@orm2022 - the only info on this forum was from a current SMED parent that interview invites are out. Not sure how that info was sent.
Thanks for update on Hpme
Give it some time for BU interviews info since it is holidays season and nothing may happen till second week of January.
In the latest cycle there must have been half a dozen or so on this forum who got final acceptance for the program and at least 4 of them enrolled. So very unlikely that no one would get at least interview calls this time. Just be patient!
@hermionea
how were you notified to pay for Upstate? Was it an email from Upstate or an update to the SUNY Albany portal?
I didnât receive notification for Upstate either. In the portal they said they would send notifications by early January, so I think we still have some time.
Is USF BS/MD worth applying ? From reading the requirements, it sounds just like going to UG school as PredMed and then apply to USF medical school ?
I also donât see folks in here mentioned much about USF at all âŠhmmm
Thanks in advance for the info and Happy Holidays to all.
âSince the 7-Year BS/MD program commenced 25 years ago, every student who has met the benchmarks (including the interview) has been accepted to USFâs Morsani College of Medicine.â
This is what they claim on their website, though cleverly hiding if interview can be used as a weed out and what percentage are impacted.
If you are done with all other applications and have enough time to apply for this, no harm in applying and waiting to see what happens. If you are offered a place you can then do further investigation and decide whether to go for it or not.
USF BS/MD is little unusual program as entry is very easy - you apply to it during spring semester of the freshman year at USF and you will be admitted as long as you meet the criteria - 1500 SAT/34 SAT and GPA requirement. Interview is also a formality - they have rejected only one person (who said something like he is not totally sure that he wants to become doctor in interview) in last 20 plus years.
The tough thing is maintaing GPA and getting MCAT score (by July of second year). Up to last year they were asking 515 MCAT and this year someone posted that the requirement has gone up to 518 (I did not verify that - you can contact them and they will tell you).
Usually, about 150-200 persons start the program and 12-15 or so get through.
In my opinion, it can be used as backup BS/MD option - if you donât get into any regular BSMD program then go there to try it out one more time. Good thing is that USF is very cheap tution wise and offers good aid along with great weather if you donât like coldâŠ
Thanks for the info! Something still doesnât add up. So 150 or so start with that program and only 15 or so reach the interview stage (which is a formality)? That is a mind boggling 90% attrition rate. That too for all these smart kids with high GPA, SAT/ACT scores to start with. I doubt if even WashU program with a 3.8 and 519 bar will have this kind of attrition!
I donât know what undergrad GPA they set as bar, but 515 MCAT is do able for at least half of the 150 batch. So not sure what is prohibiting them?
USF:
Students are admitted to the Honors College at the time of application. I think the 150 number is for honors college.
Students then need to re-affirm their choice at the end of first year of undergrad. Is this the cause of most of the attrition, in the sense, a number of honors students may not be interested in BS/MD?
USF:
They have answered most of the queries in their FAQs:
https://www.usf.edu/honors/prospective-students/7-year-med-faqs.aspx
@NoviceDad, @seemasp, @ttb1263
This is what I gathered
- Around 750-800 honors program enrollment.
- Of these, 150-200 high achievers based on high school gpa and standardized testing and expressing interest, accepted into whatever this program is, during spring (haven't verified this number myself)
- 15 of them will eventually matriculate into med school after junior year having met all the bars and the interview.
So yeah, doesnât look no where close to a guaranteed program.
Thank you all for the input . I am guessing USF is not that much better than a traditional route but can be a safety school with low tuition rate and warm weather âŠ
Agree - if the attrition rate is this high, something is not quite right with the program.
Regarding UCF, Assuming above stats are reasonably accurate - âGuaranteed medicalâ is a misnomer at best.
SLU Med scholars seems to be following the same pattern but with much higher tuition - heard that this year only about 10 students were accepted into their Med program from about 50 to 70 students that started the program. Though my data is not corroborated
Just to get clarified, are you referring to UCF or USF, the topic of above few posts? Typo by any chance?
Sorry yes I was referring to USF, the topic of the above recent posts
Was a bit amused by that program being referred as BS/MD etc (even figuratively) since the probability of getting an interview in their Med school seems lower than some EAPs
Happy holidays to all !!
For SUNY Albany/Upstate, I received an email. I know that Albany receives hundreds of applicants, but I determined the numbers by calling them.
Wait Albany sent you an email saying you were referred? And they told you only 25 get a referral?
If they refer this many applicants for each school thereâs gonna be so many people to interview, unless there is an additional cutting process before interview invites are sent out.
Do you know if SUNY Albany/Upstate sent out the interview invitations for everyone that they selected, or are they still in the process of reviewing candidates?
@hermionea @helix8 Upstate Albany and Upstate Purchase programs each have UPTO 10 seats each. So 25 interviews for each college would be reasonable. However once referred Upstate Medical reviews the application and decides whom to invite for interview. Given the above stats I would doubt that they will reduce the number much from 25 - for every seat interviewing at least 2 candidates seems pretty reasonable 
The other option could be that Upstate Medical only gives interview invite to 10 candidates only out of 25 referred by feeder school. In that case interview is just a formality. As long as there is nobody really obnoxious :)they may take all 10.
@rk2017 @NoviceDad please share your thoughts on the above.