BA/DO Program vs. SLU Med Scholars

So I recently got into a BA/DO program called Yours To Lose, which is a 7-year no MCAT program in Missouri. I also got into the SLU Med Scholars program, which is a non-guaranteed program that could potentially allow for me to go SLU’s medical school.

Specifically, Yours to Lose students would go to Missouri Southern State for 3 years and then attend Kansas City University for 4 years. It is a guaranteed program and the GPA requirements don’t seem very impossible as well. As far as I know, I don’t think keeping a high GPA at Missouri Southern State will be too challenging. Also when I went to interview there I noticed that the students all seemed quite relaxed. So, essentially this program would easily allow for me to get into medical school. The only problem is that it is a DO Medical School and not an MD. I know there aren’t very many differences, but I don’t know if it’s worth committing to a DO Medical school in high-school and not even allowing myself the chance to see whether I can do better. Also, MSSU is located in Joplin and KCU is as well. I’m from a large city in Missouri and I’m not sure how well I will be able to adapt. I think it’s worth mentioning that KCU allows students in their 3rd and 4th of Medical school to rotate in hospitals in different states (so I could get out of Joplin for the last 2 years). As far as price for tuition I think it is very reasonable.

SLU’s Medical scholars allows for students in the program to apply to SLU’s Medical school in their 2nd year of undergrad before taking the MCAT. The only requirement is that students keep a 3.65 GPA. However, I have heard that Med Scholars has a bad reputation and almost 50% of the students in the program drop out of the program in the first year for various reasons. I have heard from some that the weed out science classes are hard to keep a high GPA in, but I’m not completely sure. Also, even if you are above the GPA requirement there is no guarantee that you will get a spot in the medical school. So, essentially there is a lot of uncertainity with the program. I did get a decent scholarship and the program is very close to home.

In the end, I don’t know whether is it better to commit to the BA/DO program because I know that I definitely want to be a physician and this program allows for me to easily achieve that goal. However, going through SLU would probably give me more options as far as specialities and residencies. The problem is I’m not sure whether I can make it through SLU and it’s Medical School?

http://yourstolose.mssu.edu/program-features/ says that the Missouri Southern / KCU BA->DO program requires keeping a 3.5 college GPA (3.5 college GPA is generally more difficult than 3.5 high school GPA and chasing GPA is a source of stress for pre-meds). https://yourstolose.mssu.edu/ says that MCAT is not required.

The 3.65 college GPA for the SLU program is even more difficult to maintain.

Be sure to consider costs. SLU’s medical school costs are slightly higher than KCU’s medical school costs (probably by about $20-30k difference over four years of medical school, but either will be over $300k – of debt to start your medical career with if your parents are not wealthy and generous). However, four years of SLU undergraduate versus three years of Missouri Southern undergraduate may have significantly different costs.

don’t do bs/do, if anything I would pursue regular undergrad if these are the only offers ur getting this cycle. Residency matches are getting harder and harder for DO’s with the new residency merger and changes to step 1. Don’t make the mistake of thinking a guarantee to a DO school is worth a lot, chances are you’d be able to make it to this DO school in a normal application cycle given how low the MCAT and GPA requirements are. If you have been accepted to an undergrad that’s cheaper or a better fit for u than SLU, then go there by all means, it’ll definitely help you in the long run.

If you want to get into a more “competitive” specialty such as neurology or dermatology, you may have better luck with the SLU Med Scholars program and getting an MD. However, if you plan on going into family medicine, internal medicine, etc., BS/DO may be for you.

I would choose the SLU Med Scholars program, especially if you are considering more competitive residency specialties.

Two siblings did combined programs and are glad they did. Regarding the match, the results of the combined match are not yet in. However, for 2019 the DO match rate was 84.6%, compared to 93.3% for MD.
https://www.ama-assn.org/residents-students/match/inside-numbers-behind-record-setting-2019-match

All that said, not crazy about the “Yours to Lose” title to the DO program.

A couple of things:
First, check out the hospital relationships the DO school has, since these will play a large part in your training, and
Second, what is the total cost of the respective programs.

YOu also express concern about campus life, etc. It’s late in the day, but will you have time to visit both? Maybe that would help.
My recollection is that the acceptance rate for applicants to US medical schools is 41%; keep in mind that this is applicants after all the weed outs that are in the path to application. USNWR has medical schools by acceptance rate; you may want to look there for guidance.

Tough decision. Do you happen to know any physicians in your community who could offer guidance?
I’d be leaning toward the DO program-licensing for MD and DO physicians is identical-but that’s clearly a minority view here.

My son has applied to Med Scholar program in SLU. He got into the honors program but have not heard anything about Med Scholar program. Anyone knows if the decisions are still going out? Anyone post how did you hear about the decision? Possibly your stats too…thanks

@sriracha2020 My daughter’s friend had this issue as well. She emailed her admissions counselor and the counselor told her she was accepted. Maybe try that?

My C got an offer for the Med Scholar program at SLU a few weeks back.

Does the SLU med scholar program offer guaranteed admission if one maintaines the required GPA or are there any additional requirements?

It is not a risk-less program like a bird-at-hand option. You should call them and ask this question. You will know for sure.