Need the wisdom of current college students

[One Fine Day]

I know this may belong in high school topics since I'm still in high school, but I'm looking for the opinions of experienced college students who have been through a lot more.

As you are all aware, undergrad admissions are just around the corner for HS seniors like me. Coming up is a very tough decision to make. My dream school is UPenn and I have worked hard throughout HS and have a fairly good chance of acceptance. My ultimate dream, even bigger than this school, however, is my desire to become a doctor.

Here's my question to all of you. Would you recommend me apply to UPenn early decision and increase my chance of acceptance by 2x but sacrifice my chance to apply to combined BA/MD programs like BU (my top program so far)? Or apply normal and risk the big chance of rejection to UPenn and possibly all the BA/MD programs? Is the guarunteed medical school admissions at a school like BU more valuable than an undergrad experience at a top institution like UPenn?

BTW, this is my first post and I really look forward to your thoughtful and insightful responses.

Best Rgds

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[Contrarian]

this sort of topic has been discussed at length before. use the search function, and try the high school forum. people will probably still leave feedback here, but there have already been full discussions, so check it out. best of luck.

 

[One Fine Day]

Thanks! I tried the search many times and came up with nothing. That was actually the reason why I had to make an account: to ask myself since I couldn't dig up anything. If anyone has any links to similar links or personal advice I would appreciate it.

 

[sportsfreak]

do u by any chance attend a Philadelphia public school?

 

[NotSur]

After seeing friends go through these programs, I would advise against them. Don't limit yourself so early. You don't know how you'll feel in a few years. And, if you can get into Penn, you can probably get into med school in a few years. I really don't see the benefit. Good luck!

 

[Contrarian]

Thanks! I tried the search many times and came up with nothing. That was actually the reason why I had to make an account: to ask myself since I couldn't dig up anything. If anyone has any links to similar links or personal advice I would appreciate it.

hmmm, perhaps I was thinking of college confidential threads then.

I think it all depends on your priorities. If you're certain the ultimate goal is to become a doctor, then bs/md deserves serious consideration. That said, make sure you're not just applying to these programs so that you'll get early acceptance to some med school. Make sure this is the med school you want to go to, so take time to consider things like curriculum, culture, and student satisfaction.

 

[Rogue Synapse]

I'll still throw in my opinion, for what it's worth. College is one of the best experiences of your life, and you should use it to make you grow as a person and to prepare you for the future; in your case, potentially medical school. The vast, vast, vast majority of all MDs went to a traditional four-year college and were successfully accepted to a medical school, so it's certainly not like it hurts your chances of becoming a doctor to matriculate at a traditional university (Penn is a great one). There is nothing wrong with going to a combined BA/MD program, but I almost feel like it partially deprives you of your rightful college experience and the chance to explore other potential life paths. I thought I wanted to be a physician in high school, and I still did through college, but I appreciated the opportunity to flirt with other fields on my way. I have several good friends that were premed and developed an unexpected passion for something else because of what they were exposed to in college, even though they certainly had the credentials to easily get accepted to medical school. As I finish my last year of medical school, I wouldn't change a thing about the path I took to get here - I loved every minute. It's not a race to get to the MD. You have all your life to learn and explore medicine; you might as well enjoy the journey and make sure it's what you want to do.

 

[Omni]

Honestly dude, don't miss out on your undergrad experience.
If you're trying to do the accelerated program (3 years undergrad, 4 years med school), keep in mind that you will have almost no time to enjoy with your friends or your time in undergrad. Some of my friends who are in the joint/accelerated program are taking more than 18-19 credits per semester, and when they're done with one exam, they're swept away to start prepping for something else. Although you have the peace of mind that you are accepted into med school, going through all that stress is pretty difficult.

Also, I'm a bet confused with what you're trying to say. Why should applying early decision for one college affect you trying to get into BA/MD program in another college? From what I remember when I was applying, most of those joint programs wanted people to apply through the early decision.

Also, let me give you some insight about what happened to me. I didn't get into the accelerated program in my university, and let me tell you that I was bummed! More than that, I was fearful because I thought that I didn't have any chance and that competition was way to high for me to get anywhere. Although competition is high, very high, if you have the love for being a doctor, like you said, you will work hard enough. When I first started at my university, I was able to work in a lab in a research, then I got an internship at a lab firm, and the good stuff didn't end there. I also ran for a student government position and won, met many deans, wrote many articles for my school newspaper, interviewed many interesting people, and the list goes on. Had I been in the accelerated program, I would not have had time to do any of that. And by keeping my GPA at a 3.7 and still waiting on my mcat (hopefully a 33), I'd say that it was worth not getting into the joint program. Not only did my desire to become a doctor help me achieve the scores I needed, but not being in the accelerated program also gave me the time to enjoy my undergrad.

Life is a journey. The experience is in not from starting undergrad and becoming a doctor, but starting from undergrad and enjoying the path to becoming a doctor.

good luck!

 

[Contrarian]

note that not all bs/md programs are accelerated, though I believe BU's is.

 

[brooklynblunder]

BU's program is pretty expensive. Penn isn't easy to get into, but they are doing finaid reform (no subsidized loans any more + full tuition to students from lower-income households)

anywho, enjoy the 4 years of your undergrad. i did not and i regret that more than anything. if you think going going to a 7 year program to save a year of tuition + facilitate acceptance, then you might as well go all out and go to a state school for cheap and do the 4 years and ace your classes/mcat and get into whatever med school.

people highly estimate the burden of loans too. i had a hs kid working at my lab.... i can tell you that you will grow a LOT in college. although, i guess some people didn't enjoy it. how do you even know you want to be a physician. just because you are smart/can take exams/have no other passions/feel like you are better than others does not mean you will enjoy medicine. take your time to figure yourself out.

 

[One Fine Day]

Thanks for you comments! Everyone on these forums are so helpful and supportive. You're comments have definately made me understand my options better.

There's also a slight misconception. I'm not interested in these combined programs because I want to become a doctor earlier, its just to have a guarunteed acceptance so I can enjoy a normal college experience without worrying about MCATs or GPA. But judging by some comments, it seems as if a combined program makes living a normal college life even harder? Is this what you guys are trying to explain?

 

[Omni]

Yes. Cause with the accelerated program, you don't get to see the light. You're spending most time studying and cramming 8 semesters into 6 semesters. You can get garunteed acceptance other ways.
I didn't make it to the accelerated program, but after my first, I'm not regretting it one bit.
And also, from all this talk on this thread, there's nothing wrong with being in the accelerated program, either. If you can get in, then good for you. You will save yourself the stress of having to maintain a 3.8+ or a 30+ on the MCAT.
Remember, just because you apply doesn't mean you're in. Apply everywhere. normal 4 year undergrad and accelerated programs. when acceptances rain in, then decide what you want to do.

 

[NotSur]

Thanks for you comments! Everyone on these forums are so helpful and supportive. You're comments have definately made me understand my options better.

There's also a slight misconception. I'm not interested in these combined programs because I want to become a doctor earlier, its just to have a guarunteed acceptance so I can enjoy a normal college experience without worrying about MCATs or GPA. But judging by some comments, it seems as if a combined program makes living a normal college life even harder? Is this what you guys are trying to explain?

Yes, because they're accelerated and you're not going through courses in the same way as your friends. Plus, if you do decide to become a doctor, you have your entire life to be completely submerged in medicine. Even if you are a very self-aware 17-year-old, you don't know who you'll be at 22. You probably don't have that much clinical or research experience and even if you do, you'll have more in a few years than you do now to help you decide if you're still in love with medicine.

 

[FlowRate]

Honestly dude, don't miss out on your undergrad experience.
If you're trying to do the accelerated program (3 years undergrad, 4 years med school), keep in mind that you will have almost no time to enjoy with your friends or your time in undergrad. Some of my friends who are in the joint/accelerated program are taking more than 18-19 credits per semester, and when they're done with one exam, they're swept away to start prepping for something else. Although you have the peace of mind that you are accepted into med school, going through all that stress is pretty difficult.

Honestly, that doesn't sound so bad for virtually guaranteed acceptance to a MD school. 18-19 credits of premed stuff per semester is fine. I'm not trying to sound elitist, but I take 17-18 credits of chemical engineering + premed (more science and rough engineering courses) every semester plus 6 credits every summer. It's work, but I don't feel like it's ridiculous, so 18 creds of premed isn't that bad, either.

At my state school, students must keep a 3.5 and score a 27? (25?) on the MCAT to keep their automatic acceptance. Those are relatively "low" requirements! I can't imagine how much stress it would take off of my life if that's what I was shooting for.

 

[brooklynblunder]

honestly, the social aspects will balance out

the OP is right as to the studying rigor wouldn't be as competitive

but that kind of approach to college/life just isnt whats hot anymore. enjoy the challenge. if you go to BA/MD program, you will click with the same group of people

take your time in choosing a major. the major that you pick will direct some of the conversations will you will have in college and the type of ppl. these ppl wont be your best friends forever but its an everyday thing for 4 years. dont commit to medicine just yet. it looks like a nice little privilege but you are making a sacrifice here too.

 

[brooklynblunder]

yea i really don't think workload will be the issue. some schools don't even have a tight check on those students.

i don't think the "social"/free time aspect of it will be an issue


however, as you move from high school to college, you will possible hate the transition. most likely you will at some point. you will hate the amount of work you will have and make some excuse that you wouldnt have as much **** to go through if you studied something else/something more fun. and everyone thinks this way btw

at that time, are you gonna regret your decision to commit to medicine at the age of 17/18 and hate that decision for 3.5 years + of your life?

 

[MilkmanAl]

As you, OP, suspected, this is a topic for hSDN. You'll still get plenty of good info here, and I suggest that you read the combined program FAQ in this forum which can be found here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=6766122#post6766122