@Empire007 I didn’t think to include that when I first typed it lol. Does it also help if I have had research papers on Israeli water issues published by the World Food Prize Institute (agriculture’s Nobel Prize equivalent). The highest I would be able to get on the ACT would be maybe a 31, and even then, that would have to be on a good day for me in math, lol. There is a lot of stuff I didn’t put on here that I could because I am curious about what to put on this application. Could you give me some feedback on whether I should put the published papers on this app? Thanks a lot.
@Empire007 Even if I got accepted, I don’t know if my parents would allow me to attend because of tuition costs alone (free undergrad at ISU and finishing in 2 years sounds great to me and them). I feel dentistry is more my thing anyways, and I have heard of students actually not enjoying these kinds of programs due to course work and missing out on a normal college experience. I just don’t get why they give Iowa kids out of state and they give Illinois and Kansas kids Regional tuition. I can literally get in my car and drive 25 minutes to Missouri, LOL.
Absolutely, why not? The point you are conveying is your level of commitment and efforts. It is not necessary every thing has to be medical related. You are demonstrating your various skills which are critical for any one to succeed in academic or career or life.
Does anyone know if programs like this but for dentistry exist? I Googled some stuff and I couldn’t find anything conclusive. Thanks for the help guys!
@REOSpeedwagon (once again great band, their biggest hit was my wedding song lol). The more you open up about your background the better of a candidate you look to me (of course what I think ultimately means nothing). List anything you published like as @GoldenRock correctly pointed out, EC’s like that don’t all have to be medically related. Put on your app as much as possible of what you have accomplished. I thought your chances earlier were marginal at best from what you wrote and the more you have opened up the more I look at your chances differently. See if you can take a ACT prep course to see if they can help you with your math skills.
I love the band too. I will look into the prep classes. I just hope when (if) I apply that they will look at all of my factors instead of just a kid with a 3.9 GPA and a 30 ACT, and realize I am someone whose true interest is in helping people and medicine. I will try and keep you guys posted on my progress. Thanks a lot for all of your help!
Hello all! I am an incoming freshman starting at Northwestern HPME in the fall. I posted the information below to the 2017 Results thread but also wanted to post it here. I apologize for the length. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions - I am happy to help.
GPA: 4.0 (UW); 4.67 (W)
Class Rank: N/A
SAT: 2380
Subscores: Math (790), Reading (800), Writing (790)
SAT Subject Tests:
Biology: 800
Chemistry: 800
Math 2: 800
AP’s at time of application (11 total, 5 on all AP exams):
Biology
Calculus AB
Calculus BC
Chemistry
English Language and Composition
Macroeconomics
Microeconomics
Physics 2
Spanish Language and Composition
Statistics
United States History
World History
Senior AP’s (6 in senior year):
Physics C Mechanics
Computer Science
English Literature and Composition
United States Government and Politics
Psychology
Environmental Science
Teacher Recs: (Hopefully) Excellent
State: PA
Gender: M
Ethnicity: Indian American
Income: 150k+
Hooks: Don’t think I had any major “hooks,” like URM, low-income, etc.
Major ECs:
- Research (since freshman year; oral, poster presentations at professional scientific conferences)
- Future Business Leaders of America (national and state award winner)
- Flute (award winner)
- Science Competitions (USABO, USNCO, Science Bowl, science fairs, etc.)
- Speech/Debate, Model UN - Parliamentarian
- Mu Alpha Theta (National Math Honor Society) - Treasurer
- Science Bowl Team - Founder & Captain
- Chess Club - President
- Musical Outreach Club - Secretary
- Boy Scouts - Life Scout Rank
- Tennis
- Spanish Club
- National Honor Society
Community Service:
- Physical Therapy volunteer at local hospital
- Teach chess at local elementary school
- Volunteer w/ local rotary club at VA Hospital
- Perform music at local venues like retirement communities, hospitals, libraries w/ Musical Outreach Club
Medically related activities:
- 4 years of biomedical research at University of Pittsburgh (worked in the lab during school year and summer); 2 years in a transplant immunology lab; 2 years in a molecular imaging lab
- Volunteered at local hospital, VA hospital
- Shadowed transplant nephrologist
- Shadowed cardiologist
Major Awards/Honors (Did my best to cut it down from my CV, sorry for the length):
Academic
- 2017 National Merit Scholar
- Coca-Cola Scholars Program Semifinalist
- National AP Scholar Award
Research
- Oral Presentation, American Medical Informatics Association 2016 Annual Symposium (12th grade)
- First & Presenting Author, Poster Presentation at University of Pittsburgh Science 2016 (12th grade)
- First & Presenting Author, Poster Presentation at University of Pittsburgh Science 2015 (11th grade)
- Coauthor, Poster Presentation at World Transplant Congress 2014, Poster of Distinction (10th grade)
Science/Math
- Semifinalist, United States of America Biology Olympiad (11th grade)
- Semifinalist, United States National Chemistry Olympiad (11th grade)
- National Winner, President’s Environmental Youth Award (11th grade)
- Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS):
o 1st Place in State Competition (11th, 9th grade)
o 1st Place in Regional Competition – Perfect Score (11th, 9th grade)
o Director’s Award in Biology (11th grade)
o Provost’s Award from Duquesne University (11th grade)
o Multidisciplinary Science Award (11th grade) - 3rd Place & Regional Finalist, Southwestern Pennsylvania Science Bowl (11th grade)
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
- National Awards:
o National Finalist in Economics (11th Grade)
o 5th Place in Introduction to Business (10th grade) - State (Pennsylvania) Awards:
o 3rd Place in Economics (11th grade)
o 2nd Place in Introduction to Business (10th grade)
Forensics and Model United Nations
- Best Large Delegation, University of Pittsburgh Model United Nations Conference (12th grade)
- 1st Place in Impromptu Speaking, Penn State Erie Speech and Debate Tournament (10th grade)
- 2nd Place, University of Pittsburgh Model United Nations Conference (10th grade)
Flute
- Selected as 1st Flute, 2nd Chair in PMEA District Orchestra (11th grade)
- Selected as 1st Flute, 3rd Chair in PMEA District Honors Band (11th grade)
- Selected as 1st Flute in PMEA District Band East (11th grade)
- Selected as 2nd Flute, 4th Chair in Allegheny Valley Honors Band (9th grade)
Spanish
- Silver Medal, National Spanish Exam Level IV (10th grade)
Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:
- Northwestern HPME - interview - ACCEPTED
- Brown PLME - Rejected RD
- University of Pittsburgh GAP - interview - Rejected
- Washington University in St. Louis USP - Rejected pre-interview
- Case Western PPSP - Rejected pre-interview
Applied to the following undergraduate:
- Yale - ACCEPTED (Likely Letter)
- Duke - ACCEPTED (A.B. Duke Scholar - Full-ride merit scholarship)
- Johns Hopkins University - ACCEPTED (Hodson Trust Scholar - $35K/yr merit scholarship)
- University of Pennsylvania Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management - ACCEPTED
- Case Western Undergrad - ACCEPTED
- University of Pittsburgh Undergrad - ACCEPTED (Honors College)
- WUSTL Undergrad - ACCEPTED
- Brown Undergrad - Waitlisted
- University of Michigan - Waitlisted
- Stanford - Rejected
DECISION: Northwestern HPME
Scholarship / Aid: None. Don’t qualify.
Reflection in next post.
@Empire007 Thanks so much man! I’m an NJ resident, so I probably have a better chance applying to the NJMS schools. It’s beside the point, but I’ve heard you can claim in-state tuition after a year of residency in NY. I’ll try my best to communicate the good vibes I’ve felt at the retirement home in my essays and my interviews, and get a recommendation from my supervisor.
Good luck @REOSpeedwagon ! Dw man, if colleges want to see passion they probably don’t look for it in test scores, but in ECs like yours 
@REOSpeedwagon I’m sure programs like this exist for dentistry as well, because I’m sure I remember seeing some combined dentistry programs on some of the websites of colleges that also had combined medical programs. I don’t know any off the top of my head but I’m sure there are a few.
@REOSpeedwagon this list maybe a little old so I would check with each school individually to make sure but here is a list of combined BS/DDS programs. There maybe another thread on CC thats more recent about this type of program too. Since this is a BSMD thread we don’t want too much discussion on this thread about DDS.
Adelphi University (Garden City, NY)
Boston University (Boston, MA)
Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH)
Florida International University (Miami, FL)
Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA)
Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI)
Moravian College (Bethlehem, PA)
Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA)
New York University (New York, NY)
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey — New Brunswick (Piscataway, NJ)
SUNY — Binghamton (Binghamton, NY)
Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, NJ)
Temple University (Philadelphia, PA)
Tufts University (Medford, MA)
University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT)
University of Florida (Gainesville, FL)
University of Hartford (West Hartford, CT)
University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA)
Wagner College (Staten Island, NY)
Continued from previous post
Reflection:
More than anything, what I took away from this application process was an overwhelming impression of the unpredictability of college and medical school admissions as well as a much greater appreciation for my amazing peers all over the country. During the process of interviewing for BA/MD programs and undergraduate scholarships I met so many fantastic people with astounding accomplishments that truly blew my mind, but the truth of the matter is that none of them, no matter how successful they were, got into every school/program they applied to, underscoring the unpredictable nature of this process. So, don’t be disheartened by a few, or even many, rejections - all you need is one acceptance to the right place for you.
In terms of BA/MD admissions, I cannot stress enough the importance of the essays and the interview. While most of the applicants will have the same stellar scores and extracurriculars that you do, what differentiates those that are accepted from those that are not is the personal aspect of the application process - the passion, personality, and institutional fit that come through in your writing and during the face-to-face interactions on interview day. In my experience, I found the institutional fit to be a factor whose significance I underestimated in the BA/MD application process. In my applications, I clearly articulated not only my passion for medicine but also my strong interests in business and bioinformatics, stating my firm intention to pursue a career as a physician-scientist and physician-executive. While these auxiliary interests fit with the vision of Northwestern HPME, which aims to foster multi-dimensional physicians through flexible undergraduate curriculum and the immense accessibility of pursuing multiple degrees (like an MBA, MPH, etc.) during medical school, I felt that other programs, Pitt GAP and CWRU PPSP in particular, sought candidates with a desire to be purely clinicians. Similarly, I found Brown PLME to have a heavy preference for candidates with a strong inclination toward the arts and humanities. These selective preferences among programs are actually a benefit to the applicant, though, since it essentially saves you from potentially choosing a program that doesn’t fit your interests.
One last piece of advice I have, which applies to both BA/MD and general undergraduate admissions, is to not lose sight of the end of the application process - choosing which school you want to spend the next 4 (or 7-8 yrs) at. In the stress of college admissions, with countless essays and interviews as well as ever-looming deadlines, it is easy to get swept into an “applicant’s mindset” - in the process of selling yourself to a school, you will focus on all the positives of every school you’re applying to and you will find yourself falling in love with all of these schools, and this is not necessarily a bad thing. However, when you get all of your decisions back by April 1st, you will only have a month to make a choice by May 1st. Having sold myself on all of the schools/programs I was applying to, it was especially difficult for me to choose between schools, especially between Northwestern HPME, Yale, Duke (A.B. Duke Scholar), and UPenn LSM. Ultimately, I had to take a step back and evaluate what was really important to me and what I valued in a school. Personally, this was a strange transition to make - from selling myself to schools, the dynamics shifted to schools selling themselves to me - and I found it somewhat difficult to look critically at these amazing programs. Nevertheless, I am confident I made the right decision in choosing HPME and I look forward to what awaits me during the next seven years at Northwestern.
Feel free to reach out and ask me any questions you may have. I am happy to help!
@Empire07 - “Take It on the Run”?
@Engineer80 - “Can’t fight this Feeling”
@rc2017 First congratulations on your decision to join NU HPME program and second thank you so much for your detailed post in the 2017 results thread with your stats and reflection.
As I was reading your post, my initial feel was you would have got acceptance from UPitt GAP since you have done so much of research in UPitt for 4 years for a HS student. Once I reached the programs accepted and rejected, settled with the reality, this BS/MD program admission is so unpredictable. Even with your level of accomplishments, only 1 program got clicked out of the 5 applied and UPitt did not give admission.
That is why when any one asks me to chance them, I keep telling them it is futile to try. Just do your best and apply and take a chance.
Interestingly in 2016 cycle 1 student who got in to top tiers program and UPenn similar to your situation, choose to go with UPenn LSM. Just remembered when I read your post. Worth to note you did let go Duke with full ride.
You are accomplished student and will do well in NU HPME. GL.
Just to help other students, what was the reasoning in your situation for not applied to U of Rochester BS/MD program?
By the way, I heard that GWU and St. Bonaventure/GWU are not guaranteed, and after looking at both of their websites, I can confirm that both schools have committees that determine whether or not you matriculate to GWU Medical School (and I can’t seem to find any set-in-stone requirements anywhere, like a GPA or MCAT requirement). Can anyone confirm this?
Anyone know if I can still get into a program like REMS or Pitt GAP if I don;t have God level stats like @rc2017? I have a 4.30 weighted GPA, 1550 SAT, tons of APs, over 250 hours volunteering in hospitals, about 250 more hours community service. I am also vice president of a major school club, a member of student council, and I work on the board of directors for a community service organization.
like @GoldenRock wrote in post #94:
“That is why when any one asks me to chance them, I keep telling them it is futile to try. Just do your best and apply and take a chance”
and I wrote in post #79:
“quite honestly this whole process is a crapshoot, you have stats that are very competitive for many programs, but then again none of us know what the program directors are really looking for.”.
No one can predict whether you could get in to any program. What limited amount you wrote in terms of stats are competitive. Go look thru previous years results threads and you will get a good idea of what it often takes to get accepted. You named two ultra competitive top tier programs, if BSMD is something you really want make sure to apply to mid tier programs as well.
@Indivisible click link below, looks like from 2016. But call them to confirm if these are still the provisional requirements
https://www.sbu.edu/docs/default-source/fact-sheets/gw-dap-fact-sheet.pdf?sfvrsn=16
@Empire007 Thanks for the link! This doesn’t look encouraging at all; I’m more worried about GWU though. Do some program members not matriculate?
@Indivisible That is possible. Some times due to not meeting expectations and some times students change their plan in college. There are posts in last cycle that UH students did not matriculate to MD schools for not meeting program requirements.
The link above for SBU is reasonable and mostly all schools will have similar expectations. Still it is better than going thru regular admission in terms of efforts and stress for some students.