@GoldenRock, @Roentgen The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine – OKC & Tulsa
Class of 2016 – Residency Match Results are located here: http://hippocrates.ouhsc.edu/comweb/pdf/PUBLIC%202016%20OKC%20and%20Tulsa%20Match%20Results.pdf
@Undecided3494 - check out the following thread where a current LIM student posted his thoughts:
Does anybody know of ways an undergraduate student in a program can get a head start on looking competitive for residencies? Is getting published one way?
@faith4ever17820, yes, usually it’s getting research published during the undergraduate years. I would do it in an area that can have crossover between different residency specialties that he/she is interested in, so it applies to which ever one he/she decides to go for on his/her application: i.e. Oncology and Radiology, or Pediatrics and Derm or Pediatrics and Ortho, etc.
how difficult is it to get published during undergrad?
@faith4ever17820, you probably worry about something inrelevant. Peer-reviewed publication in well-recognized scientific journal is not easy for many PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers who have already had extensive training. There are many factors that are out of your controls. As a ug, doing your best in grades, research, community services should be fine. Of course, also enjoying your college life. GL
faith4ever17820
I would study hard. Find a good lab and interesting research if interested
You are already talking about cv building and my best advice
Enjoy college
One does it once
@faith4ever17820, it depends very much on the specific research project itself:[ul]
[]What type of research – clinical research vs. basic science research (lab) - I would stay out of the basic science realm, personally, as those tend to be much more difficult and do take much longer time to be able to publish in. There are, however, good, reputable official summer research programs available that can involve lab research in which the goal is to get a publication or at least something tangible like an abstract or poster by the end of the summer.
[]What type of project: case report/case series, a review article, a book chapter, a randomized controlled trial, a meta-analysis: https://hsl.lib.umn.edu/biomed/help/understanding-research-study-designs
[li]the mentor and how productive they are in terms of publishing – this can be easily seen thru a PubMed search[/ul][/li]What I would do is first meet with several mentors with whom your son/daughter is interested in working with on their research – this can be at the undergraduate campus or the med school campus. Bring a nicely made, current CV with you. Discuss with the potential mentor your current workload, a reasonable approximation of how much time you have to devote to their particular research, so that a proper project can be found for you. Nothing is worse than overcommitting to a project initially and then not following thru. As a student, esp. as an undergraduate student, many times he/she will probably be paired with a medical student or a research fellow for guidance, as chances are the mentor has a lot biding for his/her time although the mentor will look at the revisions.
As @bearchichi mentions, definitely enjoy the college portion of your Bachelor/MD program as well, but it wouldn’t hurt to get involved in research during the undergrad years, whether thru the school year or the summer, when you don’t have classes.
Again, if you can find research in something that crosses disciplines – i.e. Vascular Anomalies research that can cross over with Derm, Rads, and Neuro, in fields that your son/daughter is interested in, that is best.
I got admitted to the FAME BS/MD program between UTSA/UTHSCSA as well as the University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern, Wash U, and Rice University (100K scholarship over four years). I keep wavering on what to choose and I need to give FAME an answer by Monday (April 18th). Any and all advice would be much appreciated!
•other quick considerations: paying less is nice but in no way is it a dealbreaker for me
@whassupdoc, I feel like if you have the intelligence and drive to get into very esteemed undergrad places like UPenn, Northwestern, Wash U, and Rice, including one with a merit 100K scholarship, that you would have no problem getting into medical school thru the traditional route, esp. one with a better reputation, prestige, and educational experience than the UTHSCA med school.
@ivy0705 im turning down yale for BU SMED!
I just sent you a message.
@whatsupdoc - what MCAT score do you need?
@texaspg, there doesn’t seem to be a total MCAT score requirement, just on one particular subsection (Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems):
http://som.uthscsa.edu/StudentAffairs/documents/SOMAdmissionRequirements.pdf
http://www.utsa.edu/about/pdfLibrary/pdf/13-27904%20FAME%20Brochure%202014-lo_res.pdf
@texaspg @Roentgen I need to make a 506 on the new MCAT (which I believe is about 60th percentile, though I get multiple attempts). My GPA needs to be a 3.6 during my three years at UTSA
Is anybody on this thread planning to apply out to other medical schools after finishing undergrad?
@SmartAlec, Thanks for sharing the information. BU SMED will be great!
@Roentgen, very much appreciated for your incredible thoughts. We are in process of writing to BU for additional FA
I will appreciate if anyone can get me in touch with someone that may have knowledge about W&J and Temple medical program or more details on Washington and Jefferson univ in Washington close to Pittsburgh.
@ivy0705, glad to help! I think your scenario is a special one in terms of the comparison between Boston University’s medical school and UConn’s medical school (which I just checked and I believe is also “true” pass/fail in the basic sciences - although they are implementing a new curriculum to start in Fall 2016 if you check their website), in terms of what they can offer you in terms of your career trajectory. You may also want to check out the match lists between the two medical schools, and I think you’ll see a very stark difference, which is probably a function of the opportunities available to you in Boston vs. those in Farmington (not even New Haven).
Just as an FYI, since you said your interest is in Neurology: http://gme.uchc.edu/programs/neurology/currentres.html, a lot of the residents at UConn’s Neurology residency program tend to be foreign medical graduates and DO graduates, which tells me that their Neurology training program may not be that great of a program, when it comes to being able to attract medical graduates from allopathic US medical schools, who are interested in going for Neurology – another reason that I think BU is the better deal for you here.