So its that time of season when you have your options and its time to make a choice. Just wondering whats the best way to go about choosing which program to go to? From NY and considering Brooklyn BA/MD, Siena/AMC, and BU SMED right now. How should anyone choose which to go to
What specialty are you wanting to go into? Is there a huge cost difference between all 3? Which is one is the closest/farthest from family? I think all those things will factor greatly in which one to choose. I’m assuming the Brooklyn College BA/MD is with SUNY Downstate’s medical school.
I feel as though Brooklyn’s program has a lot of requirements and if you are looking for a program with a bit more extra curricular flexibility, Brooklyn might not be the best place. Siena’s service focus and close knit community is absolutely amazing–I think if you are passionate about service and also love the humanities, this would be a good choice. BU’s Med School is ranked higher than the others but it has a very rigid academic curriculum focused on the sciences. I think it depends on what you value–academic flexibility, extracurricular flexibility, highly ranked medical school…? You’ll probably have to weigh several factors.
@doc2022, it seems like also BU’s SMED program now requires taking of the MCAT as well: http://www.bu.edu/academics/cas/programs/seven-year-liberal-arts-medical-education-program/, and getting at least a 30. Brooklyn College’s BA/MD requires at least a 9 on each section so a 27. Union/AMC doesn’t require the MCAT. So something else to take into consideration.
@Roentgen Definitely! It seems like Siena/AMC could be the best option, but again, there’s a lot to take into consideration. @1Med0119: Good luck and congratulations on getting into some awesome programs!
@Roentgen @doc2022 thanks for your replies! yeah its brooklyn with downstate… BU or Siena is definitely the farthes . Cost would definitely be a factor with BU obviously costing the most for UG and med school. But should finances matter more than the reputation of med school in the long run?? Thanks again guys
@1Med0119 Personally, I think the ranking of the medical school is important mainly in terms of its academic curriculum and residency placements. If these two aspects are important to you, I think you should definitely see which curriculum you like better. Also ask for the residency placements specific to the program students. Based on those things, you can see whether it is worth it to pay more for the more reputable medical school. I think it can be worth it though. Plus, Boston is an excellent place for research internships!
@1Med0119, I think it matters how much of a price DIFFERENCE there is between each of your 3 options, as to whether the reputation is really worth that difference. As @doc2022 mentioned, all the opportunities that are available in Boston are phenomenal which is important, especially if you want to go for competitive specialties. That being said, if you weren’t interested in those specialties, then those opportunities are irrelevant. Not to mention, you still have to have the grades and board scores in medical school to still be competitive for those specialties. Another factor is that Boston University’s medical school is graded Pass/Fail in the first 2 years, which will decrease your overall stress.
Most important of all - you need to be happy where you are, so it’s no point in being at BU if you’re prone to being homesick, etc.
What is the price difference between BU’s program vs. the others?
Both Roentgen and doc2022 offer good advice and it really comes down to your goals whether or not the reputation will matter. As previously stated, going to a better ranked med school (quality of training is probably comparable at all 3 schools but the perception/reputation is what matters) can help you match into a competitive specialty (ophto, ortho, derm, rad onc, plastics) and/or better academic residencies for all specialties. Reputation of the school matters a good bit for academic programs so if you’re interested in academic medicine, BU might open more doors. You’re only a high schooler so I can’t imagine you have keyed in on a particular specialty yet - in this case BU Med will offer the most flexibility for your future. If you can see yourself be happy in a primary care field or private pratice/community hospital setting, school reputation won’t matter as much. Regardless, if you put in the work, you should be able to achieve your goals from any U.S. MD school. Be sure to check match lists for each of the schools to gauge this (there is a noticeable diff in match quality between Boston and AMC/SUNY Downstate but nothing crazy). In your case, cost, undergrad experience, and location might be more important factors for you which are all valid reasons to choose one school over another. Good luck with the decision.
@doc2022 i totally agree, that’s kind of why Boston is drawing me in at the moment.
@Roentgen there is a significant difference. i would be in macaulay for brooklyn and essentially pay very little till downstate; siena gave a decent package so far; boston would cost probably 25 grand for the ug alone… their med school is like 70 a year too which is pretty insane.
@dblazer thanks for your insight i’ll definitely consider what you said… btw are you in the emsap program by any chance?
all in all thanks for your responses guys this forum is pretty chill ngl
@1Med0119, I guess my question is what is the tuition price overall between all 3 options?
25 grand TOTAL for BU undergrad tuition is a drop in the bucket.
BU Med tuition and fees is currently $54,678 per year, Albany Med is $56,103, and SUNY Downstate is $35,629, since you’re instate.
Guys I’am in the same situation as 1Med0119, trying to decide between Brooklyn/SUNY Downstate ( I got through Brooklyn college) BU, Drexel got into other programs but not interested , cost is a major factor for me, I know for fact SUNY Downstate has very good residency placements and the student can get a very good clinical exposure, will be OOS for first year but will be considered from 2 year onward will have to pay IN fees which is very negligible with 4K scholarship.
BU 7 year by the end of graduation almost 500K Loan, Drexel, 7 year by the end of graduation almost 450K Loan, Brooklyn SUNY Downstate 8 Year, wit lot of requirements by the end of graduation almost 320K Loan.
Need advice’s and suggestions…
To add to this mayhem…do not forget for BU there is a 12-week summer session which is used at the end of the second academic year to achieve an accelerated pattern.