Harvard vs. BU 7yr Med

<p>I didn't go to the open house, but I didn't get a very strong impression when I talked to the students on the interview day. I specifically remember a very animated discussion on whether several students were going to attend class that day, and a student guide informed me that this sort of thing happened often. That was kinda negative. </p>

<p>And to the poster who said you can major in anything you want, you're dead wrong. I talked to the students and read a program brochure that said you must major in the so-called medical science major, but you are allowed to minor in whatever. I personally would not want a medical science major...one of the big reasons I decided not to go there. </p>

<p>So caffeinated, it comes down to how you feel about a few important factors: prestige, stress, cost, your willingness to take a risk, and last but not least, where your heart is telling you to go. What I did to arrive to my decision was create a double-weighted point system of all the factors important to me, and Brown came out on top by far. I'd suggest you do the same...it might give some tangibility to the decision that you have to make.</p>

<p>wut i meant, was in addition to the "medical science major" which consists of ur typical premed classes, there's plenty of room in teh program to major, and yes, major, in another field of study. The minor is only a requirement and many students end up with a double major. Asterstar, u may want to view the accelerated program brochure on the bu website to fully understand the program curriculum.</p>

<p>also, bu offers an 8 year option for those that feel 3 years is not enough to develop an outside concentration. Nevertheless u can use ap creds to replace lower level classes and ultimately achieve a major in ur choice of study in addition to the "medical science major."</p>

<p>Kvjc11, if i remember correctly, you have a sister currently in the program. therefore your information about bu's program would be firsthand knowledge and accurate...not what someone like asterstar thinks the program is about! and if she thinks that people in brown's plme do not skip classes occasionally, she must truly be in a fantasy world! i have a good friend who graduated from the program recently and he strongly suggested that i do not apply to the program because it was too loose and not very structured.</p>

<p>I'm sure your information is accurate. Although I have to say, that's definitely not the impression that my student guide gave to me, and that's the information that I was going off of. </p>

<p>And of course I know that people skip classes. It happens at all universities....however, I would venture to say that it happens more at a place like BU than at Brown. Could be wrong though. Also, I really like Brown's program because of the very fact that it's loose and unstructured. I want to be able to explore and take all types of classes with impunity. And anyways, why in the world are you attacking my choice to go to Brown? This thread isn't even about that. </p>

<p>I'm definitely not saying that the OP should either go to BU or Harvard. The decision rests entirely on her personal preferences...what's important to me or anyone else may not be important to him/her. There are obviously advantages to both BU and Harvard.</p>

<p>amen to that....</p>

<p>asterstar:
i am most certainly not attacking your choice of college! you have chosen the one that best suits you. what i find objectionable is your "venturing"...in other words, making haphazard guesses about what you think happens at bu, especially when someone is trying to make a crucial decision about his/her future. there is an underlying sentiment in your posts that brown is better than bu. it isn't. the programs are vastly different. and the slacker mentality that someone else "observed" at bu makes it seem that such behavior exists more at bu or does not exist anywhere else. it certainly does, even at brown, which is known for its really laid-back and relaxed aura as well as its unstructured curriculum.
anyway, good luck to you and best wishes in all your future endeavors!</p>

<p>They really weren't haphazard guesses- I went with the information that I had, based on a visit I made, students that I talked to and observed, and the program brochure. I did have to make a very similar decision as the one the OP has to make, and I considered all the factors before making it. I even leaned heavily towards the BU program at one point, so I'm certainly not saying that there are huge negatives to it. I guess that the majority of the points that I made about BU were negative, so that's why you might have gotten that impression. But the positive points about BU had already been enumerated, which is why I didn't want to repeat them. </p>

<p>And seriously, I was not impressed with the "slacker mentality" at BU. It's not that I think all the students are lazy and resting on their laurels in the program- not at all. But the fact that some of the students were talking and laughing about it in front of prospective students told me something. Maybe this wouldn't matter to the OP. I firmly believe that a school like Brown (and obviously Harvard, for that matter) has students who are more academically focused than students at BU. There's a difference between being laid-back and blowing off classes. Also, there were a lot of other reasons that I chose Brown over BU...I just didn't list the ones that didn't pertain to the OP and his/her choice.</p>

<p>But that's enough about me. Best wishes to you as well, qtpie.</p>

<p>To caffeinated, I would suggest that if possible, you at least go visit both BU and Harvard one more time. If you're going to the Harvard admit weekend, you might as well visit BU at the same time. Meet some of the students, go to their classes, and really see for yourself if you'd like to be in the same place next year. I personally didn't get the right<em>feeling</em> when I visited BU...otherwise, I might very well have decided to go there. Each person is different, however, and you might really like it when you visit as an accepted student.</p>

<p>it appears that brown's plme students are guilty of the "slacker mentality" that was visibly displayed before a prospective student! check out this entry:</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=54624%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=54624&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>or read the message:</p>

<p>"maybe just some of the people I met, but plenty of kids, especially PLMEs are very very lazy. My host was a PLME, and is taking 4 classes this semester, 3 of which are art classes, another PLME girl is taking all classes pass/fail, actually, as I write this, it seems like this only applies to PLMEs, its like they have a 4 yr case of senioritis. In fact, here is a quote from one of my friends who is a PLME.</p>

<p>There are too many kids [at Brown] who want to do work. [The Admissions office] really needs to stop letting in all these kids who do work. I want more kids on campus who aren't gonna do any work.</p>

<p>It's probly true that at any university there will be kids like this, but I just found it very disheartening to hear our future doctors talk and act like this."</p>

<p>-----this is exactly what my friend found very disturbing while at brown. so please do not try to present bu in a negative light when the problem exists elsewhere.</p>

<p>ugh. well, that sucks. Hopefully when I visit Brown tomorrow, I'll get a different impression. The thing is, I've met PLME grads and they didn't come off at all like slackers...it seems like they really got the full value of the open curriculum at Brown combined with guarantee med. </p>

<p>However, it doesn't mean that BU should escape criticism from suffering the same problem. Like I said, I'm not trying to "present BU in a negative light". My intention was to give the OP additional factors to consider, and actually I think there was another poster on this thread who got a similar impression at BU when he/she visited. It's important to consider everything, even the negative things. And if this sort of thing is important to the OP, why not mention it? </p>

<p>It's also rather amusing that you said that there's an underlying sentiment in my posts that I think Brown is better than BU. Um...kind of the pot calling the kettle black, don't you think? Because you're doing the exact same thing, except you seem to have a bias against PLME because of your friend's experiences.</p>

<p>Once again, I have nothing against BU. Wasn't right for me for a variety of reasons, but that doesn't mean it isn't a great program, or that other people shouldn't choose it. Just because I didn't go with BU doesn't mean that I thought it was worse than Brown; similarly, just because I didn't choose Yale doesn't mean that Brown is better than Yale. You'll notice that I made negative and positive points about BOTH Harvard and BU for the OP...so please, let this be resolved. This will be the last post I make on this topic, as I think the OP has probably gotten the most possible out of this discussion.</p>

<p>this will be my last post on this matter as well.</p>

<p>my first point was to relay that the "slacker mentality" you (and another) accuse bu of having, exists at brown as well.</p>

<p>my second point was to illustrate that brown students are not "more academically focused" than bu students.</p>

<p>i too know of graduates from bu's accel med program and they are mature, bright, successful, and diligent.</p>

<p>once again, good luck and best wishes.</p>

<p>you should definitely go to Harvard</p>

<p>Hey everyone!
Thanks for the wonderful input. I figure since you were all so nice as to try to advise me, i should let you know what i decided.
And my decision is <em>drumroll</em> Harvard!</p>

<p>Thanks,
~caffeinated</p>

<p>
[quote]
And my decision is <em>drumroll</em> Harvard!

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You made the right decision.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>good decision</p>

<p>I was impressed with your advise to caffeinated...could you do same for me. My choices are Case PPSP vs BU BA/MD. I have posted what I think pros and cons for each in a Case PPSP thread. However I would like your opinion on the matter. If others would opine, I would be very grateful.</p>

<p>Great decision caffeinated! I am so excited for you, you are going to have the best time at Harvard!!!!!!!!!!!</p>

<p>caffeinated, what do you plan to major in?</p>

<p>im sooo excited =)
im going to major in chem probably</p>

<p>where is everyone else headed?</p>

<p>caffeinated</p>

<p>Would you mind posting a little more about what factors helped you picking up Harvard over other choices? We also have to make a choice among Princeton,HPME and UMDNJ/TCNJ.</p>

<p>Thanks a lot</p>