So if we haven’t been contacted by Rutgers we have not made to the second step?
yeah same i hevent been contacted by Rutgers
Perhaps they have only contacted some applicants, do not lose hope!
Sure, College is different than high school but if you put the effort required, one can succeed via traditional route. IMHO, it is harder to get into a BSMD program than getting via regular route. If one can survive weeder courses (Bio, Gen chem, Organic chem, Physics and Biochem) and maintain a GPA >= 3.7 and get a MCAT score >= 512, there is a decent chance to get into a Medical School. Most pre-meds are weeded out and have to drop out of applying to medical schools.
@GoldenStateDad You meant NJMS in your post #1252, NJIT is one of the feeder school like Rutgers Newark, TCNJ, Stevens etc. Both NJIT and Rutgers Newark are located close to NJMS (an urban neighborhood in Newark, NJ). TCNJ is located in a secluded area near Trenton, NJ.
@grtd2010 Thank you for catching the typo. Yes, I meant NJMS, and my question was if anyone who applied to TCNJ/NJMS had a preliminary interview (phone or in-person) with TCNJ yet. Thanks!
I received acceptance from the Joint Bachelor’s/M.D. program at at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University. It’s a new program and I got in without an interview. Anyone have any feedback about it?
They have received preliminary accreditation. 2018 is the first batch for Med School Students.
Also, it is NOT a guaranteed program. You are only entitled an interview but they have 25 seats reserved for Seton Hill undergrads.
This is what the website says:
“This joint-degree offering with the School of Medicine is exclusive to Seton Hall University. If you meet all of the outlined requirements, you are guaranteed an interview with the School of Medicine during your fourth year of undergraduate study. This is a tremendous advantage as only about 10 percent of the applicants to the School of Medicine will be called in for an interview. Additionally, 25 percent of the seats in the School of Medicine are reserved exclusively for Seton Hall students. This means that as a Seton Hall student, you are in a very strong position to gain entrance to the SOM. However your performance during the interview will be a primary factor in determining your admission to the SOM. For this reason, the joint-degree program cannot guarantee you admission to the SOM.”
Please note < 5% of all medical school students come through the BS/MD route.
However, we must guard against one important thought-process - “If you can get an admission to Ivy-league undergrad then you can surely get admission into the “top ranked” medical school.”
Most general folks are unfamiliar with the medical school admissions process and therefore they can get into the above thought process. Many years ago, I was in one of those folks. But since then I have become wiser.
Yes, with good grades, great MCAT score (>515), a resume complete with research, shadowing, volunteer and other factors, will get you a medical school admission. It may or may not be the same “Ivy-league kind” of schools.
To get into extremely competitive “top ranked Ivy-league kind” medical school, I have seen top-ranked students take 1 to 3 drop years to build their resume. And live through anxiety. And finally select a not-so-top-ranked medical school. I know of cases where folks declined BS/MD from HPME, PSU/Jeff, Case, Temple, and others and went to Ivy-league undergrad. During the regular med cycle, they had great MCAT scores (>98 percentiles), great GPAs, and they would have accepted admissions from these same colleges without a second thought but had to settle for their “safety” programs.
If we think the current BS/MD cycle is stressful and unpredictable, the med school process is even more so.
Also, note - there about ~130 medical schools in US. The “top half” ranked schools are more-or-less equally good if you compare their residency match list.
Also, Medicare (and insurance companies) pays you the same whether you graduated from Harvard or Hofstra.
So what we told our D is that if you are dead-sure you want to do medicine, focus on getting into a BS/MD program.
Thx @NoviceDad … we get an idea now.
All High School Seniors and Parents, Please do not get really affected by the BSMD results. I really hope that you all along my with DS gets a BSMD admission as you all really deserve it. You are the best kids out there, and all the parents must be really proud too for what their kids are today. If anyone of us does not make it, please trust me, it’s not the end of the world. In life, when one door closes, another one opens, and whatever happens, happens four our best. So, hang in there and we all will be fine at the end. Life is a long long journey with full of wonderful options, and all HS kids are just about to begin that journey. Good luck. Enjoy your school break and holidays.
Well said!
@GreenPoison, @grtd2010, @NoviceDad,
Would like to add another comment about traditional route. It is just not surviving the weed out courses (grades of B or above), but ability to maintain overall decent gpa and all the extra stuff of course. For example, since the topic of Ivies came up a few times, Princeton and Cornell are supposedly very challenging even within Ivies and even maintaining a 3.2 or 3.3 may be very challenging even to the bright kids who made it there. Because the class rooms are filled with kids like them and the expectations of the faculty likewise very high and not too many A s given out. So someone going to Cornell and getting a 99% ile in MCAT, having survived all the required pre med course work but with a 3.3 GPA say, is not likely going to get where he or she may want to, or may even have to drop the plan altogether. Students and parents should be mindful of this and should be willing to consider alternate careers if need be, if the prestige of going to their dream schools take precedence. The same is said about certain state universities like UCB and GA Tech.
Well said @rk2017 . its so ture. I think if you wanted go on traditional path better to pick a medium colleges… to keep up the GPA…Can anyone recommend small private colleges with great pre-med programs??? Thx
Emory is one
@hoop897 Look at Muhlenberg.
Thank for support and advice @GoldenStateDad, @GreenPoison, @rk2017 and @grtd2010
Your all positive attitude and advice is really appreicaited… :)>-
Drexel portal still showing file under review. When contacted Drexel we received following reply.
As you are a Regular Decision applicant the undergraduate admissions office will release those decisions in mid - March.
The BSMD program has their own timeline which can be found here, https://drexel.edu/undergrad/apply/freshmen-instructions/accelerated/. Please review the information found under the “Application Process” drop down.
Just made Baylor/Baylor (B2B) finalist. 8 will interview for 3 spot from November event. Good luck to everyone else!
Congrats @ekballerbsmd2019
@rk2017
@GreenPoison, @grtd2010, @hoop897
Two notes:
- In cases I referred in my post, students had GPA > 3.7. In my view GPA <3.5 means less chance to get med (MD) school admissions.
- I am personally concerned about the risk to chose “alternate careers” if you are SET to pursue medicine. Will you be happy in such an alternate career considering you have the next 40-50 years of potential work-life? I believe that is the reason people chose whatever med school - MD or DO - they get in the end. Their heart and interests are in medicine. Which is why my advice to students I help is that if you are set to pursue medicine and you get an offer in BS/MD - take it. Don’t worry about rankings or what other people will say. Once you become a doctor, those same people who are questioning your choice now will be the first ones to line up for free medical advice and samples.
@hoop897
Why small private colleges?
For traditional route, choose a college that can offer your medical oriented research from freshmen year itself.
And choose a college where they give LORs to all students who want to apply to med school and has good support system.
Among the BS/MD programs, NU, Rice, Case, PSU, UPitt, Rochester, Brown have good undergrad / pre-med programs.