@BS_MD2017 Lot of programs explicitly state about the guaranteed seat when student decides to opt out. So suggest you read and get it confirmed with that school. In most of the programs, student will loose that seat and very few have not explicitly stated any rules about it (It does not mean they guarantee unless it is clarified with that school). Many programs still need to apply and need to go thru the pre-med office for LOR etc., Double edge sword and need to tread carefully.
Thank you @GoldenRock . Cohort group seems to be a strong factor of influence for my DD, glad she is finding out what matters to her. You mentioned bucketing medical schools into top middle and low tier. It looks like common knowledge which I donāt have. How/where can I look up the tier of a given medical school? Iād really appreciate help with this.
Got into UIC GPPA
But going to NW HPME
Congrats @Mimic17 ! I know there were others waiting to hear back on UIC GPPA too, hope they got in too.
@Mom22DDs Here is my current understanding based on what ever I have read in various threads in Pre-Med Topics.
- Only medicine unlike all other professions/careers, have same curriculum and guidelines during MD 4 years in US. .
- In medicine career success, where you did residency is more important than where you did MD
- Then to get in to good residency, other factors like what student has done during MD research, USMLE scores, rotations, LOR are more important than the school name.
- It may not be effective to some extent to determine which residency because it is hard (and not advisable) to make that choice now since only when they learn and do clinical rotations students may develop some preferences and it will change at least 3 times before they apply for residency.
For the problem at hand now, would suggest if there is a significant difference then it is easy to make the selection. But if they are within the same range, go with all other factors like cost, location, feel, travel ).
We can generalize (but any one can contest if this is right or wrong)
Top tier programs - NU/Brown/UR/CWRU/RB / WashU, to name a few
Middle GWU AMC to name a few
Low What ever
I spoke with a mom whose DD got residency match last week. She was stressed and she told her DD was stressed (but if you know what her DD has accomplished in school, where she went to UG and MD, I wondered if they are stressed, every one in the world will be stressed). Medicine is a LONG path and never ending exams (MCAT, USMLE 1, 2, 3), board exams, never ending application cycles, interviews cycles for MD and later residency and later for fellowship. So some times it will help both parents and students ease on the gas and manage as and when situation arise in each stage and provide the support they need from parents.
@GoldenRock Med school name actually matters quite a bit for residency selection which is why I would always hesitate to recommend someone lock themselves into a program affiliated with a low tier medical school. You pretty much have to be at/near the top of your class in order to break into a big name program coming from a mid tier/low tier medical school while students from the top tier medical schools can be middle of the pack and have the same opportunity.
Thank you @GoldenRock ! Iāve been googling a bit, and realize that tiering is pretty vague in medical schools except for top tier. Not surprised there is no direct response to question on where to find medical tiers.
I realize this can be a stressful time for students and parents. My DD is not (yet) stressed. Sheās very much enjoying the journey and the visits, though we and our pocketbooks are a bit drained. Sheās on college visits this weekend and also narrowing down based on fit ā she said she finally gets what fit means. Iām meanwhile trying to get some parameters she could look at to help in decision making, as one of the programs has only given us two more weeks to make a decision. Sorry if I come across as stressed - I guess Iām just too eager to learn all the things that I didnāt know I didnāt know 
@dblazer Thanks for the clarification and agree. If you have a choice between top and low, then go with top, the decision making is easy. But if you have to make a decision between 2 top tiered or 2 middle or 2 low tiers programs, then do the due diligence but not going to make that much difference on school ranking. My point is if you are comparing between UCSF vs UC Riverside, go with UCSF, But let us say, to decide between UCD and UCI, may not sweat over MD school ranking or their residency match list now. With full respect to all parents, they are trying to do their best, understand and compile as much info. But some times it will become too daunting and overwhelming if you are going to understand and compare so many things.
@rsmith0208 If DC is clear and passionate about medicine go with Brown. But if there is any constraint on finance aspect, go with Vandy.
@dblazer - thank you for that input. Some BSMDs are non-binding and others are not. From your input, the ones that are not binding have an edge over the ones that are, all else being similar, assuming the student is ready to apply out at end of UG. For non-binding programs that have high GPA and high MCAT requirements, makes no sense not to apply out, though I guess the student can be way more picky about how many/which medical schools to apply to, given their fallback option of the BSMD school.
TCNJ is basically a Liberal Arts College where as NJIT is an Engineering College. TCNJ is at a safer location than NJIT. Newark, NJ is an urban location. NJIT is also nick named as little India because of the number of Indianās enrollment.
Haha, my daughter would fit right in at NJIT since she is also of Indian origin and is a computer geek, though the general wisdom seems to be to go with TCNJ rather than NJIT. How does Rutgers Newark compare to these? Thank you @grtd2010 !
Rutgers NB is better than Rutgers Newark as per location. A lot of Indians in Rutgers NB too. Rutgers NB-Robertwood Johnson Medical School and UMDNJ-Newark are now known as Rutgers-NJMS (They merged into one entity).
@Mom22DDs Rutgers Newark last among these 3. TCNJ and NJIT similar small size school but 1 popular for technology and 1 liberal arts college. I have not visited either, but heard 2 contrasting location and campus and size since have many friends in NJ.Both has its own pros and cons and once she visits and meets with students and professors, she may form some opinion. Consider all factors including safety when she is away from coast to coast.
Hello everyone. I have been monitoring this board. My son got into PLME but is an alternate at GWU. He is still in running for few. He has a full ride at Pitt for UG. Any advice will be great! Thanks
I got into The Sophie Davis 7year program at City College. Can anyone give me a bit more insight about the program? (Student life, medical schools, career opportunities, etc.)
Thank you @grtd2010 & @GoldenRock !!
Congrats @BeeMan, and I guess youāll want to wait for Pitt GAP before any decisions. Full-ride trumps other choices, especially for a top program like Pitt GAP.
You canāt beat the cost of Sophie Davis, plus it is a 7 year program without mcat, less pressure. It has a new medical school lately that doesnāt have any track record, so future matching is unknown. In addition, students are required to sign a contact to become primary doctors.
Thanks @Mom22DDs. What is your opinion on Brown PLME. My son loves the program. His dad loves his wallet. Is it worth it. He is a good kid but I think all the kids are bit spoiled. I went to every school in my lifetime for free.
Our house is the opposite: DD wants to not spend on her education unless she has to, but we want to give her the best college experience we can
From a stress level, Brown is a better bet than Pitt GAP because of minimum requirements to stay in program and total flexibility of Brown. Pitt GAP appears to require more effort from the students.
If you can afford Brown, go for it. Your son only gets to go to college once, why not make the best of it? Iām sure others will have different opinion. If you gave the son the money youād spend on Brown, and left it up to him to decide how to use those funds, would he still want to spend it on Brown - something to consider as an option.