Combined BA/MD schools help!!!!

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=100028%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=100028&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>hey everyone i have my statistics on this thread posted somewhere else i was hoping some of you could advise me where to apply to and why with my gpa/SATs/ECs, etc. thanks alot in advance!</p>

<p>ok well...here are my thoughts after reading what you have.</p>

<p>You are better off doing the regular pre-med courseload and applying to medical school instead of trying for combined. Most schools will reject you from their school itself if you arent accepted into the program. And your chances of getting accepted into the program are very slim.</p>

<p>The reason why i say this is because mainly...you dont seem like you know enough about the medical field to decide that this is what you want for the next 10 years. You have not done any medical related EC's, nor have you shown any other interest in medicine during HS. Your EC's also seem to be more about quality then quantity which will also hurt you. You dont seem to show devotion to a select few EC's. You say you are in everything, colleges dont like that because its more of "im in this for college" then "i do this because its my passion" kinda thing.</p>

<p>You mention you took physics. This probably wont help you. AP physics B is a required course at my HS when you are a junior. 80% of the students score 3-5 on that AP alone...and we r a public school from NY. Many of the schools in the Northeast have AP physics classes that most students take. This is in addition to many other science, math, social studies AP's. So the number of people with college classes that do well is probably a lot more common then you may think. Im kinda assuming you may be from a small town. Idk, let me know about that though...</p>

<p>Also, your SAT alone will knock you out of the running for most if not all of the combined programs. Im not sure if you took any SAT II's but you will need at least 2 of those, pref math and science. </p>

<p>There is a very competative applicant pool out there for these programs, and again, dont wanna sound harsh, but your chances are very slim. That doesnt mean you shouldnt apply, because that would make ur chances 0, but i think you are better off just going the 4 year pre-med route, major in something you enjoy, participate in medical related EC's and apply to medical school.</p>

<p>ouch, painful to read that, lol. I really appreciate all of your thoughts though. I know i should have done medicine-related ECs when i had the chance. Have been really busy though - take APs + play sports + am in all the clubs so i have almost no free time. i have taken the SAT IIs - i took 3 (math II, biology, and US history) since i know they want math and science. I am confused now though...my college counselor said id have about a 55% chance or so to get into each of those schools for the most part - so i assumed if i applied to maybe 4 of them i'd be in the program for sure :(. guess he was being too easy on me. if i should NOT apply to the combined program schools, which schools SHOULD i go to for a strong science program that my statistics would be good for? i was thinking for my non pre-med schools i would apply to UCSD and UCI. So i guess if i should NOT apply to these schools since i apparently have no chance, should i apply to UCI/UCSD/UC Davis/UC Berkeley/UCSB??? or do you have other ideas of places i could apply to?</p>

<p>u might have a chance at admissions into the schools themselves...u just have a very small chance at getting admissions into any combined medical programs. apply anyway though, the worst that could happen is u get rejected...oh well then ull just do it the traditional way</p>

<p>"I was thinking for my non pre-med schools I would apply to UCSD and UCI."</p>

<p>UCSD and UCI are pre-med schools; many students major in sciences at both schools due to the strengths of the departments.</p>

<p>sorry fandango i typed too fast before proofreading it. when i said schools that are not pre-med, i MEANT to say the schools i am applying to not intending to do combined BS/MD at. So i thought i would do it traditionally at UCI or UCSD...my brother is currently at UCI doing his 4th year for his bachelor's while doing research at the UCI medical center. I think he is planning on getting a 1 year masters next year (i know, tough). Then he will go to medical school when we see the MCAT results or go to specialty school. So i don't know which path to take, i'd like a combined program but the news i heard tonight kind of discourages me :(. i don't know if i should do it traditionally or if i'd be ready to do a combined program</p>

<p>apply for both if u really wanna be a doctor, it doesnt matter</p>

<p>I think that you've got a very slim chance seeing as how you have no shown medical interests...Think about it this way: you have the same grades, sat scores, sports as some one else. Except instead of volunteering at wherever you did, they did volunteered at a hospital. Who is the obvious choice? Applying to a combined program with your history looks like either:
1) Mom and Dad say you have to
or
2) You want a career with a lot of money
Unsmiley face.</p>

<p>yeaa im gonna have to go with ashveer, u really dont show like you know much about medicine (you might idk) so i mean really theres no substantial reason evident as to why u wanna be a doctor</p>