U. Virginia Creates Post-Bac Pre-Med Program for Career Changers

The University of Virginia's School of Continuing and Professional Studies has created a new post-baccalaureate, pre-medical program for career changers.

The 12-month-long, intensive program teaches the chemistry, biology, physics and organic chemistry courses that applicants need to meet the science prerequisites for medical school. It also includes an MCAT prep course and volunteer opportunities to shadow working physicians or serve at the University of Virginia Medical Center.

19 students are enrolled in the program this year, with classes beginning in June. Program director William Fornadel says that the University will keep the program small in order to maximize the attention that students receive. The program will be customized to each student's needs, providing the personalized mentoring and guidance that career changers need for a successful transition to the medical field.

This year's class of 19 students was selected from 68 applicants. 8 of the admitted students are from Virginia and the rest are from other states. Admitted students had an average undergraduate GPA of 3.5 from schools including Dartmouth, Duke, and the UC Berkeley.

Source: "University of Virginia Inaugurates New Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program for 'Career Changers'" - press release, the University of Virginia, June 7, 2006