@SpeedSkater Thank you! Which state are you from?
Going by 2019 results thread, Union seems to cap merit awards, if any, at 20k/year for undergrad. This was for students with perfect GPA and 36 composite ACT.
Hi guys,
Has anyone heard about interviews from BU, TCNJ, Rutgers, Stevens, and Caldwell?
Thanks
@bsmdparent1234 Rutgers emailed and said that they will be notifying applicants for phone interviews by Jan. 10. The phone interviews will happen on Jan. 15-16!
@ROSSX2 Iâm sure youâve already done this, but have you applied for Financial Aid? Union is usually pretty generous with need-based aid in my experience.
@SpeedSkater I received honor college acceptance letter, but no merit scholarship. In the letter it states that we need to fill out scholarship application. Did you apply separately for merit scholarship or they automatically consider students for merit scholarship such as Provost scholarship? Thanks!
Hi I have my PMM interview on 1/15 and am coming up with answers to interview questions. When prepping for the âwhy medâ question, do I have to come up with a completely different answer than my essay was?
Basically how do I reconcile what I wrote in my supplement with what I say in the interview without repeating myself?
Also has anyone received VCU interview, I only just got my acceptance to honors college a few days agoâŠ
I also have concern about the cost to attend the private schools even with BS/MD benefits. For example, Unionâs net price (estimate) for us is about $56,000/yr (with 20K merit grant), which will be around 250K for 4 yr UG 
.
For Siena, somehow the cost is cheaper - 25K with 20K merit grant, $7.4K Need grant and 5K+ loan . RPI is about the same as Union per year but only for 3 yrs since itâs a 7 yrs program.
So, my question(s) to experts in here is which is the best school out of the three ? From what I read so far, RPI is for research, Union will give MBA, and Siena will required minor in humanities . Any other benefits that would make one chooses one over the others.
Thanks in advance for your help.
The highest ranked school out of the three is RPI, I think, but different applicants will fit best with different programs.
RPI is a good choice for students who have been involved in bench research during high school, and who want to continue to be involved in bench research during college. All of the RPI students actually do research at AMC during their time at RPI, which allows them to build relationships at AMC before they event start medical school. RPI is also probably the best science school out of the three which means that their students are constantly being challenged during their undergraduate studies. The only downside that I have heard is the three years is very busy, obviously, and that it is tough to recover if you donât perform well during first year as second year is extremely tough.
Union is good for students who have held leadership positions in high school, and feel that they want to be involved in the larger aspects of healthcare during their career. The opportunity to get a MS/MBA during undergrad is really great and is something that most of us feel that we will use during our careers. Students are also required to pursue an ID major in a humanities of their choice, which is a good break from the science and MS/MBA courses. Union also requires the students to take a term abroad, and has a special one designed for program students pertaining to the healthcare systems in 4 different countries. The main downside to the Union program is that you are usually taking classes over the summer and the MS/MBA classes are always at night, which means they can get tiresome as the term progresses. Union is also the most costly for undergrad out of the three (as mentioned in a previous post).
Disclaimer: I do not know many positives about Siena as I have only met one or two students in the program, and they complained about the program at length.
Siena is a good choice for students that have a community service background, and feel strongly that equality and/or service are important parts of medicine. The main gripes that I heard about Siena was that the science classes were a bit too easy, which caused problems for some students in medical school. The other issue I heard about was a lack of research opportunities for Siena students. Despite these complaints, the students I met were extremely impressive and seemed more than ready to take on medical school. Another big plus for Siena is it being much cheaper to attend than the other two.
Note: These are all my opinions, and my knowledge of RPI and Siena has all come from talking to students in those programs.
From this cycle, you had to pick one feeder school. All three UGs and AMC have been vocal about administratively withdrawing apps sent to more than 1 program. Did you apply to all three or are you prepping for next year?
Thank you for a very detailed info for all 3 schools . RPI, in my opinion , should be a top choice, but we still have time to do research but COST will play a high factor in next yearâs decision on picking the one of three schools.
@ROSSX2 : It will be next year âŠ
@Vitawat345
Thank you!! Just wondering, did you email Rutgers or did Rutgers send that info to everyone?
@bsmdparent1234 I did not email them, so I believe they sent it out to everyone
My suggestion - go the AMC interview and leave all decisions once you have admits from colleges.
The options that this interview/admission may offer could potentially outweigh costs of going to interview.
@Vitawat345
Thank you! For some reason, we did not get the email. Would it be possible for you to tell us when you got the email?
@bsmdparent1234 I received the email on December 24th (Tuesday).
@holychild @ttb1263 & other Parents / Students for whom finance is critical factor in decision making:
Need to factor around $200k for UG and $300k for MD. ($Half a Million Total).
Look beyond your UG education cost since many students can get need or merit aid for UG but not for MD.
Restrict the number of BS/MD programs to apply to a minimum since majority of BS/MD programs are expensive. Few to consider are UPitt, Stony Brook, UAB, OU, Tulsa if cost is important.
The possibility of controlling UG expense is much higher than controlling the cost of MD education.
For example, AMC is $70k/yr for 4 years irrespective of RPI/Union/Sienna cost.
Going via regular MD route may be beneficial for some one who may qualify for need based aid. Primarily going to UG where you get free tuition or state schools to contain cost.
Broader choice for MD and besides IS MD schools, there are very few MD schools allow to become IS after meeting certain criteria (Ohio is an example).
If the student has done exemplary well, merit / need aid like NYU, UCLA, Kaiser or TX schools or other schools where more scholarship or interest in MD/PHD.
On the flip side there are few states, where even IS is so expensive like CA besides competition is insane. NY also not that great except for SUNY to contain the cost for MD.
@Hakhan Best wishes for your interview. Could you share you stats?
I would advise against which path to choose, no matter how confident one may feel about themselves about future undergrad performance and ECs, counting on getting into NYU and such programs in future. Lot of factors come into play in such programs, just not exemplary figures and outstanding ECs.
Recently heard of a friendâs son with >525 MCAT in one and only attempt and Harvard undergrad joining UPenn med school (no price breaks) after a year or two of gap years.
Also heard indirectly of a TX resident with decent stats who applied only to few TX only programs regular route, could not get in anywhere, got a masterâs in public health and chose to go out of state for med school.