Oh also forgot to mention that for LECOM, my undergrad may be Syracuse for which I was fortunate enough to have received a full tuition scholarship meaning I’m just waiting on Financial Aid to sort out Room/Board.
Anyone got the zoom link for Temple W&J interview on 03/10?
If finances not a concern, Duke may give best experience both from student life and research publication perspective. And yes, my C confirmed they do have a vibrant Bollywood fusion team 
(that they competed against in an inter collegiate competition). However you may have to compromise on the chances of med school if you don’t get a great gpa because of the caliber of students there against whom you will have to compete. But if medicine is not a must go profession for you it will open many doors in other fields.
At the other end of the spectrum, SLU med scholars may give you the best shot at medicine, and you can even shoot for Duke med school while in that program without necessarily losing or having to give up anything like a guaranteed spot.
If you apply out from SLU while you are in med scholars program, you will lose the spot.
@govever70 posted this regarding SLU BSMD in
This is what the SLU student said:
- I don’t know entirely what percentage kept the GPA because we don’t know the exact reason people leave the program. There are a couple different reasons people may leave the program - Some people decide the Medical Scholars program isn’t the right path for them and some decide they may not want to be a physician anymore. Then, there are some students who don’t keep the GPA after the freshman year. So people could leave for any of these reasons. As for an approximate number of people that continue with the program in to sophomore year, I think it is a little over half. My year started with around 80 students and I believe we had around 45-50 in our class the next year.
What I will say about the GPA cutoff is that this is something entirely in your control. It can be intimidating to know that some people don’t keep that GPA to stay in the program. However, what is important is not how other people perform, but how you can. It is completely attainable to achieve a 3.65 GPA or higher freshman year. - Like I said above, I believe there were 80 students in my cohort freshman year (but I know there were 100 in last year’s freshman class). We had around 45-50 come back for sophomore year. I believe we currently have around 35 members in our cohort. My cohort was the one that was applying and interviewing during quarantine/remote learning so that may have impacted who chose to stay in the program.
Freshman year, we take a Medical Scholars section of the freshman seminar. This helps you get oriented to the program and meet other students in the program. We also have a sophomore seminar that helps you with the application process. This is another opportunity to meet people and build relationships. I would say that there is definitely more of a collaborative attitude. SLU doesn’t grade on a curve so it is possible for every person to get an A in a class, if they earn it. There are enough spots for every person at the medical school if each person were to keep the GPA and interview well. So really the competition is with yourself to be the best candidate you can, not with other people in the program. As for common activities, we all share the Medical Scholars classes and the pre-med classes. One of the great parts of the Medical Scholars program is that you get to choose your own extracurricular activities and what you want your college experience to be like. There are some pre-health specific clubs that certainly have more Medical Scholars in them but you can participate in anything you want to! - I do want to go SLU Medical School! I wouldn’t still be in this program if I didn’t want to! SLU is a great school with a brand new hospital. It is an urban campus that trains physicians to treat every person in the community. Remember you aren’t committed to anything by entering SLU in the Medical Scholars program! I know the thought of only applying and interviewing for one school can be intimidating. However, I would recommend looking at SLU SOM’s 2019 and 2020 match list. This helped me realize that I can go anywhere I want from SLU SOM which helped me be more comfortable applying to only one school.
- I think my best experiences were my interview and my acceptance to SLU SOM. I was able to see all of the things I had accomplished in my previous years and how much I had grown since freshman year. This ties in to the harder experience - the beginning of freshman year. At the beginning of freshman year, you start with a blank slate and have about a year and half to get yourself ready to be an applicant for medical school. This means that you are focused on academics, extracurriculars, and research while also getting used to a new campus and a new city. I felt intimidated by how much I wanted to do, adjusting to a new way of studying, and creating a new life at a new school. However, there are so many resources. The Medical Scholars freshman seminar helps so much. It helped me get familiar with the program and its expectations. Professors’ office hours helped me excel in classes. There are so many resources: free tutoring, free counseling, career services, and student organizations. I mention this experience because it is very common to be overwhelmed in the first weeks of school, no matter where you choose to attend. Tap in to your resources and know that many people feel like that and end up being incredibly successful!
- My final choice was between SLU (in the medical scholars program) and Villanova (traditional pre-med) in Philadelphia. There were a couple different reasons I chose SLU. I loved that the people at SLU genuinely wanted to be there. The community on this campus was unmatched on any of the other college tours I went on. Being a student for three years here, I can attest that the community is very strong! The Medical Scholars program was also a big part of the decision. Traditional medical school application is very competitive. Some people apply and don’t even receive an interview anywhere. More and more people are pursing advanced degrees (master’s and PhD) before applying to medical school. If you keep the 3.65 GPA, you are guaranteed an interview at a great medical school. I knew that this program was an excellent opportunity to achieve my final goal of being a physician and that was a the final deciding factor.
It seems the attrition rate is very high in SLU BSMD (80 students in First year to 45-50 in second year at SLU BSMD). IMO, it is not easy to maintain 3.65 GPA required to proceed to the next stage. The weed out pre-med classes during the first year may be doing their job. Not everyone in weed out courses will get an A. A few ‘C’ grades in the weed out classes will sink one’s GPA. There is a real potential risk of dropping out of the BSMD program due to 3.65 GPA requirement to proceed to the next stage.
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How is that? Don’t they have an interview or something in 4th year? Thought it wasn’t guaranteed, anyway don’t know much about the program and didn’t bother to find out.
But at a minimum one can decide whether to continue with the program otr not and apply out, correct?
When did you hear from Syracuse University? I thought their UG decisions are announced only in mid to late March.
Can you please help with some STATS on the NJMS and RWJ regular route MD with UG at Rutgers NB Honors SAS school. My D got admission here and we are IS. Rutgers NB SAS school being huge how it will work with LOR’s, Research opportunities for regular route MD?
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Attrition is no secret and SLU is not hiding that fact at all. Its approximately 50% of the students that remain in the program just after freshman year. And definitely some of it is GPA issue while SLU may not say it exclusively. Interview with SOM is during the spring semester of sophomore year and the acceptance will be known by end of the sophomore year. You will have to maintain the GPA on annual basis 3.65 or more and MCAT is due between April of junior year and September of senior year and required to get a minimum score of 500.
I have received the USPS mail today about the results they announces via email on Feb 1st and it has a long FAQs attached to it. Here is one of them (copied as is):
Q: What if I change my major or do not want to attend medical school?
Many students continue on as Medical Scholars even though they chosen a new major, but approximately one-half of all Medical Scholars will end up changing their mind about the program entirely. Some withdraw from the program to explore completely new interests, while others remain on their original path but pursue a graduate opportunity other than medical school.
Do you want to continue at SLU if you do not get an interview due to lack of 3.65 UG GPA during sophomore year ? This will also jeopardize one’s ability to apply out. One may have to do GPA repair before applying out. If one wants to explore other careers, why join SLU BSMD program ?
I believe NJ in-state medical school tuition is $45K. Are you going to stay at home during medical school?
Totally agree. If one can’t get GPA that’s required by most of the BSMD programs, then its troublesome even to apply out. And why join Med Scholars if you are not sure? May be some of the parents are thinking that this is the way to go, but kids are probably not sure but forced into SLUs guaranteed path (but its not)? I tried different career options with my DD but she is 100% committed to become a doctor whether its BSMD route or traditional. So the BSMD trails on 
As long one understands the risk and sure about being a MD, it is worth taking the risk. For some it may be a breeze but for others a hurdle to get a 3.65 GPA.
For ORMs below 3.65 GPA means DO in traditional path in most cases.
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As posted in my earlier reply- Interview with SLU SOM is during the spring semester of sophomore year and the acceptance will be known by end of the sophomore year. You will have to maintain the GPA on annual basis 3.65 or more and MCAT is due between April of junior year and September of senior year and required to get a minimum score of 500.
Here is yet another FAQ answer that is in the letter received-
Q: Can I apply to other med schools?
No. Medical Scholars must apply solely to the SLU SOM. Medial Scholars who apply elsewhere forfeit early acceptance offer. Such candidates can reapply for admission according to to traditional application timeline.
IMO, one should apply out if GPA and MCAT are great even if you have to apply SLU SOM via traditional route. The Washington University SOM is next door.
Anyone got Presidential scholarship for SLU here? If yes, are you IS or OOS? Thanks in advance.
Shall do if 3.95 GPA and 520 MCAT is on the cards
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25-30 lucky winners have it whether they are on this forum or not. But you and me are not one of them, and all the results are out, so its not going to help us if they are instate or oos
If its a on-campus interview they normally invite about 500 for SLU’s presidential scholarship, this time it being virtual/online they have invited 900 for the same.
We also, similar to you, are tacked with 1K or 2K/year additional amount over the VP Scholarship of 25K for being finalists in the presidential race.
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Did anyone hear back from Albany after their interview on Union/Albany LIM program acceptance?
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