1 more point. If the student is open to take gap year then the regular route is viable with better school acceptance. Make sure to maintain good GPA since damaged GPA is hard to repair than catching up with ECs during gap year.
@GoldenRock - Yes, latest trend is finish UG with strong GPA and MCAT and take a gap year to strengthen ECs. as of now, my S has no plans to take a gap year. Even though we could afford BU full price he chose to go traditional route. Time will tell if itâs a good decision or not 
1 Like
Your comments remind me someoneâs post in the 2018 thread where they were debating about and asking opinion about 5 different BS/MD programs the son got accepted into. Among the choices they had, my advice was to go to OU direct med program (with full ride) if he wants to give another shot traditional route after 2-3 years, or BU SMED otherwise. It seems he chose BU eventually.
@srk2017,
Despite not so stellar high school GPA of D, we realized she had what it takes to go to JH med school or something similar going traditional route. A fact attested by her performance so far in the current program
However we went with the bird in hand approach and BU has decent reputation anyways. Also as someone pointed in the other thread, Harvard or Howard, doesnât matter to the insurance companies that make the payments
@rk2017 - as we all said several times, there is no right or wrong approach here. Comes down to kidâs preference. Yes Howard or Harvard wonât make difference with pay. However it makes some difference with finding residencies/fellowships or jobs at big hospitals. my spouse did fellowship at a top 10 med school and that helped with job search.
Awesome! =D>
@srk2017 your S donât need gene therapy :)) :))
Folks, I shouldnât have open up familiar can of worms here by raising Orgo question. Letâs get back and focus on experience.
Want to add yet another point with respect to the direct med approach. Since the most important thing for most people, right or wrong, seems to be getting into a top residency of their choice, theoretically it should be easier for direct med students to crack the USMLE step 1 and whatever other tests required to be taken following a relatively stress free undergrad and MCAT experiences. Something like Ironman triathlon vs normal Marathon :-), if you will let me use that analogy.
May be just in theory, may be a bad analogy, but will find out as things unfold with the kids.
@rk2017 Agree. Most of the BS/MD students are good test takers and will score very well in MCAT and Step 1 which play vital roles. (at least based on stat n=1 I have !)
one counter point I heard is age could be a -ve factor for BS/MD students. average matriculation age for medical schools now is 24 years with more and more students going for gap year(s) for variety of reasons. One of the reasons we didnât push our son towards BS/MD is he would have entered med school at 20. Makes more difficult to find some one to date Also, top residency do look at research and volunteering experiences.
Well, the same could be the -ve point for a majority of med school enrollees, the 50% who manage without a gap year, right? At what 22 years?
my point is as the gap increases it may become harder for BSMD students to fit in and thatâs reason some schools are dropping BS/MD programs. big different between 20 and 24 in terms of finding someone to date
jeez guys, now we are going to talk about our kids date experience too! !!!
@PPofEngrDr - Thatâs part of college experience here unless you are planning to arrange for your kids
@srk2017 lol you always learn from mistakes :-t :-t
Is a foreign medical trip to a south american country for 2-3 weeks worth it ? DD wants to go in the summer. She did paid research last summer. She has done AP Spanish in high school and can speak a little Spanish. She did not like the idea of a medical trip to India which she has visited many times.
@grtd2010 If it is an organized trip by school and if there are faculty part of that, then go for it. Or is it organized by some non-school entity? Is Temple has any study abroad program in South America? That also will give good experience.
@GoldenRock It is a part of FIMRC(Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children) volunteering. They have chapters in major campuses. A foreign study program may not be feasible since she is going to do research in summer with her faculty mentor.
I was in touch via PM with few of folks here for summer program thing and was told 1 week medical field trip has no bearing for med school application, not sure about 2-3 weeks abroad. My son is actively exploring a study (its more like service) abroad that also earn you school credit. Here is link http://gesi.northwestern.edu/ His HP advisor also seems on board along with college advisor. As part of that program for South American nations, one year Spanish is required, which he likely to finish by the summer time for program.
@grtd2010 For medical school admission, it is not necessary nor it is going to enhance if volunteer work done abroad. Rather it will strengthen the application if some one does volunteer work regularly, over a long period of time. Best find some free clinic or elder care center or hospice next door (near home or school) and do even 1-2 hours weekly.
If musically talented, go and play the instrument at a hospital or senior center.
Besides that point, if your D has the inkling to get an experience abroad (since she is not planning to study abroad), just send her. It is not going harm.
@PPofEngrDr Many schools offers similar program to the one you referred. My D went to Peru last summer. It is a 1 month program (1 week community service) unlike 2+ months in NU. She enjoyed and very happy she went. We as a parent (always worried) since it is the first time she went out side US. But it was well organized and fantastic, 2 OU Prof was part of that team for the entire duration and they have lived many years in Peru. My D preferred Peru than going to Oxford or Scotland or Italy. She also got some Intlâ course credit, similar to NU.