Guaranteed Med Program vs Applying in Regular Cycle

[erythropoietin4]

Hey everyone!
I am a rising senior in college who recently got into a guaranteed medical program at a lower tier medical school with an average MCAT around 30. The cost of the medical school is fairly pricey as I am an out-of-stater. I am very grateful for the acceptance, but during the waiting time, I also took the MCAT and received a score of a 37. My GPA is a 3.92, and I have a fair bit of research experience from institutions like Einstein. I am an active EMT-B member and have 100 hours of volunteering from the local hospital. I know there's great security in the program, but does anyone think there's value in applying in the regular pool and getting in somewhere else of a better reputation? If I do apply in the regular pool, I automatically lose my spot in the guaranteed program. How valuable is the medical school ranking affiliated with it in terms of placing into residencies? Obviously, there's a big hassle in applying in the regular pool and no safety medical schools, but in the long run I question whether it's worth it to aim for higher. Thoughts?

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[ChrisMack390]

You have an acceptance. Instead of the most stressful 8 months of your life (so far), take it and run.

If you are a good med student, do well on boards, build solid relationships with your deans, and maybe put out some research, you will match just fine.

 

[deleted577188]

Although you could probably get in at other schools, I'd do exactly what @ChrisMack390 suggested. Don't even put yourself through that much stress and potential disappoinment in applying.

 

[einsteinm]

Normally I would say take the acceptance and run... but a 37 MCAT + 3.9? If you apply early and everything else is there like clinical/non-clinical volunteering, good interviewing skills, and no red flags (LORs, etc), you'd have a great shot at some top schools that could give some money. Thus, I would probably apply out with a 37.

 

[xerei]

A friend of mine was in a 4/4 program with a decent med school. He killed his MCAT, had a great GPA, decided to drop the program and apply, and he got in to a few pretty darn good schools, ended up going to his state school and saved a lot of money.

Just saying, it can work out, but you better have a good reason to drop a guaranteed acceptance.

 

[Banco]

Normally I wouldn't advise this, but since this program isn't your state school, and you have a 37/3.9, and you have solid activities, you may want to play the real game. Chances are you can get into a better school, and where you go to school does matter to some extent.

Realize that you will have to dish out a lot of money during the application year though, so be prepared for that if you do decide to apply in the regular cycle.

 

[doc05]

what school is it? what 's your state of residence?

You should probably apply in the regular cycle, if just to match at your state school and reduce your level of indebtedness.

 

[coffeesnob]

yeah if you know for sure you won't be happy at your guaranteed acceptance school, you can look into applying out. your numbers are really good. like previous posters mentioned, if money is an issue (like it is for 99% of us without trust funds), getting into a decent state school would be a sound financial decision.

 

[ChrisMack390]

AAMC data with your GPA and MCAT gives you jstu a a 90% shot of getting into medical school.

To me, that is a 1 in 10 shot of turning down an acceptance you already have just to be rejected in the regular cycle....

 

[coffeesnob]

Hey everyone!
How valuable is the medical school ranking affiliated with it in terms of placing into residencies? Obviously, there's a big hassle in applying in the regular pool and no safety medical schools, but in the long run I question whether it's worth it to aim for higher. Thoughts?

School ranking is not so important as your board scores and the quality of clinical experience you can get. But if by lower-tier you mean like "unranked" schools, I would really apply out... Especially if you know you want to go into a specific field already (for example, EM), you may choose to go to med school that rotates through a decent EM program. also look into the quality of the pre-clinical education at the school that has accepted you. your quality of life and mental health during med school may depend on those factors.

ask the students at the school that as accepted you. are they happy? is their curriculum organ based? how well do they perform on the boards? do they match well into the speciality of your interest? i know these questions may sound overwhelming if you haven't thought about it.

If your numbers were 30/3.5, i would say just stick to your acceptance. but since your numbers are really good, you have the luxury to look ahead and think about what you want your next ~8 years of life to look like (quality of med school experience + chance at residencies).

 

[coffeesnob]

You have an acceptance. Instead of the most stressful 8 months of your life (so far), take it and run.

If you are a good med student, do well on boards, build solid relationships with your deans, and maybe put out some research, you will match just fine.

I would normally overlook things like this but since I happen to have a lot of free time today, I will comment. Your deans at med school have very little to do with the matching process.

 

[PleaseCallMeDoc]

Im going to assume it is SUNY Upstate's program...?

 

[premed010101]

AAMC data with your GPA and MCAT gives you jstu a a 90% shot of getting into medical school.

To me, that is a 1 in 10 shot of turning down an acceptance you already have just to be rejected in the regular cycle....

Does this data include DO acceptances?

 

[deleted480308]

take the guarantee

 

[235009]

90% of people with your stats get in. You'd think everyone would take those odds but apparently not these extremely risk averse pre-meds!

This is a no brainer to me: drop the guarantee and apply out! Your application process won't be stressful. It'll probably be fun in fact since you'll get plenty of interviews and a choice in where you go.

Your med school matters significantly in the residency match. With a little more time and effort in the application process you can reap noticeable benefits in 4 years. Don't shortchange yourself… realize your potential

 

[GrapesofRath]

If your going to do this target a number of realistic schools which either a) give out merit money(these are largely top schools though) b) have tuition you consider more affordable. Have a very specific plan, perhaps even more so than any generic pre-med applying this cycle. And if you're going to do this, you might as well apply broadly.

The 10% who don't get in are by and large under a few categories a) terrible interviewers(not bad---legitimately terrible if with all the interviews a 3.9/37 generates they can't get into a single school) b) lack of clinical experience c) total lack of service to demonstrate any altruism d) and this is the biggest one applying to a horribly thought out list of schools that is way too top heavy and full of public schools that take few OOS applicants.

If the OP doesn't fall into any of those 4 categories, they're fine for getting in with those stats.

 

[whitemagic]

In any other scenario, I would say to take the acceptance and run. But you have a 37/3.9/great EC's. You could very well get into Harvard/Stanford/Hopkins with these stats. I have a hard time believing that someone who went to Harvard vs SUNY wouldn't have more opportunities and doors opened for them down the road. I say apply, personally.

 

[Dr. Stalker]

Just a few thoughts here:
I've had a lot of family as well as friends get into Direct programs. None of them actually complained that they went to XYZ schoolof medicine and would have gone to <insert top tier here>. They all ended up doing fairly decent residencies (ranging from IM, Pediatrics to Ortho/Diagnostic Radiology). Those were the people who DID take the direct route.

I've had family and friends also reject this and then try to do it the traditional MCAT route.3/5 of them ended up not getting into an MD program (After college) and 1 of them did Carrib the other 2 did DO while those 3 initially had an MD acceptance. Now I'm not saying anything about the different types of degrees,but most people choose MD over DO and these guys had that shot and blew it. Seeing this I say go with the guarantee. Look up the match list at that school. You'll learn a lot from it. Moreover, as everyone mentioned, while the name of the school is important (ie if you go to Harvard Med and are still the lowest ranked student, you'll probably end up fine vs. going to Junkyard School of Medicine in garbagetown USA), you're experience as a med student and boards are important. Students who work hard on the boards go far. Just cause you go to a state school doesn't guarantee your residency at a "State hospital" (disclaimer: that's not a bad thing at all). You'll see med students who do well on Boards, do lots of great research, and end up matching well.

Lastly, I just graduated college (this past may) and a few of my buddies show down direct MD programs to "low tier" medical schools and are now taking 1-2 gap years to try to get into that LOW TIER MEDICAL SCHOOL. These guys were bright too, much like your 37 and 3.9+, these fellas had SAT scores of over 2300 and were all top 10 upon high school graduation (from some rather prestigious and rigorous high schools). College is a different beast. Watch out for the rigor of classes.

Biggest point: The MCAT just changed formats! Your 37 is awesome! You'll probably do good on the NEW MCAT. But why take that risk? Will you get the analog of a 37 on the 528 point scale? Are you prepared to be a guinea pig for this Biochem, CARS, Physical Chem witchcraft mumbo-jumbo new mcat? Comon, simple answer here is go with the guaranteed route.

If you have any questions about specifics (I'm like 99% sure I know which program you're talking about btw ) inbox me and I can let you know some more stuff ! Hope this helped!

 

[oopsaloo]

I'm for taking the guaranteed program. Who knows how the application cycle will turn out (do you have all the right ECs lined up? what if you dont get into any of the schools ranked higher than your current one - wont you really regret it)? and more than that, why take the risk? it's up to you, but i think if you're really keen on higher-ranked programs, aim for those in residency and save the $$$, anxiety, and risk associated with rejecting the guaranteed program. just my $0.02 and what i'd do if i were in your shoes.

 

[panda16]

IF you can afford the cost, both in terms of money (thousands and thousands of dollars) and emotions (this process has been miserable, and I'm not even close to being done even though my primary is verified and MCAT taken), then I would say maybe.

Retrospectively, I would have SO taken a guaranteed program if I had known about them earlier/my school offered it.

 

[dextertrip]

I may be wrong, but as I understand it you would have to indicate that you have been accepted into medical school before on a lot of secondaries....take the acceptance, because that alone may lower your chances of getting in from 90%

 

[unnumzaan]

You're getting to the point of being late for a primary application, which is the biggest problem challenging your cycle. If you can get everything in before mid-July, I would advise you to apply.

People over-estimate the stress/cost of an application cycle. If you are a strong applicant, you will get plenty of interviews and have some fun traveling around the country. The alternative to go to an expensive low-tier school provides no financial incentive anyway.

 

[Lancer]

I may be wrong, but as I understand it you would have to indicate that you have been accepted into medical school before on a lot of secondaries....take the acceptance, because that alone may lower your chances of getting in from 90%

Oh wow I didn't even think of this, yeah that's probably true as well

I would take the acceptance

 

[235009]

I may be wrong, but as I understand it you would have to indicate that you have been accepted into medical school before on a lot of secondaries....take the acceptance, because that alone may lower your chances of getting in from 90%

There's no question that asks that. It asks if you've matriculated. Which you haven't. Besides a guaranteed linkage program is not the same as an acceptance to med school.

The advice in this thread is so awful. Probably because the difficulty of getting into med school is so overhyped. You already have phenomenal 95th percentile stats. This risk averse mentality (along with general laziness) is exactly what these guaranteed programs prey on.

 

[dextertrip]

There's no question that asks that. It asks if you've matriculated. Which you haven't. Besides a guaranteed linkage program is not the same as an acceptance to med school.

Duke's secondary asks if you've ever been accepted. I've only received two secondaries, I imagine a lot more do as well. If you are going to give advice you aren't certain of, you should explain you aren't certain before you give someone advice that could have huge effects on their life. Though I guess anybody that doesn't take forum advice with a grain of salt does so at their own risk

 

[235009]

Duke's secondary asks if you've ever been accepted. I've only received two secondaries, I imagine a lot more do as well. If you are going to give advice you aren't certain of, you should explain you aren't certain before you give someone advice that could have huge effects on their life. Though I guess anybody that doesn't take forum advice with a grain of salt does so at their own risk

You would still be justified in answering no to that question

 

[Psai]

can't tell you what to do, it's up to you to determine whether the risk of not being accepted into medical school is worth trying to get into a subjectively better school

 

[differentiating]

The guaranteed programs I'm aware of don't accept people through AMCAS until later in the cycle, especially if they have GPA requirements that need to be met first. So I'm guessing it probably wouldn't be an issue, assuming this one is similar.

OP, I think you'd likely be fine dropping the acceptance and applying out, assuming your ECs are fine. That being said, it's up to you if you're willing to take the risk/stress of an application cycle - and whether getting into a better/cheaper school is worth it.

 

[NickNaylor]

Duke's secondary asks if you've ever been accepted. I've only received two secondaries, I imagine a lot more do as well. If you are going to give advice you aren't certain of, you should explain you aren't certain before you give someone advice that could have huge effects on their life. Though I guess anybody that doesn't take forum advice with a grain of salt does so at their own risk

Even if you do answer yes, saying that you were accepted to a dual acceptance program is a completely different situation than saying you were accepted to a school in the regular admissions process and did not attend. The former will almost certainly have no negative impact on the OP or others in his/her situation, though one should be prepared to explain why they are applying out and no longer want to attend the institution they were accepted to.