@GreenSage, have you done any period of research? RPI/Albany specifically look for students with research experience.
The MCAT is NO longer of the 29-30 format…all new students will take the REVISED MCAT and the new thresholds have yet to be determined…
MCAT requirements subject to change for students taking the revised 2015 MCAT. Requirements have not been finalized(from Villanova web-site)
@IMGDAD: yes, i have. I actually got a few research offers with profs at RPI this past summer but I was unable to attend unfortunately. Plus, I specifically picked the program because of it’s focus on research; that’s what i’m really interested in focusing on during my undergrad at least.
@silverwad: yep, true facts. I’m aware of these changed. I guess I just meant what it was, but the changes coming up are all up for debate, to date. My logical assumption, however, is that the requirement will basically still be very low and fairly easy to attain considering these programs themselves are basically allowing accepted students to complete bare minimums to get into med school. So compared to the competitive pool of premed and others applying later on, these requirements will be acceptable. Regular applicants on the other hand, are left in a more questionable grey area where med schools may or may not accept them even with competitive mcat scores. It’s more just the nature of these accelerated/ early assurance programs.
@GreenSage, excellent! You definitely need research experience to be picked for interview. But if you are invited for the interview, be warned that it might not be anything about research at all. My daughter was interviewed for the 2013-2014 admission. She got all her research portfolio prepared etc, but only to be interviewed, for the whole interview, on medical ethics. She was totally unprepared and she did not get a place. She is at BU doing the SMED program now.
@IMGDAD, thank you for that, I really appreciate the heads up! The interview is by albany so yeah i guess it makes sense that they’d ask ethics stuff. But that’s also really controversial and can be tricky trying to phrase things in a non-offensive manner. Do I need to read up on medical issues more to prepare for it at all or is it more general/widely known topics (like abortion, stem cells, GMOs)? And good for her, the BU program is brilliant!
@GreenSage, if you get invited for the interview at AMC, even if it is for the Physician Scientist Program, read up on abortion, patient autonomy, cancer therapy for minors, and professionalism. It was rather disheartening when my daughter was asked only on all that and nothing else during the interview when she did not apply for the Siena/AMC program. We were disappointed she did not get in but as it turns out, it is for the better. She is enjoying BU and Boston and has already got herself hooked up for research at Mass. General in a laboratory for cardiothoracic transplantation, a field she hopes to go into eventually.
Wow, I don’t know a whole lot about half that stuff either so yeah, your daughter’s past situation is quite understandable 
btw, that sounds like an really awesome field! There are so many cool options yet to be explored in depth in the med field but I’m currently pretty set on neurosurgery. Definitely still open to other options, of course.
@GreenSage, I note that your top choice is the RPI/AMC program. You might be interested in this article and may want to take this into consideration:
[Grade</a> Inflation: Colleges With the Easiest and Hardest Grades - CBS News](<a href=“http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505145_162-37243170/grade-inflation-colleges-with-the-easiest-and-hardest-grades/]Grade”>http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505145_162-37243170/grade-inflation-colleges-with-the-easiest-and-hardest-grades/)
My daughter who is in BU definitely can testify to the truth of this article, at least for BU.
Thanks for the article, and I have to agree, it is the truth, sadly. I have several friends who are attending RPI right now and I have a hard time believing when they say they got a 78 or something like that on a test. I know for a fact they are far more academically successful than me so it is a bit intimidating, I have to admit…
The thing is medical schools don’t care much about this. They just look at your grades/gpa so it’s best to find a school that will prepare you well for med school while also allowing you to do substantially well as an undergrad.
I think everyone needs to relax a bit. I have been doing some research regarding some of these astronomical stats people are posting on college confidential and they do not correlate to the average scores accepted at the corresponding programs. It appears to me that many of these people have been lying about their stats. Not anyone on this particular thread as of recent, but many in the past. For example, there was someone last year who posted that they researched for 1500 hours, volunteered for 1000 hours, and had two jobs over summer. If you add up the hours, thats not even possible. Anyone could create an account on here and post whatever things they want just to intimidate us. We should not let what we read on here influence our confidence. I have a 1360 SAT which is nothing special and many would say that I should not even be in discussion for these programs. But that is not true, UMKC 6 year has accepted people with a 23 ACT. The truth is, none of us truly know what these programs are looking for but we should just try our best and see what happens. But I think a lot of people on this thread need to relax.
@PursuitToExcel, genuinely thanks for that 
I take offense to that…by the time I was in the 8th grade, I had completed 12 AP courses, published 4 original research papers in the new England Jnl Med, and won 4 Olympic Golds in fencing(LOL)
@silverwad, congrats 
@silverwad: IF that all was true then you should be applying to Harvard! Not the undergrad but the medical school itself. LOL
Actually I’m the first 17 year old to become Chief Resident Dermatology @Mass General!
B-but…guys, I’m actually applying to Harvard tho… maybe. Haven’t decided yet but I’ll probs do it just for the heck of it.
@GreenSage: That’s a good idea. I just feel like no one should be discouraged from applying places. Its almost like people post ridiculous stats to discourage us from applying.
@silverwad: If you wrote that comment on some of the other threads on college confidential people would actually believe you. Lol
@PursuitToExcel: I agree. At this point RPI has more priority for me than Harvard anyway
@silverwad: setting the standards high for the future of American students. I commend you. hahaha
What is your source for “You definitely need research experience to be picked for interview.”
@huskerstk, I was a Full Professor at AMC many years ago and my source told me that research experience is needed for the Physician Scientist Program at RPI/AMC. It makes sense since if you are applying to a program that provides significant amount of time for mandatory research, AMC would want to see that you have had experience in research to know that you would enjoy research.