<p>If youve read some of my posts, you know that I'm big on having a ''med school backup plan''. When I first heard of the CSP through a passing comment someone made somewhere (i think it was a YOUniversity video i saw a while back about Tulane) and the fact that it guarantees acceptance into Tulane's med school, i was instantly excited. I thought ''this is exactly what the paranoid-about-failure-so-i-always-have-a-plan-b me needs. it might be super competitive, but if i can just get in, it will be soo worth it.'' but after reading a CC post from a few years back located here--<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/630092-creative-premedical-scholars-program.html">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/630092-creative-premedical-scholars-program.html</a> im beginning to think that maybe the creative scholars program isn't as great as i originally thought it to be. </p>
<p>first of all, you cant major in a science, which would be out of the question for your typical premed student. it's also a bummer for me, because i love science, and bme was supposed to be my backup major, in case i didn't get into med school or changed my career goals. second, it seems that not many people apply and those who do apply and meet the requirements usually get in. i assume that many pre med students dont meet the non science major requirement, and maybe that's why they shy away. but this isn't summer camp, this is an automatic acceptance to MEDICAL SCHOOL l we're talking about. which brings me to my third point--if it's that easy to get into the program (assuming you meet the requirements) then is Tulane's med school not that prestigious? i feel like if Tulane's med school was as prestigious as i originally thought it was, more people would be flocking to try to get a spot in this program.</p>
<p>so am i missing something here? what is the real purpose/intention of this program? is it worth it for someone who is interested in sciences to give up other science related career paths for this program? i was mainly interested in it because of how paranoid i am about having options/not getting into med school and also studying abroad. can you still study abroad without this program? would it be better to major in a science, gamble your losses and just apply regular to med schools, including Tulane? and lastly, i know prestige counts when it comes to medical school--how prestigious the medical school you attended is determines how abundant your job offer amounts/career options (aka who will want to hire you and in what locations you can look for a job in) will be. so where does Tulane fall in terms of med school prestige?</p>
<p>BMEPREMEDgirl I imagine the CSP is similar to the 6 + 1 program at Tulane and it is difficult to get accepted into that program. My son knew three people interested in the program. Of those, only one got accepted, and she had insane stats and leadership involvement. Early admission programs are harder to get into then regular admission programs.
You have time to find out more about CSP, and see if you want to do a non-science major, but if your interest is in science, why would you? </p>
<p>I have a friend who was an engineer before he went to med school. It is possible to do engineering as your undergraduate degree, and then medicine as a career. Medical schools like diversity in their students.
In terms of reputation of the med school, all the meds schools expose you to the same curriculum, and prepare you for the national competency tests. You will have good training wherever you go.</p>
<p>I think first of all, you should definitely major in what interests you the most. There are so many scenarios you cannot know for sure at this point. Everyone that is pre-med going into college is 100% sure that is what they want. For any number of reasons, at least half and I think more decide not to pursue med school by the time they are done with their second year of college. Sometimes they realize they cannot get the grades to qualify, sometimes they just find out that there are other areas of learning that they didn’t even know existed which they find more fascinating, etc. Similarly, you might be worrying about something that makes no difference in a year. As you say yourself, you might change your career goals. Or you might get into the BME curriculum and really love it and follow exactly the path you originally envisioned (BME degree then med school) or you might decide that some other major is much more suited to you. And if that major happened to be a non-science, then you can really think about the CSP.</p>
<p>But as far as the seemingly high acceptance rate into the CSP, remember that you don’t even apply to get in until the end of your sophomore year. So a lot of people that might have considered applying are undoubtedly “pre-screened” by their advisors and told that they probably don’t have the qualifications, meaning that those that do qualify are mostly the ones that apply. It isn’t like people are going into the process blind, they are already at Tulane and so have the resources right there to turn to.</p>
<p>So no, it isn’t that easy to get into med school, Tulane’s or otherwise. The reason for the program, I have always thought, is to bring some diversity of outlook to each med school class at Tulane. Practicing medicine is obviously more than just diagnosing and operating. I can only assume that Tulane has found value in having people that have majored in sociology, history, philosophy, etc. to bring a humanistic point of view to each class. Otherwise I am sure they would have discontinued the program at some point.</p>
<p>Tulane is a very fine medical school. It is not Harvard or Johns Hopkins in prestige, but it is certainly a highly regarded institution. I think when you consider the bigger picture as I have laid it out, you will see that you are inferring incorrectly from the information you dug up.</p>
<p>Oh, and being a BME major AND wanting med school makes studying abroad fairly difficult. I think just being a BME major might make it kind of tough, but you should ask the department head that. But unless you can take 5 years in undergrad (and I know that would be nearly impossible for you), going abroad might be a challenge. But most importantly, ask your advisor and the department head to be sure.</p>
<p>If what you really love is science, then I would advise you to rule out the creative scholars program. You typically excel in what you love and if you major in science, you will have a good foundation for the MCAT. My D is a first year med student who double majored in Biology and Spanish and had a minor in Chemistry. As a first year med student she is working her tail off, but she says that her non-science major peers are working even harder and struggling in some cases because their foundation in the sciences is not as strong. The sheer volume of material learned in the first year is overwhelming. If you have only taken the basic requirements for getting into med school, you will also have some catching up to do in addition to learning the vast amount of material. If you love science and want to study BME, you should follow your heart in my opinion.</p>
<p>There are at least two girls in my sorority in this program and I have friends that have considered it, but ultimately agree with almost everything that Fallenchemist and kreativekat have said. The program is not even close to as easy to get into as it looks. Just the fact that you don’t apply until after (late in?) your sophomore year deters many people form applying. About half of the kids I knew that were premed going into Tulane have changed their minds for a variety of reasons. Is addition, I’ve never heard of anyone that wants to be a science major switching to a liberal art for the program. It is a program for people that want to major in classics or dance or theatre who have also shown that they are amazing at science courses. In my opinion, it is a way of identifying these people and allowing them the freedom to pursue their interests (such as acting in every musical or studying abroad for a year) without it counting against them that they didn’t do typical things like research or take enough science courses or whatever in the med school admissions process. </p>
<p>Anyone who is competitive for creative scholars will be competitive for medical school if they continue to do the same kinds of things. Also, as many of my premed friends have learned, when disaster (or a D in orgo) strikes, there are many paths to med school. Retaking courses, applying a year later and strengthening your GPA, applying a year or two later after meaningful (preferably field related) volunteer work experience, and pursuing a graduate degree first are all options as well as 50 other paths that most premed students don’t even think of. Start asking around to some adults in your life how they landed their current jobs, it’s rarely as straightforward a trajectory as the college world makes it seem.</p>
<p>Nica - You should come on here more often as a voice of a current student. Prospective students and parents are always looking for more input from people like you. There are a few that come on from time to time, but more would be great. If you have the time that is.</p>
<p>Not to highjack the thread (since the question seems to have been answered), but what major are you pursuing? I take it you are a current sophomore? From your past posts you are from New York, but not sure what part of New York. Might also be useful to know what dorms you have lived in, people are always curious about the dorms.</p>
<p>Nica is right about the variety of paths to medical school. While my D expected older students in her med school class, I think their numbers far exceeded her original expectation. And they have come from a wide variety of paths to get there. Many could have come straight from undergrad but chose to do otherwise, but many went through initial rejections and never gave up because it was what they really wanted to do. If you want to go to med school, commit to your academics, take a good MCAT review class in your junior year, shadow doctors to expose yourself to what it is really like, and also commit to community service work through your college years. And if that doesn’t get you in initially, then go to plan B.</p>