Hi Everyone,
I was accepted to the Union/Albany Med Program, and am considering attending. This thread is for people like me who got into one of the Albany Med school linked programs and would like to discuss before making the decision.
Do you know anything about the quality of the program? If you are attending, what do you like/dislike about the program and the school.
lol looks like I am the only one considering this program…
Stats?
My daughter was accepted to the Union/Albany Med Program and she is considering attending. I also want to know like/dislike about the program and the school before we commit.
I would like to know the total cost of this program for the out of state student 4 yrs Union College as well as 4 yrs Albany Medical College. I couldn’t find online for the Albany Medical college.
Tuition, room and board, and student fees are $64,374 for the 2016-2017 academic year for undergrads.
https://www.union.edu/offices/finaid/
For Albany med school, I didn’t find it on their website, but from start class:
http://medical-schools.startclass.com/q/102/2885/How-much-is-tuition-at-the-Albany-Medical-College
Thank you. It is very helpful to take our decision. My daughter likes this Union Albany Med Program. She is planning to do BS MBA and MD. I am wondering can she able to do Neuroscience major with this Med Program.
I am sure that its not difficult to change majors in Union, but please reach out to their admissions to confirm. They do have Nueroscience major and looks good too…
https://www.union.edu/academic/majors-minors/neuroscience/
Also, one more thing to keep in mind is that there is a requirement for interdepartmental major in this program as well.
This is what first four years of the program looks like:
I am a current student in Union LIM. Unfortunately, you cannot major in neuroscience. Your science major has to be biology or chemistry and the other major you choose has to be a non science or math.
You can minor in neuroscience if you wanted to though. A minor is not required for the program.
Both of you thank you so much for your reply.
@ZFt78PJsx
what do like most and least at Albany.
My daughter also got accepted at Emory what do you suggest whether she has to pick Union/Albany or Emory.
There is a chance if she will get good MCAT score and keep her GPA above 3.8 in premed. She can do MD at Anschutz Medical CU Denver instate. Anschutz Medical is a #35 in research and #11 in primary care.
What are pros and cons between the Emory and Union/Albany 8 yrs Medical Scholar program?
Any help will be appreciated
Thanks
What I like most about Union and the area is the fact that it is a small school. This really provides opportunities for each student to get involved in the school and the clubs and academics, whether it be through dance clubs or research projects. This is something that is often hard at bigger schools and more prestigious schools where it is also hard to excel in comparison to all the bright students. What I like least about Union and the area is the lack of resources. The dining at Union isn’t too good and there aren’t many good cheap alternatives in the walking range for dining either. I was in a similar place to your daughter. I was accepted to top schools and several programs and had to make the compromise of name school vs medical school admission security. Eventually, I chose medical school admission security. While I had the utmost faith in myself to get a great GPA and MCAT score in undergraduate, these were things I didn’t have to really worry about (especially at Union/Albany where MCAT is not required). Worrying about making a great medical school application often takes time out of the college experience and doesn’t let you do things you enjoy as much since you are spending time doing things medical schools like. These are things I didn’t want to compromise and found Union/Albany to be a good alternative. Union is a top 70 school in the nation and has great academics in addition to a great history. Despite being a LIM student and therefore considered part of the college’s brightest, I am often challenged by courses especially science ones. In addition, another large pro to Union/Albany is the MBA degree, which will help you develop as a doctor and the changing health care system, in addition help you reach higher areas in terms of career. This starts by making you more competitive for residency as almost 40% of kids who apply to residencies these days have a degree other than an undergraduate degree and a MD or DO.
Bottom Line for Union
Pro:
NO MCAT
Small school, many opportunities
Get MBA degree
Con:
Bad food
Less known school
Flexibility of major and scheduling
Most of the pros for Union would be cons for Emory and vice versa
Thank you so much for your detailed reply. it will be very helpful in our decision process.
@ZFt78PJsx Thank you so much for your inputs, much appreciated.
I’m in to the Siena/Albany program. I was wondering- are any of you going to these programs planning to apply out to to other med schools after you finish your undergrad?
@allefficace If you are already seriously considering applying out of the Siena/Albany program, I don’t think it might be the right choice for you. Siena is not that good of an undergraduate school in terms of science from what I have heard and won’t prepare you well for the MCAT and medical school. You would probably be better off doing a science undergraduate elsewhere at a cheaper cost, like at a state school. Therefore, whether you want to apply out of the program of not is something you should decide before committing to Siena/Albany. RPI and Union are great undergraduate schools for science so this doesn’t really apply to them.
@ZFt78PJsx, I’ve talked to a lot of Siena students at Albany, and they have not noticed any lack in their level of preparation for Albany med, and a there is a significant representation of Siena/Albany students in honor societies at Albany, on par with that of the other two combined degree programs.
There is a very small chance I may apply out, but I just posted here wondering how many other students had such plans.
As an Asian pre-med student, it would be difficult for you to get an acceptance into Albany Medical College.
There are many instances where pre-meds from excellent undergraduate college, such as Harvard, Cornell, JHU, Brown, Berkeley, resort to attend DO or Caribbean medical schools. One of the panelists from an on line program was on the waiting list from the AMC for 4 months even though she is a graduate of Dartmouth.
Of course you can think about applying out if you have MCAT of 38 and GPA of 3.8 and excellent extracurricular activities. I have seen a student from NYCOM, a DO program, got into Mt. Sinai Med after scoring 39 on MCAT.
So… anything is possible, but unlikely. So do well on your classes, participate in extracurricular activities and take MCAT then you will find out if you are a candidate who can apply out. Good luck!!
@upstream, just because a person goes to Harvard, Cornell, JHU, Brown, Berkeley, doesn’t mean it’s an entitlement for a ticket to a U.S. allopathic medical school.
@Roentgen, yes I totally agree with you. Most students make the mistake with the thought that as long as they study hard in their “dream” colleges, they will end up in their medical schools. They fail to realize that most colleges do not give out more than 10-15% A’s in science classes. Therefore, I advice my patients to attend colleges, where they would be “top” students or BS/MD programs with reasonable GPA/MCAT requirements.