@rk2017 They got rid of the primary care focus, as they opened their own medical school, CUNY SoM. Do you think the fact that it isn’t fully accredited yet would be impactful on residency matches?
@TheElusiveGod
Congrats
I have four family members who has chosen penn state
As bsmd…
We are …
Penn State!!!
Enjoy the games
@Metsfan7860
I used MED programs interchangeably as MED schools.
@dadofd
Thank you.
You make very valid and valuable insights.
@dadofd @NoviceDad Thanks for the additional information. Given my work ethic, stats, and commitment to medicine, what do you think I should do? I feel that by going to Sophie Davis, I would be limiting myself and my future. I don’t see the same excellent academics in students there as I do in Rice, so I don’t know how far they’d push me. To be frank, it seems to me that there’s no difference between barely scraping out of Sophie Davis and getting to medical school there, and doing excellent, getting straight As, doing research, and still going to CUNY SoM.
Is the program binding? That, in my mind, would be the most important differentiator between going the traditional UG route or Sophie Davis
@Metsfan7860 full disclosure: my children are all in BS/MD programs, so I am biased toward the programs.
IMHO, I think SD program would be better choice if you are already determined to be a physician. Yes, you may have to sacrifice some “college experience” or “prestige”, frankly both are way overstated IMO; but with medical school seat guaranteed, you can do a LOT more in your college life. If SD program is not binding, you may work hard and apply out; even if it is binding, you can still work to top your Step 1 test in medical school for competitive specialities. You and your future are not limited.
Good news about Sophie Davis not tied up to an area anymore. Accreditation is just a matter of time, you have another 7-8 years before it matters. Also CUNY has a solid recognition and so I don’t suspect any issues with it. GL.
If you find the course work at UG level at CUNY not so challenging, you can immerse and challenge yourself on perhaps getting a second major or taking up research. Both of which will help you in residency placements later. You don’t have to look around the folks around you and their intellectual fulfillment to evaluate your own worth. I have heard of UG kids from my alma mater NJIT making it to Johns Hopkins MD/PhD and the like on full scholarship. It is all in your hands.
I feel Sophie Davis without any affiliated specialized agenda as in the past will be a great place for you. With this new development I am sure the program will attract a lot more brilliant kids in the days to come and is only bound to grow in stature.
@Metsfan7860
I have no idea about Sophie Davis/ CUNY. The only 2 colleges we applied in NY state were Stonybrook and Hofstra.
My daughter liked Stonybrook and expressed extreme reservations about Hofstra’s undergrad (she liked the MED school).
You have to decide where you will be happy and excel.
On one hand you have a guaranteed seat for a MED school with “not-so-perfect” undergrad environment and on other hand you have to compete for a seat at a MED school (which will be a similar roller-coaster process like this one) in an undergrad environment that you currently like.
I suggest you speak to current students at both colleges and get more data points. You still have 1 month to decide.
In the end, if you cannot decide, trust your parents’ judgement. They are your best well-wishers (more than anyone else on this or any other forum) and would want the very best for you. Every parent that I know of want their children to excel and grow beyond that they could personally achieve. I am sure your parents are the same.
All the very best.
@bluelily44
What did you finally take?
When faced with the fact that one of my patient’s DS got into Union/Albany along with JHU, Cornell and UPenn in this years admissions cycle, I have advised them to take Union/Albany program without any hesitation. I have seen too many instances where pre-meds from JHU, Brown, UPenn, Cornell, Harvard, Northwestern. UChicago and WashU needed to take one, two or even three gap years before getting an acceptance into a medical school. Some of them even gave up on their dreams of becoming a physician. When you look at the latest GPA/MCAT grid, not all pre-meds with high stats with GPA greater than 3.79 and MCAT greater than 517 got into a medical school. The acceptance rate was not 100%, but rather was 89.2%. Therefore, any year about 11% of high stat pre-meds fail to get into a medical school. Choose Sophie Davis and take full advantage of NYC cultural offerings. If you get “bored” with CUNY education, you could always tackle more meaningful research and volunteer work. But remember, not too many As are given out in any science classes at an university level, including CUNY! Good luck and have fun along the way.
Does anyone know if Drexel/Drexel has a waitlist?
@Metsfan7860 Just to offer a counterview: I do think you are in a situation where betting on yourself and choosing Rice has a good chance of paying off. Yes, you will work harder and have that uncertainty, but it may also be more enriching and keep more doors open for you down the line. It’s one thing if the medical school with the BS/MD option has a somewhat established track record, but CUNY has none to speak of. If there’s any chance you want to do academic medicine or a competitive specialty that requires lots of research, you may be limiting yourself prematurely by selecting the program.
CUNY is a well regarded institution with plenty of research potential in a variety of fields. Only the med school may be relatively new, but the CUNY brand name should more than offset any deficiency on that front.
https://www.rfcuny.org/RFWebsite/
Anyone planning to attend Stony Brook’s Scholars for Medicine Program?
Yeah does Drexel have a waitlist?
I don’t think so, because usually 60 students are offered seats and around 30 accept every year. @moony12
I thought Drexel no longer offers guaranteed BSMD.
Hello everyone,
So I am in a difficult situation and would like some advice. Currently I am incredibly blessed to be choosing between BME at Duke, Rice, or JHU (which are some of the best schools in the country for BME) versus PennState/Jefferson BS/MD. I am conflicted because I want to do BME undergrad so that I can get engineering skills that I can apply to medical research in the future (possible MD/PhD), but at the same time I know it will be really tough to get into medical school in the future and Jefferson is a great medical school (as far as I’m aware). I am dead set on becoming a doctor AND doing bioengineering research… With the pre-med support system at Rice, JHU, and Duke also being a factor, any advice?