@MiamiDAP Yes, it has gotten more competitive in 8 years. So many more are now applying to these BS/MD programs. The student I referenced above had an ACT 33 as well. He’s younger than your DD, yet he doubts that he would be accepted today.
Not only are there more people applying to these programs, but people are taking the SAT and ACT more often. Not too long ago, I can remember people fearing retesting more than a couple of times. Now, kids may take the ACT 3-4 times and the SAT 3-4 times…or more.
I was told today that the student’s #1 school at the moment is UCB. FYI. I honestly don’t know if the student will end up applying to BS/MD schools, but I appreciate being able to share the information from this thread.
Physician here. I personally think this student hasn’t yet figured out her final path yet from the information presented… Unless she has enthusiastically done medical exposure volunteering in HS I would recommend going the more common route of going to college with an intent to major in one of her favored STEM fields. Give herself time to fully realize what she wants without discovering she really doesn’t want that path and needs to get out of the program. Of course, she could be one of those few who know early on that being a physician is the best path for them.
Her freshman year in college will include premed courses and show her which fields she likes most. She will also figure out her academic strengths in college. Perhaps she would find she would rather do another field than becoming a physician. It could be that she applies for BS/MD programs but isn’t accepted. Then she goes to plan B as above. You don’t need to be the most brilliant in college but you need to desire to be a physician and apply yourself to get top grades. Maturity will come with age and experiences.
She needs to concentrate on a good fit school- academically, socially and financially. Do not look at expected savings from condensing the process with the combined degree as the most important factor. Look at potential majors and schools with good programs. It still isn’t necessary to decide on medical school by the time a person graduates from HS.
Even though my school experience was eons ago I know there is a wide variety of backgrounds among successful physicians. All need to be hard workers who prioritize academics over other activities but there are many different interests and paths to the goal of being a physician. There are many different types of physicians as well- surgeons and psychiatrists tend to be on the opposite ends of traits and work.
Is now the time to talk about my H’s nephew the…??? Or other people I know ??? As I stated, many different ways to do things. PS- my college grad son’s last chemistry was AP, he’ll never be a physician!
If you are in CA already, then just stick to it since you are a resident. There is no advantage to moving away since there are plenty of great schools here.
Financials should be your 1st concern. Eliminate all private colleges and any college which has tuition of over $15k a year (I am a millionaire and even I will not let my kids attend these waste of money colleges unless they get a full ride… didnt get rich by being stupid).
Being young as you are, its much too early to assume you want to go to med school. Start by taking college level science courses and then decide based on that. Many people change their minds after they take their 1st o-chem course, or calc based physics (though I suppose you could opt for the non-calc if you are a bio major), etc. Take a good science school. I went to UCSD and can tell you that it is superb if you are a serious student and enjoy a quiet atmosphere near the ocean (I loved how quiet it was but some people really cant stand it and prefer a more lively school like SDSU). UCSD is always ranked in or near the top 10 worldwide in STEM research so it is not a bad way to go. Berkeley is a little more lively (it is located near downtown) but their dorms and housing in general suck the big one due to how old they are (my sister went there). Housing at UCSD is amazing since it is a walk away from the ocean.
Of course if you can get into CIT then that would be the way to go 