***Official Thread for 2020 BSMD applicants***

[grtd2010]

@Somo2020

Thanks to everyone for guiding us through this entire journey.
Special Thanks to @Goldenrock,@rk2017,@Novicedad,@Threebrook,@Jbourne5 ,@srk2017 and sorry if I have missed anyone.

Here is my DS status and the results.

Weighted GPA - 4.9/5 , Unweighted - 4/4
ACT – 34 Class Rank – 13 /862 ( Top 2 %)
SAT Bio – 770 ,SAT Chem – 750

AP Word History – 4, AP Human Geo – 4,AP Bio – 4, AP CALC AB – 4,AP Physiology – 5,AP Chem – 4 , AP Language – 4 ,AP Spanish 4 – 4 , Apush – 4 , AP CALC BC- 4
Senior year AP
AP Stat , AP Spanish 6,AP Physics, AP Gov

• ORM and Income >150 K Club & sports President for few other club. Debate team( JV and Varsity 10,11,12) Red Cross – President NHS( Member) National Spanish Honor Society (Member)

Awards
National AP Scholar
Presidential Award for Volunteering

Volunteer /Research
100 + Hours in Volunteering at Hospital Emergency Dept.(Some Interaction with Patients)
Some Research Experience

Applied to the below BSMD

UPitt - Supplement -Rejected -Accepted to UG - 15 K
Hofstra- Supplement-Waitlisted for Interview Accepted to UG Presidential Scholarship
RPI-Supplement Rejected-Accepted to UG with good scholarship
Stony Brook -Rejected -Accepted to UG - 15 K
U Rochester -Rejected -Accepted to UG - with good scholarship
Rutgers Newark/NJMS -Rejected-Accepted to UG - 19 K
Temple -Rejected-Accepted to UG - Full Tution Scholarship
PennState-Rejected -Accepted to UG
Case Western -Rejected-Waitlisted for UG
Drexel- Rejected-Accepted to UG -25 K
Florida State(FSU)-Rejected-Accepted to UG - OOS fee waiver
Florida Atlantic -Rejected-Accepted to UG with good scholarship

Applied to the below UG

1. University of Arizona(In State) - Accepted
2. UCLA – Accepted
3. UCSD- Accepted
4. North Eastern – Accepted
5. Emory – Waitlisted
   6.Brown – Waitlisted.

For UG -UCLA and UCSD are great choices but being an OOS with no scholarship and heard it is very hard to maintain GPA , we are still debating if this would be good choice for our DS.

DS is considering Florida State University (BS MD Med Scholar was rejected) and University of Arizona (In State) for Neuro Science.

How good is FSU compared to UofA for UG?

University of Arizona(ins-state) over FSU( you pay in-state tuition as Floridian)
Best part avoid clod weather in East coast or Northeast

[RJP1973]

@Vicky2019 ,@Novicedad, @srk2017 -

In our comparison

GW (7 yr ba md) total cost is roughly above 130K more expensive than Hofstra ( 8 Yr bs md). Med school at GW is 30K more than Hofstra. Undegrad is 100k more for GW. The other major difference is GW is 7 yr vs Hofstra is 8 yr and GW doesn’t require MCAT vs. Hofstra required MCAT with 512 in first attempt besides GPA requirement. GW residency match seems to better than Hofsra so does ranking… hope that helps guiding us… please advise…

[PPofEngrDr]

@RJP1973

@Vicky2019 ,@Novicedad, @srk2017 -

In our comparison

GW (7 yr ba md) total cost is roughly above 130K more expensive than Hofstra ( 8 Yr bs md). Med school at GW is 30K more than Hofstra. Undegrad is 100k more for GW. The other major difference is GW is 7 yr vs Hofstra is 8 yr and GW doesn’t require MCAT vs. Hofstra required MCAT with 512 in first attempt besides GPA requirement. GW residency match seems to better than Hofsra so does ranking… hope that helps guiding us… please advise…

@RJP1973
In other words, you are paying 130K premium for 1 year savings and security. Additional ~20K/year seems worth it from finance point of view. Point remains which one you like more as a campus as you are spending next 7-8 years at that place.

[brainbuilder02]

SB VS UPMC [UPITT GAP]? at least a 130k difference in cost; but T20

[grtd2010]

@srk2017

@Vicky2019

@quaranteen

Hi, kinda new here. I just have one question. If I’m an ORM from a comparatively rural area, would that negatively impact my chances in the BSMD process since I don’t have many of the opportunities many students from other states have? I’ve been making use of all the opportunities that I do have here, but compared to the others I see on here, it doesn’t seem like much at all.

BS/MD applicants need high GPA, strong courses (Honors/APs), perfect test scores, medical related experience, essays, LORs - all 9 yards… As long as you have these, you would be a good applicant and will end up with a few interviews. Your interview will decide whether you get in or not.

It is my opinion that if there are a lot of strong students with good stats in a school district, they end up competing with each other for top UG or BSMD seats. This will be true whether you live in a rural or urban area.

It appears BSMD competition among HS classmates happens more in NJ schools, may be they are reading BSMD threads too much Hardly anyone applies for BSMD from my S’s competitive HS or other schools in our area.

A lot more excellent OOS students apply to multiple feeders schools for NJMS bs/md. This certainly crowds out NJ HS students and competition becomes fierce among them IMO.

[grtd2010]

@RJP1973

@Vicky2019 ,@Novicedad, @srk2017 -

In our comparison

GW (7 yr ba md) total cost is roughly above 130K more expensive than Hofstra ( 8 Yr bs md). Med school at GW is 30K more than Hofstra. Undegrad is 100k more for GW. The other major difference is GW is 7 yr vs Hofstra is 8 yr and GW doesn’t require MCAT vs. Hofstra required MCAT with 512 in first attempt besides GPA requirement. GW residency match seems to better than Hofsra so does ranking… hope that helps guiding us… please advise…

Take Hofstra over GW regardless of cost IMO. No MCAT should not be a criteria IMO.

[grtd2010]

@RJP1973

@Vicky2019 ,@Novicedad, @srk2017 -

In our comparison

GW (7 yr ba md) total cost is roughly above 130K more expensive than Hofstra ( 8 Yr bs md). Med school at GW is 30K more than Hofstra. Undegrad is 100k more for GW. The other major difference is GW is 7 yr vs Hofstra is 8 yr and GW doesn’t require MCAT vs. Hofstra required MCAT with 512 in first attempt besides GPA requirement. GW residency match seems to better than Hofsra so does ranking… hope that helps guiding us… please advise…

It seems you are already tilted towards GW 7 yr. Go with it. None of the posters here can act as a substitute decision maker for your S. It is your S’s decision and he has to live it for next 7 yr/8 yrs. He should have the final say.

[grtd2010]

@brainbuilder02

SB VS UPMC [UPITT GAP]? at least a 130k difference in cost; but T20

Is finance an issue or desire for a T20 supersedes all obstacles on the way ? No scholarship for UG at UPitts ? Always can go with SBU or closer to home option Rutgers-NB.

[brainbuilder02]

@grtd2010

@brainbuilder02

SB VS UPMC [UPITT GAP]? at least a 130k difference in cost; but T20

Is finance an issue or desire for a T20 supersedes all obstacles on the way ? No scholarship for UG at UPitts ? Always can go with SBU or closer to home option Rutgers-NB.

80k scholarship so far at UPITT Honors college. This consideration would get tricky if UPITT med school comes through

[srk2017]

@grtd2010

@brainbuilder02

SB VS UPMC [UPITT GAP]? at least a 130k difference in cost; but T20

Is finance an issue or desire for a T20 supersedes all obstacles on the way ? No scholarship for UG at UPitts ? Always can go with SBU or closer to home option Rutgers-NB.

80k scholarship so far at UPITT Honors college. This consideration would get tricky if UPITT med school comes through

[/quote]

Go to UPenn and attend GAP interview. If you get GAP you have one year to think about it. You can say you experienced Ivy league school also if you get GAP and decides to take it . No one here has that experience. Remember GAP takes only 10.

[ata2020]

1. Is there a recipe for BSMD success? If so, what are the ingredients? Prescriptive set of essentials and nice to haves.
2. Are there good counselors, specialized in BSMD? E.g prepscholar is very generalized and not specific to BSMD.
3. To hedge the risk of BSMD failure, what is a good T20 pre-med UG list (USNWR does not publish a pre-med ranking).

[EPallazzo]

Anyone admitted to Rutgers/RWJ 4+4 Global Health program?

[srk2017]

@ata2020

1. Is there a recipe for BSMD success? If so, what are the ingredients? Prescriptive set of essentials and nice to haves.

1. Are there good counselors, specialized in BSMD? E.g prepscholar is very generalized and not specific to BSMD.
2. To hedge the risk of BSMD failure, what is a good T20 pre-med UG list (USNWR does not publish a pre-med ranking).

Recipe is near perfect stats, research, ECs, essays, interview skills i.e. need everything and then prayers.

Apply broadly. Without knowing your stats, ECs and state any advice is useless.

[rk2017]

@brainbuilder02

I had reached out to SB admissions to get an idea about the rigor of the program. This year 1000+ students applied to Scholars in Medicine Program. 40 candidates were interviewed [compared to 20 last year] and 20 were offered acceptances. Typically 6-10 matriculate into the program. Upon transfer of AP credits, there is sufficient historical precedence for these students to graduate the UG portion in 3 years. In addition in state tuition for medical school is offered after 1 year of meeting residence requirements in NY.

@brainbuilder02, @Vicky2019

Thanks for following up and sharing. So this confirms my earlier feel that that the med school portion is in state tuition.

[Vicky2019]

@srk2017

@grtd2010

@brainbuilder02

SB VS UPMC [UPITT GAP]? at least a 130k difference in cost; but T20

Is finance an issue or desire for a T20 supersedes all obstacles on the way ? No scholarship for UG at UPitts ? Always can go with SBU or closer to home option Rutgers-NB.

80k scholarship so far at UPITT Honors college. This consideration would get tricky if UPITT med school comes through

Go to UPenn and attend GAP interview. If you get GAP you have one year to think about it. You can say you experienced Ivy league school also if you get GAP and decides to take it . No one here has that experience. Remember GAP takes only 10.

[/quote]

@brainbuilder02 - You got wonderful tips/suggestions from various people. Each person has different opinion based on what is important to them. No one else can give you the correct answer - only you have the right answer in this case!

Think about what makes you happy. In the worst case scenario, if you don’t get a UPitt BS/MD seat, what is your bottomline for risk. Would you be happy with prestige.? Would you be happy only if you were a Doctor? Would you be happy if you only got a full ride?

Have a frank discussion with your parents. Ask them what they can pay comfortably for your education.

The sweet spot for you is get the best seat (whatever makes you happy) for the money at hand.

Is UPitt your sweet spot or UPenn or SBU BS/MD? Remember, with your calibre you can be successful anywhere you go. The college will only help you so far…your success depends on you!

note: You are very young and its ok to decide based on what you like now…its likely your priorities may change as you grow!

[NoviceDad]

@brainbuilder02

One suggestion - BS/MD involves tradeoffs.

And know you will NOT get everything you want.

What one values in these trade-offs is a very personal thing.

[brainbuilder02]

Thank you @grtd2010 @srk2017 @Vicky2019 @NoviceDad @PPofEngrDr @rk2017 for all your input and guidance! I truly appreciate all the support.

[mywish4u]

My niece is down to two of her choices - BU-SMED and another.
She says is 98% leaning towards BU but will not tell me what the 2% hold up is.

From my perspective, BU should be a no-brainer for her.

Should I do anything?

[PPofEngrDr]

@mywish4u

My niece is down to two of her choices - BU-SMED and another.
She says is 98% leaning towards BU but will not tell me what the 2% hold up is.

From my perspective, BU should be a no-brainer for her.

Should I do anything?

Don’t ask her what is so called ‘another’.

[Vicky2019]

@brainbuilder02 - I would not recommend taking loans for undergrad. UPenn is not worth it if you have to take loans to attend it.

@rk2017

@brainbuilder02

I had reached out to SB admissions to get an idea about the rigor of the program. This year 1000+ students applied to Scholars in Medicine Program. 40 candidates were interviewed [compared to 20 last year] and 20 were offered acceptances. Typically 6-10 matriculate into the program. Upon transfer of AP credits, there is sufficient historical precedence for these students to graduate the UG portion in 3 years. In addition in state tuition for medical school is offered after 1 year of meeting residence requirements in NY.

@brainbuilder02, @Vicky2019

Thanks for following up and sharing. So this confirms my earlier feel that that the med school portion is in state tuition.

Thank you for sharing. My son told me that he loves PSU/SKMC and since it is within our comfort zone cost wise…we didn’t follow up regarding SBU BS/MD.

Based on what I read and my understanding, students need to take loans for med school to meet the residency requirement. If they are depending on parents to pay the med school tution/fees, the student would not be able to meet residence requirement…