Are BS/MD programs good?

[Lord Petyr Baelish]

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I've been looking at colleges (I'm a high school junior right now). I mostly like small, liberal arts colleges and I'm looking mostly at the more prestigious ones (such as Williams, Amherst, and Middlebury). I am fairly sure I want to be a doctor, so I would like to check out some 2-4 or 3-4 BS/MD programs. The ones I've come across, however, are at colleges which aren't very well respected or won't provide the same level of education at the undergraduate level as a school like Williams. So, I guess I'm wondering if these combined programs are something I should consider or if I should just do 4 years of undergrad.

 

[ChrisMack390]

Baylor, Brown, BU, Case Western, GWU, Northwestern, Tufts, and Temple all have BS/MDs, so I think it is a tad ridiculous to act like only ****ty colleges have them.

That being said, I would never have signed up for one of those because I think the idea that a 17 or 18 year old knows what they want to do for the next 12 years let alone the rest of their life is crazy.

 

[Lost in Translation]

If you're dead set on being a doctor, good luck getting a spot in one. Each year there are only about 15± students accepted to a program at a given school.

 

[Ismet]

Moving to hSDN as OP is in high school.

Most universities with a BS/MD program are affiliated with a medical school, thus the ability to offer a guaranteed/conditional/fast track program into the medical program. When Williams College sprouts a medical school, maybe there will be a BS/MD program there.

You'll learn once you get closer to a career in medicine that the vast majority of the medical schools (and medical programs in general) affiliated with these BS/MD programs have excellent reputations in the medical field, even if they don't have a "prestigious" liberal arts college name.

Honestly just do 4 years of undergrad or find a guaranteed/conditional program that is 4-4 but gets you a spot in a medical school without having to jump through all the hoops of an application process. College was fun. I would have been sad to miss out of 2 years of that, especially 2 years as an upperclassman, and there's a lot of maturing to be done before getting to med school.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Moving to hSDN as OP is in high school.

Most universities with a BS/MD program are affiliated with a medical school, thus the ability to offer a guaranteed/conditional/fast track program into the medical program. When Williams College sprouts a medical school, maybe there will be a BS/MD program there.

You'll learn once you get closer to a career in medicine that the vast majority of the medical schools (and medical programs in general) affiliated with these BS/MD programs have excellent reputations in the medical field, even if they don't have a "prestigious" liberal arts college name.

Honestly just do 4 years of undergrad or find a guaranteed/conditional program that is 4-4 but gets you a spot in a medical school without having to jump through all the hoops of an application process. College was fun. I would have been sad to miss out of 2 years of that, especially 2 years as an upperclassman, and there's a lot of maturing to be done before getting to med school.

Honestly, I'm pretty surprised that they let me into medical school at my current maturity level; I can't even imagine what it would have been like being at the same point two years ago.

 

[ComputerGuy365]

The traditional route is honestly probably best, those programs are ridiculously hard to get into. You need extensive volunteer + research experience, on top of a perfect GPA and SAT/ACT. Many users have said it's far harder than getting into an ivy league.

 

[FreeRadicals]

First of all, admittance to one of these BS/MD programs is ridiculously difficult (as stated above). Secondly, most of them do NOT require a MCAT score - it is basically a guarantee into their specific med-school; this allows you to focus on research, internships, etc. rather than applying to Medical School and studying for the MCAT.

 

[Law2Doc]

I've been looking at colleges (I'm a high school junior right now). I mostly like small, liberal arts colleges and I'm looking mostly at the more prestigious ones (such as Williams, Amherst, and Middlebury). I am fairly sure I want to be a doctor, so I would like to check out some 2-4 or 3-4 BS/MD programs. The ones I've come across, however, are at colleges which aren't very well respected or won't provide the same level of education at the undergraduate level as a school like Williams. So, I guess I'm wondering if these combined programs are something I should consider or if I should just do 4 years of undergrad.

If you can get into Amherst or Williams you definitely should go. Med schools will always be there. These accelerated programs have steadily become less in vogue as the average age in med school has risen and diversity of premed majors has increased. Most med school educators put more stock in the value of a four year education before med school.

While most people in these combined degree paths do fine, the goal really shouldn't be to rush to start studying medicine-- the light at the end of the tunnel really is s train and you are better off enjoying the benefits of a four year liberal arts education before emerging yourself in medicine. And people who do this to avoid the MCAT or another round of applications should bear in mind that rising to challenges is a lot of what this field is about -- each hurdle helps ready you for the next one.

This is a field that requires great patience -- trying to rush and save a year rarely makes sense. Nor does funneling yourself into a path of study before seeing everything else out there. And no, almost none of these programs are at schools of the same caliber as one of the prestigious small schools you describe -- it's generally a "gimmick" certain schools need to offer to attract a better caliber student.

Enjoy yourself in college. It can be the best four years of your life if you do it right. Med school will still be there and you'll have far more choices of schools (and careers) if you don't try to make such life decisions at 17.

 

[barsoum.michael]

I attend a BS/MD program. I can tell you not taking the MCAT is such a stress reliever

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