***Thread for BS/MD/DO 2022-2023***

UMKC BA/MD program is great! I am also a mom of UMKC 6-year BA/MD student. I think it is one of the most guaranteed BS/MD program.
–It was a rumor that there was no break. They have 1-2 weeks break with holiday and after test or after semester.

4 Likes

@cy2019bsmd - Thanks for posting details of your friend’s Child as well as sharing your perspective and advise. You are right in recommending quality over quantity. But, I am surprised to see 9 out of 10 rejections from bsmd programs. But, at the end students need only one acceptance.

I have not seen any one take so many AP Classes (22) and IB Classes (6). This is an average of 5.5 Aps per year. Student has excellent academics as well as EC’s including medically oriented ECs. Two publications are not easy even for a student who has completed UG and you just completed high school! And, Princeton, UoF are not safety colleges for anyone!

Congratulations to the student and his proud family on being Valedictorian and on his acceptance to Princeton, UoF, and GW/GW. Wish him the very best at GW/GW.

2 Likes

Since the decision says GW, I assume the waitlist came through. I am surprised someone interested in BSMD didnt apply to any instate programs since their state has so many. If I am not mistaken Princeton is still number 1 in the country and is definitely a safety for a 50 million donor family. :smiley:

Both my kids did IB which requires 6 classes had about 9-12 APs at the end of 11th so their apps could say National AP scholar or something (8 courses with at least 4 and an overall average 4 or above on all tests taken). I assume one had to take a lot of AP classes on their own unless Florida has a special way of administering so many. High schools have 7 classes per year, students have to take required classes that dont result in AP exams and most I have seen taken in a 4 year period based on attending classes in school are usually capped at 17 or so.

You are missing an important difference here - 7 year vs 8 year. The saved year can be used for many things…

2 Likes

If I remember correctly, both GW/GW and RPI/AMC are accelerated 3+4 (7 years) programs. so, there is no difference in the duration

2 Likes

You can take AP exams without taking the class. My DS also did IB and took few AP exams but didn’t try to take lot of AP exams like some do at other schools. He focused more on science competitions.

1 Like

Right. I am saying to get to 22 one must do a lot of self study classes since high school curriculum is not usually amenable to reach this. One of my kids did 1 or 2 but my other one just liked self study and did 4 of them on top of full class load all 4 years. Both could have also graduated high school with half a load in grade 12 if they were not doing IB and had 4 classes on top of some required 12th grade classes.

2 Likes

Honestly I think even with IB and taking all AP exams for IB classes (I know several kids who did that including my kids) 22 is kinda almost impossible. Pls pay attention to “almost”. The reason is HS requirements include classes like health PE and many other classes fpr which APs are not available. Factor self studying for APs along with final exams SAT ACT and ECs.
I wouldnt be surprised if it was a typo and it was 12 instead of 22 or there was a communication error as it is a parents friend writing this.

If in fact it was 22 then in all honesty it explains the 9 rejections out of 10 for BSMDs. Anything like this which is remotely not possible is taken with a pinch of salt and skepticism.

If someone did dual enrollment then it is possible to get more AP / College level courses combined (but not 22 APs still) but then it is not possible to get an IB diploma.

2 Likes

My kids school’s IB diploma classes were primarily extended AP classes with additional work for those enrolled in IB to provide the internal review component (or whatever they call it). However, one is forced to take 4 or more IB classes in senior year since most they are allowed to finish are 2 in 11th grade. So kids doing IB are stuck on working in serious classes in senior year while many of their cohorts have finished majority of their required classes and take 3-4 classes only while doing PE and other classes they have postponed to their senior year to maximize their GPA for class rank purposes.

It is the same course structure for all students working towards an IB diploma irrespective of the HS. That is why it is just not possible to get 22 APs even with self study. The IB diploma schedule is mandated by the IB organization so there is not much wiggle room there as to when you take IB classes.

It is quite possible to have 20+ APs, heard of someone doing similar feat quite a few years ago and going to Brown undergrad, I believe. My nephew had like 16 with all 5s, all taken as regular classes in the school (no self study). Moreover their school wouldn’t allow any AP enrollment in freshman year.

Yeah something which may sound out of the world can invite unexpected results. Chances are that such students may be perceived as someone trying too hard to impress (and not necessarily doing all these out of interest). Another reason could be the admission committees may think the student with such ambitious background would find it underwhelming in their program and likely to quit midway through.

That is why I said “almost impossible”. 16 is very doable but 22 with all the finals, SAT, ACT, Summer programs and ECs and everything, it does raise eyebrows. Not saying it cant be done… That is why carefully worded as “almost impossible”

1 Like

Well some courses count towards 2 AP exams with separate scores for each. For example Calc BC (with AB portion of it), Physics C (Mechanics, E&M), Economics (Micro & Macro, depending on the school) and may be more myself not aware of. So still achievable if the school allows from freshman year itself and/or self studies.

1 Like

The combination of both IB and AP puts limits what is possible and I also mentioned 17 as what was possible in our local high school when someone did both. They finished 9 or 10 with some self study by end of 11th, had to take either 4 or 5 IB classes in 12th that did have AP cohorts, 2 Economics, 1 civics (one semester classes).

1 Like

Physics counts as two APs and has two exams. Calc BC does not count as 2 APs even tho u have an AB subscore unleas you take both separate exams for Calc AB and Calc BC. OP

Also as @texaspg said IB puts limitations on the number of AP exams one can take.
Again the keyword is “almost” especially with SAT ACT ECs Summer programs etc.

overloading on AP exams or multiple associate degrees in HS is not a smart move. Every year we see couple of news articles about it. Few years back I knew one local kid who did all that and ended up in UC only. Same thing goes with kids applying to 150+ schools and claiming millions of scholarship money as if they can keep all the money.

2 Likes

I saw some story a week ago claiming someone got 7 million in scholarship. This kid can only attend one of those schools!

Yeah, local media covered it and I commented on it lol

@Vicky2019 , @NoviceDad … Thank you.

2 Likes

@texaspg and others.
Regarding my friend kid results – 22 AP courses is the accurate #APs he took. One more thing they did not mention is on top of these many APs and IBs Kid also have more than 10 dual enrollment courses also. In Florida they can take many AP courses and he did worked too hard in high school.

The reason my friend requested post his Kid results is to let future students know, how competitive/difficult to get Interview and acceptance into BSMD programs even after having high stats and many AP credits and extra curricular activities. They did not expected this outcome and really shocked to see this result and wanted to provided their honest reflection of the BSMD application process for future applicants.

8 Likes