<p>I am an African American male and that goes to the Texas Academy of Math and Science at UNT, which is dual credit high school/college program where we take classes at the University of North Texas while living on campus. We got about two years of college credit while attending the program which is transferable to all public texas universities, most public institutions around the country, and even some private schools. I have very decent stats and my academic counselor said that based on my scores, grades and extracurriculars I have a good shot at an ivy league school. However most private institutions and all Ivies do not accept our college credit, so we would have to attend all 4 years of the college instead of the 2 years we could spend at a public university. I am also interested in applying to the Howard University (a Historically Black College/University) 6 year med program which is significantly easier to get into than other combined med programs, which is probably due to its lower rating as a Medical institution. Finally another option for me is to attend our "flagship" school for our academy which is the University of Texas at Dallas. This school is very science and math based, and provides usually provides near full ride scholarships for sat scores above 2100 and ACTs above 30. So basically I was wondering if the CC community could weigh in on what they feel would be the best decision to make assuming I get into an ivy, Howard University 6 year program, and UTD what would be the wisest choice to make?</p>
<p>I think our worst choice is the howard accelerated program. It sounds like you’re a smart kid with a lot of potential and you’ll get a leg up because you’re URM. Going to the howard med program would be blowing all that. howard’d reputation isn’t the best and if you have the potential to go to a much better med school.</p>
<p>I would suggest you go to the ivy league school if accepted. You’ll get a good education, make connections and the financial aid is excellent. from there you can take the mcat and apply to med school and put yourself in the running for top schools. if that doesn’t pan out howard will still be there and at least you’ll have had a great college experience that < 5% of graduating high school seniors get to have.</p>
<p>A few prestigious universities have combined undergrad/med school programs. The two most selective ones that come to mind are Brown PLME and Northwestern HPME. Consider applying to these! I believe you can opt out of the programs and complete just your undergraduate degree (before your first 3/4 years, of course), but doing so would severely limit what you could major in, as the accelerated nature of these programs don’t allow for the hallmark liberal arts change of majors, like going from Biochemistry to Philosophy. A few larger schools have similar accelerated programs, such as Drexel, Boston University and the University of Pittsburgh. They’re easier to get into, though more recognized than the program at Howard. Unless you value HBCU’s as high on your list for personal reasons, I would urge you to consider these programs over Howard. As Shraf said, you seem like a smart kid with great potential. I’m sure top schools will want you, it’s just a question of if you want them.</p>
<p>Brown PLME is not accelerated in any way shape or form. It is simply a guaranteed spot in the medical school at the start of undergrad and part of the purpose of the program is to allow students to major in whatever the hell they want. I cannot speak about any of the other programs mentioned.</p>
<p>I agree that if advisers think you’re smart enough to get into an Ivy/other top school that going to Howard’s combined program now would be limiting yourself (unless, as stated above, you’re drawn to HBCUs for other reasons) because if you went to top school and underperformed, you could probably still get into Howard anyway and if you do well, as an african american male you will have schools begging you to come.</p>
<p>Honestly though, you could also apply to all of these options and make the decision once you find out what kind of aid and what options you ACTUALLY have. Without any sense as to what your FinAid package at top school would be it’s hard to judge because the only reason you shouldn’t go to the best school available to you that you like is money. While I do think not bankrupting your family is a perfect reason to go to UTD or Howard, I don’t think skipping 1 or 2 years of undergrad is worth potentially limiting your career options.</p>
<p>I would definitely avoid the 6-year program. Oftentimes smart students limit themselves by attending low-tier institutions for a combined program rather than enjoying the traditional college experience. There are other programs that are “guaranteed” admit programs that do not shorten the overall length of time, such as a few that were mentioned above. They are decent if you’re absolutely sure that the school is where you want to go. However, some do have stringent requirements for GPA and/or MCATs that must be met in order to matriculate into their medical school, and they are not always easy. A couple of my friends were accepted into 7-yr BS/MD or 8-yr early assurance linkage programs and then failed out due to missing the MCAT score by 1 point (on several tries). Getting a 30+ is not always easy for some people. In addition, most combined programs do not let you apply out of their program or you forfeit your guaranteed seat (risky). </p>
<p>Another thing to consider is that Ivy League colleges are competitive, whereas state schools or mid-tier private schools are less competitive on average. If you attend an Ivy or other top-notch institution, be prepared to work in a cutthroat environment in your premedical courses. Many smart students end up getting weeded out in the intro courses, or they remain pre-med but their GPAs suffer. I have some good friends that went to an Ivy, and they are no doubt very smart, but they were not as successful as I was during my application cycle this past year. At least one will need to reapply. I attended a private school that is not as well-known but still gave me a great education, and I managed to keep a very high GPA throughout. I had a fantastic cycle (6 acceptances) despite coming from a non-Ivy school. If an Ivy is going to cost $$$$, take a scholarship at another school and run with it.</p>