<p>Hello all!
My D got into a BA/BS-MD program (8 year) as well as an Ivy League school. She is set on becoming a doctor, however would like to attend an ivy as opportunities are endless at such schools and the college experience would be heightened at the ivy. What path do you think she should take? Any suggestions (pros&cons) would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!</p>
<p>Depends on the BS/MD school, finances, and how set your daughter really is on being a doctor.</p>
<p>It’s very convenient to get into a BS/MD program, but if the medical school isn’t great she would probably be better served by going to a prestigious undergrad school and applying to Med schools later. Keep in mind that the vast majority of kids going into college as pre-med end up choosing a different route.</p>
<p>And, uh, which ivy? Tiers matter.</p>
<p>It also depends on how high the GPA requirements are to remain in the BS/MD program.</p>
<p>Many pre-meds choose to drop pre-med because their GPAs are not high enough to have a realistic chance at medical school admission.</p>
<p>Which ivy really doesn’t matter in this case, they’ll all give similar opportunities for medical school.</p>
<p>@pancaked she is 110% set on medicine. That has been her goal from a very young age 
the med school she got into is ranked in the top 5 in the nation but the under grad school is ranked below 100 in the nation…</p>
<p>@philovitist Cornell</p>
<p>See the 2 relevant Medical forums here on CC: Multiple Degree Programs and PreMed Topics.</p>
<p>Physician here. If she is 110% dead set on med school, then ABSOLUTELY do the BS/MD program. Undergrad, med school, internship, residency, fellowship, possible MPH, possible research years and grinding the whole way up. The undergrad premeds have to continually study for fear of not getting into med school. They look like zombies. With a BS/MD program, she can actually relax a little and have some fun during her college years which is extremely important. I know kid who got into Harvard and another school BS/MD. My answer was still the same. BS/MD if you know that you want to do medicine.</p>
<p>If a kid is NOT 100% set on premed, then 4 year ivy is better so that a kid can change her mind and major.</p>
<p>If the med school is top 5, then this is really a no-brainer.</p>
<p>It’s very convenient to get into a BS/MD program, but if the medical school isn’t great</p>
<p>Every MD school in the US is great. There isn’t one SOM in the US that isn’t great. There are no “sub-par” US MD schools. All are very good. The MD education in this country is flat. </p>
<p>Getting accepted to ANY US MD school is an achievement. Half of the applicants get ZERO acceptances. Even Ivy grads can have difficulties getting accepted (on SDN, there are many ivy/elite school applicants that have NO acceptances.) </p>
<p>Many med schools only interview about 10% of their applicants and only accept about half of those they interview. Many of these SOMs each receive 6000+ applications, so even snagging an interview is tough. </p>
<p>Having just gone thru the MD app process with our younger son, I would say that if you can avoid that year-long hassle, then do so. Thankfully, he’s got 3 acceptances, including one to his top choice. But the app process was grueling (and can be very expensive!)</p>
<p>Some accelerated programs are very safe (they do not require a high minimum GPA or a good score on the MCAT). Others are much riskier, requiring a high GPA and a strong MCAT. If your daughter got into a safe option, choosing it over Cornell may be worth it. If her option is not safe and requires a very high GPA, then you might as well go for Cornell.</p>
<p>By the way, unless you are referring to primary care rankings, none of the universities that have top 15 medical schools are ranked out of the top 100. The only university that seems to fit your description is the University of Colorado-Denver, which is ranked #5 in Primary Care and out of the top 100 as an undergraduate institution. But being ranked in the top 5 as a primary care program does not make it a top 5 medical school.</p>
<p>Still, CU-Denver is an excellent Medical school and only requires a 3.5 to qualify for the guaranteed admit status. Assuming cost of attendance is equal (or more favorable), I think Colorado-Denver is a perfectly acceptable option.</p>
<p>the med school she got into is ranked in the top 5 in the nation but the under grad school is ranked below 100 in the nation</p>
<p>The undergrad ranking is irrelevant…especially for BS/MD. Any decent undergrad (especially ones ranked in the top 150 or so) can prepare a student for med school. And, frankly, the med school ranking is irrelevant as well. </p>
<p>You’re talking about UColorado-Denver. And the “top 5” ranking is for Primary Care, which isn’t the ranking that people mention when talking about Top 5 or Top 10 or whatever. When people talk about Top X med schools, they’re talking about Top X Research ranking. But, that’s neither here nor there, since SOM ranking is irrelevant. And, of course, UC-Denver SOM is an excellent SOM. (I’m not dissing its top 5 ranking for PC; that’s very good! It’s just not the ranking that is the so-called impressive ranking. Research Top 5 rankings: Harvard, Stanford, JHU, UCSF, UPenn.</p>
<p>What does your D think about UC-Denver? Does she like the school?</p>
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<p>lol…crossposted with Alexandre at the same time. Both of us peeked at US News.</p>
<p>*And, uh, which ivy? Tiers matter.
*</p>
<p>Not for the med school app process.</p>
<p>I beat you to it mom2collegekids! ;)</p>
<p>I would also take into consideration state residency. Would she be IS for CU, or would she at least be able to be considered IS for CU SOM? CU OOS tuition is one of the highest med school in the country:</p>
<p>[2012-13</a> School of Medicine Cost of Attendance | Costs and Financing | University of Colorado Denver](<a href=“Tuition & Fees”>http://www.ucdenver.edu/student-services/resources/CostsAndFinancing/tuition/costs/Pages/2012-13MedicineCOA.aspx)</p>