I’m actually deciding undergrad right now, but I have stumbled upon an opportunity that has thrown me for a loop.
I have been dead set on medicine my entire life. There is no question in my mind that I still want to pursue medicine.
When I was applying to colleges, my mom pressured me to apply to UOP as another safety, and for her benefit, I did. But because they currently have no pre-med program, I applied for pre-Pharmacy. And surprisingly, I got in for the 2+3 accelerated PharmaD program. Within 2 years, I will have finished the required courses to go into pharmacy, and within 5 years, I will have a PharmaD degree.
Is doing the PharmaD program and then applying to Medicine worth it? Will I have an advantage and maybe get into my dream schools (Stanford, UCSF)? Or should I just go through the traditional route (I will then choose between Northeastern, UCSB, and Bryn Mawr for bio/biochem and pre med, of course).
I also heard from a couple sources that some people have done the accelerated program for the first 2 years, and then apply to Medical school, as you would complete all the required courses within those two years and you don’t need a BA/BS for med school (I believe). Is this true or even possible? If it is, would it be recommended?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
<3 thesmart(anddesperate)one23
Worth it is in the eye of the beholder. Will you incur substantial debt getting your PharmD? If so, and your goal is a MD, then it’s not worth it financially. If plan to work as a pharmacist for a few years to earn $$ and save to pay for med school, iffy, but possibly. You’d need to do a cost-benefit analysis whether it’s more cost-effective to earn enough to graduate from med school without loans or with only minimal loans vs. the loss of earning a physician’s salary 4 or more years sooner if you don’t go to pharm school.
Not at all.
Many MD programs specifically state they require a BA/BS degree in order to matriculate into med school. I believe there are few programs that will consider applicants who have at least 90 undergrad credits. You would need to look at MSAR to see which ones. But as to whether med schools commonly accepted applicants without a completed BA/BS—it’s extremely uncommon. (Are you walk-on-water brilliant?)
Also with the changes to MCAT this year, the required chem sequence is now 5 semesters long.
MD programs have been adding to their lists of pre-reqs.
Also how could you possibly have a competitive extracurricular profile if your UG is only 2 years (no gap year would mean applying after just 1 year of college)