As per AAMC, 55% of students who matriculate into medical school knew they wanted to be a doctor while in high school.
So, BS/MD or traditional path, a majority of students decide to be a doctor while in high school.
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A typical BSMD student has a very high GPA, high SAT or ACT, and SAT subject tests (Chemistry, Biology, Math II, etc.). These students would have medically related volunteering/shadowing/research upwards of 750-1000 hours and several have multiple years of research. A few also have participated in research publications. These students would have also taken 10-15+ AP courses or college-level courses. So, these students are high-achieving high school students. Most will continue the same way in UG as well. BSMD allows them to be flexible to take risks in terms of the course work and ECs they pick during UG since the GPA (& MCAT) requirements are a little less. They have less stress compared to regular route students aspiring for med school admission. However, I believe they are not less qualified by any means.
The medical schools are not giving them guaranteed seats but only provisional seats as long as the students maintain a pre-determined/required GPA and/or MCAT score.
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Most BS/MD students I know are working to have high GPA, high MCAT scores (where required) and are into research, volunteering, shadowing, and other ECs.
Yes, they know their medical seat is reserved and that does reduce the pressure but they are not taking it easy.
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Your comment about BSMD programs not being fair on regular route applicants piqued my interest. Here is what I think - life provides a lot of options at each stage. People pick their path and deal with the pros and cons that come with their path.
Typically BSMD programs want to attract ācertain type of studentsā to join either their UG college or their med school because they feel these students would not consider their āUGā without the benefits of the BSMD program. Most of these programs exist because colleges benefit from these programs. Many colleges such as WashU, Northwestern, etc. discontinued these programs since they felt they were most probably not benefitting.
1st category - A few reasons why HS students might pick BSMD programs are provided below-
- Upitt GAP 8 yrs
A student who got into T20 UG college and also into UPitt GAP would find this program attractive since they have an easier route to a T20 med school only if they were willing to accept Pitt UG admission instead of T20 UG admission
- NJIT/NJMS 7 yrs program (UG - Full ride)
A student who got into a Top UG would find this attractive since they would get a full ride for their undergrad and a provisional seat to a public med school. Many students only would pay for 4 years of med school with in-state tuition/fees and also complete the program in 7 years!
2nd category - there are many reasons why a student would opt for UG instead of a BSMD program -
- Got into T5-20 college and donāt want to give up their UG seat to join a BSMD program with a higher UG ranking. Also, they hope for a seat in T5-20 med school and feel T5-20 UG will prepare them better. These students most probably have a choice of admission to both the T20 ug and a bsmd program. They donāt mind paying full price for UG and Med school.
- Got a full ride in UG and donāt want to pay for BSMD and will try for regular route MD. They might also try for cost-effective MD options
Third category -
- Great high school student but not sure about medicine as their career
- Do not know about BSMD programs or have no interest in being a pre-med. Later change majors
- Students who didnāt do well in High school but end up doing great in UG and are inspired by teachers, etc. to try medicine as a career
- Students choose health care careers such as Nursing, Physician assistant and later develop an interest in becoming a Doctor
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@billythegoldfish , As a practicing physician , I am surprised and stunned by your statements.
The entire world sends their students after the 12th (equivalent)
Only in USA , we spent 4 years of BS (in unrelated stuff) and then spend additional 4+ years to do the real MD .
In fact ( I believe) the only reason they may be doing is āto weed out people who are not ready to put hardworkā
- You claim of MCAT being taken or not taken as nothing to do with the qualityā¦ Are we sure that by just taking MCAT one can be a great doctor and not. No way any exams can determine that.
Finally I have seen many kids are focused on certain path ( like medical, Robotics, Tech, Law etc.,) and so there is nothing wrong in getting it based on their skills.
TBH, I have listened to some of the interview questions and IMO if a kid can clear it at 18 years ā¦ they are āmore than qualifiedā than a 22+ years oldā¦
JMHO
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FYI, both of the route Traditional and BSMD path are toughā¦
You think that only Traditional is toughā¦
Think about BSMD ā¦ totally around 150-200 seats out of 10000 people applyingā¦for 30-35 colleges only ( some of them have regional, only instate etc., too)
Scores, diversity, location, EC , GPA , interview (and possible MCAT in many) all have to be cleared.
The odds are still very less in the order of .02% or less
On the other hand atleast traditional has MORE colleges so MORE seats but MORE PEOPLE ā¦ and the odds little better but still toughā¦
So as long as kid is determined he/she can get in with skills (and luck)
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āFinally I have seen many kids are focused on certain path ( like medical, Robotics, Tech, Law etc.,) and so there is nothing wrong in getting it based on their skills.ā
Yeah so true, my nephew, a top student at a local Ivy is reluctant to enroll in Organic chemistry since he thinks it is a waste and will take his time and energy away from the fields/subjects he is most interested in. But without Orgo one will be ruling out MD or MD/PhD pathways though he hasnāt shut down those options as of now. Got to wait and see if he will convince himself to do those courses to keep the options open, though not entirely thrilled about these pathways.
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Hi Rali_Jan, Can you help with summary of the process ? and stats to get an idea ?
Hi Daffny,
I did summarize my D whole process in the result page here ( BS/MD BS/DO Results - FALL 2022 applicants - Pre-Med & Medical School / Multiple Degree Programs - College Confidential Forums)
Also if you search for my messages , I have posted many details
Please do note : I canāt post certain info as the students i work with donāt want their info published ā¦ its their choice.
Shoot your questions here or DM me if any particular info and as long as itās not privy i will be glad to answer.
I am a senior in high school, planning to pursue pre med in college. I want to self study in summer to get a head start. Please suggest good books that covers topics of first year pre med syllabus in biology, physics & chemistry
How detrimental is one B+ on your transcript? This B+ is in honors physics, and my overall gpa is a 3.89 UW but my school does it on a 100 UW scale, so a 94, every class being honors/AP. I have a 36 ACT as well. Every other class is a A/A- and my Ecs are pretty unique and thorough in the medical field and not in the medical field. Obviously, all BSMDs are reaches, but my GPA is my only concern.
The B+ may not be that much of a concern but the overall gpa may be. Have you or will be taking any AP physics subject test? If you get a 5 in one such test, that may largely compensate for the grade in the subject. Unfortunately or fortunately there are no SAT subject tests needed/given any longer, otherwise that could have been another good alternative to to showcase your strength in the subject.
Though many of these programs claim to be holistic in their application review process on their web sites, from our own experience, unfortunately it is not so. Some of the programs do have filtering criteria, such as gpa >= 3.95 or so before they look further into the other aspects. Since you donāt know which of the programs do this, better apply to a good number of them. If your school does ranking and you happen to be in the top 5% or so, let your counselor highlight in their statement. Also go through the results threads of past 4-5 years to get some kind of clues with regards to which programs may truly be holistic. And start your essay writing early so you can present yourself in the best possible light.
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@collegegirl104
You have a great (full) ACT score, IMO stop worrying about your GPA (3.89) and focus more on your essays and lining up your ECs.
Some of the BSMD programsā last date to apply falls in Jan 2023 (such as Brown PLME, FAU, and StonyBrook, may few others). If you are on the semester system in HS, then see if you can improve your overall GPA in 3.9x range by December 2022. Apply widely. BSMD application journey is a long way and exhausting for most. Good luck.
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@collegegirl104 - Straight forward answer to your question is - a B+ in an Honor level course could be detrimental to BSMD applications since the competition is cutthroat. Most applicants will have more than 3.9 UW and would have lots of APs (10+) and very strong (hopefully unique) ECs in addition to medical ECs. Since many overqualified kids apply for very few seats, having straight Aās and very high SAT/ACT scores helps. Of course, this is still not enough for a seat and makes sure you are not screened out. Having said this, if you got a B+ in the early part of HS which was followed by straight Aās- in the rest of the subjects you might be ok. You would need to stand out to admissions with the rest of your profile.
Another thing to think about -
Is Physics tough for you or was it a bad semester due to other cirmcumstances? You need to understand that as a pre-med, need to be strong and feel comfortable in STEM courses. In BS and MD, the difficulty of the courses keeps increasing.
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Another thing should have mentioned, since you have a 36 composite, hopefully you also have a 36 on the science section, which may compensate for the physics grade in lieu of SAT subject test. Provided a given program folks look into all such details and donāt blindly follow some filtering criteria.
ACT Science doesnāt test students for their knowledge of science. It is just a reading comprehension test where science-based paragraphs are provided.
SAT subject tests and AP exams would cover science material. The College board stopped offering SAT subject tests. Since SAT subject tests are no longer being offered, kids would have to take corresponding AP courses to show colleges their knowledge in science.
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Yes of course. That was the very first question posed in response to the studentās initial query, about AP test. But s/he hasnāt yet read the post or chose not to respond. Without that feedback and assuming lack of any such tests being taken, the suggestion is that the ACT science section may provide some kind of reprieve (again, as mentioned, if a given program folks actually look into details before filtering based solely on one or two criteria).
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It may not be practical to be able to raise the overall uw gpa in first semester/marking period of senior year, if not impossible. Considering how much effort and time the college application process takes away., with the deadlines right around that time frame. Recall child getting first B in HS (for that semester) in AP Physics of the senior year for the same reason (of course the teacher was crazy also, but pulled it up to A- by year end).
But again, who knows, if a lot of students in a given class/HS suffer senioritis and the grading is relative and teachers are considerate about what the class is going through in terms of apps load, one may flourish despite the drain and strain of the college apps process. But better not count on it.
Read all the folks answersā¦ very good points in each one of them.
IMOā¦ based on my students lists/data over timeā¦
- ACT 36 is a savior for you in this case (that too if u have 36 in Scienceā¦ ur covered)
You didnāt say if itās just one AP you have B+ā¦ if so itās understandableā¦
If itās a trendā¦ then i would suggest to take/compensate with other APs.
Without knowing location and other metrics tough to say the oddsā¦ but apply broadly and prepare the essays diligently (which may compensate for your GPA) , other experiences/extracurricular activities and I believe you got a good shotā¦
Good luck
Just curious what would you guys say is THE best bs/md? Considering all things (UG strength, Med School strength, program length, etc). If you could attend one single BS/MD with all costs being the same, which would you choose?