Is it true that ORGO has crushed a lot of pre-med dreams in traditional path ?
@orm2020 - FALSE. I know kids who got C in Orgo and still got good medical school admissions. BSMD admits also needs to take Orgo and Biochem and they may drop out if they are freaked out by those two. So no BSMD advantage 
@sgup10 - yes there is some correlation between HS standardized tests and MCAT. Those who did poorly in HS tends to do poorly in MCAT and then USMLE. Check on SDN. If you are worried about CARS only, you can improve if you put time i.e. start reading non-science material early and start practising. You can make up some deficiency in CARS score with other sections. No school is looking for 528 MCAT!
yes getting a C can crush some one on the BS MD Path also as some programs have high science GPA requirements.
Need to account this risk when u rank these programs.
@orm2020 short answer is true and false, if you ask reasons for lower sGPA of pre-meds on traditional path, ORGO is notorious to take a lead on that. Now depending upon how lower your sGPA is, it can crush or provide an option to revive your dream. In general couple of Bs and Cs doesnât crush your med-school dream, rather you need to alleviate your med-school application profile by working more on ECs to compensate that sGPA shortfall.
ORGO is considered one of toughest subject to attain âAâ during UG. Some students struggle and some excels. At the same time some struggle in other core sciences like Physics. Even some BS/MD students struggle too in core sciences. So its boils down to individual students who struggle to maintain sGPA.
You probably didnât take ACT right? How was your PSAT? Did you prepare for PSAT actually? (Lot of kids donât). These are some of the things you need to ask yourself.
Between SAT and ACT some kids do better in one than the other. So without ACT you never know how well you could have done there. Kids who did well on ACT have done well on MCAT too.
I advise you not to consider test taking being a factor in your decision making, I am sure you will do fine. As mentioned by me, your biggest concern at Harvard should be ECs if medicine is still on your radar.
Yeah Orgo is considered tough, but not formidable. Shouldnât be issue for kids like you(rs) :-). I know kids who got B+ in Orgo2 even skipping attending classes. 
(of course labs canât be skipped). Science GPA is also a consideration if going traditional.
@rk2017 - I disagree with âI advise you not to consider test taking being a factor in your decision makingâ. Given GPA variations between schools, MCAT is the second most criteria. You get 4.0 from Harvard and 500 in MCAT you donât get any interviews if you are an ORM. GPA and MCAT are the initial filters and they compliment each other to certain extent. If you get one lower you can make up in another. Anyone truly want to know, start checking on SDN than asking âexpertsâ here.
I donât see the above as a possibility with respect to @sgup10 He or she will be just fine, when kids like that are getting 520s with 6 weeks of self preparation.
Allow me another naive question , which case is better off ( hold other factors constant, - majors, MCAT, ECs ) :
a) HPYMS - 3.4 GPA
b) Top 20 - 3.75 GPA
c) State Flagship - 3.9 GPA
Please pick one and clarify. Based on a few more B/Cs in top college .
Is your SAT score really 1530? If you do not mind, can you please share your SAT 2 scores as well and whether you a ORM or not? I apologize in advance, if I am being intrusive. But I just want to understand the benchmark for interview selection. They say holistic approach. But I am not sure if you have outstanding awards in different fields and stellar ECs, do they still make it for the deficit in SAT 1 and SAT 2 scores (let us say > 95%)? Some students are not very good test takers on any given single day although overall they excel and are as bright as anyone else. Does the region you are from matter? My perception following this thread is that if you are a ORM and from Northeast, you need near perfect scores from SAT 1 and SAT 2 for BS/MD interviews. Please let me know your thoughts about these single day exams which seems to matter most in this round of BS/MD selections.
Before I answer you, can you tell me which category you belong to.
A. Consultant
B. Consultant with their kid(s) who went thru the process
C. parent whose kids are in BSMD program
D. parent whose kids applied for BSMD programs but no acceptances
E. Parent whose kids declined BSMD acceptances and went to traditional for whatever reason (prestige, scholarships or cost of BSMD).
@srk2017 : son is applying BSMD current cycle, right now target at NJMS, but also applying TOP 20s. Already accepted into Flagship 6 year PharmD program.
A is clear looser. B and C are probably equal except for stats heavy schools. Again for ORMs 3.7 GPA is the minimum to be competitive for MD or 3.5 with stellar ECs or served in military.
Folks
Union/ AMC interview invites are still going out - one of my students received one today.
Orgo, physio and biochem - are three tough courses and act as weed out classes.
To give you NU example for orgo - they have 4 classes for Orgo in Q1, then 3 classes in Q2 and down to 1 class in Q3.
Some of the decline is due to students meeting their 1 course requirement but a chunk is also due to students changing their majors and avoiding more orgo classes.
If you look at @grtd2010âs post # 2370, the lowest average GPA for âtop 20â medical school is 3.81.
My S just got a call from TCNJ today for a phone interview. Although we are extremely happy to get the call, it is a little perplexing since we are NJ residents and he could easily have gone there for an interview in person. Does it mean anything that is a phone interview vs. an in-person interview?
My opinion as well that it needs to be perfect/near perfect +stellar ECs +Rec + Essays for ORM in NE. Called Boston and told them that we are hearing that interviews have been finalized and that the end of February is not a true statement - they clearly asked us not to pay attention to the noise, and wait till february end. If someone hasnt been interviewed or received an interview by then, they should wait to receive information via mail about admission decisions
Toughest place for ORMs is not NE itâs CA and we donât have any BSMD (discount CNU).