Your C should take SAT I and SAT II (subject test) unless these become optional for bsmd before selecting a list of bsmd programs to apply. Your C should aim for near perfect scores as you can see from past results that most successful applicants will have those. Just a reminder, only approximately 5% of medical school seats are filled via bsmd programs. For IL residents, apply to UIC-GPPA.
As a HS junior, do you know which competitive specialty you would like to do residency ? Most medical students do not know the answer until after their clinical rotations.
Do not worry about USLME1 P/F now ? PDs would have devised a method to allocate students to competitive specialties by the time you would be applying for a residency probably in 8-9 years.
The route you take - BS/MD or traditional - has no bearing on which specialty you will match.
Re: completing BS/MD program faster
Check with the college concerned.
Some will be flexible but most would like the student to be the cohort they are together with.
RE: Choosing feeder schools for NJMS
Competition is a given - there will be competition through all feeder schools.
Choose the ones you/ your child will be comfortable spending 3-4 years at the undergrad.
Based on what you have shared, I believe his current SAT score is < 1500.
For an ORM, a SAT score >=1540 or ACT >=34 is what gives you a fighting chance.
SAT 1500 to 1540 is a âgreyâ zone - there are ORM students who have made it but most folks on this forum would consider them as âoutliers.â
Re: Test scores
Current going in position is that College Board / ACT will conduct tests - especially starting August - either in person or online.
Most BS/MD programs will require you to have test scores, including subject test scores.
What looks âbetterâ for an ORM-- an SAT score of 1520 or an ACT score of 34? I know that theyâre approx the same, but would there be a preference for SAT vs ACT?
What grade are you in? It seems you have couple of years before you need to start worrying about such hypothetical questions.
No one can answer for sure, since no one can predict what may or may not work for a given program. But this is what I feel. 34 ACT may not appear as far away from perfect score as 1520 does (a good 80 points). Also if you score well in the additional science section of ACT, another data point for the selection committees to consider (but we never know).
However submitting ACT may work against oneâs candidacy in a couple of programs as I mentioned in the past (you can search the thread for the key words ACT).
ACT=34
For BS/MD practical purposes:
SAT 1600 = ACT 36
SAT 1570 = ACT 35
SAT 1540 = ACT 34
congratulations @MDhopetoget
@rk2017 Iâm actually applying in this coming cycle so Iâm kinda nervous abt my scores lol
@MDhopetoget - Thanks for posting stats and perspectives for your child. Also, Congratulations! to your child and your family on their BSMD admission.
I noticed your child applied to only 4 BSMD programs and 6 UGs. This is certainly good since the child can focus more on smaller number of applications.
However, most other kids have applied to 16-24 colleges as can be seen from the BS MD results forum. I have been thinking of quality vs. quantity and how it affects the student applications (BSMD applications require double the essays)
Please share your thoughts on the college-list strategy?
@myhouse1 â your child has competitive stats with solid medical related experience. However, I didnât notice any shadowing. Please talk to your/your childâs Doctors to setup some shadowing time for a couple of specialties.
Please apply broadly to 12-15 BSMD programs. Donât make assumptions about any program/college. Choose more from neighboring states and a few far away states. In state BS MD programs associated with public universities will be much cheaper and some will give preference to instate students.
Think on whether BSMD or Top UG is important to your child. Depending on the answer, come up with a list. Seniors in this forum have previously posted on the recommended college list. If my memory serves right, here is what was previously mentioned (8-12 BSMD with 4-5 UGs if BS MD is the first preference or 4-5 BSMDs with 8-12 UGs if TOP UGs are preferred)
During the summer or Sep/Oct -
Start working on essays, especially on âWhy you like a certain college/programâ and âWhy medicineâ or âWhy BSMD in particularâ. Essays are pretty important part of application
Prepare for SAT/ACT and two subject tests â Maths level 2 and Chem/Bio
Do read through the posts in the BS MD 2020/2019 Results forums to see the college list and test scores of various students and where they got accepted.
Good Luck!
@9the0girl7 - First of all, read through the posts in the BS MD 2020/2019 Results forums to decide on the college list and for stats/perspectives of various student posts.
After that recommend not to spend any more time on College Confidential. Delegate that to your Mom or Dad so the messages can be filtered by them.
Look at application, see where you would like to improve your profile. If it is tests - study hard and take the tests in early fall.
Think of what your strengths are. For example, if it is writing - highlight and show case that with your essays.
Start writing essays early even if writing is not your strengthâŠtaking more time would produce good results.
Talk to your teachers about recommendationsâŠMake sure to choose teachers who know you well. Donât just give your resume and expect them to come up with stellar recommendations!
Take time to determine if BSMD is more important to you compared to getting into Top UGs and this should help with your college list
Take time to think about why medicine or BSMDâŠThis will help you write your essay.
Choose colleges that you really like and think about why you like them. This will help in coming up with Why college/program essay
Good Luck!!! Remember, hard work paysâŠ
On top of good guidance given by @Vicky2019 I would like to add another point to consider while choosing traditional or BS/MD. If someone is very sure on becoming a physician - regardless of which path, with or without gap years and whether MD/DO - cost containment and choosing the right school for undergrad are important. You should be not only maintaining good GPA but have breathing space for ECs.
If medicine is a good to have option but not the necessarily the only one or if the finances are not a concern then it doesnât matter.
- Going to top undergrad most likely will cost between 250-320k. (Don't count on getting into NYU med school and such irrespective of how highly you may regard yourself)
- Depending on the school, it may not be easy to shine as brilliantly as desirable. As mentioned earlier, for example it is better to go to instate Penn State, an excellent public school and emerge as a top student than to go to top school like UPenn and end up being middle of the pack student.
- Also most top schools hardly allow any AP credits, whereas in a public school can potentially finish the course work in 3 years and either graduate early or spend a year on campus in shoring up the research/ECs (be careful though if the in state schools happen to be the likes of GA Tech, UCB/LA, UVA and the likes)
For this reason perhaps, we keep seeing the profiles of many top students who go all in for BS/MDs and just apply to a couple of schools traditional route, mostly in state. Something to keep in mind.
Congratulations, GW is a wonderful med school !
Thanks for the 20th post in 2020 results thread.
@ParentCA â
Congratulations on your acceptance to SBU/GW.
Thank you for posting your stats/feedback on BS MD results forum.
A few points in your feedback resonated with me and feel others can benefit from these as well -
-Showing personality through your essays
-Telling a story for the âWhy medicineâ essay
-Casting a wide net when choosing your BSMD and UG colleges
Folks
FYI -
Fall SAT registration will open the evening (Eastern Time) of Thursday, May 28.
Students without an SAT score will have access to the August, September, and October SAT administrations before those test dates become available to all other students.
SAT will share more details soon.
@ParentCA
Congratulations! to your D, you and your family.
I like your Dâs approach - put 200% into each application and apply broadly.
Very interesting to see she applied to BS/DO programs as well.
Please share your Dâs experience with SBU once she completes her first semester - there is a separate experience thread for that.
Folks
2020-2021 cycle thread has been created by @texaspg
Please post questions related to this yearâs cycle there.
@rk2017 Thanks! GWU was the first campus we visited when we set our on our college tours last year and she totally fell in love with the campus. She was very keen on an eight-year program because she wanted to make sure she was in a program that was well paced out and would still give her time to pursue music, which she is equally passionate about. From that perspective, SBU-GWU turned out to be a great option for her.