Been lurking on here for a bit and this is only my second post but I wanted to ask for some advice since I have to make my decision by May 1st. Right now I’m torn between attending Cornell as a bio major on the pre med track or attending the Sophie Davis BS/MD 7 year program.
For those who don’t know about Sophie Davis: it’s part of CUNY City college, I’ll receive my BS after the first 3 years and my MD at the end of the next 4, guaranteed a seat in CUNY school of medicine, don’t have to take the MCAT, super inexpensive for the first 3 years then reduced medical school costs for the next 4, almost everyone matches to residency (by everyone I mean whoever is left of the 75 students that were accepted because a good chunk tend to drop out or leave because it’s intense).
One of the big reasons why I was originally leaning Cornell was because Cornell had more resources and could give me more opportunities including the “traditional” college experience in my undergrad, as well as the name and network that come with an Ivy League. I’m afraid I might not do well at Cornell and since I’m trying to get into med school, GPA is a big deal. I heard Cornell is pretty cutthroat and there is grade deflation, can anyone vouch for this? Since the accepted students day at Sophie yesterday, I’m reconsidering. My main thing with Sophie is that it’s a CUNY and it’s name is not very big and I think the name means something when your a doctor. Do you want the surgeon from a city school or Yale? Cornell would also be considerably more expensive but my parents are comfortable taking out loans and say they’ll support me whenever, but they’re leaning Sophie. Let me know what you think, thanks 
Stats: Average: 97 with a heavy coursleoad all 4 years ACT: 32 No rankings at my school but I would guess I’m somewhere in the top 10%. Extracurriculars are things that I loved and enjoyed very much, including an amazing research opportunity at an Ivy League school where I’ll be finishing up my paper by next month. Leadership positions here and there as well as awards in state piano competitions.
The school name means nothing when you’re a doctor. I would want the surgeon with the best hands, no matter where they’re from.
The Sophie Davis program gives you more resources than Cornell. It gives you med school at a low cost.
^Yeah, agreed. School name - undergrad or med school - doesn’t mean anything for physicians. I’d choose my surgeon based on how many prior surgeries they’ve done like the one I’m getting and other people’s reviews or comments on their experiences, plus a meeting with them. I couldn’t care less whether they went to Yale or CUNY, and in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever known what medical school (or nursing or PA school) any of my prior care providers have gone to.
(In fact, I just looked up the education of an excellent surgeon I had when I was in graduate school; he went to some med school I’ve never heard of.)
My question for these combined programs is always this: Let’s say that you lose interest in medicine or the program is too intense or you decide to take time off after college or whatever - and you don’t go through the full BS/MD program. Which school would you rather have attended assuming that you did not go to medical school?
Another question: How big is the cost differential between Cornell and Sophie Davis?
Cornell is known to very rigorous for Pre med track and weed out orgo is intended to be difficult. But it probably prepares you well for med school competition.
I am echoing the words of a paid college counselor in the north east with a stellar reputation and high profile school background
If you change your mind of course Cornell has a lot to offer
Honestly I wish I applied to colleges like Cornell and other Ivy’s. But I didn’t and I missed my chance.
And many of you believe that Cornell may be more rigorous than Sophie, but it’s actually quite the contrary. I have a friend who attends Sophie who is older than me, I won’t say the name, who tells me that Sophie Davis is such a difficult school. She continuously advises me not to go. She got a 2200+ old SAT score and she went to a specialized high school and is very very very smart, yet she’s finds the program super super difficult and hates it. And she says that she is one of about 18 students out of 90 who did NOT fail a class at Sophie. Every other student at Sophie has failed classes and have to do some sort of remedial class which I don’t know the details of. Basically, Sophie Davis is HARD. You shouldn’t believe for a second that it may be easier. It’s not. Just because it is a CUNY doesnt mean that it is any easier. After all, a 4-year course load is being compressed into 3 years for your bachelors degree. My advice is that you should only go there if you are 100% committed to the heavy studying and being a doctor. Many students tell me that you are also sacrificing your “college experience” by choosing to go to Sophie. Cornell would be your forte if you are someone who wants a more open variety of college options. From my little knowledge, I know for sure that Cornell has a LOT to offer.
Choose a college which best suits your wishes and allows you to do what you want. Good luck!
@smartkitt ,
But would Cornell be any easier? There’s a reason why pre-med is brutal. There’s a reason why the two friends I had in college who were pre-med switched to pre-law and dental. It is awesome that you know the Sophie Davis program so well, as this is what @iinsomniacc needs to know. However, if the OP’s plans are medical school, Sophie Davis offers a path that is available to very few HS seniors: a guaranteed (well, if she can make it through) entry into a good medical school.
It kind of sounds like “pick your poison.” I mean, I guess one could argue that a safer play would be Cornell, because if pre-med doesn’t pan out, there’s still the value of the Cornell degree. BTW, OP: CUNY is no slouch, for medical school or for undergrad.
We looked at Sophie for my daughter and will probably not apply. The problem is, unlike with other BS/MD programs, Sophie is pretty self contained. If you don’t succeed there, and a LOT of kids don’t, its hard to transition into something else because your Sophie experience is not the typical college experience. Also, the med school is designed to heavily encourage students into primary care. That is its purpose. I don’t know how easy it would be to choose a different specialty from there. That is something you should definitely check before you decide. Please don’t take my word for any of this. Check it all out before you decide.
@Hapworth ,
I do not know if Cornell would be any easier. But I do know that committing yourself to Sophie Davis is a much riskier decision than committing to Cornell. At Sophie Davis, you get kicked out of the entire program if you fail your second-chance makeup exams for a failed class. And if you use your second chance, and were to possibly fail in the future during the more difficult years, there is absolutely no way to make it up. You would be removed from the program and you would have to start over from year 1 at another university if you didn’t succeed in getting (at least) your bachelor’s degree from Sophie. As long as @iinsomniacc may be willing to take the risk and is confident to enter the program, then he/she may do well
if you don’t mind me asking @iinsomniacc , where did you decide to finally commit?