Hey has anyone heard anything back from Albany? I applied Union/Albany.
My main concerns with program is location and reputation of the medical school when it comes to residency match. I talked to someone who works in a medical college and it gave me an impression that their medical college considers medical school reputation also during residency match.
The flagship in-state univ is associated with a medical school in the top 40s. The major I got into provides numerous research opportunities, medical internships, and is affiliated with that collegeās COM.
Iām conflicted because I think I can get into my flagship medical school and Iām not sure if I should risk the opportunity of Rutgers/NJMS.
From what I read this is a āclassical questionā, some people, not few, gave up their ivy for a mid-tier bsmd. Again the pro is you donāt need to go through another round of MCAT preparation and have a more relaxed UG. The con is with regular route you might end up with a higher tier SOM. If you donāt mind the MCAT you can take the bsmd for now, and if you score well with MCAT you can apply out.
Both the NJ based med schools are very well reputed (not based in some faulty web siteās rankings) based on ground realities. Students from these schools routinely get into top residencies and fellowships of their liking.
If you are confident go for instate flagship. Of course medical school reputation is considered during residency match. Check match list of NJMS. If you want to settle in your home state, see how many from NJMS match in your home state.
NJMS has a good reputation of churning out medical students.
Students from NJMS have matched to Stanford, Yale, John Hopkins, Mt. Sinai, Baylor, UC-San Diego, NYU, Jefferson, BU, Rochester - to name a few.
If anyone is telling you to the contrary, please understand from where that person is coming from.
Re: Residencies
Residency matches are a complex affair - students on an average apply to 36.4 programs - going up to 58 average applications for surgery. Essentially it is a numbers game as folks want to maximize their interview chances. Does reputation of a college play a role? Yes. How much? It is an open question.
My limited understanding of the residency process is the program specialty and program directors (PDs) reputation plays a biggest role than the college. Example: RUSH University - it is ranked #1 for ortho residencies even though it may be ranked ~60 by US News.
Also a large role is played by your away rotations and LORs from those program directors.
And PDs play an outsized role in SOAP process (secondary process in case you do match the first time).
You can be at NJMS and do your away rotations at your in-state flagship and potentially get your residency there.
Fact is there are too many variables at play with reputation being one among many and not necessarily a significant factor.
Hope this helps.
I talked with my D. Basically ensure to inform NMSC the college you plan to matriculate sooner the better. Then if the college does not offer any additional $, you will get the $2500 from NMSC. But if any school offers additional $ (like OU, UAB, Drexel etc), they will add to that $2500 whatever the amount they grant. For example, in OU, they give additional $2500 for a total of $5000 which is distributed as $625/sem for 8 semesters.
@wmhspb
sorry - typo ā
ā¦SOAP process (secondary process in case you do NOT - repeat, do NOT - match the first time)ā¦
Saw so many posts related to AP and I have not read what the whole discussion.
But doing AP just for the count is not the way to go.
Many schools do not offer and also many schools only junior year you can do. In my DD school that is the case and my D did only 7 and did 2 on her own.
Her friend in her HS got admission in Harvard did only 8 APs.
Similar to GPA and Test Scores, every one is getting carried away with the count of APs. All quantitative things carry only to some extent, still why some one gets admission or not depends on all other non-quantitative (subjective things) which is hard to know and because of that we can not throw all of them under the carpet.
Both NJMS and RWJ are great choice for MD in NJ and offer a great deal. What state is your top 40 medical school ? Take a chance and forget about NJMS. It all depends upon your risk appetite.
Hey everyone, I am a BS/MD grad who used to be a major contributor to these forums. I made a post about the residency match process just to clarify for everyone in case this is a factor for program decisions. Always happy to help out in any way I can (looking at match lists, etc.)
Yes, one should not do APs just for the count (as mentioned C chose not to do 3 APs which could have been). But if someone exhausts the limited number of APs the school has to offer and donāt show the continuity in senior year (bcoz the school doesnāt offer any more) it doesnāt carry forward a good impression during the admissions cycle, irrespective of what all these colleges say. The rigor and continuity should at least be conveyed on the application by perhaps self registration of few APs and actually taking the tests at the end of the year.
@GoldenRock My D has admission to OU BS MD program. You seem to have knowledge of this program. We are not instate and it is far for us. Is it a good program?
She also has UCF 8 year admission. Is that a guaranteed program? I have heard that the requirements are so onerous that it is not really guaranteed. Also they require interview.
Any help is appreciated.
please share your D stats like SAT score, GPA, APs, ECs
You may want to look up @GoldenRock comments on OU like two days back while waiting for any further feedback. I gather it is a good program both from financial and academic perspectives. One may need a car though for traveling around, but shouldnāt be a big deal if finances are well taken care of.
Think UCF is more like an EAP program than guaranteed one.
Welcome back! Thanks for the write-up. Will go through in a while and reach out to you if any questions.
Thank you for your reply. Looks like he can get both. We have already informed NMSC of his college choice.
Is your D a NMF and getting a great scholarship package at OU MHP ? D was admitted to OU MHP a few years (NMF) but did not want to attend a far away medical school. One would need a car to do medical ECs (Norman and OK City are far apart). Do you have a direct flight from your state to OK city ?
UCF is not a guaranteed program. A UG GPA 3.8 and MCAT 514 are achievable but then why take a chance ?. One may as well have other options with these kind of stats via regular route MD.
What are your other options beside these two ? Which state are you in ? D now has provisional admission to a great medical school Temple LKSOM as a junior.
@rk2017 , @ROSSX2 , @GoldenRock , @PPofEngrDr , @grtd2010
Thank you all for responding to my question about UMichigan. Really appreciate your thoughtful responses.
We had few days to digest the fact that BSMD route is not happening for us anymore. We are now embracing the decision to go to UM and excited about it. I discussed the weather with my DC but it doesnāt seem to be a deal breaker. We feel this route might work out better for my DC since it gives a great UG experience and more options via this route to apply to many medical schools. My DC is excited about all the resources and opportunities available at UM more so because itās away from home 
thanks again
Awesome!! Way to Go. All the Best!!