Greetings: This thread will tell you a bit about the mentors/moderators for this forum.

I'm Tildy and I'm a faculty member at a medical school that has a baccalaureate/MD program. I am a member of the admissions committee for this school and am closely involved in that program including interviewing students before they are admitted as well as mentoring some of them along the way. I am glad to help moderate this forum and to try to answer questions about how the admissions process for these programs work. By the way, "Tildy" (see Avatar picture) is really my 5 year old Jack Russell Terrier and she has a passion for eating bread.

I'm Depakote. Following high school I started a 6-year BA/MD program. Overall, I didn't find it to be a good fit for me and wound up leaving about 2.5 years into the program. I completed my BA degree and some extra coursework then worked for a few years while applying to schools. I am currently a student in a traditional 4 year MD program.

I know a decent amount about what it's like to be a high school student interested in medicine, the first few years of an accelerated combined-degree program, the standard MD admissions track and your first year of medical school. I will be helping moderate this forum and I'm more than happy to answer any questions you might have.

I'm Marigold, and I'm currently a resident in Pediatrics. I was an acceptee of one of the 8 year (non-accelerated track) Baccalaureate/MD programs, and it was a wonderful experience for me. I love teaching, and I'm excited to be a part of helping high schoolers find out whether medicine is the field for them, and if it is, how to get there! I can help with questions specifically related to the baccalaureate/MD programs, preparation in college for medical school, and things related to what happens during med school. Welcome! :D

I'm Bill, and I'm a general dentist. I started out pre-med, but discovered dentistry midway through college and haven't looked back since. After receiving my DDS from Indiana University in 2007, I finished a VA general practice residency and am currently completing a one-year dental anesthesiology fellowship. I'm happy to be here, and to answer any questions about college, dental school, or residency training programs. Best of luck to all!

I'm lemoncurry, and I'm starting dental school this fall. I graduated with my BS in biology last year after a 7 year hiatus from college. I'm more than happy to answer any questions about college, dental school prep, or just life in general :)

Hi! You can call me Humid, for short. I'm your friendly neighborhood college guy whose parents only discouraged chasing two career paths - performing arts and medicine. I'm not interested in fighting my way to a career on stage, so I chose the easier of the two paths. :D

I started my college career with dual enrollment while in high school, attending classes at the local community college (CC). I remained at the CC the following year, and spent most of my free time volunteering in a research lab at a nearby university. I'm still at the lab, but being paid for the summer.:) I'm now a student at the university.

My curiosity about medicine as a career choice did not come until after I was in college. SDN was one of the first places that I stumbled across when I began researching what was involved. It has remained the best place to gather information and opinions.

I enjoy life, gardening, raising chickens and tropical fish, reading for fun and reading science journals, going to loud concerts, showing international students around town, Wiki racing, doing research, and just plain kicking back.

I've had some fantastic mentors help me get where I am now, and enjoy paying them back by helping others as they did for me. I'm happy to be here and will be chiming in when I think my words may be helpful. Welcome!

Hi, I'm pingouin! I also answer to the English spelling of my name.. I started college back in the Stone Age in a BS/MD 8 year linkage program but switched within a year to pursue other options. I wound up with two degrees in social work (BSSW and MSW) by 1998 and decided to go back and chase my dream of medicine a few years ago. I'm starting as a M1 in a couple of weeks!!

I'm happy to try to answer general questions about college, majors, the med application process, and talk about why sometimes it's a good idea to take the road less traveled to reach your goals. :)

I'm Caesar. I am a senior in college this year. I spent my freshman year of high school in a program for future medical professions, but left after the first year. Like Humid I took a few AP classes in High school. In college I started to pursue a degree in History, but changed my mind after a year when I decided Medicine was where I really wanted to be all along. During half of my college career I played in a touring indie band. I love soccer. If you have any questions about almost anything feel free to PM me (bonus points if you are asking about music of football [soccer])!

Welcome to SDN-Aspire. I'm Q, and I'm currently a third year medical student. I am a nontraditional student (meaning that I started medical school when I was over age 30). Before going to med school, I was a synthetic organic chemist; I have a PhD in organic chemistry. I don't have much of a connection to BS/MD programs except that when I was a senior in HS, I applied to one and got rejected. That is a funny story; the short version is that I got into a shouting match with my interviewer. Obviously, arguing with him that vehemently was not the smartest of moves!

I am a student adcom (admissions committee member) at my medical school and can give you some insight into how adcoms choose students. I would also be happy to talk about going to graduate school if any of you think you might be interested in a research career. Before going to medical school, I was a college general chemistry and organic chemistry instructor, so I can give you advice about learning chemistry and succeeding in chemistry classes. After I was rejected from the BS/MD program, I went to a small, very untraditional liberal arts college. If any of you are thinking that a big state U is not the right college setting for you, I'd be happy to talk to you about some of the alternatives.

P.S. I am doing my clinical rotations this year, and some of them have very long hours, including nights and weekends. So please be patient if you PM me and I don't respond right away. I do read and respond to every PM, and I will get back to you as soon as I can. :)

Hi. I'm BloodySurgeon, but you can call me :bullcrap:. At a young age of 16, I took my high school proficiency exam and left High School early. Immediately afterwards, I enrolled at my local community college where I excelled in all my studies and have found my passion to become a physician. Today, I am a senior at a top university about to receive my BA in Psychology. I have finished all my medical school pre-requisites and then some and will be applying to medical school this upcoming year. I am also an emergency medical technician and am on SDN quite frequently.

I am familiar with the ins-and-outs of a pre-med life and can help with questions such as classes, majors, myths, academics, balancing school with fun and questions especially pertaining to the well beloved MCAT. You may PM me with questions at any time and I will try my best to help out.