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18 years old and accepted into med school
- Thread starter Gigantron
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Chances are you would incur that much for a med school four years from now anyway. No amount of money is comparable to complete peace of mind in this hectic process. I say take the BA/MD acceptance.
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So do you mean that you were just accepted into the BS/MD program? Or have you completed your undergrad work and now ready to matriculate?
Congrats either way.
Also, if you are just starting the BS/MD program, you will only need a 24 on the MCAT to satisfy that requirement.... Very nice safety net.
Congrats either way.
Also, if you are just starting the BS/MD program, you will only need a 24 on the MCAT to satisfy that requirement.... Very nice safety net.
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...so I found out today that I was accepted into the WVU School of Medicine as part of a B.S./M.D. program with Shepherd University. I should be ecstatic, however the acceptance has left me feeling bittersweet. Sure, it's a guaranteed med school acceptance, but I'm always considered OOS for the program. I would incur up to 248k in medical school loans with interest if I attended this program. I did not receive ANY merit aid from them either...despite the fact that only 5 students were accepted this year. Also, this was the only B.S./M.D. program I was accepted to. >.<
Ah well, it doesn't matter. I already have my mind set on my awesome state school. At least I can say I had an acceptance.
But, then again, there is no guarantee that I will be in the same position four years from now either.
Not to be a jackass, but I hope you mean Virginia/UNC/Michigan/Illinois/Colorado/Washington/Cal/UCLA, if not, the BA/MD program may not be such a bad deal. Did you receive any aid from the undergrad school? Is it possible to establish residency in West Virginia? Can you take a year off after undergrad to establish residency before starting med school?
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don't listen to all of them OP. i had a BS/MD program acceptance and decided not to take it as well and went the traditional route.
if you were good enough to get in out of high school, you'll get in the regular route, no problem. i think its the best decision ive made, personally. i've saved heaps of money, attend undergrad at a dream location, and will probably be getting into a program much higher in ranking and closer to my desires in curriculum, mission, etc.
if you were good enough to get in out of high school, you'll get in the regular route, no problem. i think its the best decision ive made, personally. i've saved heaps of money, attend undergrad at a dream location, and will probably be getting into a program much higher in ranking and closer to my desires in curriculum, mission, etc.
I have a friend who turned-down a combined program through Penn State; she ended up at LECOM. Suffice it to say, she was less than thrilled to end up having to go DO when she could have attended an allo school. A bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush . . .
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I forget all the details...
Do you complete your BS degree in the regular 4 years or is it an abbreviated (i.e. 2-3 yr) program at Shepherd?
Do you complete your BS degree in the regular 4 years or is it an abbreviated (i.e. 2-3 yr) program at Shepherd?
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So easy to say that when you haven't gotten into one yet.
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Yea, the abbreviated program would have been pretty awesome.
Guess it just comes down to if you're a gambler or not.
Looks like the posters in this thread go both ways, some say to hold out and see if you can do better. However, as others have said, in 4 years the cost may be even higher.
Is that 248k a tentative figure? Or can you lock it in?
Guess it just comes down to if you're a gambler or not.
Looks like the posters in this thread go both ways, some say to hold out and see if you can do better. However, as others have said, in 4 years the cost may be even higher.
Is that 248k a tentative figure? Or can you lock it in?
You can become an independent student if you get married. It is West Virginia . . . do you have any attractive cousins?
Remember, it's not just the 248k, but also the potential 100k in undergrad loans, too (don't hold your breath on the private scholarships). Maybe do a serach to see if any OOS students from WV, Marshall, or West Viginia Osteopathic have been able to get the in-state rate.
Remember, it's not just the 248k, but also the potential 100k in undergrad loans, too (don't hold your breath on the private scholarships). Maybe do a serach to see if any OOS students from WV, Marshall, or West Viginia Osteopathic have been able to get the in-state rate.
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You mean she turned down the 6 year Penn State/Jefferson program to do four years undergrad somewhere and then ended up at LECOM??? Ouch!!
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The out of state tuition was going to bite some of my friends in the butt too. HOWEVER, after your first year of med school, you can apply for in state residency so you pay in state tuition. I have a friend who got into Kent's program out of state, and had to pay the 90k tuition one year, but the next three years he's getting in state tuition.
I don't know the process for that though, you'd have to ask around.
I don't know the process for that though, you'd have to ask around.
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According to many experienced individuals on this board, denying an acceptance can be a death sentence to your medical school dreams. I don't know exactly how this would apply to your particular situation, since you have been accepted to a B.S/M.D program, but if I were you, I would think carefully before turning down your acceptance. As for the 200,000 + in loans, consider this; many, many medical students have that much in loans. Who knows if you will get accepted to a school in the future where the tuition is relatively cheap? You can't know this. Anyway, congrats on your acceptance, and good luck with your decision!
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This...
I don't think I would have turned down Penn state for undergrad let alone the accelerated BS/MD program
Most programs like the one you just got into allow you to apply to med school like any regular undergrad, so if you really wanted to you could apply to med school your junior year and see where you get in. Then you could choose to turn down the offers or take them as you please (I think that how it works at my school).
I don't think it was the Jefferson program: she turned down the Penn state program because it was a rural health program
Not all of them are like that, though--you got to read the fine print
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This isn't the case at all schools. I'm at UVA, and we remain OOS students unless we marry a VA resident (which several of my classmates are doing this summer, since their fiances are not students and can thus establish residency...).
It also isn't the case at Colorado. Once you're accepted, your state residency status is locked in.
I'm not sure how it works at WVU, but that would be worth checking out.
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i don't know what your required maintained GPA requirements are, but you know what would be baller? starting college with summer gen chem, then taking 20 credits a semester + class every summer and finishing the undergrad part in two years. be a doctor at age 23. LIKE A BAWCE [boss]
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Do not worry about debt now. Traditional applicants would incur about that amount of loans, too.
About the Army scholarship... You will be an officer, so you will have to forgo some freedom. Go to the military residency forum, you'll find some useful information there.
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Combined programs are always a raw deal IMO.
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In 4 years, its going to cost much more than 248k. Many places are seeing yearly 7-10% increases in tuition.
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Just an idea. "Take" the combined acceptance if you don't mind doing your undergrad where they say you have to. Proceed as if you would be applying elsewhere.
Take the MCAT, size yourself up and decide how competitive an applicant you would be at other schools. If you're competitive and you want to apply elsewhere, do it and let them rescind your guarantee. If you're not competitive, but you got that minimum 24, go on with the guaranteed program.
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I always liked the idea of those programs because you get to go to medical school without ever officially being "premed". I mean you are premed in the sense that you still have to do all the coursework and usually the mcat, but you are never caught up in the "premed" shenanigans and just doing stuff because you think it will look good on an application. We premeds could party a lot more and be a lot more chill if all we had to do is get 3.5/24...it's just what I think about...
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I'm surprised no one has brought this up yet, but I changed my career plans ~15 times as an undergrad. The relevant question would be: If you were for some reason to decide you don't want to pursue medicine, would you be happy at Shepherd University?
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To hSDN with ye!
Dude, you're 17-18 years old. How do you even know what you want to do for the rest of your life when you're 18? I don't think I like these programs. It forces kids to lock into a career path before they even move out of their parents house and experience life. OP, Are you sure that you want to be a doctor? What are the consequences going to be, for you, if you go to this college and then end up just really loving political science? Then you're stuck at a school you didn't want to go to racking up tens of thousands of dollars in out of state tuition costs.
I would really think this through. Write out the pros and the cons of each choice. What do your parents say?
I would really think this through. Write out the pros and the cons of each choice. What do your parents say?
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Exactly. There are people in their mid 20s that struggle with making the commitment to medicine. I dang imagine that many 18 year olds are able to make the commitment so easily.
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This is only true at some medical schools. Other med schools (like UVM) say that if you start as an out-of-stater, you graduate as an out-of-stater and pay the OOS tuition all four years.
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It's not. Residency sucks. Sorry, had to bust out with the reality check.
Uh.. there are many more state schools then that that are "top tier" and great schools. Pretty much all of the B10, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Maryland, Ga Tech, then even some of the less known like Miami University (One of the original "Public Ivies").
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First off, congrats on the acceptance. That's awesome.
You'll have to forgive me, OP, but I'd argue that there's a very good chance that you don't have all that much exposure to some fields which very well might be equally, or more, appealing to you -- making it pretty easy to say you're so sure you want to go into medicine. There is a reason why so many people change career paths / degree plans / etc. in college.
I say this only because it might be worth your while to at least not strap on the horse blinders yet.
The most displeased people tend to be the most vocal, sure, but the fact that SDN is full of medical students (and more importantly, residents and attendings) who more or less like where they are but only cautiously recommend their profession -- or don't recommend it at all -- is pretty much proof positive that pursuing physician-hood is a decision to be made very, very carefully.
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Hey, I'm also 18 and committed (early decision applicant) to BS/MD program. Frankly, I'm not 100% sure I want to be a doctor, especially with the extremely obvious support from my parents, but I think this career path would be THE only one that wouldn't give me too too much regret in my future. I know I have no idea of all the difficulties of medical school and residency and so on, but I think it's the most good I can do with myself...haha I don't know. Every other career field seems to have pros and cons anyway; and while I'm sure medicine has huge cons, I like to think that the pros will outweigh it (or at least I hope so). I'm bound anyways, but I hope you decide on what's best for you.
I guess it depends on the requirements of your program and the most realistic idea of where you'd end up doing in four years. But I feel like either choice will give some regrets (or maybe I'm too pessimistic), then the question would be which would give you less?
I guess it depends on the requirements of your program and the most realistic idea of where you'd end up doing in four years. But I feel like either choice will give some regrets (or maybe I'm too pessimistic), then the question would be which would give you less?
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Gigantron, assuming you have made the firm decision to become a physician, and assuming you can see yourself living in that location for 4 years, I would definitely take the acceptance!
Getting into medical school isn't just tons of preparation and hard work. It also involves a bit of luck, and there are no guarantees no matter how strong you think you can make your application should you choose not to take this acceptance. There are factors that you can't control (e.g. you get MCAT questions that over-emphasize the topics you're weakest in, or you get a tougher interviewer, etc). Im sure the adcoms try to stay objective, but at the end of the day, you have people looking through your application and formulating a personal opinion about whether or not they like you more than the applicants theyre going to reject or waitlist. For example, I had an interview that I thought went great, and yet I ended up waitlisted at that school.
You're holding a golden ticket, so I would not let it go!
Getting into medical school isn't just tons of preparation and hard work. It also involves a bit of luck, and there are no guarantees no matter how strong you think you can make your application should you choose not to take this acceptance. There are factors that you can't control (e.g. you get MCAT questions that over-emphasize the topics you're weakest in, or you get a tougher interviewer, etc). Im sure the adcoms try to stay objective, but at the end of the day, you have people looking through your application and formulating a personal opinion about whether or not they like you more than the applicants theyre going to reject or waitlist. For example, I had an interview that I thought went great, and yet I ended up waitlisted at that school.
You're holding a golden ticket, so I would not let it go!
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