Hey skiracer,
I didn't do linkage, but I know a bunch of people who did (from Columbia postbacc) and got in. Most of them had to take the MCAT, although even if you didn't
have to you would probably want to anyway, since if you don't get in you'll have to go through the normal application process.
Overall it seems that linkage here isn't too tough, but I think that lots of people avoid it since A) it pushes everything up, which means that you'll be doing your application and interviews during the same semester as Orgo II/Bio II/MCAT, and B) the range of schools is pretty limited (e.g. none of the Manhattan schools), so many people want to try to apply to some other places with different locations, better rankings/research, etc.
IMO it's a good option if you're sure you want to go to one of the schools, but I think the whole issue of skipping the third year is a little bit overrated. The lag year is actually pretty fun if you play it right (I just started mine), and it gives you a last chance to wind down and have fun before you start med school while still doing something interesting. I guess that's one of the good things about this program - when you see lots of people who are in their late 20's/early 30's, you don't feel so bad about being a couple of years older than the undergrad premeds
. It's obviously a lot more expensive to do all of the applications/secondaries/interviews, but I think it's worth it to not lock yourself into a place that you're not sure of.
If you're really interested, you should hunt down one of the advisors (if there are any left at this point
) and talk to them. They also have some sort of information session at some point where you can learn everything about it.
