<p>Hi everyone! So I've been interested in biology and medicine for as long as I can remember, so I've always been pretty sure that I wanted to become a physician. But, I know the BS/MD programs are super competitive, and I don't really know where I stand compared to other applicants. (I'm a junior)!</p>
<p>GPA: 3.85
SAT: 2170
ACT: 34
SAT Math 2: 770</p>
<p>Classes:
AP Human Geography (4)
AP World History (5)
AP US History
AP Chemistry (4)
AP Calculus BC
AP Psychology
AP English Lang. & Comp.
AP Economics
AP English Literature
AP Statistics</p>
<p>College Courses:
Intro to Human Anatomy and Physiology (A)</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:</p>
<p>-Hospital Volunteer
-Tutor in Writing & Math
-Relay for Life Participant
-Debate Team
-Model UN
-Math Team
-Spent 5 weeks in India shadowing doctors and working as a nurse's assistant</p>
<p>*Worked as a press secretary for about 6 months on a congressional campaign, then stayed on as a volunteer (Helped design campaign website, wrote press releases, contacted news agencies etc..)</p>
<p>^^^I know my extracurriculars aren't great, so maybe that will be a selling point?</p>
<p>If any of you are also applying, or know anything about the applicant pool for this, how do you think I'd compare? I'd really appreciate the input - thanks!</p>
<p>ok, you do realize that chance threads are kinda pointless right? but if you insist, you’ll have to tell us exactly which ones you wanna apply to… ur scores/grades will probs be semi-ok to get u past the first round, but ur EC’s need to be shaved more in the medical areas…whether it be research, internship, clinical experience…etc you are gonna need some evidence/showcasing to do in your “why med” essay for all those 8 year programs…again thts just my opinion…but the intro hum anat looks good tho</p>
<p>personally, i don’t think your GPA or SATs high enough. the math SATII is good, but to really be competitive its generally important to have a SAT subject test in chemistry/physics/biology. the ACT score is competitive, but not all BS/MD programs look at ACT so you’ll have to check on the programs you care about. your extracurriculars look significantly better than your stats, so thats good. you have many non-medically relevant ECs and that’s good bc most everyone applying for a BS/MD is essentially in that all the competitive students should have experience shadowing/volunteering in a hospital, nursing home, some place like that/laboratory research/etc. the clinical experience in India will probably be a good thing to emphasize. with the APs, your scores are good.</p>
<p>Thanks shadow522, and matrixsurgeon - I was thinking about Northwestern’s HPME and NEOMED as being my top choices, along with UIC’s GPPA (although it’s not accelerated)</p>
<p>for northwestern’s HPME, you should definitely retake the SAT and try to get <em>much</em> higher scores. those scores are good, but not good enough for HPME in my opinion. they don’t look at the application as holistically when selecting students for the interview, and SAT scores that arent high enough are an easy way for them to cut people off the interview list because there are plenty of students with <em>excellent</em> extracurriculars AND scores.
im not very familiar with neomed or UIC though.</p>
<p>I’m afraid that shadow522 is EXACTLY CORRECT…NWU HPME may be the toughest score in all of BS/MD lore! 2250-2300 along with 750/800 on Chem/Math just to be fodder for HOLISITIC consideration. Their applicant pool is extraordinary and that just describes the average “Joe” applicant…many are published and world class ballerinas fluent in Slavic and Scandinavian tongues(LOL)</p>
<p>Look into several of the other programs as well. The thing with Bs mds is that they are pretty much crapshoots so I recommend that if u are serious about them u apply to at least three or four and maybe more if u get higher scores.</p>
<p>Hey I’m currently a freshman in a bs/md program that’s considered “mid-tier/low-tier”.</p>
<p>I third (or something like that) Shadow552’s thoughts. In general, your GPA and SAT are a tad bit too low, especially without any significant research or significant shadowing and medical based extracurricular. that. Also, you should take the SAT II for chem, bio, and/or physics based on which programs you’re applying to (most require chem, bio, or both).</p>
<p>Disclaimer:I’m not bragging or anything of that sort, just giving you an idea of some of the types of people you will be competing against for admissions into one of these programs:</p>
<p>For the bs/md program I’m in, nearly all of us have had multiple papers published in journals such as Nature and the likes, along with presenting research at competitions to either Nobel prize winners or to the president at D.C., along with SAT scores of 800 on nearly all SAT II tests that we took, average close to 1600 with only math and reading, and pretty much a 4.0 GPA. </p>
<p>As a general thing, all the top-tier programs essentially require 2400 and 4.0 to really even be considered. Make sure to take a look at some of the other not-so “top-tier” programs since in reality, medical school rankings don’t really account to much as long as the school is an American medical school.</p>
<p>DxSnake, thanks for the reality check (no sarcasm there)… What program are you in, if you don’t mind me asking?</p>
<p>I’m probably going to retake my SAT, and I’m registered for the next SAT II for Chemistry and Physics, so that part’s covered.</p>
<p>As for the extracurricular’s part, I wouldn’t even know where to start in regard to research and internships and stuff. I’ve also been looking at those medicine/research summer camps, but they’re really expensive. Does anyone know if they are worth it? Also, Is it too late? <- Honest answer please? :)</p>
<p>Not too late…(1) check out HOSPICE volunteer (2) summer research VERY IMPORTANT and many are free…you need to start applying soon/now…do search and find them (3) check local colleges/universities BIO/CHEM depts to assist in labs. By the way BU RISE summer gives financial aid as many summer internships do. Start NOW and make sure you study your *ss off for achievement tests: 750 plus necessity and preferably a few 800s.</p>
<p>No problem
I’m at RPI/AMC physician-scientist program. Feel free to ask any questions you have.
Just make sure to study and work hard for your SAT, especially math and reading, since many programs only consider those two parts.
As for the extracurricular, it’s no where near too late. tropixx’s answer pretty much sums it up
For research, the easiest way is to go to your local college/university and see if they need/want lab assistants. That’s a great way to start. Who knows, maybe if they like your work and think your competent, they’ll let you do some of your own research.
As for other extracurricular stuff like shadowing doctors, the easiest way is to go to your local hospital and apply to volunteer there so that you get a basic taste as to what being a doctor will actually involve. Also, asking to shadow any of the doctors you regularly visit is also a good idea. In addition, if you get a research position, you can ask your boss if he knows any doctors to shadow and stuff like that.</p>
