opinion from students in 7 year med programs

<p>It would be great to hear opinion from students in 7 year medicine program. I read thru lot of information on pros and cons of of 7 year verses regular path.</p>

<p>It would be great if some of the who are in program write their after thoughts. </p>

<p>it would be nice to hear from any of the parents or anyone who knows students in the 7 year program. </p>

<p>One point I am having hard time understand is why is 3 years so much harder than 4 years? Many programs just require one summer of study?</p>

<p>if one chooses traditional route, they will have to spend summers doing research related to medicine field? In that case some summers will be spend studying?</p>

<p>My biggest concern is that many undergrad schools offering 7 year is not that good. Does this put the student at a great dis advantage? i.e. they will not grow intellectually as they could if they are in a liberal arts environment?</p>

<p>This is a hard decision and we are spending a lot of time going into circles and not coming to a final decision! Please help :)</p>

<p>My D is pretty much set on a route to become a doctor but we are not sure which path is best to pursue. We are planning to refinance our home so will be able to pay for about 150-200k of tuition. </p>

<p>My dream will be to have her see graduate without loans but not sure we can do that for a medicine path.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>anyone? would be nice to hear some replies.</p>

<p>thanks.</p>

<p>Well, IMO, the best is to be in non-accelerated bs/md that allow to apply out still retaining your spot. This is based on my D’s experience who is at Med. School now outside of her original bs/md. Having one spot at the beginning of application process has made the process much more relaxed. D. had choices of 3 bs/md: accelerated with MCAT, accelerated w/o MCAT, non-accelerated with MCAT. She choose the third one, she did not have hard time deciding at all since UG in this program was a perfect fit for her. She had incredible 4 years at college, still visiting it and misses it a lot. Student/UG match is the most important, more important than to be in bs/md. She had great Med. School acceptances and had hard time choosing.</p>

<p>I think that the idea that 3 years for 7 year programs is harder than 4 years is probably a myth for many programs. While I can’t speak to all programs, I go to the BU program, have friends in other 4+4, 3+4, and regular pre-med route. </p>

<p>With 1 class just 1 summer (between 2nd and 3rd year), it is very doable and I would argue it was a lot easier than the traditional pre-med route. There is nothing wrong with going the traditional route, but I know tons of regular pre-med friends who have taken a ton more classes during the summer, have subjected themselves to activities they don’t enjoy, etc. I definitely still did volunteering, research, etc but I know many in my program who didn’t and you can really do whatever you like to pursue. There was no pressure. </p>

<p>So, personally I thought it was great choice for me and made for an amazing time during my undergraduate years. </p>

<p>As for loans, finances should definitely be one of the major factors you consider (I certainly did), but remember that your D will be a doctor. She WILL be able to pay her loans off, and there are many paths for loans forgiveness even from 10 years public service loan forgiveness to the NHSC. The average med student will graduate with 160k in loans according to the AMA.</p>

<p>In regard to financial side, D. was on full tuition+ Merit scholarships at UG, now we are paying for her Med. School. No loans so far, which is the best option. Her Med. School is the most expansive out of her choices, we told her not to think about price tag, since we did not pay for her UG.</p>

<p>thanks for both the replies. We do not know anyone personally who is in such a program and getting good information from everyone on this site has been very helpful.</p>

<p>johnstoops, you confirmed our thoughts that it might be a good peace of mind and UG might be more relaxed because of confirmed med school. </p>

<p>MiamiDAP, I am confused by the third option you mentioned, what is non-accelerated with MCAT? Most schools we were looking makes you lose your spot before they allow you to apply out of program. </p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>I’ve started a program in the fall, and I find the workload I have to be comparable to that of four year undergrads…i can sleep a little bit easier knowing i only need to maintain service, activities, and a gpa in order to advance to med school (no mcat as well). Also I was able to bring a full year of AP credits with me, which is part of the reason my experience is a little bit easier. If you want to PM me about details regarding applying, financing, and interviewing, feel free, as i interviewed at a handful of programs last year and was accepted to most</p>

<p>"MiamiDAP, I am confused by the third option you mentioned, what is non-accelerated with MCAT? Most schools we were looking makes you lose your spot before they allow you to apply out of program. "</p>

<p>-D’s bs/md allowed to apply out without loosing her spot. D. has applied out, she was the only one in the program who did so, the others went to Med. School in a program. She had great acceptances and currently is in Med. School outside of her bs/md. You have to research each program. There are no general rules, they are all very different. Also, it is easeir to get to Med. Schools regular route than to their respective bs/md. D. is at Med. School, where she was originally rejected pre-interview from its’ bs/md. More so, Med. School adcom wanted her so much that they called her UG pre-med advisor to express their wish that she chooses them. She had great choices.</p>

<p>i would recommend that you read my reflection post regarding ba/md programs.
do not refinance your home to pay for an undergraduate education. moreover, these days, if you include med school and all, you’re looking closer to the 300k range.
where you went to med school doesn’t matter much; what matters is your residency.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/multiple-degree-programs/1155374-ba-md-reflection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/multiple-degree-programs/1155374-ba-md-reflection.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>hydrogen3k : that post is wonderful. I had read a while back but re-reading it really helped. It is so nice of you to share your experience in such details. </p>

<p>topher14 : Thanks for your reply, I have sent you PM.</p>

<p>MiamiDAP : things really well for your D. I read from your other posts that she went to U. of Miami. Are there any other schools that allows to do this?</p>

<p>I have a couple of questions about USF 7 Year Med program. The first one is, all the kids that are accepted into USF Honors college are eligible to participate in this program or is there any other criteria? The second one, I heard that there is a formal interview after successfully fulfilled all the requirements. So, is there any chance for elimination during interview process? The last one is, generally how many kids are accepted into this 7 year med program?</p>

<p>Your responses are highly appreciated.</p>

<p>I am just updating that after going thru a lot of reading and lot of thinking we decided to stay with 4 + 4 path. Mainly because as decision came closure, my D was not 200% sure on being in medicine path :)</p>

<p>We applied ED and she got accepted in one of the ivies. She will stay in pre-med (bio engineering) path and switch out if she decides not to go with it. We do realize it is going to be hard to keep up GPA in bio engineering but she is strong in sciences and math so hopefully will not be a problem. </p>

<p>Only time will tell if this decision was right. I will come back and update this thread in 4 years :)</p>

<p>I am a prospective student considering the 7 yr prog. i have a question, does the 7 year med prog at rutgers include residency, since it is in part with rwj? someone told me this, is it true?</p>

<p>The 7 year program with Rutgers ( Newark) is with UMD in Newark. The New Brunswick Campus has a 7 year program with RWJ where at the end of the sophomore year , you apply to take med school classes since its on the same campus. The caveat is many hundreds of applicants try for the 15 or 20 spots. I don’t know what percentage get residency spots.</p>

<p>P.S. but the hospital is nearby.</p>

<p>“does the 7 year med prog at rutgers include residency”
-You apply to residency in your last year of Med. School. You go thru the match process and most likely end up at the completely different place. In fact, your Med. School might not even have residency program in your specialty. You have to be an MD (you receive this status after you graduate from Med. School) to be a resident since you are actually treating patients. Med. Students cannot treat patients, they are not licensed yet.
This is general comment. I do not have any knowledge about specific program in your question.</p>