7 Yr BS-MD

[alexal]

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I'm choosing between a 7yr BS-MD program (no MCAT) and UMiami undergrad, with full scholarship. I'm concerned about whether the accelerated program is worth the extra 100k for undergrad. After UMiami, I would probably go to a public med school, which would also be cheaper, but also have the option of an Ivy or something. On the other hand, "no MCAT" sounds good. What do you guys think?

 

[Zetterberg07]

If you are smart and hardworking enough to get into a 7 year program, you probably ought to be able to get into med school coming out of the university of miami. Personally, I'd save the 100k (or more if you factor in the more expensive med school tuition) and go to miami. Did you do well on your ACT/SAT? If you are a good standardized test taker, you shouldn't have too much trouble with the MCAT as long as you study hard for it.

 

[BrianUM]

Hey there

I am in the 7 yr Medical Scholars Program at Miami (for 2nd yr college students) and will be starting med school this fall.

If you are 100 % sure that you want to be a dr. and if the med school is good, then i dont see why you shouldnt go the BS/MD route. Sure, you could still probably get into med school, but a guarantee is a gaurantee, and just because you did great in hs doesnt neccesarily mean you will get into med school. I know plenty of kids who are struggling to get in and are smart. Nonetheless, with will power and the intelligence that you obviously possess this shouldnt be an issue.

Be sure that the BS/MD program out of HS is at a good school and somewhere that you wouldnt mind spending the next several years at. If you are 100 % sure you want to be a dr. and if you like the location and school, I say go for it. Dont forget you can always go to Miami and then apply for med school after the 2nd yr (Medical Scholars Program) provided you have a good gpa and other requirements. The Mcat requirements to stay in are also not so bad. Check out the website at Miami's med school page. Good luck!

 

[yobynaes]

i have no doubt of your commitment if you are able to get into the BS-MD program. However, realize that the four years of college is arguably some of the best time of your life. Those are the four years when you are entitled to do something fun and, sometimes, stupid and fun. I don't think the extra year in college is a loss especially considering the money you'll save. So, i say take the scholarship.
good luck on your decision. 👍

 

[jochi1543]

Let me start off by saying that I'm not very familiar with the BS-MD program, so this may be a useless suggestion, but I would also consider the actual coursework expected of you from BS-MD and from a regular undergrad. In a regular 4-year undergrad, you have a good amount of leeway with the courses you're taking, so even while you're doing a Bachelor of Sciences, you could be out there taking a cool foreign language or archaelogy class. I know U of Miami has fairly rigid graduation requirements - I was admitted into their Honors program as an undergrad, also with a scholarship (though not full), and I remember realizing that at least 1 out of my 4 years would be spent taking stupid graduation pre-reqs (writing 101 and the likes), so I rejected the offer in favor of a liberal arts college where I'd be given more freedom in my course choices. Still, I suspect even so U of M might give you more opportunities to familiarize yourself with things not related to medicine compared to a program that's very strictly geared towards a medical degree. Do you REALLY want to commit the next 7 years of your life to pretty much nothing but science?

 

[Cirrus83]

If I had to do it all over again I'd have applied to BS-MD programs straight out of high school and gone if I had gotten in. That said, that's only with 20/20 hindsight and the knowledge that I definitely want to be a doctor.

The 7 year programs are great if you're absolutely sure you want to go to medical school, and that extra $100K isn't a big deal since you'll be a doctor one year earlier (and make at least that 100K back), but then again you'll also have missed out on another year of college (which is something that's once in a lifetime).

So...again, the question is how sure you are that you want to be a doctor. If you're not that sure just go to Miami and explore what you wanna do, and on the bright side you'll save $100K so more or less it won't matter that you won't be a doctor until 1 year later (since it's 100K post tax). But if you're super mega sure you want to be a doctor then you might end up regretting that you spent an extra year just kinda "spinning your wheels" instead of being in med school.

Anyways I probably would have preferred an 8-year BS-MD program actually, but that's just me (hey, I took 2 years off, so obviously I'm not a huge straight through kinda person).

 

[HamburgerHelper]

I would have also done a BA/BS-MD program had I been more aware of them when I was applying to college. I actually found out of one 2 days after the deadline, but oh well! I did have fun in undergrad, though. However, the MCAT was definitely not enjoyable for me.

 

[alexal]

Thank you all. I would be Foote fellow in UM, so gen ed req do not apply (I will have more than 60 credits, IB and AP). Are there any other advantages of being Foote fellow? By the way, one of the main reasons to go with 7 yr program is to have more fun (no Mcat, no stress about GPA, no endless EC activities, etc).

 

[Dr. MightyMouse]

Thank you all. I would be Foote fellow in UM, so gen ed req do not apply (I will have more than 60 credits, IB and AP). Are there any other advantages of being Foote fellow? By the way, one of the main reasons to go with 7 yr program is to have more fun (no Mcat, no stress about GPA, no endless EC activities, etc).

My vote goes to the scholarship. The seven year program does sound tasty, but given your ability to get into such a competitive program, I'd say you stand a pretty decent shot at getting into med school via the traditional route. Of course, the question must be asked. Are you 100% sure you want to be a doc? If you arent, then the scholarship is no-brainer. If you are though, I'd say you need to seriously judge if avoiding the mcat and other related pre-med stress is worth missing out on this scholarship. Of course, my decision might be biased by the fact that I was just looking at the loans I will be taking out for med school

 

[medgator]

I'm choosing between a 7yr BS-MD program (no MCAT) and UMiami undergrad, with full scholarship. I'm concerned about whether the accelerated program is worth the extra 100k for undergrad. After UMiami, I would probably go to a public med school, which would also be cheaper, but also have the option of an Ivy or something. On the other hand, "no MCAT" sounds good. What do you guys think?

I applied to UM's 6 yr program out of HS, interviewed but didnt get in. I was kinda bummed but ended up doing UM undegrad on a 3/4 scholarship + bright futures, which wasnt too bad, money wise. During my sophomore year, I applied to both UM and UF's 7-yr program and got into both. I accepted UF's offer. I would definitely consider UM undergrad, as you can still apply to their 7-yr MSP as well as the program at UF (although if you are a UF undergrad, you cannot apply to UM's program). You'll keep your options open with UM and get a good deal on undegrad. Plus, being at a smaller private school may make it easier to get to know your professors in the upper level courses (i majored in biochem and had a chance to get some good letters from a professor as well as a research mentor). Thats a big plus I think over UF undergrad.

It sounds like youre pretty academically sound if you got a full scholarship to UM, so im sure youd be competitive for both of those 7-yr programs. UF's program didnt require an MCAT at all when I entered it. I hear UM's program not only requires the MCAT, but now has a score requirement as well. I was happy ending up at UF (versus an Ivy) and, personally, I feel it was academic enough for me and the best in the state as far as academic stature and residency placement. And you really cant beat the tuition.

 

[jochi1543]

Thank you all. I would be Foote fellow in UM, so gen ed req do not apply (I will have more than 60 credits, IB and AP). Are there any other advantages of being Foote fellow? By the way, one of the main reasons to go with 7 yr program is to have more fun (no Mcat, no stress about GPA, no endless EC activities, etc).

You're right to some extent with the lack of MCAT and GPA stress....but honestly, if you got into the 7-yr program and also got the fellowship/scholarship in the regular program, I don't think these 2 will affect you much.

However, I kind of disagree with your statement about EC stress. I didn't find any of my ECs to be a nuisance. If anything, my ECs were what led me into medicine to begin with, even though I totally "fell" into some of them. I think ECs are really enriching experiences - even something mega-boring like volunteering at a hospital can be made into smth very valuable if you put the effort into it - and they let you find out something about yourself. Who knows, you might end up volunteering at a women's shelter and realize you don't want to be a doctor, but a social worker instead (I'm sure right now you'd be like "hell no, I'm 100% positive I wanna go into medicine" - but I felt the same way about investment banking 4 years ago, so I'm speaking from experience).

Also, while there will be SOME pressure to *have* ECs, this will be the extra push you need to become more active in both on- and off-campus life. It's often hard to get started - unless you're REALLY passionate about something because of, say, your upbringing, spending your evenings at home instead of marching out on the streets somewhere or delivering gnocchi to some old lady's lair sure sounds more exciting. But once you get started, involvement in non-academic life becomes a regular part of your existence, and I think community involvement and activism are very important to a physician. You will be exposed to individuals different from you, which will help you in your future career. W/o volunteering, your average suburban kid (not saying that's what you are, but just giving an example) would not have much interaction with people with addictions, women in abusive relationships, working-class single moms, Native peoples who live on reservations, etc, and would have a lesser understanding of their needs and concerns (both in healthcare and outside of it) than a person who spends their time outside of school involved in a variety of causes.


Bottom line - I think education should be viewed more holistically than as just a route of getting from point A to point MD. However, it's up to you to weigh the positives and the negatives, my job is just to outline a few of those that I can come up with.

 

[alexal]

Thanks medgator! I think I'm in a similiar situation as you were a few years ago.

 

[CTtarheel]

Thank you all. I would be Foote fellow in UM, so gen ed req do not apply (I will have more than 60 credits, IB and AP). Are there any other advantages of being Foote fellow? By the way, one of the main reasons to go with 7 yr program is to have more fun (no Mcat, no stress about GPA, no endless EC activities, etc).

Keep in mind that if you will be considering applying to a top school some of your AP/IB credits won't count even if they are awarded by your undergrad school. You might find yourself having to either go and retake some of those classes or take some upper levels to make sure you have all the hours.

I'd take the money, and definitely if there is ANY doubt in your mind that you might not want to do medicine. Have you tried any research yet? You should really try that to make sure that a PhD isn't where you'd rather be. Med school/residency is just such a long road, I don't think it's wise to jump into it unless you're sure that you've explored ALL of the other possible options.