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Hey Bigred, why are accelerated med programs bad? I have heard only praise for them so far.
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<p>Reasons why I think combined/accelerated programs are bad: (I'm not talking about VCU or any other sort of program where you get 4 years of regular undergrad).</p>
<p>1). What happens if you realize half way through organic that you don't want to do medicine. This is a bigger problem especially if you get some medicine classes from the beginning. Time, money are wasted when you decided that medicine is not for you - and there are a lot of people who decide that (granted less at one of these programs but still).</p>
<p>2). No evidence that they produce better doctors. If there was someway to go about showing the benefits of these programs, it might be worth it.</p>
<p>3). Cost...often (like in the case of UMKC) 6 years costs way more than 4 and 4 (depending on where you go).</p>
<p>4). Inability to meet people. You're pretty much limited to your class and the people a year ahead and behind you at the minimum. So much of college is just about spending time with other people doing nothing imparticular.</p>
<p>5). When I got accepted to UMKC for the fall of 2001, I asked the kids on my interview what they did, and most said they had zero free time. </p>
<p>6). Lack of the college experience. Most people on this website are too concerned about prestige and careers to realize that college is the absolute most amazing time of your life...you have little to zero responsibility and an equal amount of consequences for your actions. A combined program robs you of that. You don't get to go to the all-night parties, or go on a roadtrip with your buddies that requires everyone to get a test rescheduled (b/c you need to experience a "full" weekend in another town to really get a feel for it, and that requires Thursday nights). The singular focus of a combined/accelerated program robs you of things that make higher ed worthwhile.</p>
<p>7). There are also maturity issues and things of that nature. You grow so much each year of college, that 2 years can make a big difference.</p>
<p>8). The only benefit is that you get done two years early, and I'm not sure that is enough to outweigh what two years of undergrad is worth.</p>
<p>9). The singular focus of the programs. College is really the only time where you get the opportunity to purely just learn for the sake of learning. You can take that class about Jazz, or the political implications of the vietnam war or whatever. You have to fill some electives somehow and so many courses are things you'd never otherwise learn about without some serious self discipline. The accelerated nature fo these programs just don't allow that exploration.</p>
<p>I think that part of the problem is that you guys have all these expectations of what college might be like, and I've graduated in 4 years and know that the day I walked across that stage was one of saddest days of my life (and it wasn't only b/c I was extremely hungover and hungry...what I wouldn't have given for a bloody mary and a sandwich at that point). The friends, the memories, the random people, the parties, the hookups, the extracurricular events, the football games, Homecoming...I could go on and on and on. There's just no way to justify the loss of things like that.</p>