I agree with Texaspg. I remember someone mentioned in the forum that the only reason AMC is not ranked is because they do not provide their statistics to usnews. So don’t pay much premium on that. If your goal is to reach your destination of becoming a physician quicker, then I’ll suggest AMC. Just my two cents
1 Like
I will defer to the advice from @Novicedad on this. I believe he has covered the basis
2 Likes
I will agree with @cheer2021 and others on this. if medicine is the goal, attending a grade deflating school like UCB can derail and knock out the confidence in a smart kid. I have a niece who was exceptional in high school who went to UCB and couldn’t get into med school until after the 5th trial. Be warned!
2 Likes
Congratulations on multiple offers.
Re: Pre-med vs. BS/MD.
If doing medicine is your goal, I suggest you look at the BS/Md programs.
Even if you decide on the pre-med regular undergrad route, I will caution going to UCs.
Re: UCB and UCLA:
They are definitely prestigious universities, but as @texaspg @cheer2021 @deejay19 have indicated, you are basically increasing your hurdles to medical school by going there.
I may share one stat: Average pre-med students apply to 17 medical schools, but students from UCs apply to an average of 28 medical schools. Mainly because of competition, students do not know where they will or will not get in.
Among BS/MDs:
Brooklyn is a commuter school - more than half the class stays off campus and commutes.
Your college experience will be very different in such a scenario.
RPI probably will provide you with a better undergrad experience than Hofstra or Brooklyn.
Medical school-wise - Hofstra, AMC, and Downstate are all solid schools.
AMC does not participate in US News Ranking surveys and therefore is an unranked school. But residency program directors like their students.
I would lean more towards RPI/AMC - considering you also save 1 year in the process.
1 Like
Unless you are very much financially constrained, an extra 9K to 15K probably is worth the experience at Syracuse or RIT over Jefferson.
2 Likes
Sounds like she could have finished a PhD…
1 Like
I have not read Hofstra requirements until today.
Does anyone know how many students fail to meet requirements as a percentage?
I think the hurdles are very specific. No grade lower than a B for science, 3.6 average each year and 510 in the first sitting seem very targeted and specific.
Yeah. It was so tough on her. She had to do a lot in between but thankfully she’s heading into M2 now doing everything to regain her sparkle and confidence
My C is in Hofstra as a freshman. When we talked to the students last year, they confirmed that it’s rare for students to drop out of the program due to the academic requirements. I think the number is much closer to 90-95% for matriculating to the medical school, with the largest cause for not matriculating being switching career path (to business, public health, etc.) Of course, we don’t have much experience as C is still a freshman. So far, C is able to maintain good grades.
2 Likes
I do not know the statistics but I believe it’s doable on a 4+4 track as long as the student stay focused and make sure to register for courses on time to avoid difficult professors (ratemyprofessor.com is an asset especially for Organic Chemistry). The MCAT in this scenario would be in the junior year. The statistics I know is for Howard University 6 year BSMD with no less than B and a 504 MCAT requirement. The MCAT is only one chance and to be taken second semester of sophomore year with an average of 26 credit unit of class load. The drop out rate tops 40%
1 Like
Thank you so much for the advice! It helps a lot!
Excited to say I officially committed to Rutgers 7 Year BA/MD! Hard to give up Pitt and Brown but after talking to multiple doctors, walking out with 0 debt (Pitt would cost me 320k extra, around 600-700k extra total if you factor in opportunity cost) is pretty appealing. Thank you guys for all of your help!
10 Likes
Most students hit a problem in organic chemistry although there are cases students not doing as well in Physics.
Medical schools (MD) do allow one or two poor grades although normally not a grade below C. I wonder if the medical school also does not allow anything below B and if there are people out there getting filtered with 3.8 GPA but have a B-.
I am sure @novicedad and @cheer2021 will be watching Hofstra MD admissions for this!
1 Like
Re: MCAT score requirements
You can take the MCAT score requirements out of the equation. Any one capable of making the cut for any BS/MD program should be able to clear modest requirements of most programs in one attempt (some programs have even lower bars and allow multiple attempts). The only program which is kind of harsher is Drexel, something like 87% ile or so AND on top of that minimums in each section as far as I remember. But allow multiple attempts. So folks opting for that program should think more and ask more questions.
The only reason some one may not be able to clear like a 510+ requirement is when someone gets sick on the day of the exam. But I guess the program folks will be accomodating enough, but better get it cleared with them though.
Also some programs don’t need MCAT at all, would still recommend taking it, without advertising to others, in case if wants to consider applying out. With proper planning one can then evaluate based on the score, the GPA and ECs whether to continue with that program or accelerate to finish undergrad in 3 years (with APs etc) and take a gap year to apply out (or can continue with a 4 year undergrad and applying while still in senior year)
1 Like
I am not sure about that. Hofstra used to have only 1 semester of Org. Chem and they noticed that they need to split that into 2 semesters starting this Fall. Earlier I thought this was something special to Hofstra and later realized that it’s the standard in all other colleges.
I was wondering how the senior students managed to get B and above even when it was condensed into a single semester. I am just hoping they get out of Org with a good grade as it’s now spread into 2 semesters.
2 Likes
@mygrad2021
Breaking Org Chemistry into two part is a wise decision IMO and I think this not only improves grades but also reduce some dropouts in the Premed traditional path.
3 Likes
Congratulations on having multiple acceptances and coming to conclusion on what you think is best for you. Good luck!
Would you mind updating the results thread with this info by editing your post there? Since not everyone may be going through the generally humongous main threads and won’t know about your decision. If it doesn’t allow editing previous post, you might want to respond to it and mention this same info in the new post there. This may help folks in future.
1 Like
Thoughts on Rowan University/Rowan SOM 7 yr BS/DO? From what I have heard, it’s a 501-502 MCAT, and a 3.6 GPA. How hard is this to maintain? I have second thoughts about switching to business because I have this feeling that I might not be able to handle the rigour or loose interest
Someone referred to IB earlier, would you say that’s harder/easier compared to this program? I am thinking about Kelley School of Business it’s top 10 for undergrad business. Along with medicine i have a pretty strong interest in business too. I have done really well in FBLA during high school and done a business internship.
Hi! Did you get a chance to visit NJIT-NJMS yet? Could you talk to any NJMS students?