I’m SURE the peace of mind of having a secure spot would be worth quite a bit though.
@bulldog25 - not all programs require mcat, and even for those that do, some have less stringent requirements. my DD is applying to BSMD programs because she knows that is what she wants to do, she wants to take a few non-medical courses and not get worried about how it will reflect on her medical app, and she doesn’t want to take the typical 1 year break after BS just to prepare and apply for BSMD as many kids do.
I agree with @Mom22DDs. My DS is willing to take traditional route if he doesn’t get into top BS/MD programs even though he is in the toughest demographics category.
Thanks all for the input!
@bulldog25 I would say the peace of mind is more beneficial than any other factors. Because some kids excel and challenge themselves during adversity/crisis. But some kids get stressed out (though they are capable). Other factors may play some role like no mcat or interview etc., But as @Roentgen has mentioned in many posts, avoiding mcat should not be a big factor of influence. Because it seems at the end of the long road before board certified doc, every student has to write many more intense exams (USMLE, board exams) and mcat will pale in comparison.
There are so many flavors to these 50+ programs. Some don’t need mcat or interview. Some expect low gpa or low mcat. But others still expect a very high standards. For example Rice, NW needs 3.9 gpa, wash needs mcat 36 etc to name a few. Some programs allow any major and some expect science major. Few programs are moving away from absolute numbers to on or above previous year’s admitted students gpa and mcat score (so it is going to trend up and not down!).
@Mom22DDs Doing non-medical courses is not a problem. Invariably every student is going to do so many courses to satisfy ‘general education’ requirements. Also doing non science major invariably benefits students than science major among MD applicants. It is a trade off, risk vs reward. Science major students (parents!) believe that will help for Plan B if MD admission failed or students found different passion during UG. Non-science major take the risk and may end up with reward in some cases. But even if the student ended doing non-science major, the number of credits to fulfill the pre-med requirements is more than the total credits for major.
Hello guys,
I just received an email today saying that I have conditional acceptance into the BS/MD program at California Northstate University. Did anybody else get this email? I am confused because the priority deadline was October 31st but I havent even started my application yet.
@Fluteplayer17 hope you got the message! It reflects the caliber of the university!
Could someone please talk to the NJIT BSMD process? DD was asked to setup a phone interview for NJIT Accelerated Pre-health Programs. She thinks this is the BSMD program interview rather than the Honors interview. Is she right? We’d expected it to be onsite and to happen later. Would there be another onsite interview - does someone know?
Can I still apply to California north state or is it too late
@cookie101, the website says you can still apply: https://californianorthstateuniversity.formstack.com/forms/college_of_health_sciences_application_fall_2017. Whether it’s actually worth applying and matriculating is a whole another discussion.
I don’t even know where to start on what to say about this.
Has anyone submitted the VCU medical supplement? Any suggestions on how to fill in your SAT score if you took the new one? It seems the score entry box is meant only for old SAT.
Never mind. When you access the actual application and not just the preview, it is designed for the new SAT.
Hi guys, I would like to hear some of your opinions on this:
For CWRU, it asks me to “describe an experience of which you are particularly proud but that will not show up on a resume”. I am thinking of writing about my involvement in the school newspaper and our in-depth coverage of a drug incident. However, I’m not sure if this would make the best use out of this essay, since I’ve heard that BS/MD programs focus more on the applicants’ medical involvements, passion for healthcare, and grit and perseverance needed to complete the 8 years. Of course, I can talk about how my perseverance eventually helped me complete the drug investigation…but still, should I describe my research/volunteering experience instead of a humanities topic?
P.S. The other required prompt is “why medicine,” so I did somewhat already elaborate on my passion for medicine, except now should I continue in that direction or take a new approach in this next essay?
Thank you in advance! 
I don’t think it has to be about medicine. My son wrote about totally unrelated but unique experience. His medical related activities are listed in activities section.
@illusionspectrum - it would be better for the essay not to be a restatement of the Why Medicine essay. I checked with my DD and she said she wrote about a high school contribution she truly feels proud about, unrelated to medicine.
That said, would be good if someone that got into CWRU last year could comment.
Does anyone know if residency status is considered for VCU BSMD admission?
@4beardolls VCU website states it follows the process similar to the regular MD process. Their stats on MD process is close to 50/50 % for in state vs OOS, which is very good/high compared to most of the medical school admission which bias towards in state.
But you need to decide and act fast since 11/15 is the deadline including LORs reaching their office. Their application process is little complex (though extensive instruction is given), you need to mention the reference folks name in the app and submit and that will generate the emails to them and they need to upload and that should reach by 11/15 (time is running tight). But this school is nice and they may help if you call them and request them to get a copy of LOR from the UG office if you have submitted UG app long time back in case of any problem while following the stated process.
Also relatively speaking VCU has more seats for BS/MD, close to 20 and give 30-35 acceptances. So for OOS 15-20 acceptance which is very high in the BS/MD process. GL.
@GoldenRock, thank you and agreed with everything you stated.
I read in one of threads several years back that in-state students make up about 2/3 of BSMD class. Thus my question.
Their application does not look like an easy one and can’t be saved so must be done in one shot. At this point, DD is not pressing forward due to time commitment although I thought it’s worth doing.
@srk2017 and @Mom22DDs, thank you for your helpful advice.
And yes, it would be great if someone who got into Case PPSP also comment
Alright so I just got the first interview for the njit program. Does anyone know how many people get this interview?