<p>Duke (3000 a year) vs. BU 7-year med program (10000 a year)?</p>
<p>I don't know what to do. Duke is a once in a lifetime opportunity, I know I'd have the most amazing time of my life as well as the fact that I'd recieve a top notch education. But I'm afraid of the whole med school admission process. </p>
<p>In addition, I want to major in something liberal artsy (I'm going for philosophy right now), something that I'm assuming Duke would be a better place for. Gah. But I'd need to take the required courses for pre-med in either school. What should I do!? Heeeeeelp!</p>
<p>i'd go with BU... that is if you're dead certain you want to become a MD</p>
<p>realize that BU 7 year med program is a once in a lifetime opportunity too, and the location is in Boston, where you may have just as good a time as you would probably in Durham</p>
<p>no doubt perhaps Duke's student body you may value over BU's, but i think you'd find great people at both institutions</p>
<p>also the opportunity in the city of Boston with Boston- affiliated hospitals is definitely there, i don't know if there is similar in Durham</p>
<p>basically, i'd go for BU.. but i'd definitely miss those bluedevil basketball games</p>
<p>You're a blessed dude. A lot of people would do awful things to have your "problem", but I understand completely where you're coming from. As smart as you are rajpatel, Im sure when its all said and done (if you should still choose to do so) you'll end up in med school anyway. So you're really looking at 7 years vs. a traditional 8 year degree route. Whats 1 year's time? Is it more important than being a blue devil. If it is, go to BU. If not...</p>
<p>The way I see it, you really cant go wrong either way.</p>
<p>Dang, that is kinda hard.
Im so sorry I was of absolutely no help to you in solving the matter, but I do sympathize.</p>
<p>Screw it, you only live once, go where heart takes you. From you're post it sounds like you really like Duke. Why not? Good luck either way. </p>
<p>(For clarification's sake, were those figures you showed scholarships or remaining tuition after scholarships? In a perfect world cost wouldn't be a factor but think about it.)</p>
<p>rajpatel, I am in exactly the same position that you are faced with. </p>
<p>An opportunity to attend a first rate college for an undergrad degree versus a guaranteed 7 year BA/MD program at George Washington. I am leaning strongly in favor of the former at this point. I think that the odds are very much in favor of my getting into a top notch medical school. Various posters on this forum, frequently go on about not having to do the MCAT and not worry about admission to medical school down the line, etc. The funny thing is that these should be non-issues for most people who get into one of these programs since they have proven academic credentials and test taking skills. </p>
<p>I agree with the poster, on another thread, who said that if it was a case where one had been admitted into a top rate program like Northwestern or Rice/Baylor there would be a pretty good case to go with the combined program - assuming that one absolutely wanted to be a physician.</p>
<p>With a decent GPA in a highly rated school like Duke - which incidentally has an excellent pre-med program - and an above average MCAT score, I think that there is little doubt that many options will be available for you when it comes to medical schools that you could attend.</p>
<p>i'm in a similiar position as well. but i have to agree with mistaippa...go with BU. BU's med program is one of the top rate programs for the combined degree in the country. if importance in rankings is important to you, it has made the lists for both research (now #28) and primary care. Not all of the ba-bs/md programs are on the list and very few are on both lists.</p>
<p>for me, it is more than not having to take the mcat (if i go to bu, i would be required to take the test). it is really about enjoying my undergraduate education without the stress of competing for a spot in a good medical school. it is about not having to endure unnecessary and unneeded competition among my peers. it is also about being able to focus on what i want to learn without the uncertainty of whether i will gain admision into med school or not. there are a lot of smart people vying for medical school; not everyone gets selected. i'm told that for indo-americans (i am assuming you are one based on your name) and especially those from california (that's me), the competition is especially steep for both the combined medical programs and the regular medical schools. </p>
<p>in your case, geographical location of the colleges is another consideration. from what i've heard, duke is in a less than desirable place, which is one of the reasons i did not apply, although it is a top-notch university. boston is a vibrant and demographically young city full of life and full of college students!</p>
<p>Young1, the money is the money that I have received from the respective schools. I know I'm definitiely gonna visit both schools, and feel them out, but it's a really hard decision. Do I go to a place where I'll have an amazingly fun time but still could work my a$$ off for four years, or do I go to a place where I'm guaranteed into a med school?</p>
<p>Another question I had was what kinda things would I need as a student who is graduating from Duke for med school? Around what GPA, MCAT, etc. would land me in BU regular? Because there's no guarantee that I won't still end up at a med school with a similar ranking to BU.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot guys, I sincerely, sincerely appreciate your feedback, coming from knowledgable people who are still my peers.</p>
<p>Hey Rajpatel,
I'm in the exact same situation, Northwestern vs. Duke. For me though, I've realized, is that I will still be working hard at either school. Seriously, who are we kidding? Most of us have some success/perfection/competition trait ingrained in our personality. No matter where we go, we'll still try for a high GPA. Visiting both schools is definitely a good first step. But I think you need to consider two things: 1. Why you want to become a doctor. 2. Why did you want to do the med program route. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Personally, I want to become a doctor b/c I hate seeing ppl suffer, and I think doctors have just about the coolest jobs in the world. Many others want to become doctors b/c of family or money, etc. I'm not saying that that's why you want to become a doc, but you have to know why you're committing the next 10 years of your life to school & studying. </p></li>
<li><p>You gotta know why you want the program and be realistic about what it will be like. I like the med program b/c I want to be able to focus more on my studies and be in an environment where I'm surrounded with people who have similar passions. I work better when I'm around motivated ppl. If you prefer the med program solely b/c you're worried about getting into med school, then I say go to Duke. Like I said earlier, you'll probably still work hard no matter where you go. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I hope this post didn't sound too biatchy & that it helps at least a teeny bit!</p>