Are you thinking about doing that program? I am NOT in it, but I know a couple things. I was thinking about doing it last year so I looked into it a little.
Sorry I might have to disagree with you since I
DID the program a few years back.
She was right on the money saying the program is very hard. It is.
As to when students register, the main classes you take are nowhere near full (biochem and phys) the rest are very program specific and dont fill up. I personally never had problems, never had a close-to-full class and never knew anyone who did either. There is only overlap with the first year MS/PhD candidates (not that many) and about 10 NPs for the phys course. Med, dent, nursing, pharm, allied health dont take the same classes.
As to the assertion that it is has never helped anyone: This is pretty much the only reason that I got in. First year I applied I got flat out rejected after I went to the committee. The second year (after the cert program) I got in. The only change is the cert program...
This type of program is what people call an SMP (special masters program). There are various programs throughout the country. They are graduate programs where you essentially take the first year of medical school to prove you can hack it. These programs are good for people with strong MCATs and low grades. Georgetown is probably the most well known and respected. EVMS is also a solid program. Entrance into those programs is much more stringent. Because of this they have better candidates who apply. the MCV program pretty much lets everyone in and makes them prove they belong. This is great if you have low stats and need to prove yourself but also opens the door to people who just cant hack it. Trust me there were some *****s in that program that just didnt belong in medical school. So those people are clearly not getting in and and their acceptance rate is below Georgetown and EVMS'. Anyone who would succeed in those programs would also succeed in the VCU program. The only difference is you have a better chance at getting into MCV from this program and it is much, much cheaper than EVMS or Georgetown. I spent under 9K on the program. Georgetown is over 35K, EVMS around 30 add living expenses of DC or Norfolk and you are talking about an even larger difference.
If you have the cash and the grades, EVMS and Georgetown are excellent programs but the VCU program definitely served its purpose for me.
