Ivy vs. Med Program Take 2

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
1

<p>Looks like I am in the same boat as Twinklestar and Siva and many others... However, my situation has a few unexpected twists (at least in my eyes). The med program that I was accepted to was Stony Brook University's Scholars for Medicine program, which is your standard, run-of-the-mill 8 year program. A few things to sweeten the deal: it's half an hour from my house, and it's free. On the other hand, I got into Johns Hopkins (Biomedical Engineering program), Cornell, Duke, NYU, and UPenn (Out of these, it's between Cornell, UPenn, and Duke)... I greatly value the undergraduate experience and the ivy education but i don't know if i can pass up the stress-free guarantee. However, I don't know if the Stony Brook program is prestigious enough to give up the other schools..</p>

<p>And another question I had... Although the Stony Brook program is a guarantee, I do plan on applying out of the program to other med schools... Is it true that med schools look more favorably on people who have already been accepted to a med program? Or is that just a myth?</p>

<p>A little bit abotu me perhaps...</p>

<p>South Asian Male from Long Island, NY</p>

<p>1540 (770/770), 800/800/790/790/760
Rank 1/543
Siemens West Finalist (12th)
Siemens Semifinalist (11th)
Intel ISEF Finalist (12th)
Varsity Tennis, various clubs
Volunteer at Hospital, local soup kitchen, volunteered at the RNC
Essays were creative, unique
Recs were fantastic
Interviews went very well</p>

<p>So stony brook or Ivy?</p>

2

<p>wow with that resume it seems like u committed a felony if you didn't get into other medical programs; my perspective would be medical program all the way but if u really do not like stony brook undergrad at all then consider the ivy school;</p>

3

<p>When your applying out of a med program, the undergrad school that you are at, also is a strong factor in med school admissions. If your interested in a top tier med school, one of the ivy's would probably afford you the best opportunity.</p>

4

<p>if ur gonna apply out i'd go with an ivy</p>

<p>personally i'd take the stress free route but that's just me</p>

5

<p>yeah the stony brook undergrad is the problem. And i didn't apply to other med programs other than PLME at Brown (my fault for not researching what was out there). But the fact that stony brook is so close by is also deterring me.</p>

6

<p>I can understand your difficult decision. Obviously, you have thought long and hard about becoming a doctor and I will assume you will follow this course regardless of your choice: Ivy, Stony Brook, or elsewhere. </p>

<p>As someone with experience in college admissions, I certainly do not want you to believe that the grass is always greener elsewhere or that you will always “get in.” For the most part, one school is just like the other except for name and “fluff.” </p>

<p>You already know the value of the Ivys and schools like Johns Hopkins. You will be placed in a class of over a thousand, the majority of whom wish to go to medical school. They will ALL have credentials similar to yours. It is a race and you will be competing against tougher and tougher competition. You will avoid very interesting and imaginative courses because you heard through the grapevine that the grading is very tough or that it is a “killer” for a medical school application. You will avoid deep study into areas that truly interest you because they interfere with the premed core curriculum, or once again the chance of a good grade is limited. At the end is an admissions process that is not perfect, can be biased, and many with excellent credentials are on the outside looking in even though they had a solid “A” GPA will solid board scores and many activities. And don’t let anyone tell you that everyone in the Ivies get in. Sadly, I know dozens of students who fail year in, year out. </p>

<p>The 8 year program gives you freedom and yet ensures your final goal of medical school. You would be able to take courses and not worry if a low grade will lose your life’s dream. You will not continue in the rat race that really is an attempt to get into medical school. Although you may question the Stony Brook program, you should know that it has high regard among medical schools, has nationally renowned programs in engineering, sciences, physics, and computers. Stony Brook can afford you the opportunity to work at Brookhaven National Lab, Cold Spring Harbor (with Dr. Watson) and other nationally renowned labs. Further, as a student at Stony Brook, you are not limited to just the campus. You can take away semesters in England, Spain, Italy, Japan etc. and at almost any university in the country. Many students at the Ivys go away for a semester but do so at their peril because their grades usually suffer and that might make them poor applicants.</p>

<p>And beyond the undergraduate time, you should know that Stony Brook medical school is arguably the number 1 public medical school in the country. It is comparable to Berkeley and compares favorably to private medical schools like Michigan. The class consists of almost 40% Ivy leaguers and last year over 95% of their senior students got their first choice for residency. During your last two years of medical school you are usually free to take visiting rotations anywhere throughout the country. Therefore, it does not limit you to Long Island.</p>

<p>The Stony Brook 8 year program, by guaranteeing you admission to medical school, allows you to keep your dream of medical school and yet allows you to be as creative and daring as you wish to be. You choice is really quite simple: do you wish to continue at any school in the same, overwrought, cookie-cutter-like pre med program at any other university, or do you wish to follow a low risk high value individualized education that guarantees your ultimate dreams. </p>

<p>Good luck in your choice.</p>

7

<p>another take on this subject..</p>

<p>i talked to a doctor at a hospital i intern at, and i told him how i had to choose b/t psu/jefferson and northwestern hpme.. he asked "do you want to become an academic doctor or a work-a-day doctor (clinical)?" I answered clinical and he responded that it really doesn't matter then where you go for med school, implying that you can do well anywhere.. now i don't quite fully agree b/c i think if u wanna specialize in surgery or dermatology it might be better to go to a top 15 med school.. but other than that, i think one can get a good residency in primary care and other specialties at ANY medical school as long as one applies him or herself.</p>

<p>i dunno what kind of doctor you want to be doerame, but if you're sure, i would encourage you to go for the stony brook program for the reasons that were outlined above...</p>

<p>the doctor ended our convo with a little joke</p>

<p>"what do you call the last student to graduate medical school?"</p>

<p>of course, i didn't get what he meant at first.. so i told him i didn't know</p>

<p>he smiled and said, "a doctor"</p>

<p>good luck!</p>

8

<p>And what do you call the student who is waiting in line next to get into medical school?-The reapplicant</p>

<p>Sounds like good advice.</p>

<p>At Stony Brook the acceptance rate to competitive specialties is very high, and the MD/PhD program is cutting edge.</p>

9

<p>doerame, i'm facing a similar decision too. It's either I go to brown for 4 undergrad years or i go to tcnj/umdnj's 7 year med program. right now i'm leaning toward the med program because i will save a lot of money, time, and stress. however, it is hard to let go of an ivy league...but i think i'll get over it lol</p>

10

<p>"it's half an hour from my house, and it's free. "</p>

<p>do u mean to tell me that doerame that all 8 years are completely free?? that would be an incredible deal and something that would make me chose stony in a second.</p>

11

<p>the only problem i see with going to stonybrook instead is that your four years of college will kinda suck in my opinion just because you will be of a maybe slightly higher caliber than most other kids and might not be able to connect in the same way</p>

<p>if i were u id be worried about not being able to fit in for four years at stonybrook after spending four years in stuyvesant - i think that would be my greatest concern, i dont know aboutu</p>

12

<p>I read the above post and must take exception to the idea of not fitting in with Stony Brook students. Judging by the original posters stats, and the fact that he was accepted to the scholars of medicine program, I must assume that he will be in the honors college.</p>

<p>The honors college is a highly selective group with a mean SAT score of over 1450 (the old SAT.) Most students were at the top of their high school class, and the scholars of medicine students are most brilliant. I have heard that almost all have turned down IVY League schools to attend the 8 year program. Some students are Goldwater scholars or Rhodes finalists. Some have patents, or are extremely talented in music, art, dance etc. Honors classes are held seperately and there is an air conditioned honors dorm.</p>

<p>On the faculty are nobel prize winners including the inventor of the MRI.</p>

<p>Alumni of Stony Brook include the president of Stanford and the (late) inventor of the Apple computer.</p>

<p>I'm familiar with the program (as well as other 8 year programs) and thought I'd offer my two cents.</p>

13

<p>olddoc- your comments are very helpful, and I was wondering if you know anything about Miami's HPM, and the Miami School of Medicine. I am probably going to attend the program next year (I am deciding between Miami and Pittsburgh's 8 year program) and I am leaning towards Miami because I feel that I would like the atmosphere there better overall. However, I would like to make a more informed decision, so any comments/thoughts would be great!</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

14

<p>I'm not very familiar with Miami's program save for the great weather and probably the opportunity to see a wide variety of medical cases due to the older population.</p>

<p>I am more familiar with Pitt. The undergraduate experience is good, except the atmosphere is quite different from Miami. Pitt is located in busy Oakland, where there is much traffic and congestion.The undergraduate campus at Pitt is located across the street from the medical center. That makes for an interesting and easy volunteer experience. There are various cultural activities near Pitt such as the Carnegie Museum of Art and and Natural History. Pitt is located right next to CMU. Pittsburgh is a relatively safe and very college friendly city. </p>

<p>The medical school is top notch and there are some world famous doctors there. Pitt is especially known for the transplant and psychiatric service. The pediatric service is also good. </p>

<p>I imagine if you were accepted to the 8 year program you have a nice scholarship. There is also an honors college with an honors dorm. The dean of the honors college, Alec Stewert, (a physicist) runs a good honors program.</p>

<p>THe drawback is that an extremely high index (I believe 3.7 or above-no small feat at Pitt) and a high MCAT is required for the guaranteed admission to the med school. I have heard of some students who were unable to attain the numbers and therefore had to drop out of the program.</p>

<p>You have some fine choices. I wish you the best of luck with your decision</p>

15

<p>Hi olddoc, I found your advise to other students is very insightful. May be you can help my D. out? What is your thoughts about Stanford vs. UCSD? Thanks.</p>

16

<p>Something you may want to look into: Does Stony Brook allow you to apply to other med schools freely? From what I know of other programs, once you decide to apply out, you lose your guaranteed spot into their med school.</p>

17

<p>Yes i would sacrifice my spot at Stony Brook if I applied out. The thing that I heard was that you are given preference for being accepted to a medical program at the top medical schools. </p>

<p>And in regards to the cost at Stony Brook, the undergraduate education is free and the medical school is not.</p>

18

<p>i say go with stony brook and if u have like a 4.0 gpa and like 35 mcats apply out and if u dont just stay in the prog, stony brook is a reallly good med school at a really good price like was mentioned earlier
i think stony brook med will only run u about 25k a year whereas somewhere like jefferson med will easily run u 50k a year and both are probably equally good id say</p>

19

<p>"The thing that I heard was that you are given preference for being accepted to a medical program at the top medical schools. "</p>

<p>That's interesting, what do you mean exactly?</p>

20

<p>That's what I'm trying to learn actually. Assuming equal grades and MCAT scores at UPenn and Stony Brook let's say (UPenn's grades carrying more weight), I've heard that being a part of a medical program (or having a seat reserved for you in a medical school) gives you a boost in the eyes of med school committees. I'm not sure whether or not this is accurate. If anyone can confirm or speak against it, please feel free.</p>