@Iskhn - I have not heard bad things about UConn SPIM and Tulsa. Both are 8 years programs. Oklahoma MHSP is more popular than Tulsa ECCM.
UConn SPIM seems to have significant graduating requirements on the paper. But, these are the experiences, most pre-med students would anyways end up having. Once you meet the requirements, the interview was supposed to be nominal.
Like @Cheer2021 mentioned, the LINK says "ECCM students must meet or exceed the MCAT and GPA score of the previous year’s entering medical school class in order to be granted provisional acceptance without an interview. " This requirement seems very vague because you are shooting for ever-changing requirements. And, usually, students join a BSMD so they could graduate even with a lesser GPA/MCAT requirements. Here, it seems the opposite! @GoldenRock - Do you know about Tulsa ECCM BSMD program? If so, could you please shed some light for the students?
"ECCM students must meet or exceed the MCAT and GPA score of the previous year’s entering medical school class in order to be granted provisional acceptance without an interview. "
Some of these sound vague but they should be quantifiable if they already have a track record of admissions over years to see if these numbers are changing a lot. The real issue might be the number of years between admission to undergrad vs medicine - 4 years?
I am interpreting this as actually being favorable to the student - they are giving interview points to fill the the gap for GPA and MCAT.
Can we assume NJMS is done with interviews ? Should we go and make choice for the best UG’s at this point ? My D has got some UG options like JHU/UCLA but now the question is do we go for branded Universities or go for options like TU/NJIT where we don’t have to pay anything.
@S2022Senior - I would suggest re-evaluating and strategizing given this opportunity.
Option#1
You need to pay for BS and then MD. one strategy is to take the full ride (TU/NJIT) and keep the money for MD school. From day one, focus on obtaining high GPA (repeat AP courses if needed), participate in UG research, volunteering/shadowing etc.
Option #2
JHU/UCLA (oos) will cost a lot. These are excellent/prestigious programs. In this option, maintaining high GPA may be difficult along with medical ECs. You should focus on high GPA in UG, possibly take gap years to develop medical ECs and prep for MCAT.
At the end, JHU/UCLA will open up several doors with further education (MS/PhD) such as biomedical consultancy, scientific research etc. in addition to MD.
If $$$ is an issue, I have known past students to pursue MD/PhD (its free at many universities)
Both are good paths. your student should choose what they are comfortable with.
JHU is notorious for tough grading. I feel UCLA may be the same. You are also with some of the brightest minds where a higher standard is expected. But, these institutions have a very good reputation and a slightly lower GPA may still be acceptable for med school admissions, IMO.
I am guessing and this would probably change year over year!
Please note - NJIT or TU will likely have different types of students - a few with full ride, many with full pay and many somewhere in between!
Thank you for your reply. They didn’t respond to e mails and their phone also gong to voice message. We may need to wait. We were wondering why they didn’t provide any update.
Thank you !! As a follow up I see on the website the applicant has to " * Earn the highest grade point average in your high school’s graduating class in the context of a curriculum showing the greatest academic rigor possible". Our school does not calculate GPA or rank so we just assess with grades?
OU Medical School 2020-21 batch: The average GPA of the enrolled students is 3.78 and the average MCAT score is 505.
That is a pretty manageable target.
Both UConn and OU are comparable medical schools.
One thing you may want to explore is the location - one is coastal and a short distance from both Boston and NYC. Another in a mid-western city built on legacy oil & gas industry.
With Pitt, you receive the undergrad decision first. And then ur application is evaluated to apply for GAP!! Only if selected, you can apply for the direct program.
With BU, its the opposite, we apply directly to smed. If rejected from smed then ur application will move to undergrad if you choose to!