Should I stay in Brown PLME or apply out to another medical school?

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
1

<p>I just finished my freshman year at Brown, and I love it - I can't imagine an undergraduate experience better than the one I have just started being a part of. I am, however, already thinking about the future, and I can't help but wonder whether the Alpert Medical School is where I want to be in four years. Here's my situation: I entered Brown with a decent amount of certainty that I would stay with PLME and go through Brown's med school. This decision was based off of the fact that even though I love medicine, love biology, and really dream of being a physician, I am admittedly not the strongest at chemistry, math, or physics. I wanted to be able to take full advantage of the program and take the opportunity to explore intellectually and study abroad, especially since I am probably going to double concentrate in English and Human Biology. </p>

<p>But recently, after the end of the semester, I realized that I may want to get an MD/PhD in the social sciences or humanities (i.e., medical anthropology), which means applying out to other med schools - and what's more, since these MD/PhD programs look pretty rare, these are top-ranking med schools. Even if I don't end up pursuing an MD/PhD, I still am considering applying out to better medical schools, even though Brown's is pretty solid. </p>

<p>Here's my problem: I just took CHEM0330 (basically the entry-level chem course at Brown) and Orgo I this year, and under the assumption that I only needed to fulfill PLME reqs, I took orgo S/NC. I got an S, but to be honest, I didn't do too well in the class; I got a C in CHEM0330 despite trying my best. I am pretty certain you are not allowed to take either class again if you have passed. I have gotten an A in every other class, however, and I don't see any reason for there to be more trouble for my grades in the future. How likely (or unlikely) is it for me to be accepted at higher-ranking med schools, keeping my chem grades in mind? I know it's hard to tell this early in my undergrad career, but I'd like someone to tell me what kind of impact my chemistry will have on my chances. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>What is S/NC? You must take orgo for a letter grade for it to be accepted as a pre-req. You certainly haven’t killed your ability to get into other medical schools with one C, but keep in mind you must have the whole package to do better than Brown. I would also ask if Brown has allows MD/PhD’s in the area that you have suggest and if you are able to enter that program somehow without losing your status (another option is that you can apply into it in your first year of medical school).</p>

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<p>Doesn’t Brown have its own MD/PhD program which takes only applicants from Brown? You would probably get an advantage for that because you are in PLME. </p>

<p>There really aren’t that many MD/PhD programs that include the PhD in the social sciences/humanities, but UChicago is one that specifically has a program for this type of concentration: [Joint</a> Degrees: MeSH Program | Pritzker School of Medicine](<a href=“http://pritzker.uchicago.edu/jointdegrees/mesh/]Joint”>http://pritzker.uchicago.edu/jointdegrees/mesh/)</p>

4

<p>Very few MD/PhD programs, have it where your PhD is not in a science. This makes perfect sense, as the entire reason for an MD/PhD is so that you have both the clinical (MD) and the basic science knowledge at the research level (PhD) to be a future clinician investigator, esp. since many of these MD/PhD programs (not all) are funded by the NIH, and thus no cost in tuition to you. A PhD in a social science or humanities would be relatively useless. Also, Brown’s medical school has an MD/PhD program so you could probably get in much easier. You would however, probably have to take the MCAT. This is how it works at Northwestern’s HPME program.</p>

<p>The only one I know of that lets you get a PhD in a social science along with the MD is Harvard Medical School: [The</a> M.D.-Ph.D. Program at Harvard Medical School](<a href=“http://www.hms.harvard.edu/md_phd/faq/index_special.html]The”>http://www.hms.harvard.edu/md_phd/faq/index_special.html)</p>