Hi everyone,
I am looking for some info for BS/MD program.
- Some easy/medium schools with requirements.
- How to guide my kid for activies/extra curriculums
- Financial
Thank you very much
There is a whole subform for BS/MD information: Multiple Degree Programs - College Confidential Forums
I’m going to move your message there as I think you’ll get more responses.
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There is no such thing.
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If there is no easy. Is there an easiest one.
I have a sophomore who currently getting A and some extra curricular but nothing special. 1 AP class but that is the maximum for his school.
Thanks!
I’m going to say…NO. BS/MD programs are as selective or more selective than top elite colleges for admission.
I’ll tag @WayOutWestMom for an opinion.
Adding…if your kid is a high school sophomore, how does this kid even know they are interested in BS/MD programs for sure…or even that they for sure will want to become a doctor.
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@thumper1 is right are are no easy BA/MD programs. Students who have the stats, advanced academic coursework and ECs for BA/MD program are also competitive for Top 10 undergrad admissions. It’s easier to gain an Ivy acceptance than a BS/MD acceptance.
There are some programs that are relatively “easier” to gain admission to but they do not guarantee admission to the associated med school. They only guarantee a med school interview or additional consideration for the student.
BA/DO direct admission programs are less difficult to get an admission to than BA/MD programs. But these program are still extremely competitive for admission.
I suggest that you take a look at these threads to see what kind of stats/ECs successful applicants have
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/t/thread-for-bs-md-do-2022-2023
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/t/thread-for-bsmd-2020-2021-applicants-part-1
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/t/thread-for-bs-md-bs-do-2021-2022
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/t/bs-md-bs-do-results-fall-2022-applicants
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I second this. Until they have worked with patients, it’s not necessarily believable that someone is certain they want to be a physician as a soph in HS because there is so much they don’t know about the career.
For OP, remember that the vast majority of physicians went the traditional route of 4 years of undergrad then med school, not BSMD/DO programs. Your kid should prioritize patient facing experience, if they can get that in your area (it’s become quite a bit more difficult for young people to get this experience). Your teen might look at your state rules for becoming an asst. CNA, asst EMT, or hospital/long term care volunteer.
For financial considerations, you will have to set a budget for undergrad (and med school if parents are paying for that). Many believe you should attend undergrad for the least amount of money as possible, minimize loans and preserve funds for med school.
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Some places to look for patient-facing experience that are open to younger volunteers:
Child’s Life departments at hospitals
summer camps for children with physical or mental disabilities
nursing homes
senior day care centers
Most states require EMTs and CNAs to be 18 years old. And state certification (formal coursework plus passing a standardized state exam) is required for all EMT and CNA positions. Even volunteer positions.
Besides patient facing experience, your child needs to get involved with non-medical community service programs that provides services to disadvantaged groups. This could be reading to recently immigrated children in after school programs at a public library. Tutoring students at low performing elementary & middle schools. Assisting at a food pantry or soup kitchen. Big Brother/Big Sister program for high school students. Helping coach a Special Olympics team.
Other expected EC areas to work on are those that demonstrate teamwork and leadership.
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Well this discussion can go on and on with no end in sight. But let me try to make it a bit more interesting. I hear naysayers say this all the time – as to how does a high school student know if they are interested in medicine?
There are a lot of high school students who without any job shadowing or any hands on experience know they want to join West Point or any other military academy. If a HS student knows that they are ready to join such a dangerous field at this young age, why cant a student want to become a physician? Students know they want to do computer science or finance or some engineering field or any other field without any or much experience. It is a different story that they may not be able to get admission to med school due to the immense competition, but to say that a student can know if he/she wants to join the military or finance or comp sci in HS but cannot know the same about medicine does not make any sense.
Also in most countries students join med school after high school without any shadowing or such experiences. So if students all over the world know in HS that they want to be a physician then a student here can know that too. Again it is a different story altogether if they will be successful in that endeavor or not.
I have 3 kids out of which 2 are in BSMD. Both got into multiple ivy leagues/Tier 1 schools also. However their friends who got into ivy leagues and applied to BSMD did not even get a single interview for any BSMD. BSMD are indeed harder to get into than other selective schools and the main reason for this is the very less number of seats. Each ivy league has a few thousand seats but the overall BSMD seats in the country are 300-500 at most with several in state or other restrictions.
Even though most med students go through the traditional route many people want the ease of mind in knowing that they have gotten admission to a BSMD. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion.
So if one wants to apply to a BSMD thats fine as long as they know how tough it is to get in with some back up plans.
Also it is important to know if your scores/grades and ECs etc are competitive enough for a shot. I mean if the scores are too low then it may not be worth having false hopes only to be disappointed later. So one should be realistic and work towards a competitive application if one is serious.
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I checked. In CA, the minimum age for EMT is 18; for CNA , it’s 16.
And a caveat about some topics from your posts earlier:
- med schools require applicants to report every college level class that they have ever taken. This includes any college classes taken during high school.
- medical schools do not allow the replacement of an original grade with a retaken grade.
- medical schools do not accept P/F grades for any coursework that is required for admission.
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Thank you all for the answers.
I’ll have my kid takes CNA certificate by next year (when he turns 16). We have a relative that owns Nursing Placement Agent so he is likely to have a part-time job. He might have to get a driving license since this person lives far from us, hence the job will be far away.
After that, we’ll revisit if medicine is something he definitely wants to do.
Did I miss this student’s stats, ECs, etc?
Also, I see the OP has been edited to add “financials”. Does this mean you are looking for significant financial aid for a BS/MD program?
Also, in a previous thread, the OP said they were looking at UCs. Has that changed
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Are these things your S wants to do? If so that’s great!
Kids absolutely can be that definitive. I’m asking how THIS kid became that definitive when earlier the family was looking at UC schools only. No mention of BS/MD. Did the student change their mind and find this option appealing….or is this a parent wish.
I think he is ok since he is open for any job (if hire) during the summer to start with.
UC is still in our wish list. Exploring this BS/MS as well since some program guarantee admission.
In the end, we plan to apply as many as programs based on final GPA/stats.
Thanks!
@WayOutWestMom what BS/MD programs are there in CA?
@beyeu107 if your son goes the regular undergrad to medical school route, were you thinking in CA for medical school?
What made you think of the BS/MD route?
My kid prefers within CA. If he doesn’t get into UC (or good school in CA), he doesn’t care where he will be going (farther, ex East Coast /closer, ex Oregon) He also doesn’t care if it is in the city or in rural area.
For now, not qualified for financial aid but things can change in the future.
We are not sure about BS/MD, exploring the option now. If he gets, why not
Very good to explore all options. If your son does apply BS/MD, he should also have colleges where he would do a traditional route to medical school.
He also needs a Plan B. Every prospective medical school student needs a Plan B because only 40% of applicants get accepted to medical school.
Good luck in your search. You are fortunate to have a large number of CA public universities. Being a “good school” will be what your kid makes of college.
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There are no BA/MD programs in California. There are no BA/DO programs in California.
There is one early assurance program. (EA programs admit students to med school at the beginning of their junior year of college.) It’s the Thomas Haider Early Assurance Program at UCRiverside. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must be students at UCRiverside who fit the mission of UCRiverside SOM which is to provide physicians for the Inland Empire area of California. Students from the IE region are strongly favored in admissions.
Western University College of Medicine (osteopathic med school) offer an early assurance program to students at select partner colleges. Partner colleges include: Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State LA, Cal State San Bernardino, Chaminade College Hawaii, Loyola Marymount College, Pitzer College, Cal State Fullerton.
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