<p>Hey, I am planning on applying to 7 year BA/MD programs this fall. However, I am also planning on applying to Duke or Cornell ED where I feel like I have the best chance to get in. Well both applications are due at the same time around November. The problem lies in that I am not sure which one may be better. I am not considering like Brown PLME or Northwestern but rather UMDNJ or like Boston University programs thus I may go to somewhere like Drew University just for the security of a medical school seat. However, I believe that at Cornell or Duke, if I do well (which is not always the guarantee, anything can or might happen), I can get a better med school, while also going to a great undergrad. </p>
<p>----Personally, I'd rather choose the 7-year med school option. However, I would be notified in April of my acceptnace. I feel like if I get into Cornell ED, I wouldnt know of my chances whether I got into a 7-year program. I know you guys may suggest to apply RD, but I feel like I really need that edge up in ED to get accepted. Is there someway I can settle this?</p>
<p>I don't think there is really a way for you to "settle" this without just applying to Cornell or Duke RD. You have to remember that at any school, pre-med is going to be really tough, and I've heard that at Cornell and Duke it is especially brutal. My friend was accepted to both those schools, along with Univ of Maryland, and he ended up choosing MD because he knew how competitive the pre-med students are at the other two. If you feel that you are strong enough to compete with the other students and are willing to work super hard to maintain a high GPA and other extracurriculars, then I would go for the Cornell/Duke route. Otherwise, wait it out and apply there RD, and apply to 7 year programs as well, and then see what appeals to you more. </p>
<p>I was in a similar situation. I had to choose b/w Columbia and Miami's 7 year. I chose Miami in the end because even though Columbia is a great school, it would have been too stressful, too expensive, and in a way risky, because I know I don't do well in a highly competitve environment and thus my chances for getting accepted to med school again would be lower. It was an incredibly tough decision for me, though, and I still sometimes have those "what ifs" but I think I made the right choice, and I'm glad I waited until spring to decide instead of applying ED somewhere and then never knowing what "could have been." So I would def. advise you to go the RD route. I know you feel as if your chances will increase with ED, but then again, you don't want to be stuck somewhere you might not like in the end.</p>
<p>Well, I have been in a competitive environment at a top boarding school, Deerfield Academy. I mean, 33% of the students go to Ivies and personally, I fared you well in terms of grades and my commitment to my extracurriculars. I feel like I can handle the work at pre-med because currently I just graduated and will go take a year off to go to a biomedical science college in India and at there I will study only biology and chemistry while doing research and community service in the vicinity. I think this will really give me a solid foundation as I enter pre-med. I just I hope I can make the right decision. By the way, I would apply as a new freshman, not as a transfer after my year off.</p>
<p>Binding ED is definitely not for you, since you are still torn between BA/MDs and regular undergrads. My advice: apply EA to some schools, so the decisions do not force you to commit. That way, you are still eligible for BA/MD programs in the spring. Then you can make the most difficult decision ever.</p>