Accelerated medical programs

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>I have always wondered if going to different accelerated med programs really affect medical opportunities. I know you'll become a doctor in the end and doctors do well regardless of which school they graduate from. If this is false, please tell me. </p>

<p>In addition, I wanted to know if someone knew what are the best med accelerated med programs in the country and if there are any sort of rankings which substantiate this. I heard that the northwestern 7 medical program was the best in the country. What makes this true? </p>

<p>I basically want to find out if there is a real difference between going to UMDNJ and Northwestern.</p>

2

<p>bump.........</p>

3

<p>Rice/Baylor is the best/highest ranked in the country...</p>

4

<p>How long does it take to finish an accelerated program?
Is it less expensive? also, is it more work?</p>

5

<p>6-8 years to finish an accelerated med program</p>

<p>they are generally cheaper than going the full route</p>

<p>they generally require less work (a bit of a turnoff for some students)</p>

<p>if you are sure about medicine, this is the safest, surest way to become a physician</p>

6

<p>6-8 years, meaning undergrad is included in this?
What schools offer accelerated programs?</p>

7

<p>I have to back up impactangel on this one. They are cheaper, require less work overall (mostly because you save time), and is far and away the safest and surest way to becoming a doctor. Almost half of all premeds nationwide who apply to med-school get rejected from every single med-school they apply to. That's right, every single one. And that's just talking about those who actually apply. Plenty more people who want to be doctors don't even bother to apply because they know that with their grades/test-scores, they're not going to get in anywhere. </p>

<p>Accelerated programs do away with most of that stress. True, many of them require you to maintain a minimum GPA to remain in the program. But that's a far safer route than going about premed the 'normal' way. Think about it - in an accelerated program, as long as you maintain a strong GPA, you keep your eligibility and thus are automatically automatically med-school. Plenty of regular premeds also maintain strong, or better-than-strong GPA's, and still don't get in anywhere. </p>

<p>What's even better for some (not all) accelerated programs is that they still allow you to apply to other med-schools if you want, just like a normal premed. So if in the middle of the program, all of a sudden, you think you have a shot at getting into Harvard Medical School, you can apply and see. If you get rejected, then you just continue with the accelerated program. The key is whether the program awards you the bachelor's degree in the middle of the program, or only at the very end (along with your MD). If the program awards you the bachelor's degree in the middle of the program, then at that time, you can apply to other med-schools just like a traditional premed would. </p>

<p>I don't know if there is one accelerated program that would be considered the best, but there are many that would be considered excellent. The Rice/Baylor one, the Northwestern HPME one, UCLA has one, UCSD has one, Tufts has one, USC has one, George Washington has one, and others too.</p>

<p>I would however point out that the competition to get into these programs, especially the top ones, is fierce, as you might expect. The competition is arguably at par with the competition to get into schools like HYPSMC. Guaranteed med-school admission is a hugely coveted prize.</p>

8

<p>My personal opinion is that the 8-year combined programs are great (Rice/Baylor, Brown PLME, Rochester REMS, etc), but that you miss out on a lot of the college experience by going to a 6 or 7 year program. You only get to do college once (generally), so you should really take your time to explore everything, go on study abroad, do research, take classes in subjects you never even knew existed, etc. If you are rushing to finish your requirements you just won't have time to take advantage of these things.</p>

9

<p>masha:</p>

<p>check this website for a list of schools offering the combined degree program:</p>

<p><a href="http://services.aamc.org/currdir/section3/degree2.cfm?data=yes&program=bsmd%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://services.aamc.org/currdir/section3/degree2.cfm?data=yes&program=bsmd&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

10

<p>The 6 yr PSU program allows its students to study abroad, take classes in subjects you never knew existed (the nonscience portion of classes are completely up to you), and generally allows for more free time to its students than regular pre-med majors.</p>

11

<p>I think impactangel just hit on something there. It has been asserted that accelerated/combined programs are less desirable because you won't have time to explore and enjoy life and so forth. </p>

<p>I would actually argue that exploring and enjoying life are what make the accelerated/combined programs MORE desirable. The reason is simple. By choosing one of these programs, you are opting out of the stressful premed ratrace. By choosing one of these programs, you don't have to spend months cooped up in your room, studying for your MCAT. You don't have to be constantly slaving away by studying for the 'A' in every class while life passes you by. You don't have to be constantly worried about pumping up your resume full of EC's, trying to find that activity that will give you that extra edge to get into med-school. You don't have to be spending time trying to write the perfect med-school essays. You don't have to feel that constant stress and worry about getting into med-school, and what you will do if you don't get in. </p>

<p>In short, I would argue that those students in those combined programs probably enjoy and explore life more than normal premeds do.</p>

12

<p>yay sakky! nicely said. ditto.</p>