Help me!!

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
1

<p>Hey Guys.. I am pretty confused here. I have been interested in going through medical school and eventually becoming a Neurosurgeon. I just learned of the BA/MD programs and am stuck. I need to know something.. is it better to go through one of these programs OR get into a good/ well-known university for undergrad, take a premed track, and then work hard at applying to medical schools. I am really confused here as to which is better/looked more highly upon in the real world. My main focus is getting my self a good job as a surgeon once I finish. I do not want to get through all of this, end up at 32, and have none of it be worth it. Here are some stats of mine and a little background info if you need it:</p>

<p>I am a to-be junior in High School next year. I want to one day be a Neurosurgeon and have been looking towards the future. I want to attend a top university, with a good science department and pre-medical program. I hope this will in turn contribute to me getting into a top medical school. The colleges I have been looking at are:
Stanford University
Baylor University
Cornell University
Duke University
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Michigan State
Grand Valley State University
Albion College
University of Chicago
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Georgetown
John Hopkins University
Ohio State
Northwestern University</p>

<p>OR
BA/MD Programs i.e. Rice/Baylor, MSU, BU, Northwestern</p>

<p>As you can see, I am having quite a bit of trouble slimming down my options. Hopefully you guys can help me with this. Here is a little about me:
I live in Michigan
GPA (Weighted): 3.99
Unweighted GPA: Approx 3.7-3.8
Accelerated/AP Classes:
AP US History ; Acc Geo ; Acc Alg 2 ; Acc English 10 ; Global Education
Future Classes: AP Bio , AP Chem , Acc English 11 , AP English 12 , Acc Analysis , AP Calculus , AP Gov
Sports: Varsity Soccer ( #1 in the State)
Extracurricular: Model United Nations, Study Groups, Snowboarding/Ski Club, Float building, Summer Medical Camp
Community Service: Special Olympics Soccer Officiating, Volunteering a hospitals, shadowing doctors
Jobs: 4 Years as Carrier for the Observer Newspaper, Best Buy Cashier/Salesman, Country Club Golf Caddy
Accomplishments: Created and maintained a large Group Buy for products for the Mazda RX8 on rx8club.com, Started an Ebay business and grew to an Ebay Store, Honors Society for school</p>

<p>By application time, I should be at over a 4.0 and maybe even a 4.1.. unweighted probably a 3.8-3.9. I am very driven and will do whatever it takes to make myself successful. If you need any more info let me know!</p>

<p>Thats about it.. let me know what you guys think!</p>

2

<p>Can't really tell you anything about chances for a lot of these programs (especially BA/MD) until you take the SAT since they use that usually to weed out the first round of candidates.</p>

3

<p>Why do you want to be a neurosurgeon?</p>

4

<p>Hypothetically speaking, there would be a small advantage to a person who trained at as many different institutions as possible. If high school, undergrad, medical school, and residency could all be from different places, it would be helpful for networking/interview purposes as well as looking slightly "shiny"-er on the resume.</p>

<p>This advantage is quite small.</p>

5

<p>So it may be more desirable as a hospital seeking a surgeon to see that they have been through experiences at different institutions?
norcalguy- I have always been interested in it.. thought the whole idea and the unknown of the brain was cool. Good salary too :p
I am not looking for what colleges I can get in to, i just want to know if it would be a better idea to go through BA/MD or the normal way. thanks!</p>

6

<p>Oh and also, how highly do job seekers see Baylor College of Medicine? It is ranked top ten on US news and I was wondering if it is well-respected as a top medical school throughout the nation</p>

7

<p>I mean, you can think about the advantage yourself. Imagine a young man who went to a very impressive place. We'll use Yale. He grew up in Connecticut, went to Yale undergrad, stayed at Yale for medical school, and stayed at Yale for residency, and stayed at Yale for his first spot as an attending. Is Yale an amazing institution? Yes, of course. Is his resume a little boring? Also yes.</p>

<p>Does he have as many things to talk about at an interview? Does he have as large an alumni network? Is there some question about whether those schools show favortism? Etc. etc.</p>

<p>These advantages are all quite small in the medical world. (This would matter a very great deal if we were talking about a business school, for example.) But they exist.</p>

8

<p>Ah Ok I see what you are saying. Do you know if Baylor College of Medicine is very reputable in the medical world? Besides the ranking, I want to know how people think of it. Also, what if I were to apply to BA/MD programs as well as undergrads i.e. Stanford, Cornell, UofM , etc. Would I be able to do this? Or do BA/MD programs require early commitment?</p>

9

<p>BA/MD programs do not require Early Decision.</p>

<p>Baylor's an excellent program. It is very well-regarded and will be an excellent place to go to school once it gets its hospital difficulties sorted out. (I would feel uncomfortable discussing those difficulties in more detail.)</p>

10

<p>Ah ok. I was considering looking into the Rice/Baylor or Northwestern program.. I might also be interested in the Washington University at St. Louis one. My dream plan would be to go to Stanford and then off to Baylor or UCSF but Stanford has no BA/MD program and that would be EXTREMELY competitive.</p>