St.Louis University Med-Scholars Program: My Experience and Advice

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
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<p>Hi everyone, I am currently enrolling in SLU Med-Scholars program. I just finished my first year and I just want to share my experience and introduce our program. </p>

<p>First of all, let me give you some self-introduction. I was a valedictorian in high school, with good SATs and many hospital extra activities such as internship in Japanese hospital, volunteering at a hospital for more than 3 years, and shadowing with cardiologist. I wanted to apply for BS/MD programs because I knew the medicine was definately what I wanted to do. But, as an international student, I was very limited with list of programs I could apply to. For instance, I really wanted to go to USC or VCU programs, but they only allowed applicants with greencard. I applied for PLME Brown program for early action, but got rejected. Ultimately, I got rejected from all BS/MD programs (I am pretty sure international students are disadventageous, just like for regular medical school admissions), and I had to decide from St.Louis Med-Scholars Program, UVA, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, and Pomona College.</p>

<p>So, let me tell you some things about our program. Beginning of the year, we started with around 150 people. At the end of the first year, there were only 120 of us. Statistically, next year, 40~50 will drop out. Out of 70 of us, only about half will decide to go to SLU medical school. The other half will apply to other medical schools, including mayo, hopkins, yale, washington univ, etc. You might be wondering why people choose to transfer out, why they are kicked out of program, and how they get into such prestigious medical schools. </p>

<p>SLU medical school is one of the most expensive schools in the nation since the school just finished building a new medcial research center. This leads a lot of people to change their minds about going to SLU med. Also, SLU med has the worst reputation in the nation for its 8weeks anatomy course in the beginning for first year. The first 8 weeks are just living hell, according to some of friends I talked to. Some of us got kicked out because they did not meet the GPA requirement. We must maintain our GPA up to 3.6 every semester, which is not so tough as other schools since other non-med scholars are not so competitive about grades. We do have to take MCAT; however, the score does not matter. At the end of sophomore fall semester, we have to apply to apply to SLU med as if we are the regular applicants. Meaning, we have to write a personal essay on why we want to be a doctor and have the interview with med school. But, if you have satisfied your GPA requirement, you are almost guaranteed to get accepted.</p>

<p>Many people decide to transfer out into prestigious medical schools. One of the reason many people get into those schools is SLU's relative easiness. SLU is ranked 82 in the university ranking. In other words, people who decide to go to SLU are not the brightest people in the world. Many med scholars have 4.0 or near 4.0 GPA by the time they graduate. Also, we get to take a class available only for med scholars, which teaches us how to start on medical researches, write essays for medical schools, look for shadowing opportunities, and other medicine-related things. We are required to finish a 60 hour shadowing program, giving us enough shadowing experience for med school resume. There are also ample opportunities where we can participate into other hospital-related activities.</p>

<p>Anyways, I just want to make this last point for everyone thinking about applying to BS/MD program. If you know for sure that you have the "calling" for medicine, BS/MD program is your best choice. You do not have to worry about getting the best grades, get high MCAT score, or spend time in lab every summer. But, if you have a slight doubt about going into medicine, go to so called "good" schools. Those schools can provide you more opportunities to explore variety of fields that you never imagined. Also, it is much easier to make a transition from medicine to other fields if you attend those prestigious universities. For instance, my brother went to Harvard with major in Chemistry. He wanted to be a doctor as well. But, during his senior year, he did not want to be the "slave of medicine" and decided to go to financing. Through networking and alumni connection, he could easily find a financing job at a big bank. He now works in Wall Street, and plans to get MBA at Columbia Business school for 7 figure job.</p>

<p>Now, I am taking summer classes to take care of required classes so that I can graduate early. I am not 100% sure whether I will go to med school right after graduation, or travel around the world for a year. Remember, if you have a slight doubt about dedicating your life into medicine, BS/MD might not be the best choice for you. Go to big name schools to explore more options. I have some friends who dropped out after realizing that medicine isn't for them, and they have no clue what they want to do. Anyways, good luck with your application in this fall!</p>

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<p>thanks for the input man. do u mind posting your stats?</p>

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<p>Do the people who decided to apply to other med schools continue their undergrad for two more years (4 total)? or do they apply after just two years of undergrad?</p>

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<p>gpa=4.0
sat=2300
sat2=math=790
chem=780
bio=760</p>

<p>11 ap courses, 2 college classes
volunteered at hospital for 3 years
internship at japanese hospital
shadowing cardiologist
second place in johns hopkins math competition
first place in gwu math comp
and etc..</p>

<p>//imagin they usually decide to apply out during third year and they have to stay in slu for two more years.</p>

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<p>and you have to apply regular decision for all the BA/MD programs right?</p>

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<p>plme takes early decision applications, but that's about it from the list i have in my head.</p>

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<p>Has anyone been accepted to the SLU medical scholars program? If so, what are your stats? I just moved to Egypt because my parents decided to work in a school herre, and i really dont know where i can do any extracurriculars for college; so i am only relying on my grades. Freshman year i got all A’s except for one B+, and this year I got all A’s so far ( I am a sophomore). I am on the JV basketball team and i participated in the Egyptian revolution by helping the injured people. I also just started volunteering in a hospital and i only have like 10 hours volunteer work and i didnt do any extracirr last year … Am i really that behind? What should I do? I always wanted to be a doctorrr… HELP PLEASEEE!</p>

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<p>@oelmedo I was accepted this year. Stats:</p>

<p>GPA- 3.95
ACT- 31</p>

<p>I placed first in my state for an independent science research project and am competing in nationals. also alot of APs, extra curric’s and service. </p>

<p>I would suggest that you keep the grades high, score high on the act/sat and do some medical research if you can.</p>

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<p>@helena: Thank you so much for replying :), I am really scared if i don’t get accepted because i really wanna get into med school at slu, but 31 ACT is equivalent to a 1370 math and reading SAT right?</p>

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<p>@oelmedo: Make sure you focus on your EC’s too, I had a 32 ACT and a 3.85, which is not bad, but I had friends who got rejected with a 35 and a 4.0. Just try to get an internship or at least some experience in the medical field so you have something solid to state on your application. Grades only matter so much.
Good Luck. :)</p>

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<p>thank you so much for your adviceee =) and well yeah i’ll try doing some of that crap… but good luck to you as well</p>

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<p>Ok, Im an international student who surprisingly enough, got invited for an interview. I went there in early march (I know I did a late interview) but my stats are good (40 on MCAT, gpa of 3.7).
1- Do u think that being invited for an interview is a good sign of my acceptance?
2- If I interviewed on march 8th, when should I be expecting a answer?
3- How many international do they take every year?</p>

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<p>if im not mistaken, this is a thread about the Med Scholars program at SLU, not the actual medical school itself. :confused:
I’m sorry, but I don’t know too much about their Med school acceptance stats; however, with a 40 MCAT, you can literally shoot for the stars. :slight_smile:
Good luck to you.</p>

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<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I just finished my sophomore year at SLU as a med scholar. My GPA was a 3.7, with 3.65 in the math/sciences (comfortably above the 3.5 requirement). I had over 300 hours of shadowing experience, as well other a few hundred other hours of non-shadowing clinical experience.</p>

<p>After i finished my med school interview a few months ago, i was confident that i would fall into the the 98% of scholars who make it into SLUMED. My interview was a breeze.</p>

<p>However, a few days ago, i received a letter in the mail. It was a letter of declined. I was outright rejected from med school.</p>

<p>As you can imagine, my family and I are extremely disappointed. I’ve spoken with the associate dean, Dr. Willmore, two times since then. Both were lengthy conversations about why i didn’t get in.</p>

<p>He went on to say that the committee had major concerns about my understanding of the medical field and the lifestyle of a physician. In my essays and interview, i tried to convey my belief that helping others in need, provides a sense of fulfillment and reward. Yet, he abruptly shot this down, telling me that my reasoning was entirely wrong. He stated that “doctors don’t feel fulfilled or rewarded, they’re tired, over-worked, and depressed.”</p>

<p>I was rejected because apparently i don’t understand that.</p>

<p>He would not specify what portions of my application caused my rejection (essay, interview, etc).</p>

<p>Anyways, i would advise people to stay away from this program. 5 other students were declined like me, even though they had the gpa.</p>

<p>The 98% stat is far from the truth. It’s false advertising at it’s finest.</p>

<p>In actuality, only 18-20% of the original pool of medical scholars make it into med school.</p>

<p>Willmore gave me the 18-20% percentage.</p>

<p>Best of luck to you all</p>

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<p>So, if I understand correctly you are not guaranteed a spot at SLU. you still have to do the interviews and essays for medical schools. So in essence you’re applying for med school at SLU. So can’t you just apply to a bunch of other medical schools at the same time as you’re applying to SLU? Also how do such a high number of people get into other medical schools if they don’t really have extracurricular activities?</p>