<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I'm a current Drexel BS/MD student at Villanova Undergrad. I applied and got into all 3 undergrads associated with Drexel Med (Lehigh, Villanova, and Drexel) and I know BS/MD students in all 3 undergrads.</p>
<p>If you have any questions about the program, what makes it distinct, interview tips or anything else, please feel free to message me.</p>
<p>Why did you pick Villanova over Lehigh and Drexel? Any stats you can share?</p>
<p>1) How many programs did you apply to and how many of those were acceptances? </p>
<p>2) How many (and what kind of) undergraduate schools did you apply to and how many of those were acceptances?</p>
<p>kk pmed you guys. Also as a side note/reminder, pm me if you have a question about the program, the undergrads, the med school, or the application process. I want to give a clear and honest picture of what life is like as a BS/MD student in this program. While I will answer questions about stats and what not, I don’t particularly see how my stats and EC’s will have any bearing on your chances to get into this program or your decision, should you get in, to attend this program. If you are looking for a list of stats, look at the previous class threads for accepted bs/md students and their respective stats.</p>
<p>How is life at Villanova? Are classes difficult? Are there many opportunities to do research? Do they expect you to have a lot of extracurriculars or do they want you to focus on grades?</p>
<p>MrInformed, Can you help me prepare for interview? Thanks</p>
<p>kk pmed vivalavida.</p>
<p>Grofkr, this will probably be helpful for other peeps so I’ll just write it here.</p>
<p>In terms of the interview:
Bear in mind that no matter what peple say, there is no “formula” for an interview. Your interview depends entirely on the interviewer so be vigilant and know how your interviewer reacts to your responses and adjust accordingly. </p>
<p>However, some general tips are:
<ol>
<li><p>Be prepared for healthcare questions. Know what the patient protection and affordable care act does. You don’t have to know the specifics, but have enough of an understanding to form an educated opinion about “Obama care”</p></li>
<li><p>Wear a suit, look professional, and act professional.</p></li>
<li><p>Smile and be yourself. Let your personality show. With that being said, if you are naturally a d-bag, you might want to be a it careful showing your personality—or becoming a doctor for that matter.</p></li>
<li><p>Consider bringing in a resume/activity sheet. Know what is on your sheet and be ready to talk about all the items listed there.</p></li>
<li><p>know why you want to study medicine. </p></li>
<li><p>Know or consider what type of physician you want to be and what you intend on doing 10 years from now.</p></li>
<li><p>Know why you want to attend drexel. Be sincere. Note what is appealing to you about drexel. This will require research on your part.</p></li>
<li><p>know why you applied to the undergrads. </p></li>
<li><p>Be confident and ready to talk about yourself when asked “tell me about yourself.”</p></li>
</ol>
<p>@MrInformed My son applied to Villanova/Drexel. He has the same questions asked by vivalavida. Could you please pm me?Thanks.</p>
<p>^Same here !</p>
<p>@MrInformed: Can you please just post your response to those questions here? I think it would help not only current applicants, but also those applying in future years. Thanks again for coming back to this website and sharing your insight. Greatly appreciate it.</p>
<p>I’ll summarize:
1Q: How is life at Villanova?
A: Life is fantastic. Villanova is very community oriented and everyone is very friendly with each other. The campus is beautiful and the professors are pretty good at teaching… Villanova is known for its small class sizes which is definitely a plus. People are generally pretty happy here. The food is actually not too bad. At the end of every semester, we have a large end of semester dinner where students are given lobster and filet mignon. They recently opened up Cafe Nova which has amazing food and great cheese steaks.</p>
<p>2Q: What is the religious aspect like at Villanova?
A: Villanova is an Augustinian university (to be more general, it’s a catholic university). Religion is present, but it isn’t “forced” upon you in any way. I know it sounds hard to believe, but trust me, I had the same concerns. I though it would be crazy religious, but it’s completely the opposite. There is a wide range of people from various religions (including atheists and agnostics) and people are pretty accepting of your views. There are crosses on most buildings, but don’t worry about it. Just think of it as part of the schools architecture.</p>
<p>But the most important thing to remember is to be respectful of all religions. Don’t try to impose your views on others because that will upset certain individuals. </p>
<p>Oh, and yes you will take theology courses, but all universities require a theology course. There is a freshman course called ACS that may appear as a religious course, but it’s pretty much the same as a freshman writing seminar that most universities have. You don’t need to be catholic to do well in the course. It’s your normal English class with ~15 other students, but participation is actually 20% of your grade so be ready to carry on a discussion in class.</p>
<p>3Q:Are classes difficult?
The general consensus among BS/MD students is that classes are not difficult. They may be time consuming, but overall, the coursework is manageable. This may sound harsh, but for the most part, BS/MD students are academically “smarter” than the regular undergrads at Villanova. Don’t get me wrong, there are many smart students here, but BS/MD students tend to be very well prepared and are usually on the better side of the curve.</p>
<p>Also, an A is a 4.0, A- is a 3.66, B+ is a 3.33 and B is a 3.0. You need a 3.5 by the end of your third year so even if you perform poorly in the first few semesters, you can always bring your grades back up. However, be smart and try not to put yourself in that situation.</p>
<p>Also, the MCAT is changing in 2015 to include more humanities classes. This is actually really good for Villanova because our core curriculum already covers all the material the new MCAT will have. In that regard, there will be less kinks in the road than if you were to attend Drexel or Lehigh undergrad because these institutions do not normally have classes such as sociology or psychology for bs/md students.</p>
<p>As a side note, if you go to Lehigh, your major will be “premed” but you have the option of selecting another major.</p>
<p>Are there many opportunities to do research?
Yes and there are many summer opportunities for research as well. However, research isn’t handed out on a silver platter. You have to take the initiative and ask around. Because we are so close to philly, you can always find a place to research in the city (CHOP, UPenn, drexel medcial school, jefferson etc…)</p>
<p>4Q: Do they expect you to have a lot of extracurriculars or do they want you to focus on grades?
A: Grades and MCAT scores are obviously the requirements. There are no requirements to do EC’s, but you really should stay active in the community or else you will be missing a large part of college life.</p>
<p>5Q: Why the drexel program?
5A: It’s a great program that is gaining more recognition as Drexel continues to expand exponentially. The undergrads, particularly lehigh and Villanova, are good undergrads so if I ever wanted to change my mind about medicine or attending drexel med, I could still have a decent name backing me up. The med school is located in philly which is really convenient and the match lists are great, particularly with anesthesiology. It’s also my understanding that bs/md students tend to match better/perform better than the traditional premeds so that is always something to look forward for.</p>
<p>6Q: Why Villanova?
A: Villanova has a campus which Drexel undergrad does not have. Villanova is in the suburbs of philly (next to Radnor Township) and is located in one of the wealthiest and safest place in the United States. The school has great school spirit and people tend to be very happy. Lehigh is in the middle of no where and Drexel undergrad is in the city which can be dangerous at times.</p>
<p>I want to enjoy my undergrad years. It is a once in a life time opportunity and you don’t want to waste it just to save a few thousand dollars. Plus, the whole point of BS/MD programs is to not only enter medical school a year early, but to also free yourselves of the pressures normal pre meds face. So why not go to the undergrad that produces the happiest students (Villanova!!)?It may be more expensive than drexel undergrad, but in the long run,the money you will make as a physician will eventually pay back those debts. </p>
<p>Villanova also has a great advisor (Dr. Russo). She’s incredibly hard working and puts in a lot of effort to make sure that you are on track to succeed. When I visited Lehigh, I got the sense that the adviser was not as involved with the BS/MD program. Drexel undergrad’s BS/MD program is pretty tight-knit which can be a plus. The bs/md students at Villanova are also close in that we do study together, participate in similar EC’s, and hang out with each other, but we also have our own group of friends which is a plus (You’re going to see your BS/MD friends for the next 7 years so it’s good to branch out with different people in college)</p>
<p>Hopefully that answers some questions.</p>
<p>^
Do you know of any kids in the program who have chosen to apply out of Drexel med? I’m sure some students score well above the minimum score needed to stay in the program…</p>
<p>Most kids stay (including kids with high cGPA and 36+mcat scores). I think I heard one kid applying out and going to stanford. I would not recommend applying out because it is pretty risky and you will have to give up your seat and stay at nova for an extra year, but you do have the option of applying out if you want to and nova is a reputable undergrad so it’s definitely a plus compared to applying out at other bs/md programs with questionable undergrads.</p>
<p>Do you guys receive your undergraduate degree at the end of 3 years? Or do you get it after the first year of medical school?</p>
<p>1st year of med school, as with all bs/md programs in the nation except for 8 year programs.</p>
<p>Is it possible to obtain the undergraduate degree at the end of 3 years by using AP Credit? (i.e. If you satisfied the minimum 120 credits needed to graduate by the end of 3 years, would the university give you the degree then or still wait until the end of the first year of medical school?)</p>
<p>Just curious… I think it’s important to always leave my options open. If I were to truly crush the MCAT and do well in college, I would want the freedom to apply out.</p>
<p>@MrInformed Thanks for taking the time to answer all these questions. Continued success in 2013!</p>
<p>It is possible, but you will have to plan that early with the advisor, dr. Russo.</p>
<p>When did you start hearing back from Drexel med?</p>
<p>Interview invites come around mid january or so. Interviews are then usually held around february and acceptances come out in march. I believe the order of acceptances is villanova, then drexel, then lehigh. The order doesn’t matter.</p>