Thank you so much for your wealth of knowledge. And congratulations on getting accepted to so many! Which bsmd did you end up choosing?
I want to be careful answering this question while still being transparent here!! I was very fortunate in my process in the options I had at the end, letās start with that. And I do not feel itās appropriate to disclose everything on this forum. However, I will say for me the choice came down to two things above all else: one about medical school and the other about undergrad.
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With choosing a medical school. In my mind, the non-negotiable purpose of medical school is to get into the residency I seek. We can argue about prestige and quality of education, but the metric of residency goals is primary. Soā¦I manually conducted a data analysis of all the match lists (3 years back each) of five schools equally spaced (by quintile) across the Top 100 medical schools (per USN&WR). And I found there was ZERO statistically significant difference between competitive speciality ranking (as per top 11 most competitive specialities) AND between competitiveness of internal medicine programs across ALL five schools. (I openly share the statistics in my services)
Conclusion: it does not matter where you go, āprestigeā has no bearing statistically, it matters what you make of it. -
With the undergraduate school. I value the opportunity to define my time around doing actions that serve the qualities and skills I seek for myself, and I did not want any expectations (like research requirements) to interfere with that. If I want to do research, I could (and I do) and I enjoy it SO much more when itās not an obligation. And I am here able to graduate in 2.5 years doing the bare minimumāgiving me 1.5 years to do the things I want to do and give in the ways I want to give without a classroom holding me back.
Conclusion: Freedom to grow is everything when you have your security already in place, at least in my mind
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful answer!
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Thanks @rishiray.outperform
FYI
Today, my students who got accepted into Rochester undergrad received REMS interview invite 2 hours after the undergrad acceptance email.
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Did you submit the supplemental before Thanksgiving? Or after.
rishiray explained very well his perspective of the VCU BSMD program but for the benefit of many student/parents I will compare both the programs side by side from a student/parent perspective. Both the programs have their unique features, none is better or worse than the other, they are just different. You can compare these features later IF you are accepted into both the programs and decide later which of these suits your purpose/agenda/circumstamces. Here is a brief comparison of the VCU BS/MD program vs RPI/AMC program:
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VCU BSMD program:
8 year program
You cannot matriculate to med school earlier even if you finish undergrad earlier but can take gap year(s) and do whatever you like
You can do double major or minors or even some Masters program that interest you if you have the time during or after undergrad before med school
Comparatively easy undergrad however you still have to be on your toes
Many BSMD students get a lot of scholarship so undergrad COA can be as less as 50K total for 4 years for OOS students and almost free for In state Virginia students
Program revolves more around clinical so there are clinical and service requirements however you can still do research if you are interested
You get to enjoy during the undergrad years and indulge in areas that interest you
You MUST take the MCAT and get a 508 in the exam
You can apply out to other medical schools WITHOUT LOSING your med school seat
Some students also get into MDPhD programs
Overall VCU is a good med school
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RPI/AMC BSMD program:
7 year program (you are awarded BS in the 4th year after 1st year of med school)
You generally do not have time to take gap year(s) before matriculation to med school
You can do a research co-op in the industry for 1 semester
You do not have time to do double major or minors during undergrad, howhever there can be exceptions
Comparatively RPI being an engineering school, undergrad is a bit tougher and requires complete attention lol Very doable though
Even though RPI is expensive students get some scoilarships and because the undergrad is only 3 years the undergrad COA can be as low as around $150K ish total for 3 years, still a bit more expensive than VCU undergrad
Program revolves more around research so there are research requirements
You can indulge in areas that interest you during undergrad but still a bit tougher undergrad than VCU
There is NO MCAT requirement
You CANNOT apply out to other medical schools
You are awarded MDDR (MD with a Distinction in Research) degree after med school
If you choose to pursue a PhD during med school, it is only 3 years more as oppised to 4 years more in a MDPhD program
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VCU used to give nice undergrad rides to OOS students but I believe that stopped being the case 4-5 years ago. I know several local kids who did get almost a full tuition ride during undergrad and have either completed medicine or in final year. I know a 4th year undergrad who was admitted 4 years ago and found that the COA is much higher compared to attending in State in Texas and turned it down.
@Achutom mentioned the current level of scholarship in this thread and may be able to shed more light on how much the undergrad tuition costs now with a scholarship.
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I know a few 1st year, 2nd year 3rd year and 4th year undergrads at VCU GMED with full ride. So they have not stopped it, just that they dont give it to most gmed kids like they used to.
However quite a few gmed kids still get full or almost full rides. That is why I mentioned āCOA can be as low as 50K for all 4 years combinedā, meaning 50K or higher depending on the type of scholarships you get.
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I love that you included all this objective information @Park1212! I absolutely want to echo that none is better or worse, and every student you ask regarding their own personal decision will be specific to their intention and values in their educational journey! Thatās where an individualized approach to guidance is so valuable.
I can speak to the situation with that: currently, the highest scholarship that VCU provides based on GPA/SAT-ACT alone for OOS students reduces the annual tuition to just under $10k per year. On top of that, any additional merit scholarships (including those accessible through the VCU Honors College) can reduce that even further. That same scholarship (Presidential) is effectively a full ride for IN-STATE students. There are other automatic merit scholarships that are almost comparable if your GPA/SAT-ACT does not meet the highest threshold.
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How many of the current OOS students have the highest scholarship?
I dont know the exact amount of students but in a batch of 15 gmed students per year there are about 5-8 OOS students. At least half so anywhere from 2-5 OOS students may have the highest scholarship.
Students dont always talk about it directly but there are indirect ways to find it out lol hence no definitive number.
Also giving you a generalization so actual numbers can differ from year to year. But it gives an idea. Also it depends mainly on the academics i.e. GPA/Standardized scores.
Daughter received rejection for REMS yesterday. The letter however said are you interested to be considered for the undergrad program, please confirm.
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Based on the nice summary by few on VCU and RPI, here are few points for your thoughts.
- Research: some are interested and some not. So individual can assign different weight for VCU vs RPI depending on their situation.
- Ability to apply to other schools. It is a great advantage when considering. In general BS/MD students are very qualified and it may not be that hard to get in to another MD program. But first ensure VCU not only allows, but will it still retains the seat at VCU or not. That is critical. Ex: OU allows (or at least in the past) to apply and also guarantees MD seat at OU.
- Continue to do the medical related medical related volunteer program or non-research activities will benefit a lot when applying out. If this is more important VCU gives the breathing room.
Has anyone received the med school interview invite for NJMS or an invite for Sophie Davis yet? Supposedly interviews start in January but I havenāt heard anything yet from either.
was forwarded to NJMS; still havenāt received anything from the medical school
What sort of email did you receive that indicated this?
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Great notes, I can confirm that VCU both allows AND retains the seat at VCU SOM. And the time frame falls where you can apply out to any school before committing to VCU SOM (which cannot be said for every BS/MD ānonbindingā program)
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The 2025 VCU GMED class has 18 students, 9 of which are OOS, and I can confirm that at least 5 have the highest scholarship. Unsure about the other four OOS students. This agrees with @Park1212 with more concrete numbers.
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