What about those B.S./MD combined degrees?

[Brando989]

Would they be worth the effort and money if you could get into one? Or would it be better to go the traditional track? What are the Pros and Cons?

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[sgtbrushes]

B.S./ M.D. degrees are good if you know for sure that you want to be a doctor. They are intense programs that shave off a year (maybe two) from the overal process of getting your M.D. by shaving off a year (maybe two) from your undergraduate studies. I am in a combined B.S./ M.D. program myself. I take 18ish credits each spring and summer and 10 or so credits in the summer. All for the privilege of the process taking 7 years over 8 years.

I am a non-traditional student; I'm 24, I know this is what I want to do, I've shadowed, volunteered, etc. If one is a traditional student, I'm not a big advocate of these programs... essentially, one would graduate med school at 23. I wouldn't be in such a hurry if I were you. Med school and residency are tough and time-consuming; just take your time with undergrad, make new friends, play video games, go to football games, and live life.

 

[schrizto]

B.S./ M.D. degrees are good if you know for sure that you want to be a doctor. They are intense programs that shave off a year (maybe two) from the overal process of getting your M.D. by shaving off a year (maybe two) from your undergraduate studies. I am in a combined B.S./ M.D. program myself. I take 18ish credits each spring and summer and 10 or so credits in the summer. All for the privilege of the process taking 7 years over 8 years.

I am a non-traditional student; I'm 24, I know this is what I want to do, I've shadowed, volunteered, etc. If one is a traditional student, I'm not a big advocate of these programs... essentially, one would graduate med school at 23. I wouldn't be in such a hurry if I were you. Med school and residency are tough and time-consuming; just take your time with undergrad, make new friends, play video games, go to football games, and live life.

I'm curious, usually BS/MD programs accept students right out of high school. The majority of programs when I applied said something along the lines of "Applicants must be in their final year of high school". Did being non-trad come up in any interviews?

 

[Brando989]

B.S./ M.D. degrees are good if you know for sure that you want to be a doctor. They are intense programs that shave off a year (maybe two) from the overal process of getting your M.D. by shaving off a year (maybe two) from your undergraduate studies. I am in a combined B.S./ M.D. program myself. I take 18ish credits each spring and summer and 10 or so credits in the summer. All for the privilege of the process taking 7 years over 8 years.

I am a non-traditional student; I'm 24, I know this is what I want to do, I've shadowed, volunteered, etc. If one is a traditional student, I'm not a big advocate of these programs... essentially, one would graduate med school at 23. I wouldn't be in such a hurry if I were you. Med school and residency are tough and time-consuming; just take your time with undergrad, make new friends, play video games, go to football games, and live life.

What about programs that have a traditional track, but if you complete undergrad with them, you are assumed enrollement into the medical school? Yet you are still free to pursue your own major during undergrad?

Does such a thing even exist?

 

[schrizto]

What about programs that have a traditional track, but if you complete undergrad with them, you are assumed enrollement into the medical school? Yet you are still free to pursue your own major during undergrad?

Does such a thing even exist?

That's an 8 year BS/MD program.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

If you do a search in the hSDN forum, a number of recent threads will come up on the subject.

 

[LateBl00meR]

That's an 8 year BS/MD program.

Only school I know of is Saint Louis University. You are free to choose your own major and must maintain a certain gpa in the pre-med curriculum. They require a 30 ACT and 3.8 high school gpa. Check out a book called the MSAR, Medical Schools Admissions Requirements. It should list these schools (and there are more besides SLU) in the first few chapters. I think these programs are better because you can major in something other than science and have a more relaxed schedule during the school year.

 

[schrizto]

Only school I know of is Saint Louis University. You are free to choose your own major and must maintain a certain gpa in the pre-med curriculum. They require a 30 ACT and 3.8 high school gpa. Check out a book called the MSAR, Medical Schools Admissions Requirements. It should list these schools (and there are more besides SLU) in the first few chapters. I think these programs are better because you can major in something other than science and have a more relaxed schedule during the school year.

There are WAY more 8 year programs than just SLU. There's Brown PLME, Rice/Baylor, Cincinnati, Rochester REMS, UConn off the top of my head.

 

[JPevzner]

you can add stony brook to the list. Insanely competitive though

 

[LateBl00meR]

There are WAY more 8 year programs than just SLU. There's Brown PLME, Rice/Baylor, Cincinnati, Rochester REMS, UConn off the top of my head.

Thats why I said there was more...the only one I know of off hand was SLU. Thanks.

 

[JAWSCIENCE]

There's one at Brooklyn College for SUNY Downstate as well. The MSAR is truly the best place to look for a comprehensive list.

One main advantage to the 8 year programs: You are guaranteed an acceptance to medical school so long as you keep up your academics. You will be less stressed out than your counterpart premeds.

One main disadvantage: You are committing to attend a specific medical school when you are still very young. Perhaps you will change your mind about where you would like to attend medical school. You may feel let down as your counterparts start receiving their acceptances from other medical schools that you would have been interested in attending.

The security of an acceptance may seem alluring now but consider that you are severely limiting your options. I know several people who were thrilled with their 8 program as they felt the security it offered allowed them more freedom to explore other interests and hobbies. I know several others who chose to abandon their 8 program because they felt they could get into a more competitive medical school or felt the particular medical school they were committed to was not the right environment for them. They chose to relinquish their spots to enter the general admissions process and take their chances.

This is a very serious decision. Think about it long and hard and try and talk it over with your career counsellor/college advisor and other supportive individuals.

 

[ButImLETired]

There's one at Brooklyn College for SUNY Downstate as well. The MSAR is truly the best place to look for a comprehensive list.

One main advantage to the 8 year programs: You are guaranteed an acceptance to medical school so long as you keep up your academics. You will be less stressed out than your counterpart premeds.

One main disadvantage: You are committing to attend a specific medical school when you are still very young. Perhaps you will change your mind about where you would like to attend medical school. You may feel let down as your counterparts start receiving their acceptances from other medical schools that you would have been interested in attending.

The security of an acceptance may seem alluring now but consider that you are severely limiting your options. I know several people who were thrilled with their 8 program as they felt the security it offered allowed them more freedom to explore other interests and hobbies. I know several others who chose to abandon their 8 program because they felt they could get into a more competitive medical school or felt the particular medical school they were committed to was not the right environment for them. They chose to relinquish their spots to enter the general admissions process and take their chances.

This is a very serious decision. Think about it long and hard and try and talk it over with your career counsellor/college advisor and other supportive individuals.

Just as an aside-a lot of these programs aren't binding. I went to a school with a program that was similar to that: we could apply to our med school after our sophomore year, we had to have a certain number of premed classes (chem, bio, one semester of orgo if I remember correctly) already done and a minimum science gpa of 3.5. No MCAT. Then we could apply to the school, interview, and if we got in, then great. Junior year (in the spring maybe?) we had to decide whether to keep our spot or not. A lot of people chose to keep it for convenience's sake and because they didn't want to deal with the hassle. Others chose to take their chances on the MCAT because they felt they were very competitive for other places and that they might get in somewhere cheaper (note: these programs basically make it so you definitely won't get a scholarship). I personally didn't apply to it because I knew that I'd probably want to check out a different school and maybe take some time off after college.

I know Vanderbilt has a similar program because a good number of people in my med school class did it.