18 years old and accepted into med school

[augeremt]

Another way of doing this is if you're happy going there for at least 4 years of undergrad, you can bust your butt to get a good GPA, make yourself a competitive applicant through good ECs, and take the MCAT to see how you do. If after all that, you think you have a good chance of going somewhere else for med school, you can then choose to apply elsewhere and forfeit the guaranteed MD acceptance at WVU. If not, stay at WVU and get an MD. Then the decision to apply elsewhere will be based on your undegrad performance and you can make an informed decision.

But to go down that path, you'd have to be ok with going to WVU for undergrad at the very least. And it doesn't sound like you're too thrilled about that idea.

Good luck with your decision, regardless. Seems like a tough one.

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[Gigantron]

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[natxbug]

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.

I completely agree. You will grow up (someday) and you may not feel the same way you feel now.


I do want to offer my congrats on the acceptance - but there's still a lot to consider.


Many schools have programs that allow you to apply to their associated medical school (or an affiliated med school) during your freshman/sophomore year of college and require that you keep a certain GPA (3.5ish). It would probably benefit you to look for undergrad schools you'd be happy at for undergrad, and see if they have those types of programs.


248K in debt (not to mention the potential for capitalized interest along the way) is a lot. Learn as much as you can about loans and repayment ahead of time so that you really understand what you're getting yourself into.


There are many correct ways to skin a cat. Just be as informed as possible.

 

[Adaggiote]

Lucky ass.....Gotta freakin' MD/BS acceptance. I want that, rather than to push and struggle in the uncertainty of the jungle known as medical school admissions. Well Good Luck....

 

[Gigantron]

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[Adaggiote]

This is what we (my family and I) plan to do financially:

-First four years at Shepherd: We can afford this. It's around 25k a year. We're not taking out loans, and we have payment plan options that make paying for this a lot less stressful (and also still don't require loans)

-Next four years at the WVU School of Medicine: It's 62k a year for OOS students. My parents will cover 25k worth of tuition. The other 37k I must take out in loans or subsidize with private scholarships of some type. Either way, it's only 148k in loans which, compared to most medical students attending places like Cornell, Brown, Harvard, etc. is actually quite less...and it's certainly a lot less than the original 248k I mentioned in my original post.

I'm getting refunds from Stony Brook, since I initially planned to attend the school.

I also plan to go into surgery (200+ hours of shadowing experience equally in the clinic and in the operating room have led me to like surgery just a little bit more, but we'll see when I actually have to start rotations in about six years lol).


So yeah, I'll let you know how this goes in four years.

Now, you are just a little trooper aren't you? When I first came to this forum I was hot blooded and kill anything....but now I am a little more relaxed. I am not sure if that is good or bad. But I was like you. I knew what I wanted to do......Maybe I should go back to that kind of lifestyle.....

Anyways, I wish you the best of luck if you are absolutely sure.....

 

[Gigantron]

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[CerebroDad]

I chose the B.S./M.D. program and I feel much better about my future.

Good to hear! Congratulations, and best of luck.

 

[HAV000]

Thank you!

I was just like you when I first came to this forum. I was pretty hot tempered (for an example, read my "MD vs. DO" thread on the Anesthesiology board). I didn't realize, however, that I would be holding a medical acceptance by now. It's always better to stay relaxed and keep yourself level-headed during this hectic process.

SDN can do that to some people lol. Good luck!

 

[StringTheorist]

I think you already know what you want to do. If you so desperately wanted to be an MD, and were worried about maybe never ever getting in to med school in the future, you'd have accepted and been jumping up and down.

But you sound confused and slightly unenthused. Trust me, when someone is ready for that sort of commitment to their education and has focused on it for years and gets accepted, they go MAD when they get accepted. There are no questions, no concerns, just a YES!

Maybe you're too young to make such a time and financial commitment to one school. It is a great opportunity, but if you don't feel it's right for you, don't let it keep you from striving to apply for other med schools you may want to attend when that time actually comes.

 

[Gigantron]

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[skierbum]

Combined programs are always a raw deal IMO.

Key thing: Keep your options open. I was in a combined program (for pharm, same setup though). They only give you a couple electives. Once I decided to leave it, I was able to expand my scope. Now I am a double major in biochem and environment, which will mean a lot more to me in 20 years than that year I saved. We will be working for the rest of our lives. Enjoy college and take the low debt route. Trust me, it is nice to have near no debt for the 1st year like me. I had a job and didn't worry that my gpa started out just under 3.5.

Plus, you may find that you could get into a better med school 4 years from now-wouldn't that be nice?

Good luck in deciding!
haha...I didn't see that you had decided. Either way is awesome and if $ isn't a problem, I would totally try the combined program