@SpeedSkater You have made a choice which suites you well. The point about your focus during UG is NOT true since your are in a BSMD program. There are nearly 55000 applicants who apply via regular MD. About 1/3 (18000) of these take no gap years. These students have been able to balance academics, medical ECs, research, leadership activities and prepare for and take MCAT & CASper, apply to 20-25 medical schools, write volumes of secondary application essays, interview many programs. It is just a myth propagated that BSMD programs allow more freedom. There has been data that shows a higher attrition rate among BSMDs in medical school ( search this thread if interested).
@compengineer1 IMO, Go with your Dās choice (Is it still Columbia University ?).
Well I personally will brag about my kid all day long. Raising him was hard as hell- I want some accolades dammit! 
and wine. I definitely want some wine with my kudos. I wouldnāt turn up my nose at French wine while eating their cheese and bread. I miss living in Europe!
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Well said! 
Are you sure itās not the other way (
) ? 
I think itās definitely worth considering LACs for premed, this is what my child is doing. All the top schools have premed support, plus you can do research and more easily develop professor relationships for recs. Some schools donāt require a committee rec to apply, they will support alum applicants as well. The MCAT is emphasizing social sciences more in the past, and I think LACS will 1) help you stand out and 2) help with soft skills for interviews.
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@grtd2010 I donāt understand. What has my focus and how I function got to do with 55,000 other applicants or why should I even care? I never commented on othersā choices nor did I advocate for any specific path for anybody.
Disclaimer for others: Itās strictly my life experience and do not try this at home. 
Iāll take your word for it. However, just for debating purposes onlyā¦thatās a classic straw man! Even if the above were to be true, thereās absolutely no evidence that the same students would have fared well in the regular route nor would have even gotten into a med school.
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I think you missed the mark. The report being referenced doesnāt claim that attrition from BS/MD students would be successful otherwise. Fact is being dropped out from med school closes that door forever.
~60 students not to be a Dr after admitted to med school is a significant missed mark for BS/MD programs.
And yes, this doesnāt include the change of heart, academics failures during UG etc. cases.
As @PPofEngrDr mentioned you have missed the fact, the attrition rate means drop out rate from a medical school here. There is a higher percentage of those who come from BSMD path drop out compared to those who come from regular route, in spite of so called āfocusā and āfreedomā touted for BSMD students.
Think at the end of the day- kids ( along with family) needs to make the decision - What is good for one may not be good for other- For some BSMD is great, for others IVYs or Top schools.
Some time good to be secure and other times let the chip fall where it may!!
No one knows the future, so make the best decision on data you have at present.
I have discussed with kids in both IVYs and BSMD programs - Both were happy. Perhaps that is the most important- If you choose something and are not happy, you will mess up either place.
Good luck with decisions for few left- Whatever you choose, enjoy it.
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Interesting thing I observed over last 4 years is some parents and students become blind advocates of BSMD and they keep coming with more and more reasons to defend their choice. Again each path has merits and drawbacks and so does students. Students (and parents) decide based on their strengths, weaknesses, preferences, goals and risk tolerance and live with their decision rest of the their life. As I said before no one needs vindication from others about their decision but if you are debating, be honest about your (or childās) strengths and weaknesses instead of giving lame reasons like traditional path you have to do certain things for app but if I am in BSMD I am free to do what ever I want (realty is most BSMD expect you to do same ECs except at lower intensity). Over last 4 years several reached out to me directly and I always asked these questions and gave my honest feedback and sometimes advocated for BSMD.
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I agree with @compengineer1 that the teens ( along with family) need to make the decision -
Each kid/family has a unique situation and for some BSMD is a good choice and for others Top UGs is a good choice.
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If moms have a hard time raising kids, it is piece of cake for dads!!
I always wonder whom will I fight with once D leaves home!!
Tonnes of G+T or Wine I guess!!!
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My husband has had a crash course in parenting recently. He spent 16 years of their lives being on active duty and deployed for much of it so the parenting definitely was left to me.
When I accepted my new job and moved out of state, he stayed with the youngest (and most stubborn) so kiddo could finish high school these last 3 months. It definitely has been adventures in parenting FOR SURE 
I have refereed many a conversation via FaceTime 
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It is an individual choice (along with their family). As @srk2017 put it well, just donāt be a blind advocate. No one needs a vindication from any one for their choice.
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Thank you everyone for your great valuable suggestions and much appreciated!
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So I may be putting my ChE hat - G+ T or Tonic water has safe amount of Quinine, the base molecule of HCQ, the wonder antibiotic that nails Malaria ( and Babesiosis in NE) and would have got Trump elected! It is antiinflammatory and British added Quinine to water and G+T became Imperial Cocktail that saved them from Malaria so that they could rule India!
It also helps making the virus membrane porus, change pH and then Zn++ can nail COVID-19 virus so that it does not multiply.
Bottomline, it is prophylactic for virus. So enjoy T or better G+T!!!
@grtd2010 I do understand what attrition means. Of course, I missed the mark with all the inconsistencies in the last few posts. 
I was called out as a risk-averse person for taking the BS/MD route. Two posts later, Iām being thrown a random stat about terrible graduation rates of BS/MD students. Shouldnāt that make my decision about taking that path a risky one? Which is it?
Graduation Rates by Number of Years
Attrition by Student Type
Iāve made my choice. But, please explain for the sake of others who may stumble here for the future admission cycles. Is this the 2020 report from AAMC that addresses attrition we are talking about or is there another that paints a much graver picture for BS/MD candidates?
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It the number for MD-only and Bachelorās-MD(1.3% vs 2.8%) in the graph above.
I would risk the 2.8% any day of the year.