Duke or 7 Year Med? Help, please!

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
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<p>(I know I posted this in the Duke Thread, but I'm posting it here just to get a fair balance of opinions)</p>

<p>So here's a basic history:
If there's one thing I'm absolutely certain about, it's that I want to be a doctor. It's not a peer/parent pressure thing, a financial or even reputation thing. I absolutely and irrevocably LOVE medicine, love the hospital, love helping people, and LOVE Neuro (obviously my intended speciializaiton) </p>

<p>All that being said, in the past few months, I have heard nothing from my parents (both doctors) and others except about how increasingly DIFFicult it is to get into med school these days. People tell me all the time that I shouldn't bother about it at this age, but this is a real concern for me, mostly because I struggled a lot with the SAT, Especially critical reading (took the test 3 times: 580 two times in a row then finally got a 720 the third time. And I studied hard for the second and third times I took it). I think what's scaring me is if I struggled so hard to get my SAT score barely in range for the colleges I applied to, how hard will it be for the MCAT? I've heard numerous times "if you're good at one standardized test, you're good at them all" and so. Again, people say this shouldn't be a concern for me, but please understand IT IS because of how strongly I'm certain that medicine is the path for me. I know I can study hard for the MCAT and what not, but after studying so hard for the SAT and barely making it...idk, I guess I've kind of lost hope? It sucks, I know.</p>

<p>So as of today, I have two choices:
1) Duke Premed
2) UT Austin 7 year program BS/MD (combined with UT Southwestern)</p>

<p>I visited Duke at BDD. Loved it. Duke wasn't originally my first choice, but I still felt that I'd be content at Duke. Austin literally requested that I apply to their 7 year program. I did with no expectation of getting in. But...obviously I did get in. </p>

<p>So my problem is, Duke or Austin?
The dilemma here is taking the risk of going to DUke and not getting into med school. Southwestern is such a GREAT med school, and I'd also be saving a year, so it's a lot to turn down. Also, the guaranteed med is SUPER tempting for my situation. </p>

<p>If there's anyone that would be willing to offer their opinion/experiences with such situations, PLEASe let me know! I'm SO confused as to what to do. Both programs are literally 50/50 in my head, but with very different pros and cons for each.</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

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<p>How much money do you have to pay for either school?</p>

<p>You have two equally tempting choices. I suggest you just pick the place you’d have fun and enjoy your life at. If that’s Duke, then go to Duke. You seem like the type of person who would get into med school later on anyways. They don’t hand out MD programs to just anyone, so they must have seen something in you. You also do have the drive to study hard for the MCAT. The SAT is…just tricky. I wouldn’t use that as an indicator for how well you’d test on the MCAT.</p>

<p>However, if you also visited UT Austin and liked the feel of it and wouldn’t mind doing an accelerated program (you would be giving up some things), then go for it! Not having to take the MCAT and avoiding some of the harshness of the premed route is pretty sweet too.</p>

<p>I guess what I’m trying to say is: Pick the road in which you think you would enjoy your life more.</p>

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<p>Most premeds end up changing their mind about medicine since they find something else that excites them even more. You"ll never have that opportunity with the UT-Austin Combined BS/MD program. A Duke degree is very prestigious domestically and internationally; the school’s alumni network in every field and particularly medicine far exceeds Austin’s. Don’t turn down this incredible opportunity.</p>

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<p>Huh? That makes just absolutely no sense. UT is a monster sized University, offering a gazillion different majors. One can step off the premed track anytime. Moreover, with the guaranteed Med acceptance, the OP can take whatever coursework suits his/her fancy (in addition to the 8 premed prereqs). Art History? Why not. Russian Lit? Go for it. Medieval Philosophy? Awesome (and great for critical thinking skills). Being a med scholar also means that the OP gets first dibs on anything UT offers. At Duke, he’d just be another Dookie in line like everyone else. Fantastic education, of course.</p>

<p>OP: given that UTSW is a top xx med school, save the money (and more importantly, the competitive stress) and stay home. It’s a no-brainer for someone convinced that they want to be a MD at age 18.</p>

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<p>Link to the UT-Austin/Southwestern BS/MD? I didn’t see it.</p>

<p>Saw this one. <a href=“http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/education/medical-school/academics/combined-degrees/ut-pact.html[/url]”>http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/education/medical-school/academics/combined-degrees/ut-pact.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Edit: Still not seeing it. <a href=“http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/education/medical-school/academics/combined-degrees/index.html[/url]”>http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/education/medical-school/academics/combined-degrees/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>[University</a> of Texas System - TIME Initiative](<a href=“http://www.utsystem.edu/initiatives/time/shape.html]University”>http://www.utsystem.edu/initiatives/time/shape.html)</p>

<p>I’d probably go the BS/MD route in this case although I’m not a fan of accelerated programs or BS/MD programs in general.</p>

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<p>[University</a> of Texas System - TIME Initiative](<a href=“http://www.utsystem.edu/initiatives/time/shape.html]University”>http://www.utsystem.edu/initiatives/time/shape.html)</p>

<p>Found it, too. Go to UT. With your difficulty on SAT CR, the MCAT will not be your best buddy. And big congratulations. Had that been around when my kid was choosing her UG, that would have been very appealing.</p>

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<p>You should take the BS/MD program. Your risk of getting a mediocre MCAT score is high because of your trouble with SAT CR section. The whole MCAT is a critical reading and thinking test which requires some science background. You will probably have to take the new MCAT which will have a new Behavioral Science section. It will most likely involve even more reading passages than the current test.</p>

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<p>I know that lots of pre-meds don’t stay pre-med. I also know that statistically speaking, someone who can get into one of the BS/MD programs probably wont have a hard time getting into medical school through the traditional path. But speaking as someone who went to undergrad as a pre-med, remained a pre-med, and then went to medical school (and is graduating in less than a month!), it would’ve been really, really hard to turn down a BS/MD program with guaranteed acceptance to UTSW. Especially if you’re an in-state student (which I assume you are).</p>

<p>I loved my undergraduate school and my undergraduate education. I think that I did better there than I would have if I’d gone to the undergrad school affiliated with my medical school. But if my medical school had offered a combined BS/MD program and I’d gotten in, I would’ve chosen it no contest. In hindsight, I don’t think that I’d be anywhere different than I am now (except I’d be a year ahead and I’d now be finishing my intern year), but I definitely would have done it.</p>

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<p>Yeah. That’s the beauty of the OP’s choice. UTSW is a fine destination. Some of the other BS/MD’s are not in the same class.</p>

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<p>Exactly. There are schools with BS/MD programs where the decision between them and Duke would not be clear at all (or would, in fact, be pointing toward going to Duke). In my opinion, this isn’t one of them.</p>

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<p>Agreed. Couple that with the OP’s 3 times on the SAT CR to get a good score, and I’m thinking Burnt Orange it is. Blecchhh!! I mean, congrats!!</p>

<p>(Just good natured teasing from a felloiw Texan.)</p>

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<p>There is actually a Duke alum who was in my graduating class who is doing an MD/PhD at UT Southwestern. If you just want to secure a medical school acceptance, UTSW is the “safe” option. However, Duke will be a better choice if you’re aiming for a top 10 research medical school. I will post statistics but almost no one who attends UTSW gets into one of the big name medical schools: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Duke, Columbia, Michigan, JHU, and Wash U.</p>

<p>Do you want to play ball with the best of the best or are you just going to take the backdoor? I know that every physician that I’ve ever met thinks he/she is the best around and is the type to never back down from a challenge.</p>

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<p>I would pick UT Austin/SW and I think this is actually no contest. First it appears that you may not be great at Standardized tests and getting into a excellent medical school like SW or Duke will require a top MCAT score and great grades. If you do not have to take the MCAT and just keep your grades above a certain level to get into UTSW I would take this route if you are certain about medicine. Since both of your parents are physicians you probably have a good idea as to what you want out of your life. Secondly UTSW is held in high regard by physicians and your choice of residency will not be affected much, if at all by your choice of UTSW over Duke. It will actually depend more on what specialty you wish to enter and the relative strengths of the departments of Duke and UT that may help or hurt you in your post graduate applications. If you want to do primary care it will not matter which medical school you attend. You should remember that it is your residency and or fellowship which makes you a doctor. Physicians are more interested in where you trained, not where you went to medical school. The third, and in my opinion possibly the most important point is the difference in cost of education is huge. I strongly suspect you are full pay so Duke/Duke will cost you in the excess of $500,000 for your education.</p>

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<p>Somehow my post got cut off so to continue. Seven years at UT might cost you $150,000.
This is a huge difference in cost. Texas higher education is very inexpensive which is why most Texans stay in state. I do not know how much your parents can afford for your education as it depends on their finances and how many siblings you have but half a million dollars is a lot of money. Do yourself and your parents a big favor and go UT.</p>

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<p>I would go with the UTSW acceptance. It is a beast of a school and is incredibly hard to get into. It was once my dream medical school. Do you really want to risk a spot at at an elite top 25 medical school for the Duke undergrad experience? If I were in your shoes I wouldn’t. Getting into one top 25 medical school requires a herculean effort. By going to Duke, you may excel and end up at a top 10 medical school, or you could somehow end up at some average medical school. The UT-Austin/UTSW program gives you a guarantee at an elite medical school, why risk that?</p>

<p>BTW I scored a 700+ on the SAT CR section but the best I could do on the MCAT verbal was a 10. Go figure. ■■■.</p>

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<p>if you dont mind me asking, I am currently a junior looking extensively at this program, how do you get an application for the program? and what are the requirements?</p>

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<p>This is absurd. When looking at COA at some of the schools you mention vs UTSW for a Texas resident the difference in accrued debt can become enormous and UTSW is certainly not a lightweight and its grad have no problems matching into top notch residencies.</p>

<p>Your comments look like most of those on SDN…are you lost?</p>

<p>To the OP</p>

<p>This is a no brainer…if you truly have had problems with the CR section of the SAT, the new MCAT will not be your friend. Take the guarantee to UTSW…you won’t regret it. Parkland is one heck of a training center and will prepare you for anything, anywhere.</p>