Leaving a BS/MD program?

[insert_username_here]

Hey everyone--this may be a lengthier post so I apologize

I'll preface by saying that this would be a personal decision I'd make away from the internet, but I was curious if anyone knew somebody who did this or what your general thoughts would be:

I just finished my first semester at a BS/MD program, and I'm doing pretty well from an academic standpoint. I should be getting a 4.0 GPA this semester without working too hard, and I've gotten involved in a few clubs including a solid leadership position. I have about 50~ clinical volunteer hours, a poster presentation, and a new research position that I'm starting in a couple weeks, which is great.

But here's the problem: I never wanted to go to this college at all. My parents pretty much pushed me into applying BS/MD so I could "be doctor" or whatever in the fastest and (arguably) easiest way possible. I went along with it during the application process, both because I'm also interested in medicine but also just to keep them happy. I also applied to Ivies and other top colleges, so I felt BS/MD would be a solid plan if I didn't get into those.

After decisions came out, I was fortunate enough to be in the Ivy/T10 vs. BS/MD dilemma. At that point, I became a lot more adamant about wanting to pursue the traditional route, as I really wanted the experiences, connections, and flexibility that come with getting a world-class education. Besides, the only BS/MD that accepted me (which I now attend) isn't one of the well-known ones like Case or Brown. The undergrad is ranked pretty low (well below 100 by every source) but still costs $50K+ a year, whereas the medical school fluctuates between unranked and sub-75.

Of course, my parents did what any sensible parent would do: threaten to not pay any tuition if I turned down the BS/MD. I was obviously pretty upset at that, since they had always told me that I would have reasonable autonomy in making my college decision. Finances were certainly not the issue here, either. If they were, I would've happily turned down everything to go to a state school on a full ride.

Basically, I ended up taking the BS/MD to avoid all the familial blackmail, but I really regret it. My current college is honestly pretty boring and mostly a suburban commuter school, so there's not really a sense of community. I've met some great people, but this will probably get worse after this year when everyone moves off-campus. There are a few majors that the school is actually really good at, but the BS/MD prevents me from taking those.

At this point, I'm really debating transferring out of the program and attending a top undergrad (assuming I can get in again) as a traditional student. I don't really want to spend the next 8 years of my life living within driving distance of my home in the middle of nowhere. I just want to experience the "real world," as opposed to living alone in a dorm/suburban apartment through my 20s, just for a guarantee somewhere that may not even suit my career interests in 3-4 years. I've talked with my folks, and they do kinda agree with my sentiment.

The issue, of course, is deciding whether this would be worth sacrificing my current leadership positions, research, etc., as well as taking a possible GPA hit by transferring to a more rigorous institution a year in. I guess I could just suck it up, or I can make myself a competitive applicant to apply to other medical schools in a few years (I would be kicked out of the program for applying to other med schools).

Thanks for the feedback!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[deleted1136042]

Hmm.. I'm a first year undergrad at a T20 university, so I may not be much of help but can provide my perspective from the other side. I also have research this semester, as well as two leadership positions in health related on-campus organizations. Although my last final is tomorrow, I probably will end with a 4.0, though contrary to you, I spent a good deal of time on academics & found it slightly difficult but doable.

I believe you shouldn't switch out of the BS/MD. If your goal is medicine, you pretty much are guaranteed the MD. Though I'm neurotic (if I say so myself), I have to worry about getting into a medical school, the stress of formulating a narrative and characterization of myself in an application that's only 2.5 years away. I typically think about and stress myself out about this at least once a week, even though my school boasts 50%+ acceptance and is a massive feeder to T20 med. It's the uncertainty that provides another level of stress I wish I didn't have - a stress you won't have to worry about as someone attending the BS/MD.

The other thing I want to touch upon is your impression of a traditional student: "I just want to experience the 'real world,' as opposed to living alone in a dorm/suburban apartment through my 20s." Even if you transfer, you will still live in the dorms/ apartment throughout your college career. Your social life depends more on you than your school - you just have to meet the right people. Sometimes I wish I had attended a school within driving distance to home like UCLA, as there are many things that can come up - you deal with sickness by yourself, scheduling without the help of parents, etc. Chasing prestige does not always work out, hope you keep that in mind. Wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

 

[Goro]

If you transfer out, will your parents still continue to pay your tuition?

 

[GoSpursGo]

At this point I see little advantage to transferring out, if it's even a realistic option. If you really want to chase prestige, you're likely better off just making yourself the strongest applicant you can be from your current institution, take the MCAT, and then if you have the stats of a highly competitive applicant apply to higher tier schools.

I will also comment that undergrad literally doesn't matter. If you want "connections," you want to get those in med school, and even moreso in residency and/or fellowship. For comparison, my mentor who has generated over $40M in extramural funding over the course of their career came from certainly a not-brand-name undergrad.

 

[TransformerInWestVirginia]

Hopefully this does not come off as mean or rude, as it is not my intention.
You are young, too young to see the downsides of such a poor decision, probably in part due to the biology of humans (brain not fully developing, blah, blah, blah). Going the traditional route is definitely not a good choice seeing as how (like what was said above) you are guaranteed to be a physician.

You can most likely get into medical school the traditional route seeing as how you have to be really smart/hard working to be able to land BSMD, but why the risk? Trust me the "traditional route" sucks piranha intestines.

 

[insert_username_here]

If you transfer out, will your parents still continue to pay your tuition?

Now they would. I'm fortunate to come from a pretty privileged background, and I'm already quite grateful at them contributing for the BS/MD, don't get me wrong. One of the reasons I went the way I did was because since they were paying, I wanted to keep them content.

Ultimately, I would have no debt with the BS/MD program, even after medical school. Other undergrads/med schools would be more expensive, but I'd still graduate medical school with 100-150K in debt if I were to leave and go traditional path.

 

[insert_username_here]

Hopefully this does not come off as mean or rude, as it is not my intention.
You are young, too young to see the downsides of such a poor decision, probably in part due to the biology of humans (brain not fully developing, blah, blah, blah). Going the traditional route is definitely not a good choice seeing as how (like what was said above) you are guaranteed to be a physician.

You can most likely get into medical school the traditional route seeing as how you have to be really smart/hard working to be able to land BSMD, but why the risk? Trust me the "traditional route" sucks piranha intestines.

Not rude at all, totally valid. I appreciate the honesty

 

[insert_username_here]

At this point I see little advantage to transferring out, if it's even a realistic option. If you really want to chase prestige, you're likely better off just making yourself the strongest applicant you can be from your current institution, take the MCAT, and then if you have the stats of a highly competitive applicant apply to higher tier schools.

I will also comment that undergrad literally doesn't matter. If you want "connections," you want to get those in med school, and even moreso in residency and/or fellowship. For comparison, my mentor who has generated over $40M in extramural funding over the course of their career came from certainly a not-brand-name undergrad.

This was my plan in case I stayed, though I'm less worried about med school prestige and more about being at a good-fitting school, if that makes sense.

My only concern with this was whether my undergrad's lack of brand/name would weigh me down in the admissions process. We send at most a couple of kids to med school each year outside the BS/MD. I honestly find it weird that we have one of these programs anyway, since we barely have premeds and the med school isn't affiliated or even near the campus.

 

[insert_username_here]

Hmm.. I'm a first year undergrad at a T20 university, so I may not be much of help but can provide my perspective from the other side. I also have research this semester, as well as two leadership positions in health related on-campus organizations. Although my last final is tomorrow, I probably will end with a 4.0, though contrary to you, I spent a good deal of time on academics & found it slightly difficult but doable.

I believe you shouldn't switch out of the BS/MD. If your goal is medicine, you pretty much are guaranteed the MD. Though I'm neurotic (if I say so myself), I have to worry about getting into a medical school, the stress of formulating a narrative and characterization of myself in an application that's only 2.5 years away. I typically think about and stress myself out about this at least once a week, even though my school boasts 50%+ acceptance and is a massive feeder to T20 med. It's the uncertainty that provides another level of stress I wish I didn't have - a stress you won't have to worry about as someone attending the BS/MD.

The other thing I want to touch upon is your impression of a traditional student: "I just want to experience the 'real world,' as opposed to living alone in a dorm/suburban apartment through my 20s." Even if you transfer, you will still live in the dorms/ apartment throughout your college career. Your social life depends more on you than your school - you just have to meet the right people. Sometimes I wish I had attended a school within driving distance to home like UCLA, as there are many things that can come up - you deal with sickness by yourself, scheduling without the help of parents, etc. Chasing prestige does not always work out, hope you keep that in mind. Wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

I appreciate the feedback! One of the reasons I went to SDN (as opposed to keeping this to myself/my family) was to get insight from students currently in that position, so thanks for that.

I have some friends at other schools who have said this, too. The whole "grass is greener" effect is something I will consider.

 

[GoSpursGo]

This was my plan in case I stayed, though I'm less worried about med school prestige and more about being at a good-fitting school, if that makes sense.

My only concern with this was whether my undergrad's lack of brand/name would weigh me down in the admissions process. We send at most a couple of kids to med school each year outside the BS/MD. I honestly find it weird that we have one of these programs anyway, since we barely have premeds and the med school isn't affiliated or even near the campus.

I think you are calling “prestige” by a name that makes you feel better about choosing the course of action you want to take 🙂The “best fit” med school is the one that accepts you. I can’t tell you the number of stories we see every spring from 3.9/522 students who are disappointed they “only” got into their state school. We caution students about applying out of their BS/MD after 3 years unless they are significantly above the bell curve and very likely to get better interviews. Opting out of a guaranteed MD after one semester, if you are certain you want to be a doctor, would be legitimately indefensible and foolish.

It is possible that not being at Harvard might hurt you when it comes to applying to the shiniest of the ivory towers. But if your app is strong you will be competitive for very good schools regardless. I would not make a move based on what you think might help you slightly at a very small subset of potential medical schools

 

[ese2]

Everyone here makes good points, but what you said about not being happy at your current undergrad sticks out to me. Especially since you'll be in the same town for nearly a decade. You are obviously very smart and hard-working to even get into a BS/MD and I believe you'll have what it takes to get into med school the traditional route. To me, happiness is the number 1 priority and if you want a more traditional college experience, I don't see why transferring is a bad idea. I had to make a similar choice out of high school and chose the school that was the best fit for me and it worked out better than I could've imagined.

 

[purrrxoxo]

Hey everyone--this may be a lengthier post so I apologize

I'll preface by saying that this would be a personal decision I'd make away from the internet, but I was curious if anyone knew somebody who did this or what your general thoughts would be:

I just finished my first semester at a BS/MD program, and I'm doing pretty well from an academic standpoint. I should be getting a 4.0 GPA this semester without working too hard, and I've gotten involved in a few clubs including a solid leadership position. I have about 50~ clinical volunteer hours, a poster presentation, and a new research position that I'm starting in a couple weeks, which is great.

But here's the problem: I never wanted to go to this college at all. My parents pretty much pushed me into applying BS/MD so I could "be doctor" or whatever in the fastest and (arguably) easiest way possible. I went along with it during the application process, both because I'm also interested in medicine but also just to keep them happy. I also applied to Ivies and other top colleges, so I felt BS/MD would be a solid plan if I didn't get into those.

After decisions came out, I was fortunate enough to be in the Ivy/T10 vs. BS/MD dilemma. At that point, I became a lot more adamant about wanting to pursue the traditional route, as I really wanted the experiences, connections, and flexibility that come with getting a world-class education. Besides, the only BS/MD that accepted me (which I now attend) isn't one of the well-known ones like Case or Brown. The undergrad is ranked pretty low (well below 100 by every source) but still costs $50K+ a year, whereas the medical school fluctuates between unranked and sub-75.

Of course, my parents did what any sensible parent would do: threaten to not pay any tuition if I turned down the BS/MD. I was obviously pretty upset at that, since they had always told me that I would have reasonable autonomy in making my college decision. Finances were certainly not the issue here, either. If they were, I would've happily turned down everything to go to a state school on a full ride.

Basically, I ended up taking the BS/MD to avoid all the familial blackmail, but I really regret it. My current college is honestly pretty boring and mostly a suburban commuter school, so there's not really a sense of community. I've met some great people, but this will probably get worse after this year when everyone moves off-campus. There are a few majors that the school is actually really good at, but the BS/MD prevents me from taking those.

At this point, I'm really debating transferring out of the program and attending a top undergrad (assuming I can get in again) as a traditional student. I don't really want to spend the next 8 years of my life living within driving distance of my home in the middle of nowhere. I just want to experience the "real world," as opposed to living alone in a dorm/suburban apartment through my 20s, just for a guarantee somewhere that may not even suit my career interests in 3-4 years. I've talked with my folks, and they do kinda agree with my sentiment.

The issue, of course, is deciding whether this would be worth sacrificing my current leadership positions, research, etc., as well as taking a possible GPA hit by transferring to a more rigorous institution a year in. I guess I could just suck it up, or I can make myself a competitive applicant to apply to other medical schools in a few years (I would be kicked out of the program for applying to other med schools).

Thanks for the feedback!

Do you lose your spot in the program if you choose to take the MCAT/apply out?

 

[insert_username_here]

Do you lose your spot in the program if you choose to take the MCAT/apply out?

While the MCAT isn't required, I'm allowed to take it without risking my spot.

I'd be kicked out for applying to other med schools, though

 

[insert_username_here]

Everyone here makes good points, but what you said about not being happy at your current undergrad sticks out to me. Especially since you'll be in the same town for nearly a decade. You are obviously very smart and hard-working to even get into a BS/MD and I believe you'll have what it takes to get into med school the traditional route. To me, happiness is the number 1 priority and if you want a more traditional college experience, I don't see why transferring is a bad idea. I had to make a similar choice out of high school and chose the school that was the best fit for me and it worked out better than I could've imagined.

Thank you for sharing! Silver lining is that the MD is in a different city altogether, so that change in scenery is something I can look forward to down the road.

 

[purrrxoxo]

While the MCAT isn't required, I'm allowed to take it without risking my spot.

I'd be kicked out for applying to other med schools, though

As someone who I applied out of my direct med, I suggest maybe take the MCAT, see how you do, and assess the competitiveness of your total app. Based on that, apply out.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I commiserate with you on the cultural and familial issues. I would stay and then take a good look at the HPSP or NHSC. Kick butt on your classes and what resources you do have, including any chances to do study abroad or a serious wilderness opportunity. Get out of your comfort zone and learn to stand for yourself.

 

[insert_username_here]

I commiserate with you on the cultural and familial issues. I would stay and then take a good look at the HPSP or NHSC. Kick butt on your classes and what resources you do have, including any chances to do study abroad or a serious wilderness opportunity. Get out of your comfort zone and learn to stand for yourself.

Interesting, thank you! Any reasons why you mention the HPSP and NHSC specifically?

 

[insert_username_here]

I think you are calling “prestige” by a name that makes you feel better about choosing the course of action you want to take 🙂The “best fit” med school is the one that accepts you. I can’t tell you the number of stories we see every spring from 3.9/522 students who are disappointed they “only” got into their state school. We caution students about applying out of their BS/MD after 3 years unless they are significantly above the bell curve and very likely to get better interviews. Opting out of a guaranteed MD after one semester, if you are certain you want to be a doctor, would be legitimately indefensible and foolish.

It is possible that not being at Harvard might hurt you when it comes to applying to the shiniest of the ivory towers. But if your app is strong you will be competitive for very good schools regardless. I would not make a move based on what you think might help you slightly at a very small subset of potential medical schools

Thank you for the advice! I especially appreciate your insight on how other premed/med students have fared in past cycles--you all know more than I do about this.

I don't mean to sound ungrateful in any capacity. It's just hard to put into words or even describe what I want in this stage. I'll be frank, my family is quite toxic/borderline abusive in many ways, and it's difficult to differentiate their dreams from my own aspirations. I really enjoy medicine, but I just really wish I could go to college like any normal person, try out some of the other fields that fascinate me, and go from there. In a sense, prestige at the undergrad level really would have given me that flexibility--all those doors would've stayed open.

I will agree with your broader sentiment, however. Especially in my situation, I doubt that switching colleges will ultimately change any of these problems. Maybe it's a good thing that they aren't breathing down my neck as much now that I'm here (albeit I still get some shade for not going to a "nicer" program, but I guess you can't make everyone happy). I'll likely remain at my current college, survive, and reevaluate after the MCAT in that case.

Having a virtual guarantee to an MD school is an amazing opportunity that I don't want to take for granted. That being said, the fact that these programs exist is a little predatory in my eyes. As rigorous as the entry process is, these schools understand that they are marketing to 17/18 year olds who have that added familial pressure, and it's not like there's much they can do at such young an age.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Thank you for the advice! I especially appreciate your insight on how other premed/med students have fared in past cycles--you all know more than I do about this.

I don't mean to sound ungrateful in any capacity. It's just hard to put into words or even describe what I want in this stage. I'll be frank, my family is quite toxic/borderline abusive in many ways, and it's difficult to differentiate their dreams from my own aspirations. I really enjoy medicine, but I just really wish I could go to college like any normal person, try out some of the other fields that fascinate me, and go from there. In a sense, prestige at the undergrad level really would have given me that flexibility--all those doors would've stayed open.

I will agree with your broader sentiment, however. Especially in my situation, I doubt that switching colleges will ultimately change any of these problems. Maybe it's a good thing that they aren't breathing down my neck as much now that I'm here (albeit I still get some shade for not going to a "nicer" program, but I guess you can't make everyone happy). I'll likely remain at my current college, survive, and reevaluate after the MCAT in that case.

Having a virtual guarantee to an MD school is an amazing opportunity that I don't want to take for granted. That being said, the fact that these programs exist is a little predatory in my eyes. As rigorous as the entry process is, these schools understand that they are marketing to 17/18 year olds who have that added familial pressure, and it's not like there's much they can do at such young an age.

Completely agree with and sympathize with you. It is a pity that your family pushed this career path on you if you're not truly convinced that this is your passion, and if you really feel like you are heading down a path that will make you unhappy then you should turn back now rather than after you sink many more years into this. Medicine is a very rewarding field if you love what you do, but it is not the only field where you can find fulfilment.

But if you DO think the end-game is likely to still be going to med school, then I think you should hang tight and stay where you are. Finding out if the grass is greener on the other side is not worth risking your current acceptance, and you have plenty of chances ahead of you to change your experience.

Good luck.

 

[texasvandy]

It all depends on what you have on your resume including your mcat score if you want to apply out.

I have come across students who were not fully vested in MD who quit their low ranked undergrad schools and applied out as transfers and never applied for medicine.

I know people who were in combined programs but applied out to get into much higher ranked med schools. They vary from VCU to Rice/Baylor. Some of these transfers exactly based on your type of situations where they got into highly ranked undergrads but parents pushed them to take the safe route.

There are people who went to T5 schools and couldn't crack MD and went to Caribbean or DO schools.
There are people who went from unranked undergrad to T10 med schools.

So it all depends on what you made of your opportunities during undergrad.

 

[insert_username_here]

It all depends on what you have on your resume including your mcat score if you want to apply out.

I have come across students who were not fully vested in MD who quit their low ranked undergrad schools and applied out as transfers and never applied for medicine.

I know people who were in combined programs but applied out to get into much higher ranked med schools. They vary from VCU to Rice/Baylor. Some of these transfers exactly based on your type of situations where they got into highly ranked undergrads but parents pushed them to take the safe route.

There are people who went to T5 schools and couldn't crack MD and went to Caribbean or DO schools.
There are people who went from unranked undergrad to T10 med schools.

So it all depends on what you made of your opportunities during undergrad.

That all makes sense. I should clarify that I'm still in my freshman year, so I haven't taken the MCAT or anything. I'm trying to get a great resume/track record here in college building off everything I did in HS, but it's still very early for me. Only time will tell

 

[texasvandy]

That all makes sense. I should clarify that I'm still in my freshman year, so I haven't taken the MCAT or anything. I'm trying to get a great resume/track record here in college building off everything I did in HS, but it's still very early for me. Only time will tell

RIght. I would advise a transfer only if you are unsure about medicine and want to keep an open mind about other careers and you can start at a higher level or more well known companies when attending a top tier school for probably similar tuition you are already paying. Otherwise, do well in school, acquire lots of ECs, do well in MCAT and then you can apply out.

 

[insert_username_here]

Another point that I wanted to bring up, although this is tangential. I'm on track to graduate college in three years, though my program is eight years (4+4) and prohibits advancing to the medical school early.

If I stay with the program and graduate early, I'm thinking about pursuing an MBA in that extra year.

If I ever decide to apply out, I was wondering what medical schools think about applicants who graduated early. My AP credits knocked out a lot of the gen-ed courses I was supposed to take, but I'm still taking all the typical prerequisites here at college. Is this seen as immature in any sense? I may decide to spend that year doing clinical/research stuff instead for the heck of it.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Another point that I wanted to bring up, although this is tangential. I'm on track to graduate college in three years, though my program is eight years (4+4) and prohibits advancing to the medical school early.

If I stay with the program and graduate early, I'm thinking about pursuing an MBA in that extra year.

If I ever decide to apply out, I was wondering what medical schools think about applicants who graduated early. My AP credits knocked out a lot of the gen-ed courses I was supposed to take, but I'm still taking all the typical prerequisites here at college. Is this seen as immature in any sense? I may decide to spend that year doing clinical/research stuff instead for the heck of it.

An MBA will not help you get into med school, and will only help you professionally if you actually have a plan for how to use it.

Honestly, students who graduate early almost never are ready to apply directly into med school. Not a direct "bias" against them, but more because those applicants typically just haven't accrued the kinds of ECs necessary to be competitive applicants. So if you're not able to get a head start on med school, the primary advantage is that you save a year's worth of undergrad tuition. However, in your case: 1) paying for undergrad doesn't seem to be a problem; and 2) missing out on the "college experience" wouldn't be a problem that is solved by graduating earlier.

 

[texasvandy]

Another point that I wanted to bring up, although this is tangential. I'm on track to graduate college in three years, though my program is eight years (4+4) and prohibits advancing to the medical school early.

If I stay with the program and graduate early, I'm thinking about pursuing an MBA in that extra year.

If I ever decide to apply out, I was wondering what medical schools think about applicants who graduated early. My AP credits knocked out a lot of the gen-ed courses I was supposed to take, but I'm still taking all the typical prerequisites here at college. Is this seen as immature in any sense? I may decide to spend that year doing clinical/research stuff instead for the heck of it.

Where will you pursue your MBA? People who work on MBA dont usually apply out. Many do this at Texas Tech.

 

[insert_username_here]

An MBA will not help you get into med school, and will only help you professionally if you actually have a plan for how to use it.

Honestly, students who graduate early almost never are ready to apply directly into med school. Not a direct "bias" against them, but more because those applicants typically just haven't accrued the kinds of ECs necessary to be competitive applicants. So if you're not able to get a head start on med school, the primary advantage is that you save a year's worth of undergrad tuition. However, in your case: 1) paying for undergrad doesn't seem to be a problem; and 2) missing out on the "college experience" wouldn't be a problem that is solved by graduating earlier.

Sounds good, thank you. The MBA option is something I'd pursue if I decide to stay in the BS/MD and matriculate to the affiliated medical school. It's something I would do out of personal interest/plan to use later on!

Your points are valid. I have a lot to think about going down the road--I'll probably do some more soul-searching over winter break.

 

[insert_username_here]

Where will you pursue your MBA? People who work on MBA dont usually apply out. Many do this at Texas Tech.

The medical school has an MD/MBA program where students receive an MBA in the year immediately before entering medical school. The BS/MD encourages students graduating a year early to apply, and quite a few have done so successfully. This is more suited if I decide to stick with the BS/MD and matriculate to their med school--just laying out another possibility

 

[texasvandy]

The medical school has an MD/MBA program where students receive an MBA in the year immediately before entering medical school. The BS/MD encourages students graduating a year early to apply, and quite a few have done so successfully. This is more suited if I decide to stick with the BS/MD and matriculate to their med school--just laying out another possibility

Doing an MBA makes most sense if you have the option to do it this way and very hard to go find it separate from the BS/MD school in a gap year. I have seen several Texas Tech BS/MDs get an MBA precisely because they completed in 3 years and med school wont let them in but they continued with an MBA at Texas tech to kill the 4th year.

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

You need only to look at your own words for the answer. You care more about becoming an adult and socializing than you do about your medical career. Which is totally understandable and fine and honest. In understanding this you will be a decade ahead of your peers who never figure themselves out and wash out of their careers or have severe mental health issues.

I would advise you to transfer out and consider medicine later in life once you have things figured out.

Or, devote yourself now to making those improvements to yourself where you are now: making the most of your current situation. I guarantee you that there are tons of cool people and activities in your area. If not, start them.

You will be able to devote twice as much time to them than you would at a higher school because you already have an MD acceptance.

Best wishes!

 

[LunaOri]

Perhaps use that extra year as a gap year to explore—get a job in another city, or travel abroad.

 

[californiadreamin23]

I turned down a combined program my senior year of high school thinking that I would one day desire attending a Top 20 med school. In the end, I went to the same state medical school I would’ve gone to if I had taken the offer.

 

[texasvandy]

I turned down a combined program my senior year of high school thinking that I would one day desire attending a Top 20 med school. In the end, I went to the same state medical school I would’ve gone to if I had taken the offer.

Did you like the undergrad you went to though?

Most people end up in their state schools even after attending places like Harvard and Stanford.

 

[californiadreamin23]

Did you like the undergrad you went to though?

Most people end up in their state schools even after attending places like Harvard and Stanford.

More or less

 

[Med Ed]

Of course, my parents did what any sensible parent would do: threaten to not pay any tuition if I turned down the BS/MD. I was obviously pretty upset at that, since they had always told me that I would have reasonable autonomy in making my college decision. Finances were certainly not the issue here, either. If they were, I would've happily turned down everything to go to a state school on a full ride.

Basically, I ended up taking the BS/MD to avoid all the familial blackmail, but I really regret it.

There is significant long-term upside to the situation, which is that you'll always have something to hold over your parents later in life. You can remind them of this blackmail when you're putting them in a home. You'll also know to treat your own kids better.

It's all about accentuating the positive.