I do agree that the whole purpose of BS/MD programs for most schools is to get the student who otherwise won’t even apply to their schools. However for those students (or parents) who don’t want to take any risks and becoming a doctor is the only goal then BS/MD is for them. I also read similar arguments on SDN that every medical school is same. Again it depends on the each candidate’s goal or parents desires. If you goal is to become a primary care physician, open own practice in a small town and make money, then which medical school you attend doesn’t matter. Lot of FMGs (Foreign Medical Graduates) are making lot of money doing that and it appears they seems to push the notation that school name doesn’t matter from their experience (no offense intended). However one likes to be challenged, wants to try for competitive specialities or involve in research or work for big hospital systems in major cities, prestige does matter.
Other fact I hear is every top residency program has candidates from low tier schools. It’s true that some people shine at different stages of their career but that doesn’t mean every can do it.
Also some parents are so averse to one or gap year for prestige or cost or lost income reasons, but as I said before this generation probably have to work into their 70s, so that extra year really that valuable? Interesting on SDN, lot of faculty are advocating for gap year for most which I don’t agree fully.
For those who didn’t read my comments before, my S went thru the cycle for BSMD in 2017 and decided to not take RPI/AMC and BU BSMD and opted for traditional path (He got few Top 20 UG admissions). My spouse is a FMG and i was involved in her residency and fellowship application processes and I see a difference between a community program vs top 10 school in term of training or connections you establish. my S grew up interacting with physicians who studied in T10 schools as well as FMGs. So he wants to have that option and and he said he wanted give it a shot and if it doesn’t worked out he will be perfectly happy to attend whichever medical school he gets into.
The only reason I participate in these threads once in a while is to encourage students and parents to not to rush to BSMD and understand both path clearly and make informed decisions.
Anyway, all the parents and students who are going thru current cycle, wait until you get all your admissions and then compare between the choices and don’t get sucked into the BSMD vs traditional arguments right now. Few old timers will be still here and will jump into give their 2 cents at that time
@mygrad2021 would suggest, go with target schools requirements, my S didn’t take SAT at all, albeit he is a NU traditional route, not BS/MD. However he was saying east coast is SAT oriented and he doesn’t want to go east coast so didn’t bother with SAT at all. I would also check with your D high school seniors, as it gives better perspective how colleges are viewing your D high school.
In my personal view, 35 ACT is a very competitive score, unless some programs are looking for specific SAT tests, ACT should be suffice.
I really feel that we should make a separate thread or table this discussion about the traditional v.s. the BS/MD path to a medical career. For students and parents who are looking for valuable info like interview invite dates, past experiences with supplementals/interviews, and thoughtful reflections on applying to these programs, going through multiple pages of this discussion can be tedious.
let’s plan to make a separate thread if those interested in the discussion would like to continue further.
I received VCU honor college acceptance, but still not merit scholarship. Their website says everyone is automatically considered for merit scholarship, then it also says everyone wants to be considered for merit scholarship is encouraged to fill out financial aid Application. We have not filled out financial aid application. Wonder if it is necessary to receive merit scholarship? Is merit scholarship only for instate students?
Has anyone here applied to the Florida Atlantic University BS/MD program. Do you know if there is an in-state preference for them, and how many students apply to the program every year? Also when do the interview invites come out?
I think traditional vs BS MD is very important discussion and when you are ready to make decisions in April this year it would prepare ones with multiple offers to decide based on their individual situations
I agree with @starplatinum , its hard to filter through so much and these points gets repetitive .
The discussion regarding which one to choose …whether BSMD vs traditional undergrad should happen once you have all the decisions in your hand. Currently everyone is still waiting to hear back regarding interview invites/rejections…so its better to keep these lengthy conversations for later which will be helpful in April.
It is not necessary to submit financial aid application to be considered merit. You may apply honor scholarship when it opens on Feb 01.
From last year’s post, only applicants accepted in honor college will be considered for BS/MD program.
Hey everyone! thank you all for the amazing advice and discussion. I received an interview for SBU/GW and was wondering if anyone had advice for the interview. Is it group or on on one? Additionally, does it include MMI style questions?
@gradedu I have a friend in the BU SMED program who swam competitively in high school and is now on the synchronized swimming team at BU - I don’t think that commitment to swimming will be a problem as others have said
I agree with @starplatinum , it will be better if we create a seperate thread for Traditional Vs BS/MD since this is the time for checking in on interviews, suggestions, supplements etc.
Not sure if the probability works that way! The quality of applications has a lot more to do with the probability of acceptance. There’s no way to do the averages of subjective variables that are many in the process.
Let’s say the probability for a kid who’s got perfect scores + 1000 hours of volunteering + Published research papers + a national/international level EC hook is 75%, maybe for that kid increasing the number of applications can get closer to a 100%.
For a kid who’s got around 1400 in SAT + 100 hrs of volunteering + some EC, he or she may have a shot somewhere (mathematically probable) that’s really really small. In reality, simply applying to 40 programs doesn’t dramatically increase his/her probability. (The quote by Einstein related to insanity comes to mind)
Just my opinion of what I’ve seen so far…it’s not simple math!
@speedskater : This is a joke to release some tension here !
If my theory is correct, everyone is in med school already
Most BSMD applicant has SAT 1550+ especially ORMs, even so few percent get an interview . Everyone has the ECs too, just how strong compared with others.
@PathophysiologyFTW
I applied to the FAU program last year and am currently attending. I don’t believe that there is an instate preference, as out of the 12 students in my cohort only 2 are actually in-state. Unfortunately, I have no idea as to how many people actually apply. Last year, I got my interview invite around early February, but there are different interview batches so it may come out slightly later. Hope this helps.
