Accelerated BS/MD Programs?

Umyo

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Was just wondering in general if these are worth applying to or just going the traditional route.

Some of the BS/MD programs don't need very high MCAT scores and guarantee admission to medical schools. Most are 7 years (very few that are 6 years).

Any pros/cons of these accelerated programs?
 
Pro: you get to bypass the application process for the most part (dozens of essays, traveling, interviewing, waiting)

Cons:
1. You get to med school faster. Yes, this is a "con." Maturity is not something to rush, and college is a blast for most people. You don't want to rush through if you don't have to, and you also don't want to be bogged down with 18 credits every semester and summer and have little time for yourself and having fun.

2. As alluded to in #1, most BS/MD programs load your schedule and many have you take summer classes as well. I know that's not the end of the world, but summers are very valuable to recoup from the school year, travel/study abroad, research, or explore other interests.

3. You may end up hating the med school affiliated with the program, or it might not have what you're looking for. If you're interested in global health and your school doesn't give support for doing rotations or research abroad, that could be a problem. If you find out that you LOVE research and want to go into academic medicine, but you're guaranteed to a primary care-focused institution that doesn't have great research opportunities, you may find yourself applying elsewhere anyway and going through the whole application process. Additionally, if you love research so much that you want to do an MD/PhD program, the BS/MD programs almost never include MSTP admission.

4. Some BS/MD programs will not let you apply elsewhere unless you forfeit your guaranteed acceptance. So if you're guaranteed to school X but school Y is your dream school and you think you have a shot at applying regularly to that school, you say goodbye to your guaranteed acceptance.


IMO, I'm not really a fan of the accelerated programs. I do have a few friends who went through 6 year programs and they are currently well ahead of me in med school (one guy is a 2nd year resident and he's only 3 years older than me) but med school requires a certain amount of maturity, especially social skills, that most people develop in college.
 
They generally require top-notch metrics coming out of HS (gpa and SAT or ACT). They lock you into a specific medical school and while there is usually an out to those golden handcuffs it sometimes requires giving up the guarantee at one institution for the hope that you can be admitted somewhere that you believe is "better" for your circumstances.

Some require that you take the MCAT and score a specific minimum, some do not require the MCAT. Most, I suspect, require a minimum gpa to continue on to the medical school.

Do you have the right stuff to be admitted to one of these programs? Are you sure you want to do medicine and have you spent sufficient time testing that hunch? The accelerated plans do give students the freedom to chart an unusual course, take chances with courses that most medical school hopefuls would not touch due to gpa concerns, engage in activities with less concern for the hurt these time-sinks can put on gpa, and so forth. If this sounds like what you are hoping for in college, why not give it a try by applying?
 
Cons: You have to take a crap-ton of credits each semester.

Undergrad is fun. Don't squander those years in the library!

Both my parents did accelerated programs (mom was 6 year Lehigh/MCP and father was 7 year Lehigh/Haneman). I ask them about their undergrad experience and they basically tell me nothing about it. just tons of science classes and that is all. Mom did not take an MCAT and my dad only had to pass a certain level he was able to obtain by only studying like twice a week for a month. so that's a positive I guess.

I actually remembering asking my mom about the Lehigh/Drexel program (mcp and haneman merged to drexel) and she basically told me to avoid that root.

I would say an 8 year program could be great (I know a couple people who did them at my undergrad). you get four years but also do not have the burden of applying. however are you positive as a high school student you know what you want to do for the rest of your life?



as an aside, if you do one of these programs you will be absolutely useless if any of your children decide to apply traditionally to medical school. my parents know jack squat about the application process.
 
I see the whole thing differently. One of my closest buddies goes to a BS/MD program and I think it is a great idea if you are sure you want to study medicine. One counterargument is that people will say " college will not be fun, because you'll have a ton of science classes). However, if you want to get into med school , college isn't that fun anyway. All my college buddies and I rarely go out or party or drink, we're simply in the library studying for classes. the worst thing is that at the end of all those struggles, you still have no idea whether you'll get into med school. And getting into med school is increasingly stressful/difficult. And your gpa may be as tanked as mine. My friend in the BS/MD program, by contrast, has had more time to explore, was much less stressed because she knew she was into med school and is starting med school this fall ( and those programs save up on cost ).She can always go to a Harvard residency or something if she wishes, to be honest. I would argue that OP should definitively strongly look into the BS/MD programs.
 
I see the whole thing differently. One of my closest buddies goes to a BS/MD program and I think it is a great idea if you are sure you want to study medicine. One counterargument is that people will say " college will not be fun, because you'll have a ton of science classes). However, if you want to get into med school , college isn't that fun anyway. All my college buddies and I rarely go out or party or drink, we're simply in the library studying for classes. the worst thing is that at the end of all those struggles, you still have no idea whether you'll get into med school. And getting into med school is increasingly stressful/difficult. And your gpa may be as tanked as mine. My friend in the BS/MD program, by contrast, has had more time to explore, was much less stressed because she knew she was into med school and is starting med school this fall ( and those programs save up on cost ).She can always go to a Harvard residency or something if she wishes, to be honest. I would argue that OP should definitively strongly look into the BS/MD programs.

Being premed in college isn't that difficult. I went out at least twice a week in the past two years. It's just time management.
 
Being premed in college isn't that difficult. I went out at least twice a week in the past two years. It's just time management.

Same here. Definitely enjoyed myself the first two years and hunkered down the second two. Still had fun through out and would go on 1-2 week climbing trips several times a year. Definitely not worth the tradeoff IMO as you're locked into one school that you may not find is a good match for you. If you just have to get your MD two years sooner, go for it. Otherwise, have fun and enjoy the flexibility of a normal college experience.
 
Many of my friends have taken that route. They accept very motivated and intelligent students, who I believe would not have much difficulty getting into medical schools 4 years later anyways. Look into each program carefully, as I believe there are some that will still let you apply outside of their program while maintaining your guaranteed spot.
 
Its better to go the 8 years and apply the regular way. If you do accelerated program, you will disqualify yourself from scholarships. Since you are competitive now, I would believe you would be so if you applied the regular way like everyone else.
 
Only do it if you're #1 choice for UGrad and med school is that program
 
Thanks for the replies everyone, you have given me a lot of good information to think about
 
I see the whole thing differently. One of my closest buddies goes to a BS/MD program and I think it is a great idea if you are sure you want to study medicine. One counterargument is that people will say " college will not be fun, because you'll have a ton of science classes). However, if you want to get into med school , college isn't that fun anyway. All my college buddies and I rarely go out or party or drink, we're simply in the library studying for classes. the worst thing is that at the end of all those struggles, you still have no idea whether you'll get into med school. And getting into med school is increasingly stressful/difficult. And your gpa may be as tanked as mine. My friend in the BS/MD program, by contrast, has had more time to explore, was much less stressed because she knew she was into med school and is starting med school this fall ( and those programs save up on cost ).She can always go to a Harvard residency or something if she wishes, to be honest. I would argue that OP should definitively strongly look into the BS/MD programs.

The bolded statement is completely incorrect and effectively disproves everything you said in that lengthy post.
 
I would not do it. For one, the place in my state that is big on the 6 year program lacks much in the way of 3rd year clinical rotations. It seems like many of the schools that really sell the 6 year program are and that can be limiting.
 
Pros:

1. You can take some courses you wouldn't touch due to pressure to take other courses that more people know about and are less risky GPA-wise so to speak. This way, you can really follow you're interests.


2. Especially for a 6 year program, you get out of the process earlier. Think about it, for Medicine you'll be studying from 18-30! These are your golden years so the earlier you get our the better IMO (so long as you learn everything you need to know properly).

Cons: People have already addressed most of them.

1. Maturity
2. You need to settle upon Medicine on your own and college provides a variety of experiences to do this.



--------------

To address a couple of people's points:

1. I do think you are very capable of enjoying undergrad if you're premed! I buckled down and did work and have decent stats but had every Friday, Saturday, and early Sunday off (as well as some time on Thursdays freshman year).


2. Development of "social skills" is extremely valuable and is something I definitely still have a lot of work to do on but it's not a reason to opt to not to a BS/MD (or BS/DO). I mean, I'm sure you'll develop them regardless. If there's one thing I've learnt in undergrad it's that the human brain is extremely adaptable. If it's asked to mature at an early age it will rise to the occasion. The only thing to worry about is the drive. Will you gain enough motivation going through BS/MD to push your way through medical school.


---------

Everyone's different but given the chance I'd have taken the BS/MD 6 yr program in a heart beat. Unfortunately, I was nowhere near qualified enough with a 29 ACT with my only clinical experience being 2 yrs of hospital volunteering and brief shadowing of a doc I knew through a connection. Therefore, I didn't get in to any of the BS/MD or BS/DO programs I applied to besides MSUCOMs (PM if interested, it's DO btw) which is 8 yrs, nonbinding, and only preference-based (you're not guaranteed but everyone pretty much gets in). Then again, I'm not into academic medicine so any school would suit me, I've been driven from an early age, and I would have loved to start as soon as soon as possible because it's a long road.
 
Pros:

1. You can take some courses you wouldn't touch due to pressure to take other courses that more people know about and are less risky GPA-wise so to speak. This way, you can really follow you're interests.


2. Especially for a 6 year program, you get out of the process earlier. Think about it, for Medicine you'll be studying from 18-30! These are your golden years so the earlier you get our the better IMO (so long as you learn everything you need to know properly).

Cons: People have already addressed most of them.

1. Maturity
2. You need to settle upon Medicine on your own and college provides a variety of experiences to do this.



--------------

To address a couple of people's points:

1. I do think you are very capable of enjoying undergrad if you're premed! I buckled down and did work and have decent stats but had every Friday, Saturday, and early Sunday off (as well as some time on Thursdays freshman year).


2. Development of "social skills" is extremely valuable and is something I definitely still have a lot of work to do on but it's not a reason to opt to not to a BS/MD (or BS/DO). I mean, I'm sure you'll develop them regardless. If there's one thing I've learnt in undergrad it's that the human brain is extremely adaptable. If it's asked to mature at an early age it will rise to the occasion. The only thing to worry about is the drive. Will you gain enough motivation going through BS/MD to push your way through medical school.


---------

Everyone's different but given the chance I'd have taken the BS/MD 6 yr program in a heart beat. Unfortunately, I was nowhere near qualified enough with a 29 ACT with my only clinical experience being 2 yrs of hospital volunteering and brief shadowing of a doc I knew through a connection. Therefore, I didn't get in to any of the BS/MD or BS/DO programs I applied to besides MSUCOMs (PM if interested, it's DO btw) which is 8 yrs, nonbinding, and only preference-based (you're not guaranteed but everyone pretty much gets in). Then again, I'm not into academic medicine so any school would suit me, I've been driven from an early age, and I would have loved to start as soon as soon as possible because it's a long road.

Every one of your posts is like a novel, dood. What even.... 😴
 
Pros:

1. You can take some courses you wouldn't touch due to pressure to take other courses that more people know about and are less risky GPA-wise so to speak. This way, you can really follow you're interests.


2. Especially for a 6 year program, you get out of the process earlier. Think about it, for Medicine you'll be studying from 18-30! These are your golden years so the earlier you get our the better IMO (so long as you learn everything you need to know properly).

Cons: People have already addressed most of them.

1. Maturity
2. You need to settle upon Medicine on your own and college provides a variety of experiences to do this.



--------------

To address a couple of people's points:

1. I do think you are very capable of enjoying undergrad if you're premed! I buckled down and did work and have decent stats but had every Friday, Saturday, and early Sunday off (as well as some time on Thursdays freshman year).


2. Development of "social skills" is extremely valuable and is something I definitely still have a lot of work to do on but it's not a reason to opt to not to a BS/MD (or BS/DO). I mean, I'm sure you'll develop them regardless. If there's one thing I've learnt in undergrad it's that the human brain is extremely adaptable. If it's asked to mature at an early age it will rise to the occasion. The only thing to worry about is the drive. Will you gain enough motivation going through BS/MD to push your way through medical school.


---------

Everyone's different but given the chance I'd have taken the BS/MD 6 yr program in a heart beat. Unfortunately, I was nowhere near qualified enough with a 29 ACT with my only clinical experience being 2 yrs of hospital volunteering and brief shadowing of a doc I knew through a connection. Therefore, I didn't get in to any of the BS/MD or BS/DO programs I applied to besides MSUCOMs (PM if interested, it's DO btw) which is 8 yrs, nonbinding, and only preference-based (you're not guaranteed but everyone pretty much gets in). Then again, I'm not into academic medicine so any school would suit me, I've been driven from an early age, and I would have loved to start as soon as soon as possible because it's a long road.

Your #1 doesn't even make sense (and is also plainly incorrect). Many premeds already can choose what courses they like and most of them don't want to focus exclusively on biology courses. Not sure how that's not "following the interests". Following interests is permissible in non-accelerated routes and restricted in accelerated routes for obvious reasons. Ignoring GPA reasons, there are some courses that accelerated students have to take that are so deplorable that non-accelerated students can successfully avoid.

#2. What's the rush in getting a medical degree faster? As mentioned in #1, not everything has to be medicine related. Also, medicine doesn't start in college regardless of major - it starts in medical school, so the age gap is 22/23-30.
 
Don't do it.

Undergrad is too valuable an experience to waste.
 
Assuming you can even manage to get accepted to such a program in the first place, I would only do it if you know you'll be happy at that med school. That means that you like the school, are okay with the tuition cost, and won't regret passing up better schools should you find yourself in the position where you know you have an application that would be competitive for schools you previously thought were a dream.

If all that's okay, then I say do it. I'd say ignore people who say you'll be wasting your undergrad years. A BS/MD gives you guaranteed admission as long as you meet a very low bar throughout college. This means that, if you so wish, you could ignore all the stuff normal pre-meds have to do: Volunteering, research, shadowing, cramming for the MCAT, and obsessing over every point in every class. At the very least that will cancel out the time commitment issue. Obviously you shouldn't ignore ECs like that, but the point is that your time is MUCH more flexible. You'll have a lot less stress. If you need to take the MCAT for the program, they'll likely require a very low score that virtually anyone seriously considering med school should be able to achieve. Being able to essentially handwave MCAT prep is going to do wonders for your stress level and finances (especially since you'd be taking the test when the new version is still brand new). You'll need to keep a minimum GPA most likely, but it'll be lower than what you would need to successfully apply the traditional way. You won't have to worry about applications and all the stress and financial exsanguination that entails (getting LORs, writing essays, choosing schools, filling out secondaries, interviewing, etc).

All of that is well worth having to miss out on a few parties imo.
 
Assuming you can even manage to get accepted to such a program in the first place, I would only do it if you know you'll be happy at that med school. That means that you like the school, are okay with the tuition cost, and won't regret passing up better schools should you find yourself in the position where you know you have an application that would be competitive for schools you previously thought were a dream.

If all that's okay, then I say do it. I'd say ignore people who say you'll be wasting your undergrad years. A BS/MD gives you guaranteed admission as long as you meet a very low bar throughout college. This means that, if you so wish, you could ignore all the stuff normal pre-meds have to do: Volunteering, research, shadowing, cramming for the MCAT, and obsessing over every point in every class. At the very least that will cancel out the time commitment issue. Obviously you shouldn't ignore ECs like that, but the point is that your time is MUCH more flexible. You'll have a lot less stress. If you need to take the MCAT for the program, they'll likely require a very low score that virtually anyone seriously considering med school should be able to achieve. Being able to essentially handwave MCAT prep is going to do wonders for your stress level and finances (especially since you'd be taking the test when the new version is still brand new). You'll need to keep a minimum GPA most likely, but it'll be lower than what you would need to successfully apply the traditional way. You won't have to worry about applications and all the stress and financial exsanguination that entails (getting LORs, writing essays, choosing schools, filling out secondaries, interviewing, etc).

All of that is well worth having to miss out on a few parties imo.

Yes one of the great perks of the BS/MD is indeed less stress. However, too little stress is bad isn't it?

If I don't go through the process of preparing for a major exam like the MCAT and only need low requirements, will I be able to face the challenge of the med school exams like the USMLE's and such?
 
OP, do whatever you feel is the best option for you. There are many paths into med school that you are free to take just as long as you and admissions are confident in your abilities. I am a non-science major and my program isn't accelerated and it requires that we take medical school courses starting senior year, score a national average MCAT score, and maintain a minimum GPA. Also, we're allowed to apply out while keeping our spots. I have thoroughly enjoyed undergrad and my medical school. I'm currently in the summer portion (between sophomore and junior year) of the program taking summer classes at the med school's undergraduate campus and it has been tons of fun. This is all attractive for me. If what you've looked into is what you want out of your life then go for it 😉
 
Your #1 doesn't even make sense (and is also plainly incorrect). Many premeds already can choose what courses they like and most of them don't want to focus exclusively on biology courses. Not sure how that's not "following the interests". Following interests is permissible in non-accelerated routes and restricted in accelerated routes for obvious reasons. Ignoring GPA reasons, there are some courses that accelerated students have to take that are so deplorable that non-accelerated students can successfully avoid.

#2. What's the rush in getting a medical degree faster? As mentioned in #1, not everything has to be medicine related. Also, medicine doesn't start in college regardless of major - it starts in medical school, so the age gap is 22/23-30.

1. I will correct myself on one point.
I admit you're correct that BS/MD/DO students have to take a lot of biology classes which makes sense. For example, my BS/DO program requires all students to take 5 Upper Level Bio classes but then the MCAT is dropped which is another advantage btw for some of these programs.

Still though, I think medical schools know their undergraduate classes and are a lot more forgiving when you 3.5 that tough class everyone dreads. Other schools might not even notice. In terms of having an acceptance at hand maybe it's just a preference but I'd much rather take a different path of courses knowing that. I'd probably have gone on to take some risks like taking some more computer science, economics, literature, and philosophy, and music classes knowing I had an admission I wanted in hand. Maybe you're more gutsy than I am AgentB. One of my faults is that I'm very cautious and as a freshman in college I didn't want to go off and take a course my inner circle of friends didn't know about. You see, I came from a science background in high school and I did not have experience in all those other disciplines. Therefore, I feel like it would have been a risk to take those classes when each one counts for my potential acceptance into medical school. That's all I meant.

2. I completely, yet respectfully, disagree (meaning I acknowledge there are two sides to the argument). OP, do what you feels right to you. I know a student who has gotten out of residency recently and her stress level has decreased dramatically (evidenced by how often I see her vs. how often I used to see her). Then again, she's a family doc so that might play a factor too. If you can get into an 6 yr. program assuming one year's cut off undergrad and one year's off medical school you shave off $40K+$20K (for those two years on average) and then you will likely benefit additionally by making 300K more (($180K salary - $50K residency) *2) so you could see it as a $320K difference for the 6 year program. For the 7 year program it would be about $20K (most likely they'll cut off U-grad) + $130K (difference in residency pay vs. physician salary) so that's 150K. I'm wouldn't try to reduce the quality of my education but I would have welcomed those 1-2 years in a heart beat. It's not like practicing is heaven because it's not...medicine is not one of those fields where you climb up a hill and then just coast...it's more like climb up that hill and keep climbing at a rate a little less steeper than residency). It's just the fact that you're not working the ridiculous hours and can actually spend a little more time in your late twenties on yourself.

Also a third pro I didn't mention...hello you're guaranteed a spot in medical school. Isn't that a big reason for why a lot of us are here discussing things neurotically? 1/2 the posts on SDN are motivated by the fact that someone's worried that he or she will not get into medical school. If you know you will get in that's a huge relief! No flying to a bunch of different places, filling out secondaries, and long waits. Sometimes no MCAT as well.


I hope I clarified things AgentB but you were right about that first point in that BS/MD/DO programs often require you to take some tough upper level bio courses to compensate for the early interest in biology and sometimes to compensate for the dropped MCAT.




Can we get some residents on SDN maybe to confirm whether or not they wished they'd finished formal medical training and started practicing earlier? I can sit here and preach my opinion but it lacks scope as there are a bunch of residents who have gone through this and can give us their first hand experiences. Gotta love SDN!
 
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Can we get some residents on SDN maybe to confirm whether or not they'd wished they'd started two years earlier and wished they'd gotten done with formal medical training and started practicing earlier? I can sit here and preach my opinion but it lacks scope as there are a bunch of residents who have gone through this and can give us their first hand experiences. Gotta love SDN!

Wait, you think residents want to skimp on their formal academia to practice earlier? If they did that for sure they wouldn't even be able to practice because they wouldn't pass the boards. You should go look at the internal medicine review board books and see if residents see "jee i wish i didn't receive that schooling so I can just start practicing and performing diagnosis left and right".

IMO To rush to enjoy life later as an attending doctor means you cannot enjoy life now as an undergraduate and even more as a medical students (and medical students already have enough on their plate as is).

just sayin, I respect your opinion though.
 
1. I will correct myself on one point.
I admit you're correct that BS/MD/DO students have to take a lot of biology classes which makes sense. For example, my BS/DO program requires all students to take 5 Upper Level Bio classes but then the MCAT is dropped which is another advantage btw for some of these programs.

Still though, I think medical schools know their undergraduate classes and are a lot more forgiving when you 3.5 that tough class everyone dreads. Other schools might not even notice. In terms of having an acceptance at hand maybe it's just a preference but I'd much rather take a different path of courses knowing that. I'd probably have gone on to take some risks like taking some more computer science, economics, literature, and philosophy, and music classes knowing I had an admission I wanted in hand. Maybe you're more gutsy than I am AgentB. One of my faults is that I'm very cautious and as a freshman in college I didn't want to go off and take a course my inner circle of friends didn't know about. You see, I came from a science background in high school and I did not have experience in all those other disciplines. Therefore, I feel like it would have been a risk to take those classes when each one counts for my potential acceptance into medical school. That's all I meant.

2. I completely, yet respectfully, disagree (meaning I acknowledge there are two sides to the argument). OP, do what you feels right to you. I know a student who has gotten out of residency recently and her stress level has decreased dramatically (evidenced by how often I see her vs. how often I used to see her). Then again, she's a family doc so that might play a factor too. If you can get into an 6 yr. program assuming one year's cut off undergrad and one year's off medical school you shave off $40K+$20K (for those two years on average) and then you will likely benefit additionally by making 300K more (($180K salary - $50K residency) *2) so you could see it as a $320K difference for the 6 year program. For the 7 year program it would be about $20K (most likely they'll cut off U-grad) + $130K (difference in residency pay vs. physician salary) so that's 150K. I'm wouldn't try to reduce the quality of my education but I would have welcomed those 1-2 years in a heart beat. It's not like practicing is heaven because it's not...medicine is not one of those fields where you climb up a hill and then just coast...it's more like climb up that hill and keep climbing at a rate a little less steeper than residency). It's just the fact that you're not working the ridiculous hours and can actually spend a little more time in your late twenties on yourself.

Also a third pro I didn't mention...hello you're guaranteed a spot in medical school. Isn't that a big reason for why a lot of us are here discussing things neurotically? 1/2 the posts on SDN are motivated by the fact that someone's worried that he or she will not get into medical school. If you know you will get in that's a huge relief! No flying to a bunch of different places, filling out secondaries, and long waits. Sometimes no MCAT as well.


I hope I clarified things AgentB but you were right about that first point in that BS/MD/DO programs often require you to take some tough upper level bio courses to compensate for the early interest in biology and sometimes to compensate for the dropped MCAT.




Can we get some residents on SDN maybe to confirm whether or not they wished they'd finished formal medical training and started practicing earlier? I can sit here and preach my opinion but it lacks scope as there are a bunch of residents who have gone through this and can give us their first hand experiences. Gotta love SDN!

I understand your point, and I completely agree with the fact that it's best for the OP to decide what's right for him. We're essentially on two opposite sides of the spectrum with opposing interests, so naturally there's really not much of a common ground here. It's pretty sweet that your program has some perks, since the accelerated programs near my college really don't have much of an advantage except for shortened college time and guaranteed acceptance (which early assurance also offers). I guess I'm more interested in being well-rounded and exploring various interests in college rather than prepping for medical school (i.e. like taking physiology, anatomy, immunology etc.), but that's really subjective and it depends on what OP is personally interested in.
 
Can we get some residents on SDN maybe to confirm whether or not they wished they'd finished formal medical training and started practicing earlier? I can sit here and preach my opinion but it lacks scope as there are a bunch of residents who have gone through this and can give us their first hand experiences. Gotta love SDN!

You really don't need residents to come and "confirm" that. It's an opinion, and residents are going to have varying opinions just like pre-meds and med students. I just finished my first year of med school and I'm glad I didn't rush through undergrad to do a 6 year program. I'm one of the youngest people in my class, and I can't imagine being even younger in med school. Med school is a job in itself. College is kind of the childhood/adolescent hail mary, and it was something I wanted to enjoy and not rush through.

The fact remains that what everyone is expressing here is their own opinion. There is no one right answer. Your opinion is not any more correct than mine. These threads are meant to present different opinions so that the OP can make a more informed decision and consider ideas they might not have thought about. I agree that not having to take the MCAT or not having to go through the whole application cycle definitely has a huge appeal, but I'm also very thankful for my four years of undergrad, taking the classes I wanted, graduating with my friends that I maintained from freshman year, and I wouldn't have gone back to do anything differently. But that's me, that doesn't have to be you. The person above who posted about doing what's right for you is the most correct person in the thread. Some of the people I know who did an accelerated program are very happy they did it, but I know a couple others who regretted only having 2 years of undergrad and another who decided to apply to other schools because they realized they weren't satisfied with the med school they were guaranteed for. It's definitely a YMMV kind of thing.

That ended up being longer than I expected. Too much time on my hands now that first year is done :laugh:
 
An in-state six year BS/MD program is a great way to go. There are no cons if you are serious about going into medicine. Use the two free years to do a subspecialty at the end of everything. An extra subspecialty is worth a ton more than sitting around waiting to get a BS.
 
I just completed the bachelors portion of my 7 year BS/MD program and have had mixed feelings about my experiences so far. I turned down a few very prestigious (top 10) schools to attend the joint program (the school is mid/low tier) and almost felt "cheated" of a true college experience. Not only was school spirit non-existant, but the students themselves didn't foster the type of academic enrichment I expected out of an undergrad institution. That said, I was able to take a variety of different classes that I probably wouldn't have had I not been in this program like art, criminology, etc. Also, the kids in our program kind of had an "in" with the medical school, so it was "easier" to find research opportunities and advisors on the medical campus. I'm still very grateful for the guaranteed spot (and the ability to apply out without losing my seat) but at the end of the day, there are some things I regret by coming here.
 
Undergrad institutions use these programs to rope-in applicants that they wouldn't otherwise have a chance of attracting. It helps the undergrad side improve their numbers (raises the average SAT and ACT ) by attracting a bunch of people with perfect or near perfect scores who could have attended schools that are more prestigious.
 
I think it also really depends on the program. I'm a student in the Brown PLME program, and as an 8-year program, I don't feel as though I've missed out on my college years at all. All I've done is opened myself up to opportunities that I may not have had as a traditional pre-med. I specifically did not apply to any accelerated programs for this reason.
 
I think it also really depends on the program. I'm a student in the Brown PLME program, and as an 8-year program, I don't feel as though I've missed out on my college years at all. All I've done is opened myself up to opportunities that I may not have had as a traditional pre-med. I specifically did not apply to any accelerated programs for this reason.

Ok Brown PLME is a different thing though. If you get into Brown PLME just go. First of all its guaranteed pretty much, and its an Ivy.

Most BS/MD programs though are like low tier college's way of getting smart people in their schools lol.
 
I think it also really depends on the program. I'm a student in the Brown PLME program, and as an 8-year program, I don't feel as though I've missed out on my college years at all. All I've done is opened myself up to opportunities that I may not have had as a traditional pre-med. I specifically did not apply to any accelerated programs for this reason.

The OP was talking about accelerated programs (6-7 years). I think 8 year guaranteed programs are perfectly fine as long as you're happy with the med school associated with the program and you're able to maintain the requirements. Pitt has an 8-year guaranteed program, and around 6-7 people each year come from that program. They don't have to take the MCAT, but they do have to shadow, get clinical experience, maintain a 3.75, and I think they have to do undergrad research as well. The guaranteed students here would probably be very set to apply to med schools normally, they'd just have to take the MCAT.
 
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