<p>It's crucial to consider not only the ranking, stress level, etc. of certain med schools but also the goal of these schools. Some (like Michigan's) stress having a large knowledge bank, meaning that they stress the relevant, albeit, impractical subjects rather often. Others (like Feinberg), focus more on practicality, encouraging more task-intensive training. Now I am in no way leaning towards one or the other, but that's the way things are and it should be well-considered prior to committing.</p>
<p>If you go to PennState-Jefferson, you get to see JoePa. It's worth all the extra effort that you have to put in to get in. Tell me now, what other program has a JoePa?</p>
<p>None, zilch, nada, negativo, no iota, the null set, the empty set, el noexistico.</p>
<p>I think the best way to compare med programs is to compare the residencies that people place in, because in the end it's all about what kind of residency a school/program can get you into.</p>
<p>(btw, I think the UMKC 6-yr med program is way overrated. if you look at it's residency matches, they mostly place in Missouri hospitals and very very few get into top notch hospitals and residency programs.) I turned that program down.</p>
<p>Also, just in consideration of full disclosure, I'm going to the Boston University med program. I chose that one because of the residency matches in some of the best hospitals in america.</p>
<p>Guys make it easier on yourselves. Instead of just listing programs, just go to the site and click on individual combined BA/MD or BS/MD programs.</p>
<p>Just found this forum and been reading for hours. I am really interested in a BA(BS)/MD program, but I don't have the Ivy League-caliber. I just want to get into one regardless reputation, location, etc. </p>
<p>SAT II:
Math: 1st: 730, 2nd: 800 (Again, does it hurt 2 times?)
U.S. History: 780
Bio: 700
Chem: (Taking in Oct, 08)</p>
<p>No ACT.</p>
<p>GPA: around 4.1'ish (weighted)
Rank: somewhere bt. 10 to 20%</p>
<p>ECs: not much the first 2 years, only Boy Scout and very active Speech and Debate. Working on a Eagle scout project (Hoping to get it done by fall, but no guarantee). Won some debate tournament awards, including 1st and 2nd prizes, but not at a state level.</p>
<p>This summer:
1) Working as TA at a 7 weeks math enrichment summer camp.
2). Volunteer 4 weeks at handicap place.
3). Start volunteer 4 hr/wk at nursing home for Alzheimer seniors, and will continue thru senior year.</p>
<p>Do I have any chance? If so, can you recommend a list that accepts out-of-state resident (Except for CA, of course). Thanks!</p>
<p>Hey you could try for the UCSD/CalTech program if you want to stay in state. Otherwise there are programs at Northwestern, Brown, Rice, Michigan, USC, WashU, etc.
With regards to chancing, I think your scores on the low side, especially in the reading portion of the SAT. However, I don't think it hurts that you've taken the test multiple times. In fact, I think collegeboard now allows you to send only 1 of the scores.
Also, your extracurriculars don't show a clear interest in medicine so you will really need to shine in your essay and interviews. The key thing will be to drive home how interested you are in pursuing a career in medicine.</p>
<p>Wow, those schools you mentioned, I would not even dream of applying with my scores. I'd love to stay in state, but I think it's out of question for UCSD. I am thinking of the lower tier schools. In fact, maybe the lowest tier to increase my chances.
Very true regarding my ECs, and that's another thing that worries me. So, nothing is in my favor for qualification, that's why I need to pick the right "target" when applying. </p>
<p>Anyone knows anything about Wayne State in Detroit? I know someone closed who graduated from there and was told it's not a good school, but isn't their med sch is pretty good. Should I try that one? Same situation with Drexel, know someone there.
Appreciate any input.</p>
<p>Wayne State does not have JoePa!!! Only PENN State has JoePa!!!</p>
<p>Penn State is smack dab in the middle of the beautiful, green, rolling hills of the great State of PENNsylvania. </p>
<p>In contrast, Wayne State is NOT is in the middle of beautiful, green rolling hills in the great State of WAYNEsylvania. In fact, Wayne State is in the middle of ... well, at least you got the Art Institute nearby.</p>
<p>Vtemple,
Did you look into University of Toledo? It has 2 combined programs, both MD, not DO. Check it out! Some schools that are mentined above would be a huge stretch.</p>
<p>I just wanted to address the ranking issue of this particular topic.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that rankings themselves can be a misleading indicator for comparison if the methodology and priority system used to calculate the rankings is not studied.</p>
<p>For instance, if u look at the match lists into residency programs from big med programs such as Brown's PLME and Rice Baylor, etc, u see that the top 10% of medical school students go into top 20 residencies. Well if u look at a medical programs such as CUNY Downstate in brooklyn, u will find that their match rates for the top 10% of the class do no differ too much. However, they are not ranked because they do not receive enough NIH grants to qualify .</p>
<p>vm2490, that's why there are TWO SEPARATE ranking lists: Research vs. Primary Care (Clinical) so that if a med school doesn't get that much research money, but is good in clinical medicine, they can still be ranked highly.</p>
<p>I'll tell you right now, the US World News and Report rankings are very accurate with respect to quality of education and later for residency interviews.</p>
<p>Hey everyone,
I was looking at accel med/BS programs... Id love to go to caltech/ucsd one (no way though... im an asian guy... lol) or the ucsd itself accelerated program.
What do you think?
My stats are:
2200 SAT (CR 640, M 770, W 790) and 2110 SAT (680, 750, 680)
35 ACT
SAT IIs Math 2 800 Chem 770 Physics 710 Chinese 720 (i suck at chinese, that was like 14 percentile or something lol)
APs Euro Hist 5, Chem 5, Bio 4, Calc bc 4, physics b 4
currently taking econ, physics c, chinese language, statistics, and english language for APs
about 3.9 UW gpa, 4.8 Wgpa</p>
<p>i went to a local medical center to work for most of my summer and learned a lot, im also going to do it during my senior.
I'm an eagle scout (Boy scouts ftw vtemple!), and am editor/managing editor of my school newspaper.</p>
<p>Well HappytoGraduate, what i said was that unless u dont understand the methodology used to rank the programs, then u may not make the the best decision going by rank alone? Otherwise I agree with you, the procedures are very accurate.</p>
<p>And just to go by my Suny Downstate example, the program is not ranked clinically either...yet its top 10%match rates are just as good. </p>
<p>Now that does not imply a flaw with the ranking system, because the match rates for the average student in SUNY downstate are probably less than the average for the top 40 Med Schools..and so on average, it may not be better.</p>
<p>But what i was trying to say was that when making the decision between two medical programs, it is important to understand what difference in variables causes one program to be ranked higher than another. And if that variable doesnt matter as much for a given person, then obviously he may want to choose the lower ranked program.</p>