Rensselaer/Albany Medical College

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
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<p>I am considering the physician scientist program at Rensselaer/Albany Medical College. I think this program is great since I have the chance to do research with famous faculty members, publish my work, and get into my first preference residency. Furthermore, I would like to have a change from urban crowded areas and be able to enjoy the outdoors (i.e. hiking, skiiing, white-water rafting, Lake George, NY Giants summer camp, Aurora Borealis viewing, Woodstock concerts,etc.). Unlike the other accelerated medical program undergraduate schools, I think Rensselaer has a safer campus where I am less pressured into drinking and drugs. Although I do not like to study all the time and be around computer nerds, I certainly do not want to live in West Philadelphia (like Will Smith who escapes to Bel Aire!) and Newark (birthplace of Shaq). For this reason I probably will not apply to Drexel/Drexel and UMDNJ. I remember reading a post about a student transferring out of the Drexel/Drexel BS/MD program because 2 of his friends were mugged at gunpoint and since the social life sucks there (most Drexel students go home during the weekends or are gone half of the year for co-op). Similarly, I am not impressed by knowing about a TCNJ student who disappeared and whose remains were found in a dumpster in eastern Pennsylvania. </p>

<p>However, I am starting to wonder if I should consider Rensselaer/Albany Medical College after reading some of the posts on this messageboard. Almost everyone is disregarding Rensselaer/Albany Medical College for some other accelerated medical program. And I remember Hydrogen3k implying that someone with just a 2100 could have a shot at Rensselaer/Albany Medical College. I've also heard that some of those invited for interviews at Albany Medical College don't even show up! Is Rensselaer/Albany Medical College that lousy and mediocre of a program?</p>

<p>If anyone here has been accepted or is already in the physician scientist program at Rensselaer, could you describe your experience there? Could you also post your stats? Thanks.</p>

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<p>wow you make drexel seem like the worst place to go. lol I might reconsider applying to it, but i still want to get into a ba/md program</p>

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<p>You are probably too good for this program.</p>

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<p>you should private message gangsta about this program, and he actually goes there and has given some decent pro and con posts (you can search his post history), i know a few students who are at rpi and currently students and amc and enjoyed the opportunity they had and are doing very well at the medical school, hashman89 a poster on this board turned down umkc, usc's med program, stanford and berkeley ucla to attend this program...he might knows some things some of the negative posters you're referring to on this message board don't know about this program</p>

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<p>Hey curiosity, Gangsta does not accept any personal messages. I did look through the threads though and read his and your comments. By the way, which medical program are you in currently?</p>

<p>Anyways, from reading the posts, I have got the impression that Albany is a "dump" and that RPI's social scene is bad. Plus, maintaining a 3.4 GPA there is harder (probably because it is a cuthroat engineering school) than it is to maintain a 3.5 GPA at Drexel (which seems very slack and laid back compared to RPI). I am starting to think that maybe I'll just apply to Brooklyn Med, UMDNJ, Stony Brook, Drexel, and PSU/Jefferson while skipping RPI/Albany altogether...I heard there is a $100 fee with their supplemental application and the RPI costs about $45,000 a year!</p>

<p>Here are some of the posts I read...</p>

<p>express2nyc
Junior Member</p>

<p>Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 128 go to psu/jeff</p>

<p>i got into drexel's 7 year and rpi's 7 year as well... i chose drexel because philly>albany
...plus in your case... jefferson med >>>> albany med</p>

<p>... and i personally would do 7 years at psu... i applied to that program[didnt get in]... but... if i had... i would have done 7... what's the rush?</p>

<p>rpi/albany is good... but psu/jeff is better
you'll have a better social life and academic experience at psu</p>

<p>anyways... good luck grl </p>

<p>express2nyc
Junior Member</p>

<p>Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 128 ok... I have been accepted to RPI/AMC, Union/AMC, Lehigh/Drexel and Drexel/Drexel.</p>

<p>My choice is Drexel/Drexel. Here is why.</p>

<p>First off... regarding the whole "MCAT"/"difficulty of program" issue:</p>

<p>MCAT requirement at Drexel Medical's programs is a 27, not 30. You need three 9's.
MCAT requirement at AMC is nothing. You dont take them.</p>

<p>Secondly, a score of 27 is BELOW the national average. I dont mean to sound cocky in any way. BUT, if i have been accepted into med skool as a high school senior, I am 99% sure i can get a 27. In fact, no one has ever NOT been able to get the 27 in the history of drexel's 7 year programs. I dont plan on being the first. Now the issue for most of us isn't getting a 27, but the stress and added pressure of having to get that 27. </p>

<p>Well... I talked to one of my friends in the Drexel program. They said that the program itself is the easiest thing EVER. Like the actual course work as an undergrad is a breeze. SO, if your looking to be challenged, mentally stimulated like never before, I dont think drexel is the place for you. But i'm looking for the complete opposite. So I like this about Drexel. I dont want to go to med skool burnt out. I KNOW FOR A FACT that at drexel, you wont be overworked as an undergrad... because its an easy school... for us program kids anyway.</p>

<p>NEXT: Environment</p>

<p>I live in Northeast Philly. I grew up in Queens, NYC. I hate northeast philly, because I dont like the suburbs. I love city life. I like concrete. I like skyscrapers and buildings. I dont like trees and shrubery and nature and all that. I'm a city kid. I'm NOT ready to commit 3 years of my life to Lehigh [which btw is on the side of a mountain]. Drexel is perfect for me. Its across the street for UPENN, USP and within 10 minutes of Temple. Being from Northeast philly, my social network revolves around these skools. PHilly is amazing. AND IM NOT going to go to lehigh just because its ranked highly according to usnews. YES lehigh is prestigious. BUT, what good does that do me>???? IM ALREADY INTO MED SKOOL. If i wanted prestige, I would mail in my deposit to UPENN. Prestige [as far as the undergrad skools are concerned] shouldnt be a factor in your decision because you are already into med skool!!!</p>

<p>SO GO TO THE SKOOL U LIKE!!</p>

<p>ALSO, I dont want to go to the AMC programs because they are 4 hours away from home for me. NOw, I have indian parents. AND they were sooo surprised when i told them that I would rather go to a school closer to home than go to some skool off in the distance. Throughout high school, I told them, I'm going to go as far away as possible. BUT THEN I REALIZED SOMETHING. Im committing the next 7 years of my life to this.!!!! Would i rather be 4 hours away from home in albany?.. [btw, albany is such a waste].... or 45 minutes away in philly??... my choice is philly...</p>

<p>Also, as far as MED SKOOL reputation:</p>

<p>ok... yes i know, we all want good residencies.
Here's something to think about:</p>

<p>If neither Drexel med or AMC are considered one of the top 20 medical schools in america, do u REALLY think that a residency director is going to give you a residency because you came from AMC as opposed to Drexel, and vice versa. To be honest, BOTH MED skools ARE MIDDLE OF THE PACK. .... and thats the sacrifice you have to make by entering one of these programs... you cant go to a top medical skool like hopkins... y?... because they dont need to recruit kids to their med skool through these kinds of programs... they are prestigious.... DREXEL med and AMC aren't bad... but certainly not great... SO comparing the medical skool reputation of drexel and AMC is like comparing the differences between UPENN and DUKE... THEY ARE THE SAME.... there is no distinctive advantage...atleast from a "prestige" standpoint in the eyes of a residency director...</p>

<p>IT COMES DOWN TO YOUR BOARDS..... which med school you go to is NOT going to change that</p>

<p>also... drexel med offers both PBL learning and traditional learning... PBL[problem based learning... the kind they have at harvard] is a unique method of study... so at Drexel med u do have that option..</p>

<p>ALSO... finally... I also like the fact that Drexel is the cheapest of the four options [im rich so my parents told me not to worry about finances... BUT... it is the cheapest as far as undergrad is concerned and thats always good]... and also... u dont give up ANY summers... which is amazing... becuz at union.. u give up 3 summers if you do the mba and at rpi... u have to give up the summer before med skool to do research... which would probably be a royal pain.</p>

<p>SO... thats the logic behind my decision. I think the fact that ALOTTTT of my friends attend schools in the philly area made my decision a little easier... Also... the best social scene, in case you have yet to pick up on this minor detail [sarcasm] is at drexel.... enjoy your college years... you will never get them back... med skool is going to be hard... residency years are going to be exhausting.... nothing will ever be as fun or easy as your undergrad years.... spend them in a place you like.... </p>

<p>let me know what choices you guys eventually make... </p>

<p>rishug87
Junior Member</p>

<p>Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 108 my brother went through rpi/amc and had a great time at rpi though it was only 2 years at the time; he didn't like amc only b/c it was hard but i bet it was probably easier than other med schools or at the same caliber; he got interviews to residencies such as georgetown, yale, columbia, but put his top 3 all in socal including ucla and usc and he got into usc his top choice which has a great program for his field; p.s. he did pretty mediiiocre on his boards so i don't know how he got those interviews </p>

<p>gangsta
Junior Member</p>

<p>Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 78 RPI/AMC 7-year program is quite relaxed. I'm having a great time. I'm in my most difficult year (organic chem) and although its very challenging, I have time to slack off. I think the group of people in my program are great. The graduates I know all are successful. In fact, the avg. RPI/AMC board score is 15 points above the national avg and AMC's avg. Every single bs/md graduate is also in the top half of their AMC class and this has been going on for over a decade. Research is available. Nevertheless, both of these programs are good, not much of a difference in terms of academics. Pick whichever is closer to home.</p>

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<p>Wow alot of false information here. I can try to clear it up. First of all, Drexel bs/md does not produce the most successful grads. Yes, its better than nothing, but if you have other choices for bs/md programs, it is NOT worth it. I know people who have been kicked out for not making the GPA cut or the MCAT cut. There is a high attrition rate. RPI/AMC is different though. No, you cannot get in with a 2100. Especially in the coming yeras, the competition has rapidly risen. Remember that Union/AMC, RPI/AMC, and Siena/AMC are very differnet programs in terms of competition and goals. RPI/AMC students have consistently performed in the top quarter of the AMC class and above 20 points the national and AMC USMLE average (board exams in med. school). We do research for two years, most students publish, and you learn alot in addition to having a mentor that can write you a good recommendation. I know interviewers who have interviewed students entering this year and I've talked to a handful of students entering RPI/AMC this coming fall. Every single one has been accepted into at least three ivies. In my year itself, the SAT scores range from 1440-1600. There is NO MCAT requirement, and the 3.4 GPA requirement is not hard. In my year, at least half of us will be getting above a 3.8. I have friends who rejected three bs/md programs (Rochester, Drexel, and BU) and ivies such as Brown and Yale. Feel free to ask specific questions.</p>

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<p>In terms of social life, its what you make. I've had the best time of my life. In terms of AMC and med. school ranking. It's useless. All the program graduates (4th years at AMC) are doing first choices - surgery at Penn, pathology at Harvard, emergency medicine at Albert Einstein. Most know how to study and with a really good science training at RPI, they do well, do well on the boards, get the MDDR, and get first choice residencies. You're guaranteed to be top half of your class (nobody so far has been lower) and you're ahead of the pack. The research you do after third year of RPI before AMC is amazing. You get to do something useful, make money, get to know everybody at AMC, hang out all your program friends, your year and above, and get a head start on the whole process. You get 6 weeks off before med. school anyway from mid-july to end of august. We don't have finals third year since we take reserach classes so we're done first week of May.</p>

<p>A 27 MCAT is not easy...it still requires studying. If you're going to study that much, might as well go all out and apply out. Its a waste of time in my opinion, Drexel med. program is not as structured as RPI, its much larger, Drexel curriculum is not as focused, and students get kicked out every year. RPI is alot more intimate. You have dinners every year with kids in your year and every year above along with faculty at AMC and guest lecturers including alumns. A few famous graduates? The president of Havard's Brigham and Women's Hospital, the discoverer of leptin (obesity gene) - Friedman</p>

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<p>I'm enrolling in the union/amc program next yr. I chose this program over yale, columbia, cornell, and penn. </p>

<p>amc grads go on to amazing places. i know two kids at albany med. one got a residency at johns hopkins, one got a residency at yale. pretty impressive!</p>

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<p>umm 27 is not average...24.7 is average. and i dont know where you got the fact that no drexel/drexel kid failed to get a 27 (or a 30 with no less than a 7 for each subpart) ever in history. i called drexel med school and undergrad and asked about this issue when i was decided, and i got the "we cannot disclose this information" answer. i would go RPI. AMC is also a third tier med school whereas drexel is not.</p>

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<p>def pick rpi/amc over drexel.</p>

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<p>There is a "Have you visited our campus?" question in the RPI application. I live in west coast. Does it negatively impact the chance to get an interview if I cannot do a campus visit?</p>

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<p>I don't think so...I said "No" to that question as well.</p>

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<p>how many people get into the rpi/albany med program after all the cuts?</p>

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<p>I emailed someone a while back regarding this. This is a direct quote from the email I got back (this is for rpi/albany):</p>

<p>More than 350 students apply each year to our accelerated medical program with Albany Medical College. Of that number, about 100 are forwarded to the medical school for review, and about half of those receive interviews. We have room for 20 students each year in the program.</p>

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<p>got my rpi/albany supplemental application</p>

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<p>Gangsta and other RPI/AMC folks,</p>

<p>I was wondering what would be the typical debt that I would incur when one come out of RPI/AMC? I just got the formal acceptance. But no word on merit aid. What is the biggest merit scholarship RPI hands out? Can you get any scholarship during medical school? Also, I was told that you can work in the lab and make some money too. Thanks</p>