Pre-Med Route

[barsoum.michael]

Hello. I'm a senior in HS and I'm pretty torn between a couple of options for undergrad:

Option 1
I plan to apply to a bunch of BA/MD programs in NY state. I think with my grades and clinical experience (shadowing) I have a great chance of getting in.

Option 2 (if I don't get into a program)
I really don't want to be in debt so I would plan to go to a SUNY (state university of new york) or CUNY (city university of new york) such as SUNY Stonybrook or CUNY Brooklyn for around 2 years then transfer to a more prestigious college such as NYU or Columbia. Then apply to prestigious medical schools from there.

Option 3
I'd go the traditional route through an expensive undergrad such as NYU and apply to alot of prestigious medical schools from there.



I'd take Option 1 any time, any day but what would you do between option 2 and 3. I really want to get into a top 20 medical school so I can try to get into a competitive residency like neurosurgery but at the same time I don't want to be in a half a million dollars of debt

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for helping me out.

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[DesertPT]

You probably don't have any way of really knowing as a high-schooler that you want to be a neurosurgeon. It seems like most everyone posting these threads on hSDN wants to be a neurosurgeon. If I were you I'd just focus on enjoying the rest of my time in high school, getting in to college and getting good grades, while spending as little money as possible. Don't be too obsessed with prestige.

 

[barsoum.michael]

@knj27 thanks for the advice. I shadowed a neurosurgeon over the summer and watched a bunch of surgeries and I completely loved it.

 

[DesertPT]

That's great and it's good that you got to see something you loved. You just have to realize that it will be a minimum of 8 years before you're even in a medical residency. You are almost certainly going to change your mind back and forth a number of times between then and now. For all I know, you probably will be a neurosurgeon someday. But whether you end up following that path or not, prestige is not going to be what gets you into the residency of your choice someday anyway...your STEP scores, grades, research and recommendations are what will matter. But that is years away, focusing on one step of the process at a time will make you happier and give you better results.

 

[barsoum.michael]

Thanks for those wise words. I presume your in/finished with med school?

That's great and it's good that you got to see something you loved. You just have to realize that it will be a minimum of 8 years before you're even in a medical residency. You are almost certainly going to change your mind back and forth a number of times between then and now. For all I know, you probably will be a neurosurgeon someday. But whether you end up following that path or not, prestige is not going to be what gets you into the residency of your choice someday anyway...your STEP scores, grades, research and recommendations are what will matter. But that is years away, focusing on one step of the process at a time will make you happier and give you better results.

 

[Nave]

What exactly is your question?

 

[DesertPT]

Thanks for those wise words. I presume your in/finished with med school?

Nope haha, starting PT school in the fall. But I spent a long time considering all the various healthcare pathways before settling on my choice, and definitely learned a lot about health care and health care education in the process.

Being a part-time professional SDN lurker helps too

 

[Doctor Dream]

That's great and it's good that you got to see something you loved. You just have to realize that it will be a minimum of 8 years before you're even in a medical residency. You are almost certainly going to change your mind back and forth a number of times between then and now. For all I know, you probably will be a neurosurgeon someday. But whether you end up following that path or not, prestige is not going to be what gets you into the residency of your choice someday anyway...your STEP scores, grades, research and recommendations are what will matter. But that is years away, focusing on one step of the process at a time will make you happier and give you better results.

I'm just a junior in undergrad OP but I really think what this guy's saying is good advice. Take your journey one step at a time, focus on doing well in undergrad first and set yourself up for success. If I were you, I'd save the most money I can. I'd actually consider going to your state school all 4 years to save the most money. Your 4-year college's prestige isn't that big of a factor in medical school admissions. Do yourself a favor and save some dough.

As far residency choice and stuff, things can definitely change, what you like now you may decide isn't for you later. I personally can tell you my career path has changed a lot throughout just 2 years undergrad. I went from wanting to be a pharmacist to dentist to podiatrist to FM doc to OB/GYN to pediatrician, and now I've just accepted I don't need to decide exactly, just know that I want to be a medical doctor. Medical school is the time to look at residency choices. Undergrad is the time to focus on medical school admission.

Hope that at least kind of helps

 

[DesertPT]

If I were you, I'd save the most money I can.

Amen. Student debt may seem like an abstract concept now but trust me, once you owe a ton from undergrad and you still have grad school to go, you will most likely look back and wish you would have found a way to not spend so much money on college.

 

[Doctor Dream]

Amen. Student debt may seem like an abstract concept now but trust me, once you owe a ton from undergrad and you still have grad school to go, you will most likely look back and wish you would have found a way to not spend so much money on college.

For sure, 80k of debt from undergrad is a heck of a lot better than 120k+ you'd be getting from private colleges. I've lived with my parents throughout my undergrad, only have had to pay tuition and haven't had to take out loans yet. Living at home Friday and Saturday nights can be dull but believe me, no debt is a nice feeling. I don't go to a prestigious school by any means, but like we mentioned earlier, school prestige really doesn't matter with admission.

Bottom line, save as much money as possible. Your future self will thank you.

 

[barsoum.michael]

Wow. Thanks so much for the advice. I'm thinking now I'll go to my state school unless I win a bunch of scholarships then I'll probably go to NYU

 

[dkr34]

I want to discourage applying to BA/MD programs because, unlike at a four year university, you cannot change your mind about this career choice? How do you know for sure that you want to become a physician and be challenged like never before in a combined BA/MD program? I know of a couple of people at Brown's BA/MD program who, if they could do it all over again, would choose to go the traditional route of attending a four year university then applying to medical school.

Best of luck!

 

[el_duderino]

Just do your undergrad at a good SUNY school. Save your money.