<p>First of all, congratulations to all who have been accepted to RPI's Physician-Scientist program! It would be very helpful if some current students or their parents/ guardians could please discuss about the positive and negative aspects of this program. Is it difficult to maintain a good GPA (3.5 and above) in this program? How are the faculty members and are most of the classes taught by them? Students with what statistics (GPA, SAT scores, extra-curricular programs, etc.) and what personal qualities are normally accepted into this program? Do you think that a candidate's having hospital experience for only a few months would be looked at unfavorably? Is the male to female ratio of current students in this program in keeping with the rest of the school, or is it different? Moreover, do RPI Medal Award winners have any greater chances of getting into this program? Thank you very much in advance for your time and input.</p>
<p>Anyone ?</p>
<p>Normally, RPI/AMC program enrolls 15 students per application cycle, however 21 students are enrolled for 2014. Average SAT score is a bit over 2200 for 2013 entering class ( with high average math section >750). Most of the students were in top 10 percent in their high schools and have extensive research experiences. As expected, many students have taken numerous AP classes, and some students take Organic Chemistry in 1st year at RPI.
Most students have no problem maintaining 3.5 GPA at RPI, and school allows some exceptions in certain cases where students faced physical or mental hardship during that term. Since research is a part of the curriculum, it is paramount that an applicant has some sort of research experience, unless he or she has exceptional grades and SAT scores, i.e. > 2300 and >750 on subject tests. Many students in this program were also accepted by Ivies and other high ranked colleges. So being RPI Medal Award winner will not hurt your chances, but will not necessarily improve ones chances of getting into this program. Good Luck!</p>
<p>I’m a Medal Winner, and RPI’s admissions rep just told me about 20/500 kids are accepted every single year. She also said that your chances WILL INCREASE A LOT for the Physician-Scientist program if you are a Medal winner. </p>
<p>RPI/Albany admission process has 3 parts:
1) Acceptance into RPI and forwarding of your application to Albany by RPI admissions
2) Selection for an interview by Albany admissions
3) Acceptance into Albany Med by Albany admissions
I guess being a Medal winner would increase your chance for step 1 of the process, but I am not sure about step 2 and 3. The average SAT for Class of 2016 Medal Winner Profile (1423 c.r.+m) is lower than that of matriculants into RPI/Albany program (1471).
The ultimate admissions decision for the program lies with Albany Med rather than RPI admissions.</p>
I don’t believe being a medal winner helps for the Physician-Scientist program. A medal winner is selected by your high school, and some medal winners don’t even get accepted into RPI. (I am referring to the RPI medalist program. If you are speaking about some other type of medal, then ignore this post.)
In the Physician-Scientist Program, how much freedom do you have to take courses outside of the requirements? Is it easy to get medicine-related research/internship/volunteer opportunities during undergraduate years?
PSP allows one to get AP credits,which opens up many slots for electives. Our son was able to take four non-science courses during his first year. In this fall term, he is taking two non-science courses now.
Since St. Peter’s Hospital is walking distance from the RPI campus, one can readily partake in volunteer work. Also, RPI offers plenty of research opportunities as well, however PSP automatically incorporates research into the program.
Thanks a bunch! Very helpful 