OK makes sense BU 3.2 gpa requirements which look low as compared to other programs are comparable. Again do we have attrition rates for BU SMED as it is old and large students intake Bs MD program?
Not sure what you meant by the latter part of your question, but I would imagine 5% attrition
The attrition rate is about 1-2 students per class. This also includes those who decide they donât want to do medicine anymore
@rk2017 Are you saying that getting a 3.7 at BU is comparable to a 3.7 at NW and 3.8 at Pitt? Or are you saying that getting a 3.2 is comparable to these other schools?
3.2 for smed students >= 3.7 or 3.8 at other schools mentioned
Not to discourage, but if you are adequately prepared at HS level, itâs not impossible to have a 4.0 either as smed.
@trustybsms @rk2017 here are factual numbers, not imaginary.
as per http://theperfectmed.com/bu_smed/ 20-30 students enrolled to BU SMED 7 year program.
as per https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/admissions/introduction-to-busm/class-profile/ 16 students enrolled to medicine school through SMED route in 2018.
Best case scenario: 16 out of 20, 20% attrition or changed mind or whatever.
Worst case scenario: 16 out of 30, ~50% attrition or changed mind or whatever.
Yeah, I am aware one particular year they had less than the usual expected figure of 20 students enrolled in smed, this must be that batch.
But I am almost sure, among those who are seriously interested (i.e. not changing minds after joining) the attrition is not more than 5% or so (not withstanding the multiple C grades either)
Yes you bring a good point that there can be students who change their mind and drop on their own even though qualifying and it happens a lot with PLME which is a different subset from the ones which we are looking for in the attrition rate.
Attrition rate/change mind are generally much higher in Early Assurance Programs like SLU, it is in ballpark of ~50% at end of 1st year, but after that ~90% gets medical seat.
@OldSchoolMD
Congratulations on various options.
I do realize a number of folks have responded.
Here are some points that you may want to consider:
Financially:
Yes, there is higher initial investment for 7-yr BS/MD.
In business valuation, a concept of Net Present Value or NPV is usually employed (there are other approaches, including real options methodology) to evaluate an investment decision.
In my back-of-the-envelope calculations (a more thorough calculations is in my to-do-list):
a) you only gain some financial advantage (~ 60K over a lifetime in my quick calc) if you go the traditional route without any gap year over 7yr BS/MD - if you are earning at the lower end of the physician salary range.
b) you gain marginally with 7 yr BS/MD - if you are earning at the higher end of the physician specialty salary range. With 2 gap years, the gain from going the 7-yr BS/MD route is amplified to >1 million over a lifetime.
Question to ask yourself: Are you comfortable with the initial investment for BS/MD program?
Non-financially:
- What is the cost of the anxiety, if any, of reliving the medical school admissions process? of the gap years?
- How much value you attach to prestige of undergrad and its impact on your immediate family and friends?
- Will your S be comfortable pursuing a particular route?
My suggestion is go with your Sâs preference with BU SMED.
And tell me you are going with his choice and he better ensure he meets the matriculation critieria to med school.
Nicely articulated by @NoviceDad
If your S opts to go to BU just make sure his high spirits and expectations of campus vibes wonât be dampened later by the dorms there. As mentioned earlier BU is an old campus and may not look as appealing and comfortable as the newer neighboring NE. But again, one goes there for the stuff and not the fluff.
BTW, there are rankings for fluff also 
Donât we want all our kids to be happy at college,
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/g11438356/happiest-college-students/
@rk2017 BU > 3.2 GPA requirement may be ok for SMED program students but what about UG students, who wants to try for traditional path. Are they not at a disadvantage with lower GPA in BU?
As mentioned yesterday, for someone who has had good exposure in high school (not necessarily as measured by gpa) getting 4.0 or close to it shouldnât be a major issue, smed or traditional. Moreover traditional students wonât have to bother about the couple of tough mandatory courses that smeds have to go through
Also some med schools, not all, are cognizant of the grade deflation factor and take it into account in their decision making process for their admissions. BU is one of them, their med school takes a good number of BU undergrads with even low 3.7 gpa ranges preferring over even 4.0s from elsewhere. Also they accept decent numbers from similarly grade deflated institutions like Cornell, JHU, Princeton and WashU. Thatâs why if you look at the stats for their admitted students (I provided the link here for all med schools some time ago), you will find BU med school is a shade lower than others in the gpa aspect.
[QUOTE=""]
BTW, there are rankings for fluff also 
Donât we want all our kids to be happy at college
[/QUOTE]
Depends on what is their priority if they can have only one and not the other.
There is an ambiguity on BUSM link
https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/admissions/introduction-to-busm/class-profile/
As per initial bullet points 16 students from 7 year SMED.
As per rolling slides/various graphs further down on that page, one chart states 23 students from 7 year SMED.
Both numbers are for 2018 enrolled.
Better call them up and get clarified 
Would leave that for admitted students as transparency matters, especially you canât have that kind of glorying misinformation for class profile for more than year at this point.
@DSOF20192023 My personal take: If you are going via regular route, do not go to schools which are believed to be known for deflation like BU. If you are have alternate choice consider that very seriously.
You may want to click on individual schools and look at the trends over time (data seems to be at least 5 yrs old though)