Hello!! Our last child is a sophomore in hs. She is interested in med school. We live in Ohio. We are looking at the new 7 year programs–kind of like a “direct admit” into med school. Does anyone have any input about these programs? Thank you all!!
CWRU has such a program (although it is 8 years). Kids who get into those usually have 1500+ SAT, significant volunteering or research or doctor shadowing. So have your child start volunteering at a hospital.
Your student should be taking honors science at this point and looking toward AP sciences in the next two years.
Those programs are super competitive. Your child will need near perfect GPA and test scores along with lots of volunteer hours and research. Then there is a high GPA requirement to stay in the program.
There is a subform on CC for BS/MD programs. I would ask your question there too.
These programs are more competitive for admissions than medical school.
Agree with others…your kiddo will need near perfect stats plus some significant experience shadowing.
Even with that…most students entering undergrad school never apply to or attend medical school…at all.
So…in addition to researching these types of programs, make sure you look at other options.
What makes this HS sophomore positive she wants to be a doctor?
@WayOutWestMom your thoughts?
@boseownr Every year there are 2 threads created related to BS/MD. One for discussion and one for results (at the end of the cycle). Especially review the results (limited posts) to get a feel of the students background and what they have done. Discussion thread (too many posts). Start with results thread.
- http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/multiple-degree-programs/2081864-official-thread-for-bsmd-applicants-2019.html#latest
- http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/multiple-degree-programs/2057178-official-thread-bs-md-results-for-class-of-2018.html#latest
First and foremost make sure, student is interested (than parents desire or influence) in medicine since is is a long haul and be open since it is formative years and things can change on a flip of a dime when they progress thru HS and College.
Though every one will rightly say GPA and Scores, that does not have to be perfect ( gpa 3.85+ sat 1500+ or 34-36 act). All other factors are more important (EC, Essays/Prompts, Interview). Especially EC on sustained period to self-validate student interest in medicine and show the passion to under served / low income community.
Second there are so many flavors in BS/MD, and hence review to see which one meets student / family need. Expense, need to write MCAT or apply AMCAS later, UG GPA req, open or specific major, location etc.
Thanks for the questions! At this point, this is field that is most interesting to her, however, as parents we know that it could change but if she is truly interested, she does need to start shadowing, volunteering, etc (like you all said above)so we are trying to help her be as prepared as possible with this ongoing goal in mind.
Her father is a physician so she has had some first hand experience in the work required. Fortunately, she is an extremely hard worker as well as extremely goal-oriented and does well academically. We support this track for her as long as she wants to continue her pursuit. We also know that it is extremely competitive and that’s why we are trying to help her stay informed about what she needs to do. We are totally fine with her changing her mind–especially since she is the one doing the work!! (-:
Thank you again!!!
Thank you for the links!!! That’s helpful!
My opinion…and take it with a grain of salt if you like. Especially since your DD has a physician dad, make sure she explores other career options that she might like.
I say this because…our kid was certain she wanted to be an engineer. Her dad IS an engineer and she certainly grew up knowing what that was like. And she heard engineering talk her whole life. She enrolled in college and got a degree in engineering, but also picked up a double major along the way in biology. Let’s juat say…she will never be an engineer…she liked the coursework well enough, but the work possibilities were not her cup of tea.
So…make sure this young lady sees other jobs that would be in her areas of strength and interest.
Unfortunately or fortunately there are not many 7 year programs. Most of them are 8 year. So your child may not save time wise by going that route. Also she won’t get credit for all the AP level courses she ends up doing in HS she will be required to do higher level courses instead, but no credit for APs. On the contrary for a traditional route, she may finish her course work faster with those credits or perhaps even go for an accelerated masters in those 4 years of undergrad (which will be very impressive when applying for med school later).
But on the other side, a direct med program comes with a guarantee (of course with some GPA and MCAT requirements, which > 95% of students shouldn’t have any trouble fulfilling except for in perhaps places like WashU’s program).
So you need to weigh both the sides and choose what may be in her best interest.
Also as a parent I would encourage you to do your research for her on different programs and weigh in different aspects mentioned by @GoldenRock to decide where to apply and attend if selected. I would also urge you to check the intake of each of these programs, because some of them are practically impossible to get in with so few slots available and to top it with preferences for instate and regional students. I think location and the option to explore different areas of study are most important personally, if finances are not an issue. D attends a program with curriculum focused on liberal arts and she is having great time exploring psychology, philosophy, classics, foreign language, computer science and anthropology (in which she may minor) besides core subjects in Physics, Chemistry and Biology. She loves the location of the school too and so do we.