<p>I haven't been on these forums in a while but I thought I may just come back to give my 2 cents. I applied to a few BS/MD programs back in 06-07, got into two with scholarships but decided not to go because I figured if I can get into one of those programs from high school, I should be able to get into a better med school from college. But I've made this thread so that anyone having any serious questions can ask me and I'll be checking in as often as possible. </p>
<p>I've also got a few requests to read essays too so if you'd like I'll be more than glad to critique your essays and tell you if I see anything blatantly wrong for which you'd get blasted. But let me warn you, if you're essay's not good, I'm not going to try and lie.</p>
<p>Which college did you go to and why? What made you love that certain college that prompted you to choose it over the BS/MD programs? And if possible, your stats would be helpful. Thanks.</p>
<p>bluewind, I actually applied to vcu, drexel, umkc, and brown for the bs/md programs- and what I figured was those direct programs are great right now but if you’re smart enough (which I’m sure everyone here is if you’re applying to these programs) getting into a top 20 med school shouldn’t be too hard from college. But just some general high school stats I had:</p>
<p>5-5.1 w/3.8-3.9 uw
top 2% (at one of the top 50 high schools in the nation)
the usual hospital volunteering and president of a few clubs
two internships (private clinic and major hospital)
~2150 SAT (this was horrible but my sat II’s made up for it)
almost perfect SATII’s (chem, phys, bio, and math II)</p>
<p>It just depends on what you want to do and whether you want to take a calculated risk- I love it where I am right now and definitely wouldn’t change that for a thing</p>
<p>I would like to disagree with the poster on that statement. There are only approximately 3,000 spots TOTAL at the “Top 20 Med Schools.” They require not only MCATs above 33, and a GPA above 3.8 (4.0 preferred) with significant research experience (remember, they are primarily research oriented). Even the best students in high school do not end up at the top schools. There are just too many applicants and too few spots.</p>
<p>With that said, nationally, about 50% of all medical school APPLICANTS get into medical school. This is after all the WEEDING OUT in many higher ranked (and most state) undergraduate institutions. In college, many pre-med courses are graded on the curve (that is, a certain % of students are allocated As, Bs, C’s, etc. regardless of the actual numerical score). For those who can survive introductory chemistry, organic chemistry, general biology, and physics in college then have to survive the MCAT. Because of the curve, I would guess 30-40% of pre-meds might get weeded out. Of course, they would never admit to it, other than say that their career plans “changed” or they “found new interests.” The average MCAT score nationally is 24-25 (50th %ile of testtakers), with the average for applicants around 27, the average of accepted students at 30 (that’s the 77th %ile of all TEST TAKERS), and 33+ to be even competitive at the top schools (that’s above 92nd %ile of TEST TAKERS). I emphasized TEST TAKERS, because those who got weeded out in the college classes likely did not take the MCAT. (Remember that 30-40% I mentioned before…)</p>
<p>All the data I mentioned can be found on the AAMC website.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the OP is a rising sophomore who hasn’t gone through the process of applying to medical school (or even taken the MCAT, I believe).</p>
<p>Jason- I definitely agree with you that getting into a top 20 is very difficult but here’s the catch- the people that get in to a direct program now shouldn’t find it too difficult to pursue the kinds of activities in college that will aid them in getting into med school. And needless to say that all the people applying to these direct med programs are well above average so mostly everyone that gets into these programs shouldn’t have a problem doing well on the MCAT. I’m starting to prepare now for the MCAT and a 33+ is definitely a feasible goal. And also the national average is more like 40%, not 50% for those admitted.</p>
<p>And here’s the website for the rest of the forum members- its a great tool:
[FACTS:</a> Applicants, Matriculants, Graduates, and Residency Applicants - AAMC](<a href=“http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/]FACTS:”>FACTS | AAMC)</p>
<p>But in NO WAY am I trying to endorse letting go of your direct med admission- I’m just trying to be of assistance to those who may need it while applying. I’m not trying to tell you what to do but I’m just offering insight into everything from the perspective of a student who when through the entire process.</p>
<p>md4me,
It applies only for those who are inspired to go to top 20. There are plenty of very top students who have no desire to do so. They might apply to 1-2 top schools eventually (even being in combined program), but what is more important for them is to have at least one spot. I am describing my D. here, graduated #1, had no desire to go to any elite UG and very happy with reguired min. of MCAT=27. However, if she gets much higher, she will apply to few others still retaining her spot in a program. If she will not get anywhere else, it is almost OK. She does not like urban location of Med. School in her program, there is nothing wrong with anything else, she prefer small town surrondings.</p>
<p>No offense, but if you can’t even handle courses like General Chemistry, General Biology, and General Physics, then you won’t be able to handle the level of detail in medical school, much less the MCAT. If you’ve had AP Chem, AP Bio, and AP Physics in high school (as most CCers here have taken) - you already have 3 out of 4 needed classes as exact repeats of information exposure from those courses. Most of those in the CC crowd would actually excel in premedical coursework, as they go beyond the average or below-average student who ends up applying to medical school.</p>
<p>Just like those who get into top notch Bachelor/MD programs out of high school, students all the time take part in healthcare experiences, community service, leadership activities, extracurricular activities, and employment whether during the school year or during the summer break.</p>
<p>At my university, we didn’t have a ridiculous curve like as you state. The numerical grading scale was already set at the beginning of the course. If anything, the curve benefitted us. In fact, I don’t know any school that does it to where no scale is announced and then the professor says he’ll set the breakpoints, based on how people do. Also with respect to Top 20 schools, obviously you haven’t seen the term “URM”. Just check <a href=“http://www.mdapplicants.org%5B/url%5D”>www.mdapplicants.org</a>, but applicants who would never gotten interviews much less acceptances with their MCAT/GPA did based on their URM status.</p>
<p>A 30-40% weedout rate is VERY conservative and probably found only at the best universities. The drop out rate at state universities (with lower quality student bodies) is likely to be much higher.</p>
<p>md4me, now that your well into your college career, looking back, are you happy you made the choice to go the normal route? do you ever regret not taking the guarunteed admissions to a combined program? how hard is it to be a pre-med on the normal track (how hard are intro courses, how many hours do you study, do you have a social life outside of school? etc)</p>
<p>edit: oh and what undergrad school do you currently attend?</p>
<p>piggybank,
In some programs (most?) kids who are in combined program are with general student body, going thru the same exact classes, nobody around them knows that they are in a program (and they are keeping low profile about it).</p>
<p>piggybank- Honestly, I LOVE my undergrad experience. Some people say the MCAT is the hardest test they’ll ever take but I’m more science oriented and did very well on the math portion of the SAT and on my science SAT II’s and through my practice MCAT’s I feel like I have a shot at getting a relatively high score. Let me just clarify that I’m not acting snobby but I’m just providing an unbiased view</p>
<p>In regards to social life, I have more of a social life than most of my peers- this is only because my high school prepared me well for college. The intro courses were a breeze and I’m enjoying the upper level courses. I’m above average in regards to the GPA of the average accepted medical student- and all of this with about an hour of regular studying daily. Obviously if I have an exam, the few days prior are just 5-6 hours of studying…and all of this at a top 30 university. I actually did think about what it would be like if I did direct med- I would’ve sold myself short- I knew that I can get into med school and I want to be able to pick which med school to attend instead of the other way around</p>
<p>do you think someone who went to an ivy league school would have a different expereicne as you since classes and peers are gonna be harder and smarter so they would require more studying? BTW would you suggest skipping intro classes since they are “weeder” classes with terrible curves or are they actually easier if you already took the AP in HS?</p>
<p>Sorry about the delayed response but yes, the experience at an Ivy League would definitely be different but not in the sense that people would work harder but that people would have more connections. Within the top universities, the quality of education is essentially the same- only real distinguishing factor is that the ivy’s have many more connections (usually just because of how long they’ve been around) which is why they’re so highly sought after. The grade inflation is immense (many of my peers ended up at the ivy’s and that’s what they say). But in regards to the intro classes- I would personally suggest waiving the AP credit and retaking them. They’re so easy if you’ve taken and done well in AP and can lead to a great first semester because they’ll allow you to get conditioned to the whole college scene. Only hard weeder classes are organic but those aren’t as bad as people make them out to be.</p>