<p>if thats your reasoning you are gonna have a miserable 7 years</p>
<p>The argument you are proposing, is that you may not know what you want as a high school senior, so why even apply? There are programs that have terrific undergraduate schools that will give its students a well-rounded education. Lets say your in the program and decide "Hey, medicine isn't for me", it's not like your bind by chains. You always have the option to drop the program and do whatever else you want. So, on the other hand, lets say your in the program and say "Hey i really like medicine, i want to be a doctor" Great! youre already in a program to help you along the way. </p>
<p>Now again, I speak of programs I am familiar with, not all programs in general. The programs I know of offer more opportunities for a program student than a typical pre-med student would have: internships, research, mcat review sessions.... these are only a few of the perks. the program i'm involved in actually pays and 8 year tuition and fee scholarship for undergrad and med school. </p>
<p>your views are not like everyone else's. some people crave a different challenge, so 7 years is something that would push their drive more than the traditional 8 years. different strokes for different folks... think about it</p>
<p>i have and trust me, im very passionate about being a doctor and have researched almost all of these programs available. Ive even spoken the paramedics and doctors ive worked with and all agree with me. Ive also spoken to pre-med students and 1st year medical students...all who have nothing good to say about these programs aside from the fact you dont need to apply. But like i said, that doesnt even matter if you keep up the requirements, youd get in anyway. I think it limits you more then anything.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the "prestige" level of a medical school doesn't really matter. You can go to the lowest-ranked American med school and still get a great residency, and employers and patients never care what med school you went to. Q: What do you call the guy who graduates last in his class at the lowest ranked med school? A: Doctor.</p>
<p>Plus, no MCATs! (or if there are, it's usually pass/fail or no score required). BS/MD programs also eliminate much of the stress involved. As long as your GPA stays above a certain minimum (not that bad, with the exception of WashU, which requires a 3.8 and a 36 MCAT), you're guaranteed a spot in medical school, which is by no means trivial, considering the competitiveness of med school admissions (only half the people who apply get in anywhere). You're able to take the classes you want to take, without the worries of "can I get a good grade?". That peace of mind alone, in my opinion, is more than worth the prospect of attending a medical school with less "prestige."</p>
<p>idk my cousin whos on admissions at mt sinai hates BA/MD students</p>
<p>I can see why your cousin might feel that way. BA/MD students are taking the easy way out by attending such a program. Many med school admission teams feel that these students aren't deserving of a spot in medicine. (And hey...they're probably right!)</p>
<p>Then again, who can blame these BA/MD students?</p>
<p>Choice A = You are handed a position in medical school as long as you meet basic requirements through a BA/MD program.</p>
<p>Choice B = You must earn the highest GPA possible, earn as high an MCAT score as possible, participate in extracurriculars, volunteer, do research, shadow doctors, beg for recommendations, fill out tons of applications, pay for the privilege of doing so, pray for interviews, pay to fly to interviews, and after all that, only be given a 50% chance at getting into a medical school.</p>
<p>Most people I know would choose Choice A. Only the absolute best students and the occasional sick masochist would look forward to tackling the challenge of Choice B.</p>
<p>ya but think of it this way...drexel is a decent med school. Lehigh's 7 year requires u to keep your stats up like you said in order to continue the program and get into drexel. However, if you did the same with the regular 8 year program you could probably get into schools like BU, Cornell, etc. If you are serious about medical school you would do the same as a 7 year program student (volunteer, shadow, etc) I do all that stuff now! I still see no point.</p>
<p>The key words here are "could probably"</p>
<p>Even if you are serious about medical school and do all that stuff, there is no guarantee that you'll get into any medical school (let alone high-caliber schools like BU or Cornell)</p>
<p>Maybe your grades aren't high enough for the admission committee's liking. Maybe it's your MCAT. Maybe it's your interview. There are so many variables involved.</p>
<p>So if you are certain you want to enter medicine, then a BA/MD program is the most certain way to become a doctor. Most programs will ask you to obtain a 3.5 GPA (this is the absolute minimum for regular predmeds) and a 27 MCAT (this is a bit below the minimum for regular premeds). No volunteering, no shadowing, no interviewing needed!</p>
<p>Ah another one of these threads. Well I was thinking along the same lines as Doogies as a hs student. But I've matured. I enrolled in a bs/md program. First of all, I have to maintain a 3.5 science and overall gpa. No MCATs. And I have the choice to do as much research as I want (a required summer-which i like) and get a MD w/ DR or distinction in research. I'm doing a 3 years undergrad. So far, GPA requirement is no problem and I'm having the best time of my life. The one year I'm losing is nothing. Most pre-meds are sick of college by the fourth year. After working so hard for three years, they just want to leave. I'm leaving college after relaxing and doing well (4.0). I work at Harvard Medical during my summers and bs/md programs don't have bad reps. Residency directors don't really care about them in fact. When they look at residency placement, its a question of how well you did (board scores, rank, and recommendations). In my program, the bs/md students are at the top of the class (every single one of them), earn at least 15 points above average on boards for the school and nation, and get superb recommendations because they do alot of research starting the third year of college. I could've gone to an ivy, but after looking at friends struggle for medical school (they got in, but sacrificed alot), I'm happy with my choice. I can do alot of the extracurricular activities that I still could have done in traditional college, but I can put alot more time and effort into them now. Feel free to argue vehemently or shut me down cause I can defend myself very well. I did alot of research to make my college decision and I'm very confident with it. Good luck to all you future physicians.</p>
<p>actually that was very informative. Where do u go to school?</p>
<p>I'm in the same situation as gangsta. I am going to the George Washington University.</p>
<p>very nice, gangsta! I got into a competitive ba/md program and am looking forward to my college years. glad to hear you've had very positive experiences.</p>
<p>Hey neom good luck and congratulations. I'm currently in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute-Albany Medical College 7-year Physician-Scientist Program. I'm finishing up my undergrad. I didn't know too much about combined programs. I heard about my program because the president of Brigham and Women's hospital, one of Harvard Med's affiliated hospital came from my program for his MD before doing his MBA at Wharton. I also knew a few other successful doctors from my program and they recommended it to me. I was at first doubtful because the two school though academically solid aren't as reputable as other schools that I could've gone to like UPenn or Cornell. But, after talking to many doctors and medical students, I felt it is shallow of me to just think of reputation and that I should have confidence in my academic abilities. I also saw how pre-med at a competitive school is not a cake walk and is quite time consuming. I also realized how the RPI students at AMC are at the top and get very good treatment and get their top choices cause they perform at such high standards. What I really appreciate is that during my summers, I can focus on my outside interests, such as music (though I'm doing a little bit of interesting medical research on the side) rather than volunteer for hours, etc. I have a blast during the school year cause I don't have that much stress, none really. I study, do well, but have no stress to join random clubs...do resume fillers. College has been so sweet so far so I'm glad for my program. Once med. school starts, I'll have to buckle down more, but I've definitely been free during college while my pre-med friends at RPI and at other schools are really stressed out worried about their future, MCATs, whether they can get in, whether they need to take a year off. I'll graduate with some of my friends who are three years older than me so gives me time to do long residencies if I need to and just be a little ahead, which I like. Will I get an amazing residency? I'm not sure, I want to do well. But, going to Harvard Med., getting that Noble Prize isn't my goal. I want to do well, get a nice job, and help people...but I feel I'm more family oriented. I want to be successful, but does it really matter if I go to HMS or AMC. The bottom line for a physician should be the sincere goal to save a patient. I want to keep that my top goal and keep status and reputation as no priority. Feel free to respond.</p>
<p>hey that's definitely a great goal man. I considered RPI's Physician-Scientist program and even visited the campus but ultimately decided to stay closer to home with Northwestern. RPI's program is definitely reputable and I had a great impression of it when I visited. Anyway, I'm glad you have found that you made the right choice, and I really believe I have too, by choosing the 7yr program over the traditional 8. I stressed out enough in high school, and while I know I'll still work hard in college, I don't want the anxiety of not knowing if I'll make it into med school. I can't wait to join clubs without worrying about whether it'll look good on my resume, and take classes that I want to take, not to make me look good. I even passed up a few Ivies like Harvard to go to Northwestern, after weighing many pros and cons... like you, gangsta, my main goal is to help people and make a difference in people's lives - not to worry about my reputation by going to Harvard. ...can't wait!</p>
<p>Defintely! Its really nice to know that people like gangsta and neom are happy with their decisions. Good luck guys!</p>
<p>Neom thats great. NW is crazy good. You're my future colleague and I'm glad there are other honest pre-meds out there. Alot of pre-meds just do medicine cause of their parents or for the hell of it. But its good to go into it cause you really enjoy the field. Aite keep in touch.</p>