@bpc2017, DS wouldn’t be going then traditional route and good luck!!
@hannuhylu , I think this issue was discussed in detail earlier. Adcoms certainly don’t look at candidates’ parents’ profession. Do doctors’ kids have advantages? I would say yes, in terms of getting opportunities such as Doctor shadowing, research etc. and of course the essay will reflect, since kids are exposed the Doctors’ life since birth and the conversations at home will have influence in their perspective.
I agree with @path2md. My DS didn’t get any more interview invitations (2/6) because his mom is a doc (mentioned in common app) and at the 2 interviews he attended no one brought it up. yes, her connections helped with securing shadowing and he did talked about his interactions with his mom in his essay, but to think that physicians kids get priority is totally wrong. In fact, some interviewers may ask tougher questions to make sure that kids have genuine interest not doing it for parents. Trying to figure out why one got interview vs another is very hard since it’s a subjective process, just like Ivy schools. What I have seen is different schools have different preferences since most kids have similar stats. So it comes down to how much they value research vs volunteering vs community service and whether they liked he essays are not.
@hannuhylu what makes you think this? I’ve seen this before and I’m not sure why people draw this conclusion
@orangefl2017 We are OOS. Thanks.
One just can not say that I want to go to medical school because someone in the family is a doctor. My DD had average success with getting interviews (50%).
Hey all-- I’m also faced with quite a decision here:
BS/MD: Hofstra 4+4 (will be 7 years with AP credit) [24K/year for 3 years of UG] and SLU Medical Scholars [30K/year]
Traditional: Emory [24K/year], UVA [30K/year], and UConn [Full Academic Scholarship covering tuition, fees,room/board, books, laptop, late-night pizza runs…essentially everything except orientation]
What do you all think?
@babySimba1 and others deciding on UG vs. BSMD program
Although it will be tough to turn down Emory, I would recommend you to select SLU Med scholars program unless you don’t mind doing one, two or three year gap years or attending a Caribbean medical school. Just today, I saw a stress-out patient, who is doing two year gap years after graduating from a high ivy. Even if you don’t make it through SLU Med program, you will have a higher chance of getting into a medical school from St. Louis U since you will be competing with a less competitive student body. I am sure that both schools will not give out more than 20% A’s in their introductory science classes. To compare objectively, average SAT scores at Emory was 2040 vs. 1800 at St. Louis U. Of course, we can and will see few outliers every year from students who are late bloomers and or highly motivated students. In this year’s premed application cycle, the successful applicant from our office was not a student who went to an ivy or top 30 school, but rather from a student who went to a top 100 ranked school.
Bottom line: it does not matter which college that one attends as a premed, but it matters what kind of grades, MCAT scores, EC’s that student has participated during the UG years. So choose a school wisely… that means a school that is a bit beneath your level to get those As and some Bs. A perfect example UG would be U of Pitt, which has a stellar medical center that is walking distance from its UG. Good luck everyone. Remember… having happiness in one’s life is much more precious than achieving a prestige. And also… try to obtain the latest data from MSAR, not from someone who has medical school admissions experience 5 years ago… things are changing and changing fast. Even D.O. programs are very difficult to get in now days. Some of them receive more than 8000 applicants, from which they select less than 800 to interview. If you are considering a Caribbean medical school, these are the “best”: St. Georges, Ross, SIBA and AUC. Good luck and do NOT give up.
“Success doesn’t come to you, you go to it.” Marva Collins
Some recommendations on books:
Becoming Dr. Q
Of Blood and Hope
A Hope in the Unseen
Living, Learning and Loving
Zen and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance
The Road Less Traveled
I have no data to support it just when people say that over 60% of the interviewed kids in their group had MD parents that is all. When higher stat kids with better EC’s don’t get in and don’t have MD parents, but lower stat kids with MD parents do, so just deductive reasoning.
Agree it does not!! A crappy GPA will matter tons and doesn’t matter if you went to Rice, Amherst, or Harvard a 3.55 and you are not getting into med school (highly unlikely).
I know many MD’s LSU, Univ of Alabama, Grambling, Univ of Ark, Univ of Houston, Tulane, Texas State, all are doctors and one is a surgeon.
@hannuhylu Like I’ve said before, admissions counselors do not take the parent’s profession into account. The reason that an applicant is chosen is because of what they have in terms of GPA, Standardized test scores, and EC’s. Also taking evidence from one interview group to support your claim is not feasible, if you showed me a consistent pattern over a large number of groups you may have a point but I would still believe there is a spurious variable which is made up of an applicants test scores, GPA, and EC’s. I have many kids in my program whose parents aren’t doctors and some friends from high school whose parents aren’t doctors that got into programs. To put it simply an applicant is either rejected or accepted based upon their own merits.
upstream - very well explained . Thanks for your post
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Can someone help me understand this?
[QUOTE=""]
Please note: The Drexel BA/BS/MD accelerated degree program will no longer be offered after the fall 2017.
[/QUOTE]
Starting in the fall of 2018, Drexel will offer a BA/BS + MD Early Assurance Program, a 4 + 4 combined program that allows students to gain early acceptance into both their undergraduate program and medical school at the same time.
[QUOTE=""]
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http://drexel.edu/undergrad/apply/freshmen-instructions/accelerated/
So I understand that the accelerated option will no longer be available next application season. That means the 4+4 is still available, right? But why does it say, “starting in fall of 2018”? It seems to be they’re not offering this program for class of 2018 in fall 2017
Can someone explain this?
- Within BS/MD, no comparison between Hofstra and SLU since it is orange vs apple. Go with Hofstra.
- You need to decide between going via regular route vs BS/MD.
As stated before, inform your state and your situation on finance to be a factor for decision or not.
@upstream thank you. Just need to clarify when you said “even if one doesn’t make it through SLU Med program still will have better chance as one will be competing with less student body”. By this stage of college will I not be included in the general pool applying to other medical schools with more competition?
@pillows56 From what you have posted there, it does not talk about the “class of” instead talks about the time/season when the changes are going to be effective. I read it as that in the future guaranteed program is changing to early acceptance. If you got into drexel/drexel and seriously considering, please call their office and also post us what you find out.
It appears from the above link that Drexel will not be offering Accelerated 3+4 years program from next application cycle. The BS/MD 4+ 4 is still offered, and they also mention they have early assurance program.
How is Drexel EAP (Early Assurance Program)? Is it worth it? I got $20K FA for UG biology major…
Your feedback greatly helps me to make my decisions.
@path2md that’s what I think too. I don’t know why they said they were starting 4+4 in fall 2018 when they already have it
Or was 4+4 not offered this application season? Was only 3+4?