<p>norcalguy worte "The draw of BS/MD programs is that they shield you from this hard work and competition. I really don’t understand this concept. You are going to be in a high pressure, high stress, highly competitive environment for 40+ years and yet you want to hide from this during undergrad for 4 years? "</p>
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<li><p>You can study any major, at any school, so there is no way the stress level of premed will even be the same anyway. Your requirement for stressful undergrad years is not satisfied in all cases via traditional route.</p></li>
<li><p>If all interested students with good grades and sufficient/appropriate EC’s were accepted into med school then … but we know this is not true. There seems to be some unexplainable factors that prevent some students from getting into med school via traditional or combined programs.</p></li>
<li><p>I agree being a physician is hard work but is it highly competitive even after you are a doctor? How is that any different than any other profession?</p></li>
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<p>I also don’t agree with you about parents being the driving force. We actually tried to talk our D out of wanting the life of a physician. She is very insistent and she has convinced us. I believe that combined programs are a good alternative for students who are very sure about being a doctor.</p>
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<li>If a student chooses a combined program, which you say is less stressful, that doesn’t mean a student can not handle the stresses of medical school or being a physician.</li>
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<p>If you were correct in your assumption that combined programs shield from hard work then why do students still graduate and become physicians out of these programs?</p>