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After a year of drama and nightmares, I have finally been accepted into the Hunter College Post-Baccalaureate Program. This process was literally one of the most frustrating and anxiety provoking procedure of my life and so I am trying to compile my thoughts to help future applicants in any way possible. The biggest advice I can give is DO NOT GIVE UP. Stay persistent and confident and try to leave all of  your anger and frustration somewhere else. For the most part, the administrative side of Hunter is a mess. They are understaffed and usually apathetic about your situation but USE THIS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE!

Applying to the Hunter PB Program is a three step process.

1. The first step is applying and being admitted into CUNY.

2. Secondly, you must get into Hunter College.

3. And lastly, you must get into Hunter’s Official PB Program.

Hunter is planning on building a new science building which will expand its capacity to take on science students. In the meantime, plan for dysfunctionality and leave yourself enough time to tackle this process. In all honesty, I don’t know many people who were able to get into the program the semester they wanted.

PART I: APPLYING TO CUNY

You can apply to CUNY online by visiting http://cuny.edu/admissions/index.html and then applying as an undergraduate. This confuses some people since when you apply for the PB program you already have an undergrad degree. However, the PB Program is NOT a degree program. It is a certificate program but you do not receive an additional degree.

To fill out an online application you must set up a portal account. Follow the procedure for transfer applicants (not freshmen). To see if you qualify for acceptance see the following link: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/prospectivestudents/ug_students/2degree.shtml

If you qualify and would like to apply, you will be asked to choose what schools you would like to apply to. You should obviously put HUNTER as your number one choice and there is also an additional option to add the PB program (Code 0339). You can apply to backup CUNYs that might also have science classes in case you can’t get into Hunter the first semester, but remember that if you need a committee letter for medical school, you must take at least SIX of your science classes at Hunter.

For your actual application you will need to have BOTH your high school AND your College transcripts sent to CUNY. Even though you may already have a BA/BS, CUNY wants to see your high school transcript. The Hunter PB website will tell you otherwise but my application was deemed incomplete because it did not have my high school transcripts. Even though this makes no sense, and some reviewers at CUNY do not care about your HS transcript, to avoid any sort of delays I would suggest sending it just to be safe. It is usually free anyway or costs about $5. Make sure that both transcripts are official and that they are addressed to CUNY and not to you (you will run into problems otherwise). Send all of your application materials to the following address along with a check for $70:

CUNY/UAPC
P.O. Box 359023
Brooklyn, NY 11235-9023

The application fee can also be paid online. If you are currently taking classes at HUNTER or another CUNY you are exempt from the application fee, however, if you stop taking classes for even one semester, you will have to pay the fee and your application will not be looked at until the payment is received.  In my opinion, it is better to just pay the $70. My application got held up for months because of this fee. When I originally applied I was taking classes at Hunter but because it took them so long to process my application, I was no longer taking classes at Hunter by the time my application was looked at and I owed them the fee. I was never informed that I owed them the fee and my application was further delayed because of that. I know $70 can be a pain when you’re a student but it is honestly worth avoiding the hassle and definitely worth a semester of your life!

Once your application with CUNY is complete you might think you just have to sit back and wait to hear from them. Don’t! Stay proactive. Stay on top of your application. They are going to tell you that it takes 4-8 weeks to do anything (no matter what you ask them). If a piece of your app is missing, they will tell you it takes 4-8 weeks, Keep calling CUNY ADMISSIONS at 212-997-2869. It is almost impossible to speak to a human but keep trying. Do not trust the voice recording that tells you about your application. I called that recording all summer and it said my application was complete but that was not true. Stay on top of your application because no one else cares about it except you and that is the sad but honest truth.

Part II: Applying to HUNTER

The Hunter Admissions office is a slightly more pleasant place. You are actually able to speak to humans, and they sometimes even know what they are talking about. Hunter will not look at your application until you have been accepted into CUNY, but you should put it in anyway. You want to apply as a second degree student. If you have any questions, GO to the office. It is a lot more helpful than calling.

PART III: Getting into the Post-bacc Program

This is the tricky part. All decisions about admittance into the program will be made by Mrs. Wood-Hill. I give her some credit in the respect that she is overworked and understaffed and she takes care of hundreds of students which can be really overwhelming. However, I have never found her to be particularly helpful. She is awful and replying to emails and while she has a walk-in schedule, you can find yourself waiting for over an hour and they are often cancelled at the last minute. This was very frustrating to me over the last year and caused a lot of anger but the thing to keep in mind, is to just keep being nice. She can help you ALOT if you kiss a little ass. Keep in mind that before you are admitted to CUNY she will not even look at your application and honestly there is not much point in even talking to her in my opinion, Stay persistent will your acceptance into CUNY but prepare your post-bacc application in the meantime and get it in early!

Hunter’s Post BAcc Website gives this advice:

Once you have completed the online application you should begin our supplemental application (see below).  With the supplemental application you must include your resume, your personal statement and a letter of recommendation as well as unofficial copies of all transcripts. We cannot make any decisions about your application until you have received an acceptance from UAPC.  Their acceptance letter will come to you via email.  You can then expect to hear from us within 2 weeks of hearing from UAPC.

I would NOT expect to hear from the post-bacc office within 2 weeks or any sort of timely fashion. Again, if you don’t aggressively follow up on your application, it is just going to sit in a pile on a desk or in a drawer collecting dust. However, do follow their advice about getting your application ready. You’ll need:

1. Resume

2. Unofficial transcripts

3. Letter of Recommendation (*A letter of support from someone in an academic setting (http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/studentservices/prehealth/repository/files/ACADEMIC-RECOMMENDATION-FORM.pdf or professional setting (http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/studentservices/prehealth/repository/files/OTHER-RECOMMENDATION-FORM-1.pdf) or voluntary setting.

4. Personal Statement ( A 750 word essay regarding your professional goals and your interest in the Program)

5. Supplemental Application:

http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/studentservices/prehealth/repository/files/The%20Supplemental%20Application.pdf

6. Self- Addressed Enveloped with a stamp that will be used to acknowledge the receipt of your application.

***Note: You must submit ALL supplemental material (supplemental application, resume, essay, letter of recommendation, and All UN-OFFICIAL transcripts) as ONE PACKAGE.  Failure to do so will certainly DELAY your application review and possibly cause your REJECTION to the program. Also please include a SELF ADDRESSED, PRE-PAID ENVELOPE. It will be returned to you verifying that your package was received by our office.  No further information will be given until final decisions are made.***

PLEASE MAIL YOUR SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL TO:

Re: Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Applicant
Office of Pre-Health Advising
School of Arts & Sciences
Hunter College - CUNY
695 Park Avenue, 812 East
New York, NY 10065

Please see the Hunter Website for additional information: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/studentservices/prehealth/postba

PART IV: Leftovers

1. If you can NOT get into Hunter for the semester  you intended to start, register as non-degree student. The deadline for non-degree admission is really late and the application is really simple. You will only need an unofficial transcript. This can all be done at the Hunter Admissions office and you are accepted automatically. The downside is that you don’t register until classes start. However, if you are open to taking any of your requirements, you might be able to squeeze into a class like Biology or English or math. Personally I would aim for BIO 100 since that is what I was able to get myself into, BIO is also the biggest intro science class. There are over 700 kids in the class and they really don’t care that much about over tallying. The problem is always getting into a lab section but they sometimes open up extra sections on saturdays last minute. It is also possible to get the lecture done and take the lab a different semester.

2. If you have previously taken some of your requirements during your undergrad years, that is helpful. The thing to keep in mind is that you will not be allowed to register for classes with pre-requisites unless the classes you took in your undergrad years have been approved by each department. This is supposed to be done when Hunter evaluates your transcript but is not always done due to laziness and dysfunctionality. Call each department before your registration date to make sure there are no holds on your account. For example, if you want to take Organic Chemistry and you took General Chemistry as an undergrad, make sure that the Chemistry department has a record of this. It is sometimes necessary to give the individual department a copy of your transcript along with a course description so that the chair can approve it. I was told that when you do this, they remove the hold for only one semester so just double check the following semester if you don’t get into the class you want that semester.

3. Join the post-bacc listserv even if you are not yet a post-bacc. It is annoying at times to receive so many emails but everyone is really helpful and has gone through the same experience as you. Check out their website:

http://studentweb.hunter.cuny.edu/clubs/prehealthpostbacc/

4. If you are set on finishing your courses within a certain timeline, find out if your undergrad institution will write you a committee letter. If they agree to do so, take classes wherever you can. PACE is a great option because the application process is not nearly as complicated and it is ALOT easier to get into the classes you need. Downside is the $$$$. Again, it depends how much that year of your life is worth.

Tags: advice for admittance, hunter college, hunter post baccalaureate, hunter post-bacc program, medical school requirements

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 11:51 am and is filed under Life, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.