<p>For those of you who were accepted to more than one combined program, the time to make your choice is approaching. I was wondering what criteria you will use to compare the last 4 years (aka the med school portion) of the programs. Additionally, what are some websites/resources besides a school's website itself that can help in comparing the schools? You know, some kind of medical school student feedback forum, some kind of book that shows all clinical rotation offerings by every school, or some listing of average USMLE scores? </p>
<p>Well, now that I think about it, you can go ahead and mention why else you are choosing the program you are choosing, whether it relates to the med school portion or not :)</p>
<p>you have to know that undergraduate experience doesn't really matter in the long run. Its pretty much a personal preference. Graduate schools are most important when one wants to do research for the rest of their lives because facilities/endowment are better. However, in my choosing between the straight meds i have right now, i am looking at the matchlists that every school has. Try to think what type of medicine you want to practice and see if kids from that school with the same area as you get into good residencies [stanford, hopkins, harvard, barnes-jewish].</p>
<p>Us. news rankings are not the best when choosing schools.</p>
<p>Try to remember that for the most part, you will receive the same medical education regardless of where you go to med school. What makes one school "better" for another can't be found by looking at US News rankings (which are based off of NIH funding) nor can they be found in match lists (since the name of the med school isn't a HUGE factor in determining your match).</p>
<p>What you want to look into is whether the med students are happy with their professors, whether there are research opportunities for you to get involved in (mostly if you are trying to match into something competitive such as derm or ortho, which will require you to demonstrate some research experience), whether there is good clinical exposure (i.e. where is the med school--is it in a location where there is potential for a diversity of cases?). Most schools don't publish their average Step 1 scores, but if you have a chance, it's always nice to ask admissions directors. Keep in mind, though, that this might not tell the whole story about the quality of education.</p>
<p>yeah, okay, maybe in the looooong run undergrad doesn't matter. a lot of people say that. </p>
<p>BUT</p>
<p>once you're applying to medschools, the only info adcoms have is about your undergrad. for example, you're planning on going to SLU. If you and people from, say, Harvard, WashU or Northwestern is competing for a spot at UOC's medschool, there is an undeniable edge for those people over you, simply because of the relative lower status of SLU when compared to the other schools. However much you might deny it, bias is still there and everpresent in the admissions process. </p>
<p>AND</p>
<p>the same thing goes for residencies. now you're stuck at SLU, and ONLY the top students will get into the top residencies.</p>
<p>what do u guys feel about the BU seven year program let's say in comparison to MIT or UC Berkeley or John Hopkins BME? How's the undergrad experience at BU?</p>
<p>I can tell you right now that MIT, UCB, and JHU BME will not inflate your gpa. And the "prestige" of those schools (or any school for that matter) is unlikely to compensate for a <3.5. Make sure you are confident you can get >3.5 wherever you decide to go.</p>