Anyone taking them right now? What kind of people get into this?
Very high academic achievement. Taking most demanding courses available and
has mostly As. Testing in the mid to
high 700s on each section of the SAT or at least a 32/33 on ACT.
Excellent involvement in extracurriculars, well rounded, and significant
leadership roles.
Significant exploration of the field of medicine, such as volunteering,
shadowing, research, or some combination of those.
My thoughts are that it’s not worth it unless you’re 100% “I want to be an MD there’s literally zero chance I’ll want to do something else.” If you’re talented enough to be admitted to a program like this there’s a good chance you’ll emerge from 4 years of UG ready to get into med school. Why give up a year of college? 8 year BA/MD programs like Northwestern’s and Brown’s are a bit of a different story and even then, if someone would rather be at a different top school for UG, I’d still probably say skip HPME or PLME.
Additionally, the schools that have these types of programs are generally weaker. The point of these programs is to essentially barter a med school acceptance in exchange for landing a better quality student than the school could normally get (notice none of the top schools have under 8 year programs and only 2 top schools even have 8 year ones). If you decide not to pursue medicine you’ve now left yourself at a weaker undergrad than you were capable of being admitted to.
I personally have mixed to negative feelings about BA/MD programs.
A 7-year program means that you are saving a year, which in the grand scheme of life is really not that much time. It seems like so much time when you are 17, but by the time you are in your mid-20s, a year just flies by. I suppose you also save applying to medical school, but I feel like students who are really serious about medical school don’t mind the application process and look forward to the challenge. A 7-year program also limits the other things you can experience - study abroad, internships, and other on- and off-campus experiences that might enrich your life in general and allow you to discover things you never knew you’d like. I think that for students who are privileged enough to attend college for four years in their early adulthood, it should be a time of exploration and identity development as much as, or more than, it is a time of career preparation.
Furthermore, I think it pigeonholes young people at an age where they don’t need to be pigeonholed. I do think that BS/MD students tend to be exceptional and also very committed to a medical career, and have demonstrated that commitment through a lot of volunteering and shadowing - so they’re probably more sure than the average pre-med. Still, it’s difficult to envision what you want to do for the rest of your life at 17 or 18, particularly if you haven’t been exposed to a wide range of careers yet. Besides, a lot of pre-meds decide to take some time off - I advised several students who were pre-med who decided to take a few years off (some voluntarily, some because they didn’t get into medical school, but most voluntarily) to do other things: travel, Teach for America, work in the field, etc.
I also was going to say the same thing that @iwannabe_Brown noted. With few exceptions, 7-year BS/MD programs tend to be at weaker medical schools. Now, that’s not a bad deal for the students, since there really are no objectively bad medical schools in the U.S. and each one of them leads you to the same goal. But on the undergrad end, that might lose you out on some opportunities you could have going to a “better” undergrad school, so to speak.
Op,
I am a MD. I think that BS/MD programs are fine but would recommend doing the program in 8 years instead of 7 years.
To me, the biggest benefit of a bs/md program is that you get to at least enjoy your years in undergrad a little without the constant pressure of high grades because your med school acceptance is locked up. t’s worth it to be able to enjoy your youth while you are young. So if you are pretty certain that you want to get an MD then this is a good route.
If you only vaguely think that you want to become an MD, then it’s better to go the standard undergrad route. It’s better to try to experience a greater range in classes and experiences. And the college is likely to be a “higher ranked” undergraduate college.
I know a kid who was choosing between Harvard and UMiami BS/md. And another who was choosing between Harvard and northwestern bs/md. And another kid who is going to BU bs/md (but don’t know what he turned down).
Cousin of mine was considering this coming out of high school. Her options were a standard undergrad program from Michigan or this 7 year BS/MD from Wayne State. She opted for the Michigan program. She’s graduated and hasn’t entered Med school yet but she’s still thinking she will soon I think. She’s doing some work at a hospital but I don’t know what exactly it is.
It can be a good option for a select few, but for most the traditional way is better.