Ranking of Bs/Md programs & Advice request

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
1

<p>Hi everyone, </p>

<p>New here to the forum. Just was wondering about ranking of the following bs/md programs in order of selectivity. I am applying to these and want to know if there are some easier programs to get accepted into. Thanks.</p>

<p>RU/UMDNJ- 7 year
Drexel/Drexel
Penn State/ Jefferson
TCNJ/UMDNJ
GWU/GWU
VCU GMED
Wash U
Northwestern HPME
URochester
Caltech/UCSD (just for the heck of it)</p>

<p>I was also wondering if the fact that I have no medical research will hurt me. I only heard about bs/md programs late into my junior year and at that point research opportunities were not available. The most I've done was volunteer at hospitals and shadowed doctors for hundreds of hours. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>Well, I’d put the CalTech program at the bottom of the list . . . primarily since it doesn’t exist anymore!</p>

<p>Where do you live? Many programs favor their own state residents, so if there is a public combined program in your home state, that should definitely be on your list.</p>

3

<p>Currently, I am a resident of New Jersey. Do you think applying to just two med programs in New Jersey would suffice or I should apply more broadly to NJ med programs? Thanks.</p>

4

<p>Admission to these programs is ridiculously competitive. I’d recommend applying to every state-sponsored program in New Jersey, as well as any others you’re interested in. Keep in mind, though, as you venture out of state, that you’re going to need to cover the cost of attendance for both undergrad and med school, and the med school expense is generally going to be higher at schools other than your in-state public. So, before you apply to Program X, make sure you’re willing to pay the cost of attending Med School X.</p>

<p>You can look here to get an idea of tuition rates for both public and private schools: <a href=“https://services.aamc.org/tsfreports/[/url]”>https://services.aamc.org/tsfreports/&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>TCNJ is a really great school. Its 15 minutes from Princeton and has a feeling of being in the country. What small school has two electron microscopes in it’s bio dept? The maximum merit they give was about 8k in the program so you would have to pay about 16k remaining tuition and R&B.</p>

<p>That Rutgers 7 year is the Newark campus where 3 colleges adjoin so its in the city but safe in that area. Rutgers gives out about 150 presidential scholars that are full rides. Rutgers New Brunswick campus has the same scholarship with an 8 year program where juniors and seniors take med school courses at UG tuition. Sophomores apply and they pick 15 or 20 out of hundreds of applicants and Robert Wood Johnson medical ( now Rutgers med) sits on the campus. NJ med school tuition was in the 30k’s as opposed to 50k’s for private schools.</p>

<p>I would apply to all Jersey schools associated with UMD to improve the odds. I would consider all the schools associated with Drexel since it would be next lowest in cost. I thought there was one Jersey school hooked up with them also.</p>

6

<p>I will appply to more New Jersey programs then! Thanks for the advice, I had not previously thought of that.
The reason why I wanted to apply to some out of state programs is because my family will be moving to California following my senior year, meaning I would become a California resident.
Seeing as how I am not one right now, I cannot apply to UCSD/UCSD and I just learned that Caltech/UCSD was dissolved so I can’t do that.
Are there more programs for Californian residents since I am bound to be one? Thank you.</p>

7

<p>California is a PRO at residency GAMES…unless you apply as a resident in your senior year of high school…you CANNOT claim residency for tuition purposes ! No such thing as “bound” to be a resident for in-state purposes.</p>

8

<p>And, no, in answer to your question, the only CA program right now is UCSD.</p>

<p>Not sure if the above is true about not being able to become a CA resident. If the OP’s parents move there, then I believe the OP would eventually become a CA resident due to the parents’ state residency. Wouldn’t help for undergrad, I don’t think, but might help for med school.</p>

9

<p>To establish residence for tuition purposes, you must satisfy 3 conditions:</p>

<pre><code>Physical presence
Intent to become a California resident
Financial independence
</code></pre>

<p>1) Physical presence</p>

<p>You must be physically present in California for more than one year (366 days) immediately prior to the residence determination date of the term for which resident classification is requested. You must have come here with the intent to make California your home as opposed to coming to this state to go to school.</p>

<p>Physical presence within the state solely for educational purposes doesn’t constitute the establishment of California residence, regardless of the length of your stay. Continuous physical presence isn’t mandatory, but a student who leaves California after establishing residence must demonstrate that he/she intended to remain a California resident, and that his/her principal place of residence has been in California. It’s the burden of the student to clearly demonstrate retention of California residence during periods of absence from the state.</p>

<p>The physical presence requirement will be extended until the student can demonstrate a concurrence of both physical presence and intent for one full year.</p>

<p>Back to top
2) Intent to become a California resident</p>

<p>Demonstrate through objective documentation that your physical presence was coupled with the intent to make California your permanent home. Intent is evaluated as an independent element of residence, separate from physical presence, and is demonstrated by establishing residential ties in California, and relinquishing ties to the former place of residence.</p>

<p>You must demonstrate your intention to make California your home by severing your residential ties with your former state of residence and establishing those ties with California. If these steps are delayed, the one-year duration period will be extended until you have demonstrated both presence and intent for one full year.
Indications of your intent to make California your permanent residence include:</p>

10

<p>Ca. knows the game…these are elite schools(Berkley/UCLA/UCSD) and the state not about to give up precious tuition dollars without serious definitive documentation. The parameters are available to those who dream…</p>

11

<p>Thank you so much for your help as to whether or not I would qualify as a Californian resident. Would it possible to pay in-state tuition after a year of living in California?</p>

<p>Also, Which of the programs affiliated with UMDNJ & Drexel are worthwhile in applying to?
Thanks for all the help I’m receiving.</p>

12

<p>As a New Jersey resident I would apply all the UMDNJ schools. Same for Drexel Med school’s partners if the tuition is bearable. I remembered Kean University in NJ has a program with Drexel Med but I do not know Kean’s tuition or if it is a state school.</p>

<p>I have seen people apply to 10 to 15 BA/MD programs plus a couple of safeties. One hopes to get 3 or 4 interviews and 1 or 2 acceptances.</p>

13

<p>Interesting that in tropixx’s list of criteria for California residency (post #9 above), he mentioned “financial independence,” but then failed to discuss it. Wise choice, since “financial independence" would NOT be required of a student whose parents live in California!</p>

<p>Would it be possible to pay in-state tuition after a year of living in California? Perhaps, but not if you attended school in California for that year.</p>

<p>What I am wondering, and will investigate further, is whether you could attend undergrad in New Jersey, while your parents live in California, and then get in-state rates in CA for med school, based on your parents’ residence.</p>

14

<p>Obviously, a given state has an obligation to its tax payer base, to grant “tuition” residency to those who deserve(according to some arbitrary parameter…whatever that may be), to prevent a RUN on UCal schools. This game has been going on for centuries…I do not claim to have the answers…all I do know, is that Cal is tight with their precious residency status and like many other states, in DIRE need of out of state REVENUE. Just look at new 2014 USNews report of BEST schools and look at the CAL list…protecting ones turf AND maximizing tuition revenue. CAL is the BIG target, of course: between the weather, and quality of education, cant go wrong attending senior year high school in MALIBU…What other state RANKS out like that?</p>

15

<p>Thank you all for your replies.
I will definitely apply to more BS/MD programs affiliated with UMDNJ/Drexel, seeing as how those would be the cheapest.
I will bring up the topic of in-state tuition for med college with my parents. In which case, I would have to not be in a Bs/md program ,correct?
If I were to go the traditional route, which UCal school would you recommend me attending?
People have told me to avoid both LA and Berkeley because of how cutthroat they are; simply, it would be be better to attain a higher GPA at a San Diego or an Irvine, perhaps.
Once again, I truly appreciate all the help. This is definitely making the difficult road of choosing my tertiary educational institute one that is a little easier than it should be.</p>

16

<p>NJUMD schools would be the cheapest since you are a Jersey resident. If you got one of Rutgers Presidential 3 or 4 years UG are free. It doesn’t get any cheaper than that! UMD is in the 30ks instead of the 50ks so again med schools don’t come much cheaper than that. The other Jersey schools would be the next cheapest then perhaps Drexel Med associated schools. I know the Ohio schools are a financial bargains but I don’t know if that is just instate people.</p>

<p>In this day of federal loans at 7 percent with interest accruing from day one, lower cost beats “prestige”. There are physicians in their forties still paying off student loans who can not afford a home mortgage . My dentist’ personal physician is one of them. While my dentist who is in her forties went to Rutgers on merit.</p>

17

<p>Sorry, it took me a while to get to this, but here it is:</p>

<p>*Dependent of a California Resident (Conditional):</p>

<p>A student who has not been an adult physically present in California for more than one year (366 days) and who is the dependent child (natural or adopted) of a California resident who has been a resident for more than one year (366 days) immediately prior to the residence determination date may be entitled to resident classification until he has resided in California for the minimum time necessary to establish a residence (366 days), as long as he maintains continuous full-time attendance at a post-secondary institution.</p>

<p>Requirements:</p>

<ol>
<li>On the residence determination date, the student:</li>
</ol>

<p>a. must be the dependent child of a California resident who has met the University’s requirements for residence for tuition purposes for 366 days. (Dependence is typically proven by submitting verification that the student is claimed as a dependent for income tax purposes or the California parent is providing court-ordered support), and</p>

<p>b. must not have lived in California for more than one year since he arrived in the state or since he reached his18th birthday.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Once enrolled, the student must maintain continuous full-time attendance at a post- secondary institution as defined by Ed. Code §68016. If the student has attended more than one post-secondary institution, his enrollment must have been continuous and full-time.</p></li>
<li><p>On the residence determination date, the parent must have been a California resident for the immediately preceding 366 days. Financial independence will not be required as the student is the dependent of a California resident.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>When this exemption expires, the student must have fulfilled the UC residence requirements to maintain resident status—366 days of physical presence with concurrent intent and qualifying immigration status. The death of the California-resident parent of a continuously enrolled student will not cause the student to lose residence status.</p>

<p>[University</a> of California Residence Policy and Guidelines for the 2013-2014 Academic Year (pp. 52-53)](<a href=“UC Legal - Office of the General Counsel | UCOP”>UC Legal - Office of the General Counsel | UCOP)*</p>

<p>In a nutshell, yes, it’s possible for you to qualify for in-state tuition once your parents have established residence in California.</p>

18

<p>Thank you so much for your information, definitely has calmed me down a bit and now I’ll apply to more UC Schools. Are there any Bs/MD Programs still in operation over there besides UCSD/UCSD? </p>

<p>@Raycmr
That is definitely true. Do not want to be stuck with debt following college. I am now applying to more schools affiliated with NJMS, and I was considering applying to Kean/Drexel but the value of UG education at Kean concerns me, although attending the school would be very cheap. Should I apply nevertheless? I also don’t really want to stay too close to home and Kean is around 10 minutes from where I live currently.
Thanks for replies, everyone!</p>

19

<p>UCSD is the only combined program at this time.</p>

<p>But I’m not at all sure from the language above that you’d be able to change your status to resident later if you apply now as a non-resident. Contact UCSD and ask before you do this! You may need to wait until your parents establish residency in CA, and then apply there later for med school only . . . but call or email now to find out.</p>

<p>Sorry, but yours is a situation I haven’t researched previously. I’m sure I could figure it out eventually, but it’s best to contact UCSD and make sure you have accurate information.</p>

20

<p>I will call UCSD and inquire them about the situation and let you all know for future reference.
Still stuck on whether or not I should apply to Kean/Drexel, though!</p>