Advice on BS/MD & Pre-Med Options

<p>Would appreciate help with my college decision due May 1. I have been accepted into 4 BS/MD programs: 1) Union/Albany, 2) SLU Med Scholars, 3) VCU Gmed, 4) UMKC, in addition to several highly rank colleges (Emory, Carleton, USC,... among others). A front-runner pre-med option under consideration is U. Oregon Honors College (full ride+) with resident priority at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU: 70% Oregon residents). End goal speciality is surgery, cardiology, ophthalmology or dermatology. Would welcome advice on the above options.</p>

<ol>
<li>Pricey, but you have to determine if you want to if you actually want that MBA. If not, it’s not worth the cost. 2. I heard that this is not technically a guaranteed acceptance, you have better options (unless you love St. Louis). 3. In my opinion, your best choice. Nice campus, good med school. 4. Also a good choice, but 6 years. If you want to be done in a short amount of time, go with this. </li>
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<p>It really depends on what location you prefer.</p>

<p>Take the cheapest that suits you personally the best.<br>
"End goal speciality is surgery, cardiology, ophthalmology or dermatology. " - way way too early to consider. My own D. is a 3rd year Med. student. Even she understands that it is way too early for her to decide on specialty. So, do not consider your specialty at all. Consider the personal preference, cost, guarnteed spot.</p>

<p>@Medclub
Congratulations on your success. Can you please post your stats so it will help the next year applicants?
Thanks.</p>

<p>Has anybody got into Caltech/UCSD Medical Scholars program this year ? if so please post your stats here.</p>

<p>@medclub - 1, 3, 4 are fine. slu will be a bad choice. albany is better compared to the other 2, umkc and vcu medical college wise. let us know where u decided</p>

<p>DesiGirl21 You are literally posting that on every single thread here. Please stop. If people want to post stats, they will. Many people already posted states in the beginning pages of the 2013 Interview Thread and in the results thread.</p>

<p>@hpmemom - why would you rank Albany over VCU? VCU is ranked mid 60s whereas Albany is unranked or in 100s. NIH grants to VCU is around 60m - Albany 10m. VCU hospital is ranked higher than AMC as well.</p>

<p>the well roundedness and experince one gets from albany is much better compared to vcu. vcu is biomed focussed. albany is the only major hospital in that tri state area. so students get to learn a lot and will come out well rounded.</p>

<p>remember ranking is for research. u want to be a physician not a researcher.</p>

<p>Ranking is for Primary care as well (no weight given for research); here again AMC is unranked where as VCU ranks in 60s. VCU hospital is much bigger and ranked higher as well. I am missing the information that tells how AMC is a better college.</p>

<p>I am trying to give OP factual and not subjective opinion.</p>

<p>Thanks to everyone for their input. Why would SLU be a bad choice? It is a semi-BS/MD where 98% of Med Scholars apply in their 2nd year and get into the med school provided they maintain GPA requirement (essay & interview required). MCAT is taken but it doesn’t count.</p>

<p>Reason for mentioning the more selective specialities was to see if any of the BS/MDs do better in terms of residency match - hard to tell by looking at each school’s residency match list. Realize it is early to decide, but that’s the direction I am headed. I’ve been told that residency match is more a function of USMLE scores, class ranking, grades, research/ECs & recommendations than the med school itself. Correct?</p>

<p>In terms of rankings (per US News):
OHSU: #3 primary care, #31 research - but no guarantee. MCAT req’d.
VCU: #71 primary care, #68 research. MCAT=26 req’d.
SLU: #79 primary care, #70 research. MCAT doesn’t count.
Albany: Not ranked. No MCAT.
UMKC: Not ranked. No MCAT.</p>

<p>In terms of cost - UMKC 6-yr is the most expensive (~$485K for NR), but 2 years of earlier income would be an offset. Union/Albany is next, followed by SLU, VCU & UO/OHSU.</p>

<p>@HPMEMOM, both AMC and UMKC do not participate in the ranking and they do not fill the surveys for US News. So US News ranks them lower on purpose as a punishment!<br>
@MEDClub, my opinion is that SLU is not a combined med - and most of their candidates drop out of the so-called program. UMKC and AMC would be great if cost is not a factor.</p>

<p>I agree with most of the comments above. My recommendations:

  1. Go for a guaranteed program. That shortens the list to Union/Albany, VCU Gmed and UMKC.
  2. I would say UMKC is the best option because it is not only a guaranteed program it is six years long.</p>

<p>I have not only taught for several years at a BS/MD program but also have one kid currently enrolled in a 6-year program. Six year programs are not that hard for excellent students who get into them. You still have a lot of free time. You also have two to four weeks break between semesters. The students who come from very aggressive high schools (that includes my kid) actually complain that they are bored. So it really depends on how hard-working you are. My experience from teaching in the program is that at least 75% do not think that 6-year programs are too aggressive. You can confirm this by talking to current students in a 6-year program.</p>

<p>im in the same situation as MedClub except i didnt apply to SLU’s Med Scholars program. I’ve pretty much narrowed it down to either VCU or UMKC. What should i pick? Does anyone know how hard it is to maintain the requirements at VCU?</p>

<p>In talking with VCU students, it doesn’t appear that maintaining GPA requirements is too difficult at VCU and even less so at UMKC with a lower GPA threshold.</p>

<p>Would be great to hear comments about how the residency matches compare at VCU and UMKC. Is one stronger than the other? Is the med school a major factor in residency matches, or is it solely a function of USMLE scores, class rank, grades, research/ECs & recommendations?</p>

<p>i do think that VCU will give you better opportunities to match at more competitive specialties. i believe 17 anesthesiologists matched last year. i dont think med school is a major factor though, it seems like its mainly a regional thing. Unless ur going to an ivy med/hopkins i dont really think the rank of med school matters. VCU is however is renovating and stuff so the med school will be really new and nice by the time we get there.</p>

<p>Same is true with Albany with the millions they are putting in there. I have been there several times , and I am inpressed with the scale of the construction. Their operating rooms will look like something designed by Apple.</p>

<p>all ranking is irrelevant, specialty will be primarily determined by “USMLE scores, class rank, grades, research/ECs & recommendations” and the Step 1 score might either open the doors or lock them tightly, period. Your score will primarily depend on your preparation. The program tha allow exclusive preparation time might produce the higher score. I mean, the program with the second year ending by the beginning of March might allow more time for prep. than the one that ends second year in May.</p>

<p>As stated before
Why?
You will have a lifetime of medicine
Go to college and enjoy it. Go overseas. Expand your life. You will never have it agin</p>