<p>Well the SD Med Scholar invites came out today and I'm tempted to apply since Med school is what I'm thinking about after undergrad.</p>
<p>But can anyone currently in the program shed some light about it?
How you like it and what opportunities you get? Whether you feel it's worthwhile? (And any other info that goes along these lines...)
I didn't see any such reviews, so I thought I'd ask.
Perspectives from people in different years of the program would be great.</p>
<p>I don't mean to sound lazy, but after all those applications I would rather just not worry about college till decisions, so I'm tempted not to do the app.
But even for those more motivated, this information could be very helpful.</p>
<p>So thanks in advance for any contributions!</p>
<p>My friend's in it currently.
I'm not quite sure how she likes it and such, but I know that being in the program (aside from maintaining a 3.5 every quarter) takes a lot of stress/load off of your back when you typically would have to apply to medical school with a higher GPA/mcat scores/extra curric's, etc.</p>
<p>There are a bunch of med scholars who work insanely hard to get 4.0 GPAs and extra curriculars and whatnot even though none of it will matter - it's like this behavior has been hardwired into them (although some of these medscholars do have ambitions for non-UCSD med school, despite signing an agreement to go to UCSD). Then again, I know a med scholar who has taken O-chem like 9 times and smokes pot all day. He'll probably fail out of the program.</p>
<p>If you want to be a doctor, it's a great opportunity. More than half of people applying to med school don't get in anywhere at all. Guaranteed admission is huge.</p>
<p>My counselor at school knows a few people in the program, and from what she has heard, I'd second what slorg says.
It's crazy hard to get into med school and to not have to take the MCAT, go through all the essays, etc - would be a huge relief.</p>
<p>sp_sspu:
i'm a ucsd med scholar and i definitely think that ucsd med scholars is the best md program out there. it's worth the time to apply for the program. by not having to apply to medical schools, you save time, money, and a lot of stress in the future. the program's fairly laid back (only have to maintain 3.5gpa), so you can really focus on your passions and have a social life through your 4 undergrad yrs. the program is really flexible and lenient and ucsd itself is already an awesome school.</p>
<p>"Annually, approximately 1,500 high school seniors who apply to UCSD meet the eligibility requirements, and about 300 of those students apply. From this applicant pool, 25 candidates are selected for interviews, and a maximum of 12 are accepted into the program."</p>