@NoviceDad - I totally agree. This is just the beginning and it will get harder and harder… Students & Parents need a lot of stamina & patience.
Thanks @kaj2017
@Smilescreen: Did you ever hear back from SUNY feeders about the supplemental essay or the procedure?
“Students applying to the University at Albany should indicate interest in the Upstate Accelerated Scholars Program (UAS) with SUNY Upstate Medical University on the Common Application and on the SUNY Supplemental form”
- As of this just concluded cycle, I believe they did allow students to transfer from BA/MD route to regular undergrad, if the applicants hadn't received an interview invitation by early to mid February. I don't know if that is going to change going forward. But I urge you to apply for BA/MD and wait till mid February at most and call them if you want to transfer and see what happens. I think they will still oblige, if they refuse, no bothers, it will be their loss, not yours.
- My recommendation is not to count on EAP at BU. They do take students from various streams but the numbers may not be high for EAP. You can ask, but don't think they will reveal. Instead they are likely to give higher preference to students in the senior year or those who already graduated (alumni) or graduate students and those who finished masters there.
- Also if by any chance, the reason for choosing to apply to BU SMED is due to the added attraction of potential partial price breaks due to NMF standing, my recommendation is to take it out of equations for the following reasons:
- they seem to be revising their award policies. They have recently announced, think latest cycle, that they will be meeting 100% financial need for students they deem qualify. So some of the funds they have been using for the NMF awards may get diverted for that category going forward.
- There may be far many NMF finalists applying for the program but hardly a handful among them will be selected to the SMED. So it may not benfit most.
- Among BU's peer institutions, reputation wise and higher, no one cares a dime about NMF status in their awards consideration (the only one I am aware of is USC). So good chances BU may also scrap this obsolete policy of theirs going forward. And may divert those funds for the other category of presidential awards based on holistic merit considerations such as accomplishments from all angles and future promise, instead of score on one single test in junior year HS which many don't even prepare for with any seriousness.
@love4bsmd ,
No , we did not hear back anything yet. Not sure, if they will do an interview before they can forward to upstate. But once upstate picks, then they will send the supplement.
Potential Schedule for Senior Year:
SYM Orchestra
AP Chem
AP Literature/Comp
AP Spanish
AP Latin
AP Calc BC
AP Psychology
Instead of AP Latin, I could take another Science Course, like AP Physics C or AP Bio. Should I switch it, and if so which one?
Instead of AP Psych, I could also take AP US History or AP Euro instead… Which one should I choose or should I leave it?
@hogajaj767, your senior year choices look fine to me. I am not sure about AP Latin though but someone had speculated before that it might have helped them in securing a BSMD seat. AP Chem and Calc BC require considerable work and hence adding AP Physics C on top would not be advisable. You could also think about AP Micro/Macro Econ. Good luck!
Thank You! In your own opinion, would you add another science course or leave it as it is? Chem will certainly be work, but BC would be reasonable, as I am currently taking AB as a Junior. So BC would be a repeat of the Course, but an additional 3 topics at the end of the year.
My suggested schedule for you is provided below -
SYM Orchestra
AP Chem
AP Psychology (Honors option if available is ok too)
AP Bio
AP Lang & Comp or Literature (up to you)
AP Spanish (Honors option if available is ok too)
AP Calc BC
reasoning:
=> 2 foreign languages - Latin & Spanish are unnecessary
=> Showing that you are strong in science looks good. having 2 science APs looks like as a BSMD student. Many students have all three APs…
=> You don’t necessarily need to take all AP humanity/English/Language courses, some can be Honors level courses too…
AP Bio is a better choice than AP Phys C?
@rk2017 , Thanks for the detailed response! So you’re saying not all who were selected for the BS/MD cannot get presidential scholarship even if they are NMF?
@hogajaj767 - Yes, AP Bio is a better choice than AP Phys C - IMO
I am assuming you did Bio, Chem & Physics Honors already. The next science courses should be Chem AP, Bio AP in that order.
However, why do you ask? Will your schedule not allow AP bio to be included due to scheduling issues? Is AP Physics C better in terms of scheduling? If so, you could instead take AP Physics C…
AP Bio is basically all memorization, and I prefer Phys, due to the problem solving. Just trying hear all opinions and reasons. Thank You!
Disclaimer: The below is my opinion only -
BU SMED program is a very nice program and already costs less since it is an accelerated program. Brown, U of R or Case Western which are comparable programs are 8 years long and cost much more. (75+ K more).
BU BSMD takes approx. 20-25 BSMD admits per year. In the past, historically only 1-2 students have mentioned getting NMF scholarship in this forum. Others pay full price for 3 years of UG followed by 4 yrs of med school
Think about -why would BU give 25K/yr discount for BSMD students when they can get non-NMF full pay students with similar/high qualifications? Getting into BU SMED itself would be a great opportunity for applicants by itself!
On the other hand, BU might want to reserve most of their NMF scholarships to attract highly qualified Undergrad students who otherwise would get/go to T10-15 colleges but may consider BU (rank 40) if given NMF/Presidential/Trustee scholarships.
Is Hofstra BS MD early action binding ?
Valid point. But why are you not interested in Engineering which is more problem solving?
If you feel AP Bio is just memorization wait until you do all your courses in MD either in 1.5 or 2 years. Some students may chock since so much to cram in to the throat.
In any education there are some courses which may not be to your liking and it is natural. So look from a broader perspective.
@highschoolinnj - Your comment is confusing. Early Action is a non-binding early application. So, why would you think it is?
Early decision on the other hand is binding. Personally, I am only aware of two binding BSMD programs - Brown PLME & Wayne State University BSMD in Detroit MI.
@hogajaj767 - LOL! I agree with @GoldenRock that if you are not comfortable with Bio AP, then you should at a minimum think hard if BSMD seems the right path for you.
Taking the regular route would open up opportunities that align better with your liking and natural talents. If Engineering right now is not appealing, you can go to college and explore to see what is more appealing…Very few students make up their mind about career. For some, it takes a few tries to end up with something they like. It is normal.
Take courses which you would enjoy, not what others recommend. If you are interested in problem solving, wait until you have taken higher level college courses in physics, chemistry, mathematics and engineering. Even biomedical sciences require analytical and problem solving skills. May be you should consider a regular route MD.
does Rutgers still have a program with RWJMS or is their only program with NJMS now