prospective 7-year DO student

[sarah j.]

Hey everyone, i've been reading your posts, and i just figured this was as good a place as any to get some advise. I'm only a high school senior, and i just got accepted into NYCOM, 7-year program...but like many other kids, i also got into the average 4-year bs schools, so now i'm confused as to what to do....does anyone have any advise? Should i just go to the 7-year NYCOM, get out a year earlier than most other kids do, and even take that x-tra year to do a fellowship?
or do you think i should attend the average 4 year schoool, and then apply to DO/MD schools....

I'll take any advise i can get

email: [email protected] OR [email protected]
thanks

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[mpp]

Here is what I would do:

Go to a four-year institution at some place you've always wanted to live. Major in anything you care to, but take the pre-med requirements as well. When finished, join the Peace Corps or do some other humanitarian service for several years somewhere in the world you've always wanted to go. Then travel on your own for a year. Then work for a while -- a year or two -- in some field that interests you. Then go back to medicine. Substitute or add any other amazing things you've always wanted to do in that time period.

Medicine will always be there. The choice to do all these other things might not be. There is little worse in the world than feeling regret later in life.

 

[OzFan321]

Hi Sarah,

I too, am in the same place you are in. I was also accepted into the NYIT BS/DO program with NYCOM. I was very excited about the program and there is a pretty good chance that I will be attending there next fall. (That depends on a couple of factors). Overall, I have heard from students in the program that it is challenging, but that they learn a lot and it is an enjoyable experience. Also, I have a brother going the four year, regular route at a very tough pre-med school and from what I see, take this chance and RUN (don't walk) to it! I see that you are from Roslyn, which is very close to the school, so commuting there would not be a problem. I have been reading the posts on this site since September, and while many people say, (go the regular route), it seems that if your overall goal is to become a practicing physician, this would a good way to go. If you have any further questions, send me a message and I can e-mail you with info. that I have on the program.

-OzFan321

 

[sarah j.]

hey, ozfan321...my dad says that same things that you've said..thats its soo much harder to go the other way, and if i can avoid the pain then i should...do you just have friends in the program? or did you somehow find a way to contact random people?? I'd really appreciate it if you could email me whatever info you have...every bit helps..

thanks again

 

[Boo Boo]

No no no. My advice, you do the four year thing. It's so much more fun. You live a life. With those accelerated programs all you do is study. You're only young once. Enjoy it!!!! Go to a big name school where the academics are great, but so are social events (ie Frat parties and the such) and sports (major conference in football and Bball). Also big name schools give you a better oppurtunity to become a more rounded person by offering more activities with bigger contacts. In other words, 4 year big name schools are the way to go. You're 18-22 once. Live it, love it, and want more of it, because as nice as it is to be in med school, it sucks. You're not going to get any dumber, so chances are, you'll be able to get into med school after the four years as long as you keep your head on straight. That's the big reason to go four years.

Now, other reasons: I heard it's too much too fast, you can't absorb everything and therefore you aren't prepared when you get into med school. Then you fail out. Bad. Another reason: what if you don't want to be a doctor anymore? You may think you want to be a doc now, and that may be true, but no offense, you're only 17-18, you don't know jack. Maybe you want to be a...poet (bare with me here). But since you're stuck at NYIT, the closest thing to poems that you'll get is Kings Play Cards On Fat Green Stools. And i'm just scratching the surface here.

Go Big East, or Big Ten, or ACC (the way to go Baby!). Fun, fun, fun, and fairly good educations, unless it's the ACC where you only get the best! just my 2 cents, times 10.

Boo

 

[Detroit Mick]

Personally, I would go to a 4-year college over the 7-year program at NYCOM. Not only will it be more fun but your academic interests might change too. You don't want to be stuck in something that you don't like. You will be allowed to explore more options at a 4-year school and not just focus in on biomedical sciences. You could go study aboard and things of that nature at a 4-your college/university. You can always apply to MD/DO programs after the 4 years anyways. The safety of already being admitted into a DO program is definitely tempting but you are obviously a good student, so I am willing to bet you'll be able to gain admissions into either a MD/DO program after 4 or 5 years.

If it was me, I'd do my fours at a college/university, take a year off to do the application thing, and then start medical school. You won't regard the year off in between the two either.

Good luck with whatever you decide. :wink:

 

[Dr JPH]

4 years of college can have a big difference in a persons' life.

I wouldn't have given up the last 4 years for anything.

Most college graduates probably feel the same.

Life is short and so is college. Enjoy both while you can.

 

[sliceOheaven]

I concur with JPHazelton. You should delay the real world as much as possible.

I think that the 7 year program requires great maturity and focus. If you are going to do it you better be absolutely sure that want to be in medicine.

I know that I would not nearly be as prepared for med school without my fourth year of college.

 

[Thewonderer]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by sliceOheaven:
•I concur with JPHazelton. You should delay the real world as much as possible.

I think that the 7 year program requires great maturity and focus. If you are going to do it you better be absolutely sure that want to be in medicine.

I know that I would not nearly be as prepared for med school without my fourth year of college.•••••I think that with the split opinions, it does not really help the kid :wink:

What I would do is go ahead with the 7-year program and then see 1) if you can extend the college experience by a year or two by studying abroad or work and defer your entrance into the medical school portion and 2) if you can apply out of the program in 3-4 years. I know that the BA/MD program at Brown can let you do both. Some programs let you do that while others don't.

There are two things to consider.

One is that a secured DO/MD school acceptance is hard to come by. No matter which way you cut it.

Furthermore, it is difficult to predict how you will do in college according to your highschool performance. I went to Cornell for undergrad. We have lots of highschool students from the magnet schools in NYC who get 4.5GPA+ in their respective highschools. All of them come to Cornell to kick some as* but of course somebody have to get the B's and C's. And nobody comes to Cornell (or Duke, Columbia, Penn) for undergrad thinking that they were going to attend SUNY, NJ Med, East Carolina Univ., etc. for med schools. But inevitable, some premeds drop out and don't even apply with their 3.0 GPA. Some with 3.3-3.6 range have to readjust their expectations and go ahead with the state med schools and save some bucks. Then of course, there are some who study hard. get insane 3.8+ GPA and are shooting for top 10 med schools. However, nobody, and I mean, nobody could have predicted that.

So the best is to see if you can go ahead with the 7-year program and see if you are allowed to delay a year or two and keep the possibility of applying out of the program.

Lastly, I doubt that even IF you go through with the 3 year undergrad and then go to NYCOM for 4 years, you will be disadvantaged. When med schools say that you don't need more than the premed requirements, they mean it. Yeah, some biochem, neuroscience (but even that, they don't concentrate on brain or spinal cord lesions at all! it is mostly neurone physiology at undergrad) and microbio in undergrad would help but outside of that I don't think that you can take gross anatomy, pathology and medical genetics as an undergrad anyway!

good luck!

 

[BadMCATs]

Personally I would go to the seven year program. Theres nothing worse then having to stress about having to get into medical school. And theres nothing more un-fun in life then the MCAT. I would go to NYIT in a second and never have to worrry about aplication and interviews and most importantly that test that has nithing to do with medicine or anything your going to learn.

 

[Boo Boo]

Don't you still have to take the MCATs and get a minimum score though? And truthfully, nothing is worth giving up my four years of college. Nothing. I wish it could have lasted longer, because I squeezed every drop out of it that I could.

 

[Dr JPH]

For 7 year programs:

Must maintain minimum GPA
Must take the MCAT
Must interview at the medical

Basically the only benefits are :

1 less year of college
"guaranteed" interview

 

[hottie101]

Hey sarah,
I have also been accepted to the 7year program. I will be enrolled in it because it deos save you from having to go through an extra year of school. If you do go into the program it doesn't mean u won't have fun. Just because it's three years it doesn't make it different from the college experience. I also would like to know if anyone in the program is staying at islip. Well I hope i see you there next year. For anyone in the program now exactly how many classes do u have per week and which of them do u take your first semester????

 

[hottie101]

Hey sarah,
I have also been accepted to the 7year program. I will be enrolled in it because it deos save you from having to go through an extra year of school. If you do go into the program it doesn't mean u won't have fun. Just because it's three years it doesn't make it different from the college experience. I also would like to know if anyone in the program is staying at islip. Well I hope i see you there next year. For anyone in the program now exactly how many classes do u have per week and which of them do u take your first semester????

 

[Gauravvv]

Whats up guys!
Im a first year BS/DO at NYIT, so far, its been great. I heard the same stuff about enjoying these four years of college and the school has gone so far, I dont know if I could handle enjoying it more, its really been fun. I think that Ive really matured this first year as well as maintained to have some serious fun and take part in extracurricular stuff. NYIT is loaded with clubs and stuff, infact, next week, Im going down to George Washington University for Bhangra Blowout, its a Bhangra Dance Competition and Im a member of the NYIT team. All this while maintaining my grades for the program, so it definitly is possible to have fun and keep competitive grades.
If being an Osteopathic Physician is in your blood then this is the place to be.
Also, after my first few posts here, I was kind of discouraged and almost sent my acceptance letter back to the school to tell them I was rejecting their offer, but I made the decision myself and thats what all you guys have to do, see whats in your best interests, not someone elses.
Do a search for NYIT BS/DO and you'll find about thirty different threads posted last year (all started by me) about the program, if anything else, just email me or send me a PM.
Good luck guys