@03katmom – is there a reason you’re not considering public universities? If money is an issue – and it clearly is, for you – your instate options are usually the best bets. The name of the school may be toward the bottom of the things that medical schools look at – but it does count. A high GPA from a known entity will count more than a high GPA from a small school med schools have little/no relationship with.
Also, you need to go on the med school subforums on this site to get a sense of what your son really needs to do to get into medical school. The average age of a first year medical student in this country is 24 – and that is because medical schools want to see maturity, and because a solid, competitive preparation for med school usually involves a year of full time work in a medicine-related environment. Students apply to as many as 20 med schools. They’re expected to travel to these schools for interviews. All this will be quite difficult for someone still in school.
I second the idea of taking another look at your in state publics for the most bang for your buck. I understand right now that option probably sounds way too big and full of wild parties etc....but your son can definitely find his people if he looks.
We were in your position a couple years ago. Daughter settled on her instate flagship university honors program mainly for financial reasons. She just finished her first year. It has been overall great both for her faith as well as academic preparation.
Many large universities have very active and vibrant student ministries. Daughter’s university has literally thousands of students involved in her campus ministry group. She’s been involved in weekly worship on campus as well as at the local sponsoring church, meets in a small group weekly, has been on a couple retreats, took a theology of the gospel course sponsored by the group, and will be a small group leader next year. She brings her bible with her on weekends when she’s home. She has a great peer group with lots of things to do. There are lots of people like her and the university doesn’t feel nearly as large as it is.
Regarding the premed, a flagship university will have lots of research opportunities. Our daughter got involved in research her second semester and has a paid position this summer in the lab—and not just washing test tubes. She just started her own project — something to do with genetics but I don’t understand it. Lol
I’m sorry this got so long. But there’s lots of options out there. My daughter has even taken the opportunity to discuss her faith with others on campus. I think it’s actually been a positive experience for her and has given her a lot of confidence sharing her beliefs with others with different perspectives.
I think learning how to share your faith is a great advantage to being on a secular campus. It’s both a joy and a challenge to be able to be honest, genuine, and respectful.
FWIW, my med school lad did this too. It doesn’t require going to any particular school. It requires going online, finding groups that do these (many of them are Christian), signing up, and raising the money (or paying for it if one can, but he raises money). He went to Cote D’Ivoire as an undergrad and will be going to the Philippines now as a med school student.
As an undergrad he could only do limited things - blood pressure, interviews, sorting meds that were donated, first aid things, etc. He was busy all day every day (1200+ patients in 3.5 days of clinic work), but let’s face it, medically he was there shadowing and learning. Having finished his first year of med school and having more knowledge plus hands on experience they’ve told him to bring his equipment. On this trip they expect to have over 2500 patients. The need is high.
According to the class profile for his class, the average age of incoming students is 25. 63% are 24 or older. My guy was 23 when he started. He did a Take 5 year at his school (special program for extra academic study outside of their major - studying for fun (free tuition) rather than toward his major). Some students go straight from undergrad to med school after four years, but not the majority anymore (or at least it seems that way).
Editing to add U Rochester’s Med School Class Profile link in case you haven’t read it when I’ve posted it before. This is what his Med School looks for in students. Mission trips are common as are other things (like knowing a second language, oodles of volunteering, research, etc). You can change the year in the URL to see that it doesn’t change much year to year. I suspect other med schools look for similar experiences and standards.
He can only borrow ~$5500/year, so if you’ll only pay $15k his budget is $20k/year. Unless you’re willing to borrow ~$20k/year for him it sounds like some compromises will have to be made.
The thing is that you have cornered yourself in the selections. Most. if not all, of “Christian” schools are private and your out of pocket fund is limited to lets say $15,000. There is no such thing to get in some private school with $15,000 and room and board. That means, you need a full tuition merit scholarship, because in general, room, board and living expenses are adding up to about $15,000 already. In order to get that, you need to be top student for that school, if not, you are not getting that.
I think you should look into public Univs, starting from in state, then try UMaine as suggested. All public Us have Christian groups and you will not miss any thing by going there. I am not familiar with BCOHS, so no comments. Baylor is a great school, but it is unfriendly to OOS, unless you are A student with HIGH(near 100%) in SAT/ACT, you are not going to pay $15,000 to get in Baylor.
I also agree that with your budget you should look into public universities. I have learned in our own search that Christian colleges only give very significant aid to perfect GPA’s and test scores or National Merit Finalists. There is no such thing as “full ride” except for a few students a year. Room and board and expenses can add up to $15k. My niece had a 3.9 and 33 ACT and earned the highest merit tuition award ($20k) for a popular Christian college but that knocked the cost down to still $30k a year which was just not doable.
I have NO connection to med school. But ran into a mom of my S15 today; (our kids did a reading competition 12 years ago) and we caught up. Her kiddo wasnt paying attention last year, and is studying to take MCATS in august as a senior; he’ll graduate in May, and that puts him behind a year cuz results come out too late in the year. AND. . . reason for this post . . . is just that she said it’s all for the better cuz he needs more time to volunteer and will spend a year doing that and working after graduation as that’s important for med school entrance. So, i’ve heard that advice twice in one day now!
Dear All,
I can’t respond to everyone individually -too many- but thank you for taking time. His #1 option is UMKC’s straight out of high school, med school at 32K yr. It is a secular school. And yes, he would literally be only 18 and in actual “MED SCHOOL” for real! It is a very hard program to get into. (Less than 8% acceptance rate!) But, he has the criteria they look for, so why shouldn’t he try, right? And yes, way more than 15K yr, but worth it because he would be literally IN MED SCHOOL! & it’s only a 6 yr consolidated program, so when you do the math, it comes out to less than a typical 4 yr med school. However, being realistic, we realize we need a “plan B”.
It’s not that we are opposed to secular, it’s just that the original question I posed here was to see if people knew of any affordable christian colleges, not too far from St. Louis, that had a strong pre-med. That was my question because that is what I wondered. And yes, I understand finding all 3 of those things requires much digging, time, phone calls, & research! And yes, I have found a few. So if someone is reading this post and is curious like I was, here are a few that seem (whether they are known to you or not) to have all 3. Also, I have contacted actual med schools who have verified that a students GPA, MCAT score, & being well rounded far outweigh “where” they got their undergrad from. So, here is what I have found:
-Oral Roberts (he can apply for a select scholarship. Only if selected, this school becomes affordable)
-Evangel (he is eligible for 12-21K merit. He needs to apply to see how much he could get & we will hope for 17K or more)
-Harding (Close to 15K, coming in at around 18K after his merit based and he can apply for a full ride scholarship)
-Freed-Hardeman (Only affordable at 15K if he gets a 30 on his June ACT)
-Mississippi College (15K if he gets a 29 on his June ACT. Otherwise, 17K which comes in close to our goal of 15K yr. They offer Shelf Exam and actual med classes too)
-BCOHS (100% of their students are obtaining medical something degrees. Med mission trip included in tuition. After applying his merit based, this school is only 8K yr!)
-William Carey (3K-10K yr depending on his June ACT. Plus this school has an actual medical school too! & at only 40K)
My 2 older kids graduated from secular colleges. I just wanted to pose this “specific” question here, because it is the question that I had.
BA/MD programs are a very hard road. But if he’s interested in going that route, UMKC is not the only one. If he’s rolling the dice, why not roll the dice with several options?
I don’t think you mentioned his academic credentials yet. What is his current ACT or SAT score? Someone with the goal of medical school should be able to easily get well over a 29 on the ACT.
Also, I’d be curious to know if your son, the future physician, is putting in at least as much time as you are into calling all these schools and researching the possibilities.
I am sorry to say that with an ACT of 29, you WILL not be considered by ANY BS/MD program. You need the stats that is equivalent of Ivy quality to enter ANY BS/MD program, that is a GPA closed to 4.0 and ACT at around 36.
You’d better off try the traditional route and try to gain a high GPA in a traditional college.
BYU is the only one I can think of. That being said, it’s a school that’s great if you’re already Mormon, but if he’s not, he might have a hard time with the culture. I would recommend a good in-state public university. Medical schools look at grades and MCAT scores anyway and are not really concerned about the actual university. As long as he has those, he’ll be fine at any school.
OP has already stated they are not interested in BYU. That being said, OP,you really should pose your questions on the pre med forum, you will get many VERY informed parent’s of current med school students as well as us old timers that have kids that are now Dr.s. You have several misconceptions about med school as well as what it takes to get into med school. The posters on the pre med forum can give you MUCH better advice than what you have gathered on your own. No offense, but I would never have sent my child to any of the schools on your list when hoping for an eventual med school acceptance.
ETA. BCOHS would be your worst decision. The “medical something degrees” have nothing to do with med school to become a Physician.
Brantly, thanks for the list of other combined options. I will look at that
He go a 31 English, 30 Science, 29 Math & his Reading hurt him at only a 20. However, he is retaking it this weekend. UMKC’s average is ACT 32 with a minimum requirment of 24. He attends a community college (with a 4. something) instead of high school during the school year so he will graduate with his associates degree before starting university. They do look at things holistically though and he is an athlete plus has done much shadowing, community, and school leadership clubs so he has shot at being considered. You all can think I’m dumb, but I am a firm believer that IF he is WILLING to do the work and has the PASSION to be a doc, he will succeed despite his ACT or whichever college he attends. It will be a hard, long road, but if that is truly what HE wants, he can do it.
No my son is not putting in the time like I am. He owns a lawn care business, has summer school, is attending 3 one week camps and is plays sports year round. I am a stay-at-homer who has way more time than him and I don’t mind putting in the time. He is staying involved with our daily talks regarding things I am finding out, etc.
Cotton, I understand that a “name brand” school may have higher odds. However, to say BCOHS would be the worst decision…? After talking to them, I disagree. I understand however that you’re looking at the fact that their Biomedical program is newer. Yes, that is a legitimate concern! However, they have advisers working closely with their pre med students to properly prepare them for mcat/med school. They even have agreements with a couple of med schools that recognize their quality of teaching/students, despite their newness and small school size. I think in time, people may change their opinion of them. (If what they claim is true). I would love to see more christian schools succeed and prefer to support them over secular. Still hopeful we can find a good one.
OP, @artloversplus didn’t say all docs have a 36 on their ACT. They said that is generally the norm for a combined BS/MD program. Sorry to be blunt, but your daughter is not competitive for any those programs. You seem to not be receptive to any of the advice here. You can call all of the med school or UG offices to ask questions, but they are a business and want you to apply. You would be extremely foolish not to take the advice you have been given here.
Cotton…
And what specific advice is that exactly? Don’t bother attempting pre-med because he is not competitive enough? Or if he insists on trying, his only hope is a state school or big name school? That’s what I am taking away from this. I have talked to 3 med schools so far who all say his college gpa, mcat & holistic stuff is what they look at, not “where” he obtained his undergrad from.
I seem to not be receptive? My initial question was simple. Does anyone know of affordable christian colleges with good pre med. I did not ask anything else initially. Again, whether you or anyone else agrees, I am a firm believer that IF someone has the PASSION and is WILLING to consistently work hard & put in the time to study and make the grades, they can support an affordable christian college for undergrad AND still get into med school.
Thank you for your time anyway.
There is a section of CC specifically discuss the details of BS/MD and the admitted student stats are all posted there years in and out. You can review all the threads and see it yourself.
With an ACT of 29, you have no chance to enter any bs/md programs, regardless how each program states its MINIMUM acceptance rate. You will be wasting of your time to apply for them, UMKC included.
The advise I have for you is to attend a school that you like and work as hard as possible to get a HIGH GPA, hopefully a straight A to enhance your chances. Mcat is another important factor, you need to get as high as possible as well. Now a days, an average cGPA for MD school is around 3.7 with sGPA around 3.6 whereas cGPA is slightly lower for DO schools at 3.6.
We have went through the process of med school application over and over with many years of experiences on pre-med preparation for med school and won’t give you fibs that are just appease you. Right now you are living in a cloud, when it clears, you will find reality.