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

[2027dad]

md2be28,

All of your options are great and I don’t think you can go wrong. Think of what you would do if don’t want to be a doctor after first two years of college (especially after taking Organic Chemistry). If you want to go into business UPenn is the best by far. Other two are good, but don’t carry the weight of the Wharton name if you can get in.

[Vicky2019]

@srk2017

@Vicky2019

@srk2017

@Vicky2019

@md2be2028

@Vicky2019

Undergrad route (Top UG/IVY) to medical school can be very long and usually requires gap years. You need to be patient and need lots of determination. You can then achieve what you want. You may also realize that your dreams/aspirations have changed along the way. this is not at all bad. Every journey is interesting and we need all kinds of people in this world.

You mentioned management consultancy. I feel ivy league education paves the road well for this profession. I personally know (friends & relatives) who pursued this path and are very successful.

Thank you @Vicky2019 for your perspective!
Could you please elaborate more on WHY Ivy undergrad route usually requires gap years?

One of the reasons why I think ivy route to medical school requires gap years is because of a few people I know since they were little -

I know a few people –

1. Harvard undergrad. A few gap years before Stanford
2. UChicago undergrad. One gap year before med school
3. Columbia undergrad (premed) with lot of research. Decided to take a management consultancy job]
4. Johns Hopkins undergrad (premed) with lot of research. Actually, applied to 30+ medical schools. Decided to take a job in a Biomedical research firm.
5. There are a few other kids who are currently studying in IVY leagues as premed but have not graduated yet.

However, there are many reasons why students choose BS MD path and decline seats to IVY/Top UGs. These are also the same reasons why I feel taking the IVY route is tougher for medical schools.

Some of the reasons are –

1. They want guaranteed seat in medical school
2. they feel that they will save time (accelerated programs, avoiding gap years)
3. they will save money (UG scholarship)
4. they want to avoid hard-work, stress required to prep for Medical school admissions (BSMD requirements are lower for med schools) and want to enjoy their undergrad years before the med school.
5. If the students have proper stats/ECs for BS/MD programs, they want to avoid the medical application cycle, interview during the undergrad. For example, if a HS student has stellar stats but no medical ECs, they are unlikely to apply BSMD programs)
6. ORM students have a tougher competition in general for med schools.

Ivy league schools range from #1 (Princeton) to #19 (Cornell). I am assuming the selectivity of these schools varies. The kids who get into these are not of the same caliber. Ivy league is basically a sports league and choose majority of students with solid stats who are also very good/excellent at sports. Also, non-IVY several schools which are equal/better should also be considered, listing some here - MIT, Stanford, UChicago, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Northwestern, Rice, WashU etc.

DISCLAIMER – These are my opinions only. I am not for other people. Also, I am talking about an average student at IVY/Top UG. Obviously, there will be top students who excel at Ivy’s and do not need gap years before medical school.

WHy did the kids you know took gap years? Some kids take gap years to get industry experience, while others take gap years to fill the deficiencies (GPA, ECs or no time for MCAP prep).

Also, most students don’t mind one or two gap years but parents are totally opposed to it for variety of reasons.

I don’t disagree with what you are saying, I just have a different way of thinking!

Bull or Bear

Republicans or Democrats

Blue or Red

Top UG or BSMD

Which one is right? It depends, based on their perspective.

I feel teens in this forum need to hear both the sides to form their opinions

I am not disputing what you are saying. My question was, do you know why those Ivy kids took gap years?

Well, to tell the truth - I never asked! My DS who is a senior this year is my oldest child. So far this topic was neither relevant nor important for me. Their mom’s are my friends and I am guessing it could be either one or a combination of reasons why they took a gap year -

1. took gap years to develop EC's
2. time for MCAT prep
3. wanted to get into a better program than what they got the first time or wanted to get into a program that offers scholarship since they spent full fees in IVY/undergrad
4. one or two of the students were not premed majors but maths/economics/other majors.. more time to take premed courses?

[Vicky2019]

@srk2017 - I forgot before to add that one of the persons in ivy league fell in love & got married. Not sure if this had any impact on their medical school admission plans!

[PPofEngrDr]

@Vicky2019

@srk2017

@Vicky2019

@srk2017

@Vicky2019

@md2be2028

@Vicky2019

Undergrad route (Top UG/IVY) to medical school can be very long and usually requires gap years. You need to be patient and need lots of determination. You can then achieve what you want. You may also realize that your dreams/aspirations have changed along the way. this is not at all bad. Every journey is interesting and we need all kinds of people in this world.

You mentioned management consultancy. I feel ivy league education paves the road well for this profession. I personally know (friends & relatives) who pursued this path and are very successful.

Thank you @Vicky2019 for your perspective!
Could you please elaborate more on WHY Ivy undergrad route usually requires gap years?

One of the reasons why I think ivy route to medical school requires gap years is because of a few people I know since they were little -

I know a few people –

1. Harvard undergrad. A few gap years before Stanford
2. UChicago undergrad. One gap year before med school
3. Columbia undergrad (premed) with lot of research. Decided to take a management consultancy job]
4. Johns Hopkins undergrad (premed) with lot of research. Actually, applied to 30+ medical schools. Decided to take a job in a Biomedical research firm.
5. There are a few other kids who are currently studying in IVY leagues as premed but have not graduated yet.

However, there are many reasons why students choose BS MD path and decline seats to IVY/Top UGs. These are also the same reasons why I feel taking the IVY route is tougher for medical schools.

Some of the reasons are –

1. They want guaranteed seat in medical school
2. they feel that they will save time (accelerated programs, avoiding gap years)
3. they will save money (UG scholarship)
4. they want to avoid hard-work, stress required to prep for Medical school admissions (BSMD requirements are lower for med schools) and want to enjoy their undergrad years before the med school.
5. If the students have proper stats/ECs for BS/MD programs, they want to avoid the medical application cycle, interview during the undergrad. For example, if a HS student has stellar stats but no medical ECs, they are unlikely to apply BSMD programs)
6. ORM students have a tougher competition in general for med schools.

Ivy league schools range from #1 (Princeton) to #19 (Cornell). I am assuming the selectivity of these schools varies. The kids who get into these are not of the same caliber. Ivy league is basically a sports league and choose majority of students with solid stats who are also very good/excellent at sports. Also, non-IVY several schools which are equal/better should also be considered, listing some here - MIT, Stanford, UChicago, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Northwestern, Rice, WashU etc.

DISCLAIMER – These are my opinions only. I am not for other people. Also, I am talking about an average student at IVY/Top UG. Obviously, there will be top students who excel at Ivy’s and do not need gap years before medical school.

WHy did the kids you know took gap years? Some kids take gap years to get industry experience, while others take gap years to fill the deficiencies (GPA, ECs or no time for MCAP prep).

Also, most students don’t mind one or two gap years but parents are totally opposed to it for variety of reasons.

I don’t disagree with what you are saying, I just have a different way of thinking!

Bull or Bear

Republicans or Democrats

Blue or Red

Top UG or BSMD

Which one is right? It depends, based on their perspective.

I feel teens in this forum need to hear both the sides to form their opinions

I am not disputing what you are saying. My question was, do you know why those Ivy kids took gap years?

Well, to tell the truth - I never asked! My DS who is a senior this year is my oldest child. So far this topic was neither relevant nor important for me. Their mom’s are my friends and I am guessing it could be either one or a combination of reasons why they took a gap year -

1. took gap years to develop EC's
2. time for MCAT prep
3. wanted to get into a better program than what they got the first time or wanted to get into a program that offers scholarship since they spent full fees in IVY/undergrad
4. one or two of the students were not premed majors but maths/economics/other majors.. more time to take premed courses?

What is n here, aka how many cases?

[walter2020]

I made my decision: Northwestern HPME 2027!! I could not be more excited to be a wildcat.

I posted my stats and reflections on the results thread. Good luck to next year’s applicants

[md2be2028]

@srk2017

You are a strong student. Since you are not sure about medicine, my recommendation is got to UPenn. Since you have research experience you should be able to find research easily at Penn.

Thank you @ srk2017!
If I am not mistaken, I thought you may have more first hand experience with Vandy…I also got into Vandy with half of the $$ off. I’d like to know your perspective/experience comparing Vandy vs T10 school like Penn and Duke if you don’t mind sharing here.
Otherwise…is there a PM option here? Thank you!

[Vicky2019]

@PPofEngrDr

@Vicky2019

@srk2017

@Vicky2019

@srk2017

@Vicky2019

@md2be2028

@Vicky2019

Undergrad route (Top UG/IVY) to medical school can be very long and usually requires gap years. You need to be patient and need lots of determination. You can then achieve what you want. You may also realize that your dreams/aspirations have changed along the way. this is not at all bad. Every journey is interesting and we need all kinds of people in this world.

You mentioned management consultancy. I feel ivy league education paves the road well for this profession. I personally know (friends & relatives) who pursued this path and are very successful.

Thank you @Vicky2019 for your perspective!
Could you please elaborate more on WHY Ivy undergrad route usually requires gap years?

One of the reasons why I think ivy route to medical school requires gap years is because of a few people I know since they were little -

I know a few people –

1. Harvard undergrad. A few gap years before Stanford
2. UChicago undergrad. One gap year before med school
3. Columbia undergrad (premed) with lot of research. Decided to take a management consultancy job]
4. Johns Hopkins undergrad (premed) with lot of research. Actually, applied to 30+ medical schools. Decided to take a job in a Biomedical research firm.
5. There are a few other kids who are currently studying in IVY leagues as premed but have not graduated yet.

However, there are many reasons why students choose BS MD path and decline seats to IVY/Top UGs. These are also the same reasons why I feel taking the IVY route is tougher for medical schools.

Some of the reasons are –

1. They want guaranteed seat in medical school
2. they feel that they will save time (accelerated programs, avoiding gap years)
3. they will save money (UG scholarship)
4. they want to avoid hard-work, stress required to prep for Medical school admissions (BSMD requirements are lower for med schools) and want to enjoy their undergrad years before the med school.
5. If the students have proper stats/ECs for BS/MD programs, they want to avoid the medical application cycle, interview during the undergrad. For example, if a HS student has stellar stats but no medical ECs, they are unlikely to apply BSMD programs)
6. ORM students have a tougher competition in general for med schools.

Ivy league schools range from #1 (Princeton) to #19 (Cornell). I am assuming the selectivity of these schools varies. The kids who get into these are not of the same caliber. Ivy league is basically a sports league and choose majority of students with solid stats who are also very good/excellent at sports. Also, non-IVY several schools which are equal/better should also be considered, listing some here - MIT, Stanford, UChicago, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Northwestern, Rice, WashU etc.

DISCLAIMER – These are my opinions only. I am not for other people. Also, I am talking about an average student at IVY/Top UG. Obviously, there will be top students who excel at Ivy’s and do not need gap years before medical school.

WHy did the kids you know took gap years? Some kids take gap years to get industry experience, while others take gap years to fill the deficiencies (GPA, ECs or no time for MCAP prep).

Also, most students don’t mind one or two gap years but parents are totally opposed to it for variety of reasons.

I don’t disagree with what you are saying, I just have a different way of thinking!

Bull or Bear

Republicans or Democrats

Blue or Red

Top UG or BSMD

Which one is right? It depends, based on their perspective.

I feel teens in this forum need to hear both the sides to form their opinions

I am not disputing what you are saying. My question was, do you know why those Ivy kids took gap years?

Well, to tell the truth - I never asked! My DS who is a senior this year is my oldest child. So far this topic was neither relevant nor important for me. Their mom’s are my friends and I am guessing it could be either one or a combination of reasons why they took a gap year -

1. took gap years to develop EC's
2. time for MCAT prep
3. wanted to get into a better program than what they got the first time or wanted to get into a program that offers scholarship since they spent full fees in IVY/undergrad
4. one or two of the students were not premed majors but maths/economics/other majors.. more time to take premed courses?

What is n here, aka how many cases?

I deliberately tried to be vague. I can’t share details due to privacy reasons!

[grtd2010]

@Vicky2019

@PPofEngrDr

@Vicky2019

@srk2017

@Vicky2019

@srk2017

@Vicky2019

@md2be2028

@Vicky2019

Undergrad route (Top UG/IVY) to medical school can be very long and usually requires gap years. You need to be patient and need lots of determination. You can then achieve what you want. You may also realize that your dreams/aspirations have changed along the way. this is not at all bad. Every journey is interesting and we need all kinds of people in this world.

You mentioned management consultancy. I feel ivy league education paves the road well for this profession. I personally know (friends & relatives) who pursued this path and are very successful.

Thank you @Vicky2019 for your perspective!
Could you please elaborate more on WHY Ivy undergrad route usually requires gap years?

One of the reasons why I think ivy route to medical school requires gap years is because of a few people I know since they were little -

I know a few people –

1. Harvard undergrad. A few gap years before Stanford
2. UChicago undergrad. One gap year before med school
3. Columbia undergrad (premed) with lot of research. Decided to take a management consultancy job]
4. Johns Hopkins undergrad (premed) with lot of research. Actually, applied to 30+ medical schools. Decided to take a job in a Biomedical research firm.
5. There are a few other kids who are currently studying in IVY leagues as premed but have not graduated yet.

However, there are many reasons why students choose BS MD path and decline seats to IVY/Top UGs. These are also the same reasons why I feel taking the IVY route is tougher for medical schools.

Some of the reasons are –

1. They want guaranteed seat in medical school
2. they feel that they will save time (accelerated programs, avoiding gap years)
3. they will save money (UG scholarship)
4. they want to avoid hard-work, stress required to prep for Medical school admissions (BSMD requirements are lower for med schools) and want to enjoy their undergrad years before the med school.
5. If the students have proper stats/ECs for BS/MD programs, they want to avoid the medical application cycle, interview during the undergrad. For example, if a HS student has stellar stats but no medical ECs, they are unlikely to apply BSMD programs)
6. ORM students have a tougher competition in general for med schools.

Ivy league schools range from #1 (Princeton) to #19 (Cornell). I am assuming the selectivity of these schools varies. The kids who get into these are not of the same caliber. Ivy league is basically a sports league and choose majority of students with solid stats who are also very good/excellent at sports. Also, non-IVY several schools which are equal/better should also be considered, listing some here - MIT, Stanford, UChicago, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Northwestern, Rice, WashU etc.

DISCLAIMER – These are my opinions only. I am not for other people. Also, I am talking about an average student at IVY/Top UG. Obviously, there will be top students who excel at Ivy’s and do not need gap years before medical school.

WHy did the kids you know took gap years? Some kids take gap years to get industry experience, while others take gap years to fill the deficiencies (GPA, ECs or no time for MCAP prep).

Also, most students don’t mind one or two gap years but parents are totally opposed to it for variety of reasons.

I don’t disagree with what you are saying, I just have a different way of thinking!

Bull or Bear

Republicans or Democrats

Blue or Red

Top UG or BSMD

Which one is right? It depends, based on their perspective.

I feel teens in this forum need to hear both the sides to form their opinions

I am not disputing what you are saying. My question was, do you know why those Ivy kids took gap years?

Well, to tell the truth - I never asked! My DS who is a senior this year is my oldest child. So far this topic was neither relevant nor important for me. Their mom’s are my friends and I am guessing it could be either one or a combination of reasons why they took a gap year -

1. took gap years to develop EC's
2. time for MCAT prep
3. wanted to get into a better program than what they got the first time or wanted to get into a program that offers scholarship since they spent full fees in IVY/undergrad
4. one or two of the students were not premed majors but maths/economics/other majors.. more time to take premed courses?

What is n here, aka how many cases?

I deliberately tried to be vague. I can’t share details due to privacy reasons!

Just trying to find out how many (#s) you are making references to here - Is n <= 2 or n> 5. No details.

[Vicky2019]

@walter2020

I made my decision: Northwestern HPME 2027!! I could not be more excited to be a wildcat.

I posted my stats and reflections on the results thread. Good luck to next year’s applicants

@Walter2020 - Congratulations! once again. Wonderful results.

You have 9 BS/MD interviews, 7 acceptances
You also have acceptance from 4 undergrad colleges

Awesome results! Your EC’s and essays must be spectacular

Wish you the very best.

[rk2017]

It is very difficult to come up with large sample sizes from personal acquaintances unless someone is very involved in public contact and volunteers to coach young people. Someone like @upstream for example, a physician, from couple of years ago. I think he/she shared sample size of some 2 dozen or so from memory over a period of time, which is quite a big sample at personal level. (One can search previous threads by name handle if interested). Or another physician from last year, @OldSchoolMD, who cited between 10 to 20.

At institutional level, lot of them resort to cooking up the numbers and it is no secret. They have to do that so as not to lose the enrollment business to their peers and competitors.

[Vicky2019]

@walter2020 - Which state are you from? Are you able to share?

[grtd2010]

@walter2020

TCNJ is a sneaky one. Rejected me after the preliminary interview, yet emailed me today saying that they reevaluated my application and decided to accept me into the program. Very confused as to how this happens (had a successful NJMS interview through 2 other feeders).

TCNJ’s initial decision was probably based on your SAT 1520 and later when they saw NJMS acceptance (your name in the list from NJMS), they might have changed their decision to attract you in joining TCNJ as UG.
It does not matter now since you are joining NU HPME. But it does reflect that TCNJ prefer near perfect stats applicants. Some one mentioned a similar preference by NJIT on CC IIRC

[PPofEngrDr]

@Vicky2019

@PPofEngrDr

@Vicky2019

@srk2017

@Vicky2019

@srk2017

@Vicky2019

@md2be2028

@Vicky2019

Undergrad route (Top UG/IVY) to medical school can be very long and usually requires gap years. You need to be patient and need lots of determination. You can then achieve what you want. You may also realize that your dreams/aspirations have changed along the way. this is not at all bad. Every journey is interesting and we need all kinds of people in this world.

You mentioned management consultancy. I feel ivy league education paves the road well for this profession. I personally know (friends & relatives) who pursued this path and are very successful.

Thank you @Vicky2019 for your perspective!
Could you please elaborate more on WHY Ivy undergrad route usually requires gap years?

One of the reasons why I think ivy route to medical school requires gap years is because of a few people I know since they were little -

I know a few people –

1. Harvard undergrad. A few gap years before Stanford
2. UChicago undergrad. One gap year before med school
3. Columbia undergrad (premed) with lot of research. Decided to take a management consultancy job]
4. Johns Hopkins undergrad (premed) with lot of research. Actually, applied to 30+ medical schools. Decided to take a job in a Biomedical research firm.
5. There are a few other kids who are currently studying in IVY leagues as premed but have not graduated yet.

However, there are many reasons why students choose BS MD path and decline seats to IVY/Top UGs. These are also the same reasons why I feel taking the IVY route is tougher for medical schools.

Some of the reasons are –

1. They want guaranteed seat in medical school
2. they feel that they will save time (accelerated programs, avoiding gap years)
3. they will save money (UG scholarship)
4. they want to avoid hard-work, stress required to prep for Medical school admissions (BSMD requirements are lower for med schools) and want to enjoy their undergrad years before the med school.
5. If the students have proper stats/ECs for BS/MD programs, they want to avoid the medical application cycle, interview during the undergrad. For example, if a HS student has stellar stats but no medical ECs, they are unlikely to apply BSMD programs)
6. ORM students have a tougher competition in general for med schools.

Ivy league schools range from #1 (Princeton) to #19 (Cornell). I am assuming the selectivity of these schools varies. The kids who get into these are not of the same caliber. Ivy league is basically a sports league and choose majority of students with solid stats who are also very good/excellent at sports. Also, non-IVY several schools which are equal/better should also be considered, listing some here - MIT, Stanford, UChicago, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Northwestern, Rice, WashU etc.

DISCLAIMER – These are my opinions only. I am not for other people. Also, I am talking about an average student at IVY/Top UG. Obviously, there will be top students who excel at Ivy’s and do not need gap years before medical school.

WHy did the kids you know took gap years? Some kids take gap years to get industry experience, while others take gap years to fill the deficiencies (GPA, ECs or no time for MCAP prep).

Also, most students don’t mind one or two gap years but parents are totally opposed to it for variety of reasons.

I don’t disagree with what you are saying, I just have a different way of thinking!

Bull or Bear

Republicans or Democrats

Blue or Red

Top UG or BSMD

Which one is right? It depends, based on their perspective.

I feel teens in this forum need to hear both the sides to form their opinions

I am not disputing what you are saying. My question was, do you know why those Ivy kids took gap years?

Well, to tell the truth - I never asked! My DS who is a senior this year is my oldest child. So far this topic was neither relevant nor important for me. Their mom’s are my friends and I am guessing it could be either one or a combination of reasons why they took a gap year -

1. took gap years to develop EC's
2. time for MCAT prep
3. wanted to get into a better program than what they got the first time or wanted to get into a program that offers scholarship since they spent full fees in IVY/undergrad
4. one or two of the students were not premed majors but maths/economics/other majors.. more time to take premed courses?

What is n here, aka how many cases?

I deliberately tried to be vague. I can’t share details due to privacy reasons!

Like that equally vague response, all I asked is how many cases you know may have 5-6 reasons and some combinations of it? answer is <10.
Everyone can come up with outliers but we all know that is not a norm.

[srk2017]

@rk2017

It is very difficult to come up with large sample sizes from personal acquaintances unless someone is very involved in public contact and volunteers to coach young people. Someone like @upstream for example, a physician, from couple of years ago. I think he/she shared sample size of some 2 dozen or so from memory over a period of time, which is quite a big sample at personal level. (One can search previous threads by name handle if interested). Or another physician from last year, @OldSchoolMD, who cited between 10 to 20.

At institutional level, lot of them resort to cooking up the numbers and it is no secret. They have to do that so as not to lose the enrollment business to their peers and competitors.

Yes, they have more examples, but over how many years? Did they go to similar school schools?

[PPofEngrDr]

If someone interested in finding outlier case of BS/MD, other site has posting under What are my chances (WAMC) thread, kid with stellar GPA from low tier UG, less stellar ECs, is facing MCAT cut-off dilemma and potentially loosing MD seat for traditional route.

[srk2017]

@PPofEngrDr

If someone interested in finding outlier case of BS/MD, other site has posting under What are my chances (WAMC) thread, kid with stellar GPA from low tier UG, less stellar ECs, is facing MCAT cut-off dilemma and potentially loosing MD seat for traditional route.

missed CARS cutoff by 1 point. GPA is 3.97 and school told them to take MCAT again but MCATs are getting cancelled.

[srk2017]

@md2be2028

@srk2017

You are a strong student. Since you are not sure about medicine, my recommendation is got to UPenn. Since you have research experience you should be able to find research easily at Penn.

Thank you @ srk2017!
If I am not mistaken, I thought you may have more first hand experience with Vandy…I also got into Vandy with half of the $$ off. I’d like to know your perspective/experience comparing Vandy vs T10 school like Penn and Duke if you don’t mind sharing here.
Otherwise…is there a PM option here? Thank you!

You can PM me, but need one more post I think to be able. My S gave up Penn and JHU for Vandy CV and has no regreats.

[Vicky2019]

@grtd2010, @PPofEngrDr , @rk2017 , @srk2017 & others,

You are all right. My figures are based on very few observations and not useful for any statistical modelling!

I was thinking of approx. 13 people that I know among our ORM community over the last several years.

Approx. 7 people who went to Top UG’s as premeds. 4/7 are on target to become doctors with some gap. 1 changed their mind. 2 have not graduated yet from ivys

Another 6 people who went to BSMD are doing very well. Scored very well on MCAT and got excellent GPA.

Also, a little background about me -
I am a computer engineer however I have several close friends/family members who are doctors. Most of these are in other countries.

I live in a town where professionals/lawyers/c level executives live. Majority (one or both parents) have studied in ivy type of colleges. The parents spend significant time giving back as Alumni. The kids are encouraged to participate in sports (with 1:1 coaching) and other ECs. These kids have ended up attending top universities. Our town has very few ORM families. No one from our school applies to BSMDs. I coach/mentor teens in our town and have been doing this for past 6-7 years.

However, I have a lot of friends in several neighboring towns that are overcrowded with ORMs.

DISCLAIMER – These are my observations only based on my experience/observation/feelings. I only want to volunteer my time because I feel strongly that teens are in their formative years and could benefit from a variety of opinions/suggestions/observations. I am not a professional college coach!

[PPofEngrDr]

@Vicky2019 appreciate honesty and transparency.

[srk2017]

@Vicky2019

@grtd2010, @PPofEngrDr , @rk2017 , @srk2017 & others,

You are all right. My figures are based on very few observations and not useful for any statistical modelling!

I was thinking of approx. 13 people that I know among our ORM community over the last several years.

Approx. 7 people who went to Top UG’s as premeds. 4/7 are on target to become doctors with some gap. 1 changed their mind. 2 have not graduated yet from ivys

Another 6 people who went to BSMD are doing very well. Scored very well on MCAT and got excellent GPA.

Also, a little background about me -
I am a computer engineer however I have several close friends/family members who are doctors. Most of these are in other countries.

I live in a town where professionals/lawyers/c level executives live. Majority (one or both parents) have studied in ivy type of colleges. The parents spend significant time giving back as Alumni. The kids are encouraged to participate in sports (with 1:1 coaching) and other ECs. These kids have ended up attending top universities. Our town has very few ORM families. No one from our school applies to BSMDs. I coach/mentor teens in our town and have been doing this for past 6-7 years.

However, I have a lot of friends in several neighboring towns that are overcrowded with ORMs.

DISCLAIMER – These are my observations only based on my experience/observation/feelings. I only want to volunteer my time because I feel strongly that teens are in their formative years and could benefit from a variety of opinions/suggestions/observations. I am not a professional college coach!

No one is questioning your motives. We all trying to give advice based on what we observe. Only issue is we continuously hear is that kids who went to Ivies failed to get MD admission without gap years but we don’t hear the reasons. As per AAMC only 13% with good GPA and MCAT failed to get admission but general advice here is everyone should give up top UGs for any BSMD program (bird in hand) and that’s where some of us disagree and ask for more details. Vandy is an NOT an Ivy league school, but they have 98% success with 3.8 GPA. Vandy doesn’t prevent kids with lower GPA from applying. You can google and find their report.

As I said before, my S went to a public school in NorCal and none of the top students from that HS had issues getting into MD thru traditional path. Only one took BSMD route (BU) 10 years back and changed his mind and went for Ph.D. We looked all that info before deciding. kids in my own family went thru traditional path (JHU) and ended up taking gap years due to GPA issue but have no regrets. The issue there was kids focused too much time on research and let grades slip early. That was lessons learned for my S and he was focused from day 1.