yes, @junebug20 - Pitt didn’t require MCAT from their BSMD students until year before last. Last year, due to test optional admissions, they added the clause as mentioned by you.
Pitt only required MCAT from those students who wanted to pursue MD-PhD as part of their BSMD, in the past. (before last year)
Yes, Pitt GAP does not require an MCAT.
2/17 seems to be the match date in TMDSAS. How would they control AMCAS applications?
Baylor has moved to TMDSAS since 2021 for its MD applications. It could have been something that the state of TX demanded due to Baylor’s semi-public status. Only MD-PhD applications are still on AMCAS. I believe that all TX public med schools are on TMDSAS.
The blog cambridgecoaching breaking-down-the-texas-medical-school-admissions-process site seems to describe AMCAS and TDMSAS processes pretty well.
No, the question is if they are letting you apply out it applies to both TMDSAS and AMCAS. So you need to pick Baylor on 2/17, the deadline applies only to Texas schools but you can keep your AMCAS apps open until 5/1.
Is the program saying you are not allowed to have AMCAS applications during applying out?
Oh, if he applies out, it could be through either AMCAS or TMDSAS, but the TMDAS schools are much more affordable than any AMCAS program. We are still working to confirm if the Baylor feeder BSMD classes up through the most recent cohort are grandfathered out of this random assignment. If not, applying out through TMDSAS would be in the equation. The worst case is to get assigned to the Temple campus on their 2nd year after opening, but I think he could get into McGovern (near where we live) and have a good shot at UTSW (near where his sister likely will work and live starting next year) based on his GPAs (still 4.0 for both overall and science) and predicted MCAT score based on the Kaplan and Princeton Review full-length practice exams (He’s been getting 515 consistently on those prep programs’ full-length practice exams with only the biochem knowledge from a nutrition class and will be going through biochem this fall). We’ve heard that they tend to be deflated in comparison to the real MCAT byt 5-10 points. Fingers crossed!
Students at the Pitt program seem to be taking MCAT anyway, 2 students from the same batch I am aware of quit the program some 2-3 years back. Apparently they were unhappy with having to spend all 4 years at undergrad in spite of having almost 2 years worth of AP/IB/DE credits coming out of high school itself. One of them was from TJHSST, finished additional Masters else where while still in the program, applied out and went to HMS. Not sure where the other one went.
Don’t think a formal Bio chemistry course is required before taking MCAT, at least from our experience. Child was in an accelerated program, so their batch took MCAT right after sophomore year, with no scope for taking Bio Chem. But they all did very well at the exam.
Of course in the fall of junior year undergrad, following MCAT, child did enroll in a graduate level Bio chem taught at the med school and did decent enough (A-), though it was not a requirement of any kind.
Getting in the 90 percentiles for the MCAT is plenty hard. My son just wants to maximize his score, but he was surprised how much biochem he was taught in a 2000-level nutrition course in his freshman year. I’m surprised that he still remembers without reviewing that materials. I wish there are more AAMC full length practice to take. Both Kaplan and TPR have their drawbacks, but they are what we got for free on top of the prep package from AAMC that includes review question packs, 1 sample, and four full length test. Most blogs I googled are saying that Kaplan and TPR are deflated, but one CC med school admission expert says that Kaplan is inflated. I’m now confused. I want to provide my son the best tools for him to get what he needs done without breaking the bank. Is Blueprint the next best thing to the AAMC full-length? I think he does a great job with his content review. Now, it’s time to plug the remaining knowledge Swiss-cheese holes and build up the stamina for the 7.5 hours of marathon. We would like to get our hands on as many full-length practice tests that resemble the closest to the real MCAT. Any insight is greatly appreciated! TIA!
Don’t worry too much. He will do just fine at MCAT. It is not as hard as it seems to be, till one takes it. Just a matter of getting adjusted to a 7 or 8 hour testing session as has been never done before.
As mentioned above, in child’s batch, they all took it right after sophomore year summer, with a mandatory course during that, and we don’t know anyone getting less than 95% ile. Some got even 100% iles. Based on what I remember, child could barely take 3 full length practice tests due to lack of time and scored in high 90s percentile. Also prepared with slightly outdated material in fact, the stuff passed over by someone from an earlier batch almost for free.
Also as mentioned by me earlier (not sure if you read) there is a student I happen to know of at the Penn State program who scored a 525 in the same fashion, after sophomore year and went outside for a year long study abroad masters (and still continuing in the program upon returning)
Your children sure surround themselves with geniuses! The highest I’ve seen in our circle is 521.
@junebug20 Many of the top schools have financial aid and/or merit scholarships. So someone crossing 520 and having a 4.0 GPA has excellent chances at these schools if allowed to apply out.
MCAT is in no way indicative of genius. It is just test taking skills and stamina. Had it been indicative of genius, we would have had far many breakthroughs in the field of medicine, which unfortunately is not the case.
Applying out is the last resort because we live 10min from Houston TMC. The distance and the low tuition at BCM make the total cost roughly about 100k for 4 years. However, if he gets randomly assigned to Temple, I don’t think it’s worth the additional cost of living in Temple. At that point, we’d seriously consider having him apply out. He’s still trying to confirm whether or not the cohorts before this cycle will be grandfathered out (this is the first cycle Temple is an option). Doing well on the MCAT would keep the applying-out option alive and also give him a sense that he belongs with the traditional applicants whose median score is at 94 percentiles. It’s easier to be intimidated to have the lowest stats in the class. His dream is to become a dermatologist. He wants to keep that dream alive and possible. Fingers crossed!
Sounds like we might be almost neighbors although 10 minutes from TMC is a big circle!
I am a little confused and could use some clarification regarding the Baylor/Baylor BSMD program.
Does Baylor/Baylor BSMD program require students to not only take MCAT and score well in UG but also complete via the AMCAS application process? You mentioned TMDSAS application, is there a choice for students to select of these?
Did the requirements to graduate to med school change since your son got into the program in 2020? Or were you already aware of these requirements?
Also, I couldn’t understand the part about Temple SOM. why is this in the play?
It looks like your son is going thru the regular admission cycle and thru the competition! can you please clarify? HOpe you don’t mind?
First of all, accelerated BSMD programs don’t allow students to graduate until they complete the first year at SOM. At that time, students tend to focus on the next steps - 1) doing well in SOM 2) starting thinking of residency. Even at UG level, they have a choice to go to SOM in the 4th year or continue with UG (maybe takeup double or triple major)! I mean what would you choose?
I have realized thru experience and observation that Usually students who join the accelerated BSMD programs have a different mind set or mentality. Instead of focussing on switching to better SOM, they simply focus on other aspects. I mean the SOM seat is already there for you and you don’t have to work hard at all in terms of applying, interviewing etc. After all, at the end of high school, they choose BSMD to avoid all these steps. Didn’t they?
Temple is a smaller city in Texas where Texas A&M had about 30 students doing their rotations. A&M decided to drop Temple as a campus and Baylor decided to start an independent campus of 40 students there starting in 2023. However, they are not telling students who will be going there until after the match date in TMDSAS so a student has to blindly choose Baylor without knowing location if they have multiple admissions. If there are several schools in major cities (Houston, Dallas and San Antonio) and someone applied out and has more admissions, why should they blindly pick Baylor and end up in Temple which is 200 miles from major locations.
Everyone doing BS/MD have to file their medical application to transition as far as I know. Baylor applications used to be on AMCAS for MD programs but they moved last year to TMDSAS which is where everyone else applying in Texas files their applications for almost all schools in Texas now that Baylor is also there.
Baylor allows both Baylor/Baylor and Rice/Baylor candidates to apply to other schools while keeping their seat at Baylor. Their admissions are always for a specific year (4+4) and so even if people finish early, they cant start at Baylor. Some of the people who end up at other schools finish at Rice in 3 years, start a masters in other schools or even make Fulbright or some other scholar opening up big name schools to them.
Starting in 2023, BCM opens a new campus in Temple, TX. This campus will have something like 40-50 seats. The Houston campus has roughly 180-190 seats. Campus assignment will happen only after the admission process via TMDSAS settles down. By that time, everyone only has one admission. The TMDSAS process involves the applicants ranking the TX med schools they apply to. See my ealier post about a blog on cambridgecoaching. They explain the matching very well.
My son is still in the process of confirming (for my peace of mind) that all the B2B cohorts up to the most recent accepted one are grandfathered in. His understanding is that that’s the case, but there is nothing in writing. The random assignment process is computerized and could be subjected to human error. After all, the computer will do what a programmer tells it to do lol. If he’s grandfathered and will be in Houston, then it’s a really easy thing. Since the cost over 4 years for him at Houston BCM will be ~100K, he’ll just formally apply to only BCM via TMDSAS (this is the only way to apply to BCM MD programs). However, if he’ll subjected to the random assignment, 20% odds are way too much for me to stomach. First, there will be a cost increase. Second, we all are all looking forward to having him home and he’s looking to get back to a metropolitan city. Third, we moved closer to the TMC to accommodate our kids, but one decided to quit after one term at BCM. I would be really upset if he gets assigned to the Temple campus. I know it’s our personal choice to move, but all things have been figured into the equation. McGovern is another good med school in the TMC. Why not throw his name in the hat to see where that’ll go?
Beside the new wrinkle, B2B is a really sweet deal. 501 MCAT, 3.5GPA minimum to stay in the program. There is only one B2B student chose to finish his degree in 3 years. He however came back to Baylor U for his MBA in Healthcare Administration for a year before matriculating BCM. The rest chose to double major, or have a bunch of minors and study abroad. I think my son is competitive enough to apply out if need be. It was nicer when BCM was with AMCAS. Now, only its MD-PhD app is on AMCAS. For now, we’re keeping our fingers crossed hoping that what my son told us is true. I’ve asked him to have the Baylor U Prehealth Director have that confirmed with BCM AdComs. His first cohort is going through this process this year.