So I have noticed that Dartmouth doesn’t offer any Bachelor of Science degrees and I vaguely remember reading from their website that it’s because they focus on the liberal arts more. I selected my first interest as Neuroscience and my second one as Chemistry. Will having a BA, not a BS degree, possibly affect chances of being accepted at a medical school? I do understand that Dartmouth is regarded as prestigious in the eyes of grad school/med school Adcom, but will they mind that I will be a science major without a BS degree? Regardless of the lack of BS degrees, Dartmouth is still one of my top schools, but I would have to reconsider keeping it as my top school if this circumstance affects chances of admission into medical school. And I also understand that my MCAT score and GPA will have far more affect on medical school admissions than a BA will. Thanks for the help
“MCAT score and GPA will have far more affect on medical school admissions than a BA will”
You’ve answered your own question. The diff btn a BA and a BS is often one or two classes offered by the department. Since DMouth has no BS degree, it won’t be held against you. Plenty of DMouth alums go forth to even more strenuous science fields than medicine. This shouldn’t be a concern.
I remember reading somewhere that between 80-90% of Dartmouth students who apply to med school get into at least one, so you’ll definitely be well off with a BA degree! I put my first interest as neuroscience as well
When colleges publish their med school attendance rates, that’s the number of SENIORs or recent alumni who apply and get into med schools. What’s lost is that many students drop out of the med school track b/c they discover they can’t cut the work while in undergrad.
I took Intro Chem as part of my engineering courses. There were billions of freshmen wannabe docs. After mid terms and first term finals, the cynical joke was “Chem 115, birthplace of more Psychology majors than anywhere else”
For instance, while there could be 500 entering freshmen who have “pre-med” on the brain, come senior year, this might be 50 students – and 90% of THEM get admitted to med schools. This rate doesn’t mention the 450 kids who dropped any illusions of med school along the way.
Med school acceptance rate is a measure of selectivity of the college (i.e. its ability to admit students who rise to the caliber of admissions worthy in the eyes of med schools) MUCH more than a measure of the college’s ability to ready students to apply to med school. For example, while Dartmouth might have a 90% accept rate, University of Tenn might have a 45% accept rate. All it says is that there are more delusional applicants at UTenn than at Dartmouth – but it says nothing about the quality of preparation between the schools per se.
The med school accept rate speaks of a population – and has very little relevance to you, as individuals who are applying to that college.
Presumably the schools on this online list, in which Dartmouth receives a mention, have been successful in furthering the goals of their pre-med students: “The Experts’ Choice: Colleges with Great Pre-Med Programs.” Many of the schools included offer BA degrees only. The BA/BS distinction, even in science fields, seems to be more a matter of institutional philosophy rather than one related to curricular breadth or depth.
