 Pre-Med Post-Baccs with Strong Linkage Programs

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We’ve talked about post-bacc programs with linkages before on our site (twice, actually). The topic is interesting to every year’s new crop of prospective post-bacc students: who doesn’t want to improve their chances of getting into a medical school by choosing a post-bacc with a linkage? While we’ve talked about the restrictions and obligations that come with linkages, and looked at how they work for a few select schools, one thing we haven’t done is lay out which post-bacc programs have the most medical school linkages.

We ran the numbers, and based on our data as of February 2022, these are the top five post-bacc programs in terms of the number of linkages. Browse these programs, and then visit our post-bacc listings to look for more opportunities.

#1 Bryn Mawr College – 18 Total Linkages

  • Program Name: Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program
  • School Location: Bryn Mawr, PA
  • Linkages: 17 MD programs, 1 DO program
  • Minimum GPA: 3.2

Description: Bryn Mawr College is a small institution, but its post-bacc program has a big reputation—it frequently comes in at the top of our best post-bacc certificate lists. The combination of coursework, MCAT prep, and advising attracts many applicants each year. So does the extensive list of program linkages, including the University of Chicago, Rutgers University, NYU, and more. If you have your heart set on one of these universities and are ready to commit to them, consider applying to Bryn Mawr College.

Program Site: https://www.brynmawr.edu/postbac

#2 Goucher College – 10 Linkage Programs

  • Program Name: Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program
  • School Location: Baltimore, MD
  • Linkages: 10 MD programs
  • Minimum GPA/Science GPA: 3.0

Description: Goucher’s post-bacc certificate program encourages career changers and record-enhancing students to apply to its well-respected post-bacc program. They offer institutional merit scholarships to post-bacc students and a strong placement rate for graduates. They also offer 10 linkage options for medical schools including the University of Pittsburgh, Stony Brook University, and the University of Maryland. If you are in the Baltimore area and want the personal attention a small, private university can offer, the Goucher College post-bacc is worth a look.

Program Site: https://www.goucher.edu/learn/graduate-programs/post-baccalaureate-premed-program/

#3 Johns Hopkins University – 10 Linkage Programs

  • Program Name: Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program
  • School Location: Baltimore, MD
  • Linkages: 9 MD programs, 1 DO program
  • Minimum GPA: 3.0

Description: In terms of quality and reputation, the Johns Hopkins pre-med post-bacc program is everything you would expect from one of the nation’s most prestigious medical schools. JHU’s post-bacc program currently has 10 total linkages: nine with MD programs and one with New York Institute of Technology’s DO program. If you look at the school’s report on where its graduates have gone in the past five years, however, you’ll realize that a JHU post-bacc is a calling card that many graduates have used to gain admittance to medical schools across the country, too.

Program Site: https://krieger.jhu.edu/postbac/

#4 Scripps College – 6 Linkage Programs

  • Program Name: Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program
  • School Location: Claremont, CA
  • Linkages: 5 MD programs, 1 DO
  • Minimum GPA: 3.0

Description: The sole West Coast post-bacc on this list is Scripps College, located just east of Los Angeles, California. Historically a women’s college at the undergraduate level, Scripps has offered its post-bacc certificate to applicants of all gender identities for more than 25 years. In addition to the full-time certificate program, Scripps also offers a part-time option that students can complete in as few as 24 months. Its linkage programs include affiliations with Boston University, Hofstra University, and others.

Program Site: https://www.scrippscollege.edu/postbac/

#5 Georgetown University – 5 Linkage Programs

  • Program Name: Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Certificate Program
  • School Location: Washington, DC
  • Linkages: 5 MD programs
  • Minimum GPA: 3.2

Description: Specifically for career-changer students, the Georgetown post-bacc has made an appearance on our site before. Like Scripps, Georgetown offers a full- or part-time program option for its post-bacc, along with shadowing opportunities at Georgetown University Medstar Hospital and the option to receive a recommendation from the post-bacc committee when applying to medical school. In addition to linkages with other institutions, Georgetown’s post-bacc also offers an early assurance program with its own Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Program Site: https://premed.georgetown.edu/postbac/

Remember, Quality Isn’t Always Quantity

While we do recommend seeking out linkage opportunities if you are interested in attending a specific medical school, don’t use the number of linkages as an overall indicator of program quality. Some excellent medical schools, like the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, don’t participate in linkages with any post-bacc programs. And some smaller schools with only one or two linkages offer exceptional preparation. For example, the Ponce Health Sciences University Master of Science in Medical Sciences (MSMS) program has a linkage with its own MD program, but offers students personalized guidance and support for pursuing admission to MD and other health profession programs elsewhere.

Find Your Best-Match Post-Bacc Program

Still want to look beyond the programs in this article? Start researching the right program for you in our site listings. Good luck!

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