BS/MD programs... Admissions.

Pre-Med & Medical School High School Student Topics
1

<p>Hey,</p>

<p>I was wondering how hard BS/MD programs are to get into. I would assume they are fairly competitive. What is generally looked at for admissions? Do BS/MD programs generally have similar admissions-requirements to the schools themselves?</p>

<p>I am considering applying to the UCSD BS/MD program... do I have any chance? (Academic info below) Are these programs a good idea, or would I be better off trying to get into a regular premed program at a more competitive school?</p>

<p>Any help would be appreciated.</p>

<p>(I'm a HS-junior. Currently my Cum-GPA is 4.4; I have taken:</p>

<p>Math- Algebra 2 and Geometry (9th), Pre-Calculus Honors (10th), 1st semester Calculus 1 AP--> (teacher was fired)--> Math 180 (Calculus I) at a local college (11th).</p>

<p>Science- Earth and Space (9th), Biology and Chemistry Honors (10th), Physics Honors (11th).</p>

<p>English- 9th Grade Lang. Comp. (9th), British Literature (10th), English Lang. Comp. AP (11th)</p>

<p>History/ Social studies- Geography (9th), World History (10th), US History [year long] and US Government [1st semester] and Economics [2nd semester] at the Junior college, AP European History/ Europe Trip (11th)</p>

<p>Language- Spanish 1 (10th) [College course], Spanish II (11th)</p>

<p>Electives- Technology (9th), Oil Painting (Figure, General, Advanced-- 9th, 10th, 11th), Sculpture (9th and 11th), College Prep. and Career Development (9th, 10th, 11th), Art History (10th), Communications (College course)(11th)</p>

<p>Other Activities- Internships/ Jobs: State Assembly Office 1 yr (10th), Balboa Navy Medical Center: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery 1 yr [informal... watched open-heart surg... job shadowing essentially], IT Administration (payed job 3 yrs... for 2 school districts), Sports: Karate (11+ years... Sho-Dan/ Black Belt). </p>

<p>SAT scores: 680/790/780--- math/lang/writing. Im taking a SAT prep class (princeton review) and plan on retaking the SAT... so scores should be a little higher........ I haven't taken SAT IIs yet.</p>

<p>Oh... also, I have one several awards for art (painting)/ martial arts championships/ et cetera... I am class rank 2 (Straight A's)... so I have a good shot at valedictorian, and if not, salutatorian... If that helps at all.</p>

<p>Starting this summer, Im planning on interning at a local hospital.</p>

<p>Any suggestions for courses to take next year/ stuff to do/ whatever to boost chance for admissions?)</p>

<p>PS: Note-- All Honors/AP/College courses were UC-approved courses, blah, blah, blah... I've met/exceeded all UC admissions A-G requirements, except for one more year of English... (AP Lit. next year), as well as my school graduation requirements,
so I can pretty much take whatever/do whatever next year: Creative suggestions for courses that might boost admissions-chances would be great!... sorry if I'm rambling ;P</p>

2

<p>A couple more questions:</p>

<p>1) I am a CA-Resident, and meet both the 4.0 UW GPA req. and the SAT 2250 + req.</p>

<p>After reading another thread, I saw some people say that an invitation to the program would automatically be sent if I was accepted to the school (UCSD). Is this correct?</p>

<p>2) If you get into the BA/MD program-</p>

<p>Are you free to take the MCAT and apply to other MD-programs w/o losing your med-spot at UCSD? (For example, could I apply to UCSF or HMS if I wanted to and just have the UCSD spot as a backup?)</p>

<p>Does the program allow you to still apply for the NIH MSTP grant for a dual degree at UCSD once you've finished a bachelors?</p>

<p>(For my first post--> course recommendations: My school doesn't offer any courses I have not taken, besides AP lit., (and electives: Yearbook/ASB/Track/Cross-Country/Soccer), so all other courses next year will be college courses:
I'm trying to pick out a total of (6) 3 credit courses and (4) 5 or 6 credit courses= (10) courses... [because of restrictions (for the max. number and credits of courses...) with the college-HS dual enrollment program I'm taking courses under...] so if anyone has recommendations that fit that, that would be awesome). </p>

<p>Thx!</p>

3

<p>
[quote]
2) If you get into the BA/MD program-</p>

<p>Are you free to take the MCAT and apply to other MD-programs w/o losing your med-spot at UCSD? (For example, could I apply to UCSF or HMS if I wanted to and just have the UCSD spot as a backup?)

[/quote]

It really depends on the program in question. Some programs will revoke your med-spot if you try to apply elsewhere, whereas others I believe do give you that flexibility.</p>

<p>Also see <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/multiple-degree-programs/465520-why-so-many-people-desperate-get-into-combined-program.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/multiple-degree-programs/465520-why-so-many-people-desperate-get-into-combined-program.html&lt;/a> for some points regarding your other questions.</p>

4

<p>Hey, thanks for the linked thread. Super-great thread!
It answered pretty-much all my questions about B/MD programs (and the rest were addressed in other threads or answerable with a little googling (: )</p>

<p>And thanks for responding so-fast! Response time on this forum is impressive! (And BDM seems to be a source of infinite wisdom... <-- this is not sarcasm...mostly ;p ) </p>

<p>If any one has any tips for courses, though, I'd still love to hear them.
I have another few questions that popped up while I was looking around for info. (sorry if it seems a little off-topic): Looking at some of the profiles for applicants to various undergrad schools/ premed programs, their GPAs seem really-really high.... 4.7-.85 range. Are these GPAs cumulative HS GPAs? (Sorry, I dont have a specific ex.-- but, my question is more-or-less...) Do people applying for premed programs generally have GPAs in this range (over 4.6 cumm)? At my school, I don't think a GPA of 4.8 is even possible (given required courses, relatively limited/restricted numbers of weighted courses (honors/college/AP). Will I have a chance of getting into a good undergrad program, with a relatively low (4.5 -.6 GPA [it is a 4.0 uw-gpa]), or will Ivies and other top-schools not consider applicants with lower weighted GPAs? I've been reading recommendations to take 5-6 AP courses... My school only offers 3. Are college courses considered similarly to AP? (What about honors?) Should I take AP tests for subjects in which I think I could score reasonably (4... poss. 3 or 5) on, w/o taking the course? (E.g. Im taking Math 180 now, and 280 during the summer-intersession, so I should be able to do well (4 or 5) on the Calc. AB + BC AP tests... should I take them, or does it not matter?) </p>

<p>Again, thanks for the timely and insightful responses.</p>

5

<p>Oh... One last question (well... last for right-this-moment-until-I-have-more-questions question, at least):</p>

<p>Do HS transcripts matter of medschool admissions? Or do medical schools not look at them? </p>

<p>If medschools do look at HS transcripts, how much do they matter? (Is what you do during HS significant to getting into medical school, or only into an undergrad. program?)</p>

6

<p>Along a "traditional" track, they won't matter at all. Obviously they matter for BS/MD programs.</p>

7

<p>Also: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/377780-premed-forum-faqs-read-first.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/377780-premed-forum-faqs-read-first.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>