Best Med School Options for Rhode Islanders?

[PsychoForPsychiatry]

Hopefully I can explain my situation without going too much into detail. Basically, I was born and raised in RI. After knowing I wanted to go to medical school, I applied to colleges with that in mind. I applied to a few BA/MD programs, of which I got into none, but I got into the schools themselves. I also applied to some colleges with EAPs, ending up choosing Tufts over Brown, figuring it would be somewhat easier to get into medical school and more convenient if it all worked out (no MCAT sounded nice). The issue here lies with Rhode Island not having a public medical school, because if it did, I would have gone to public uni instead. I'm now having doubts of whether pursuing the Tufts EAP is worth it, as I hear from others that Tufts is the most expensive medical school in the US, if not one of them. For undergrad, Tufts was actually the more affordable option, however I'm not sure if I should do this program only to be in massive debt. I've also began to consider things like prestige and ranking, and while I don't think they matter too much (as you can tell by my undergrad choice) I do know that the med school I go to could matter on residency placements, outcomes, etc. I'm aware BU has an EAP too, and so I could attempt to pursue that instead, or both. I believe BU also scores better on rankings but honestly from what I remember they're so close it could be negligible. And there are other EAPs open to all students, but I'm sure they're also much more competitive due to the higher applicant pool. As a Rhode Islander, is there no best option? Could I use my address in MA to claim I'm a MA resident? And then go to UMass instead for cheaper? What other options are there for me? Should I try going the normal route (MCAT, AMCAS) to widen opportunities? I feel it would be more stressful and time consuming than simply getting good grades, but is it worth the risk for the potential lower cost and better options for med school? What do you all think, especially with where Tufts sits in the medical community? Is it worth the price tag? Is the debt manageable? I'm open to ideas.

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[LunaOri]

Check with admissions offices to see if you would be eligible for in-state tuition at any of the NE schools.

 

[alwaysrunning]

Could I use my address in MA to claim I'm a MA resident? And then go to UMass instead for cheaper?

It looks like MA requires 7 years of residence in MA. Massachusetts Residency Classification

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

you should go to brown and then apply broadly.

 

[LizzyM]

Move to West Virginia, or South Dakota, or Montana.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

Move to West Virginia, or South Dakota, or Montana.

Now, there's a bit of realism from Ms. Lizzy M.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I was checking the MSAR to see how friendly UCONN SOM is to all New England applicants, but it seems like they aren't.

This is where networking with doctors who work with the state medical board or AMA could give you some insight. You want to know which schools may send students and residents into the RI hospitals. I have a hunch that UNECOM may be more New England friendly, but I don't know for sure.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Just apply private. Most of the NE state schools give little to no advantage since admissions are so competitive

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

Hopefully I can explain my situation without going too much into detail. Basically, I was born and raised in RI. After knowing I wanted to go to medical school, I applied to colleges with that in mind. I applied to a few BA/MD programs, of which I got into none, but I got into the schools themselves. I also applied to some colleges with EAPs, ending up choosing Tufts over Brown, figuring it would be somewhat easier to get into medical school and more convenient if it all worked out (no MCAT sounded nice). The issue here lies with Rhode Island not having a public medical school, because if it did, I would have gone to public uni instead. I'm now having doubts of whether pursuing the Tufts EAP is worth it, as I hear from others that Tufts is the most expensive medical school in the US, if not one of them. For undergrad, Tufts was actually the more affordable option, however I'm not sure if I should do this program only to be in massive debt. I've also began to consider things like prestige and ranking, and while I don't think they matter too much (as you can tell by my undergrad choice) I do know that the med school I go to could matter on residency placements, outcomes, etc. I'm aware BU has an EAP too, and so I could attempt to pursue that instead, or both. I believe BU also scores better on rankings but honestly from what I remember they're so close it could be negligible. And there are other EAPs open to all students, but I'm sure they're also much more competitive due to the higher applicant pool. As a Rhode Islander, is there no best option? Could I use my address in MA to claim I'm a MA resident? And then go to UMass instead for cheaper? What other options are there for me? Should I try going the normal route (MCAT, AMCAS) to widen opportunities? I feel it would be more stressful and time consuming than simply getting good grades, but is it worth the risk for the potential lower cost and better options for med school? What do you all think, especially with where Tufts sits in the medical community? Is it worth the price tag? Is the debt manageable? I'm open to ideas.

Stop thinking about the prestige of medical schools. As a Rhode Islander your chances of getting into any medical school are lower than the average US citizen. The average RI resident who gets into a US med school has a higher MCAT score than the national average. See this table:

https://www.aamc.org/media/6076/download?attachment

If I were in your shoes, I would go to the University of Rhode Island for undergrad and pay in state tuition. The average SAT score there is below 1,200. You will get all the science courses you need to prepare for med school and the MCAT. See the BS in Biology program.

Biology, Biological Sciences, Marine Biology

The Department of Biological Sciences offers a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in biology and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees in biological sciences and in marine biology. Both B.S. degrees satisfy the course requirements for application to medical, dental, or veterinary school programs...

web.uri.edu

URI SAT Scores and GPA

Find out your chances of getting into URI, with average SAT scores and GPA needed for admission.

www.prepscholar.com

If you go to URI and work like hell, you could get a 4.0 or close to it because you probably have more talent than the average student at URI. It's good to be the smartest guy or gal in the room. You should know that medical school admissions offices generally take transcripts of applicants at face value. The admissions staffs at med schools don't have the time, talent, incentive or data to normalize transcripts to account for the varying degree of difficulty at various colleges and for various majors.

If you have to pay full price at Tufts or BU for undergrad and then pay full price for a private medical school, you will be about $800,000 in debt at the end of a five-year residency. Yikes! Save your money and your parents' money and apply to URI.

 

[Rachapkis]

My two cents: Basing your entire undergraduate education on improving your chances of getting into the best possible medical school sounds myopic to me. College is a wonderful time to find out who you are, explore different areas of interest, and make lifelong friends. Medicine may seem like a shiny object now, but may (or may not) seem less shiny over time, especially when compared to other areas of interest. Within your economic constraints, I would pick the school that you believe to be the best fit and will give you the best opportunities for personal growth. If you excel at that college, your undergraduate education will not be a barrier to medical school entry. What's more, I suspect that if you meet a school's EAP requirements, you would otherwise have the chops to get into a decent medical school. Good luck!

 

[PsychoForPsychiatry]

Just apply private. Most of the NE state schools give little to no advantage since admissions are so competitive

So, sticking with the original plan of continuing with the Tufts EAP? It would definitely be the easiest option at this point but it's more so the med school cost I'm worried about, with Tufts being the most expensive, and if it would be worth it/manageable, compared to other private med schools if I went the typical route (including application and extraneous fees). It seems like my only options are private, due to what you already mentioned. Plus, I'm assuming cost for out of state med schools would be similar to private.

 

[PsychoForPsychiatry]

If I were in your shoes, I would go to the University of Rhode Island for undergrad and pay in state tuition. The average SAT score there is below 1,200. You will get all the science courses you need to prepare for med school and the MCAT. See the BS in Biology program.

Biology, Biological Sciences, Marine Biology

The Department of Biological Sciences offers a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in biology and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees in biological sciences and in marine biology. Both B.S. degrees satisfy the course requirements for application to medical, dental, or veterinary school programs...

web.uri.edu

URI SAT Scores and GPA

Find out your chances of getting into URI, with average SAT scores and GPA needed for admission.

www.prepscholar.com

If you go to URI and work like hell, you could get a 4.0 or close to it because you probably have more talent than the average student at URI. It's good to be the smartest guy or gal in the room. You should know that medical school admissions offices generally take transcripts of applicants at face value. The admissions staffs at med schools don't have the time, talent, incentive or data to normalize transcripts to account for the varying degree of difficulty at various colleges and for various majors.

If you have to pay full price at Tufts or BU for undergrad and then pay full price for a private medical school, you will be about $800,000 in debt at the end of a five-year residency. Yikes! Save your money and your parents' money and apply to URI.

I should have been clearer in my original message. I'm currently at Tufts. I already chose it over URI and Brown. Tufts was actually fairly generous with financial aid, and while URI was cheaper Tufts ended up being one of the most affordable, even without merit scholarships. I believe I'm paying something like 10k more per year than if I had gone to URI, which I figured wasn't that bad at the time since my parents said we could manage it. I could also minimize that difference if I did something like being an RA, which would give me free housing, so I have options here.

I'm not sure if transferring to URI would be beneficial. The fact is there are great clinical, research, and medical opportunities in Boston, and I assume it's much easier to get those opportunities as a freshman or sophomore than at URI, and surely more accessible (would need a car for URI, but not for Tufts). But maybe I'm mistaken. URI was high on my radar too, especially because they have something like an EAP which fast tracks to Brown Med, but only 1-2 students get into that each year, at most. Tufts EAP has an acceptance rate of around 20-30% of people who meet requirements, which I figured was better than the 0.02-0.05% chance at URI and was one of the factors in choosing Tufts.

At the moment, I'm not too stressed about my undergrad debt because it seems I'd be in the average undergrad debt range, if not below average debt. However, the news I hear about Tufts being the most expensive medical school in the US is concerning, and so I'm wondering if it's worth the convenience of continuing with the goal of the EAP (not having to take MCAT, miscellaneous work, application fees, etc.) or if I should just apply normally to several private/public medical schools and go through all the extra work, for the chance at a cheaper option. I know I will face debt regardless. There is no escaping it. My major concern is whether the debt for Tufts med is significantly more than if I went to other private medical schools. If not, I might as well just make it easier for myself and pursue the EAP. And then of course, there is always the option of serving in the USPHS or service branch.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

My two cents: Basing your entire undergraduate education on improving your chances of getting into the best possible medical school sounds myopic to me. College is a wonderful time to find out who you are, explore different areas of interest, and make lifelong friends. Medicine may seem like a shiny object now, but may (or may not) seem less shiny over time, especially when compared to other areas of interest. Within your economic constraints, I would pick the school that you believe to be the best fit and will give you the best opportunities for personal growth. If you excel at that college, your undergraduate education will not be a barrier to medical school entry. What's more, I suspect that if you meet a school's EAP requirements, you would otherwise have the chops to get into a decent medical school. Good luck!

This is the swan song of many people who had the talent to get into med school but didn't get accepted. The OP is from one of the worst states in the union to call home if someone wants to be a physician. The OP needs to make all the right moves.

 

[LunaOri]

I should have been clearer in my original message. I'm currently at Tufts. I already chose it over URI and Brown. Tufts was actually fairly generous with financial aid, and while URI was cheaper Tufts ended up being one of the most affordable, even without merit scholarships. I believe I'm paying something like 10k more per year than if I had gone to URI, which I figured wasn't that bad at the time since my parents said we could manage it. I could also minimize that difference if I did something like being an RA, which would give me free housing, so I have options here.

I'm not sure if transferring to URI would be beneficial. The fact is there are great clinical, research, and medical opportunities in Boston, and I assume it's much easier to get those opportunities as a freshman or sophomore than at URI, and surely more accessible (would need a car for URI, but not for Tufts). But maybe I'm mistaken. URI was high on my radar too, especially because they have something like an EAP which fast tracks to Brown Med, but only 1-2 students get into that each year, at most. Tufts EAP has an acceptance rate of around 20-30% of people who meet requirements, which I figured was better than the 0.02-0.05% chance at URI and was one of the factors in choosing Tufts.

At the moment, I'm not too stressed about my undergrad debt because it seems I'd be in the average undergrad debt range, if not below average debt. However, the news I hear about Tufts being the most expensive medical school in the US is concerning, and so I'm wondering if it's worth the convenience of continuing with the goal of the EAP (not having to take MCAT, miscellaneous work, application fees, etc.) or if I should just apply normally to several private/public medical schools and go through all the extra work, for the chance at a cheaper option. I know I will face debt regardless. There is no escaping it. My major concern is whether the debt for Tufts med is significantly more than if I went to other private medical schools. If not, I might as well just make it easier for myself and pursue the EAP. And then of course, there is always the option of serving in the USPHS or service branch.

What makes you think Tufts medical school won’t give you a similar aid package to Tufts undergrad?

 

[LizzyM]

I'm not familiar with Tufts EAP. Does it mean skipping the MCAT and applying to Tufts med school and then being locked in if you are accepted? If you are not accepted, how much time would you have to prepare for the MCAT and apply to other schools? Would you have to skip a cycle?

Is not taking the MCAT and not applying to a zillion schools really such a good deal that you'd be willing to pay X where X is the difference between net tuition at any other school that would admit you and the tuition at Tufts med school? It seems like it could be penny wise, pound foolish.

 

[PsychoForPsychiatry]

What makes you think Tufts medical school won’t give you a similar aid package to Tufts undergrad?

Well, it is a completely different school with their own admissions. I wouldn't expect them to be as generous. But I really don't know, it could happen to be similar. However, I would think living expenses would be the bigger issue here than the school tuition. If it is one of the most expensive medical schools, coupled with living in Boston, I can only assume that would get costly very quickly. Meanwhile there are cheaper medical schools with cheaper costs of living as well.

 

[PsychoForPsychiatry]

I'm not familiar with Tufts EAP. Does it mean skipping the MCAT and applying to Tufts med school and then being locked in if you are accepted? If you are not accepted, how much time would you have to prepare for the MCAT and apply to other schools? Would you have to skip a cycle?

Is not taking the MCAT and not applying to a zillion schools really such a good deal that you'd be willing to pay X where X is the difference between net tuition at any other school that would admit you and the tuition at Tufts med school? It seems like it could be penny wise, pound foolish.

Yes, it means skipping the MCAT. I would apply as a sophomore to Tufts medical school if I meet certain eligibility criteria. However, even if accepted it is non-binding. So I could potentially take the MCAT and apply to other schools. I took this information from their page on the program.

Cumulative Science GPA >=3.7
Cumulative Total GPA >=3.7

All courses in Biology, Chemistry and Physics (including labs) >=B+
All other courses >=B

Candidates who are admitted to the Early Assurance Program are not required to make a binding commitment to Tufts School of Medicine at the time of admission. Candidates may consider their options and remain uncommitted during their junior year following admission to the Early Assurance Program. The binding commitment to Tufts School of Medicine occurs at the fall of their senior year preceding medical school matriculation, when the candidate submits an AMCAS special program application that precludes the candidate from applying to other medical schools for that entering year.

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

Yes, it means skipping the MCAT. I would apply as a sophomore to Tufts medical school if I meet certain eligibility criteria. However, even if accepted it is non-binding. So I could potentially take the MCAT and apply to other schools. I took this information from their page on the program.

This means if you decide to apply elsewhere, you give up that seat, because you can only apply to one AAMC primary. The only advantage is that you can take the MCAT to judge your competitiveness before deciding to apply out or not.

 

[soldierboy305]

Hopefully I can explain my situation without going too much into detail. Basically, I was born and raised in RI. After knowing I wanted to go to medical school, I applied to colleges with that in mind. I applied to a few BA/MD programs, of which I got into none, but I got into the schools themselves. I also applied to some colleges with EAPs, ending up choosing Tufts over Brown, figuring it would be somewhat easier to get into medical school and more convenient if it all worked out (no MCAT sounded nice). The issue here lies with Rhode Island not having a public medical school, because if it did, I would have gone to public uni instead. I'm now having doubts of whether pursuing the Tufts EAP is worth it, as I hear from others that Tufts is the most expensive medical school in the US, if not one of them. For undergrad, Tufts was actually the more affordable option, however I'm not sure if I should do this program only to be in massive debt. I've also began to consider things like prestige and ranking, and while I don't think they matter too much (as you can tell by my undergrad choice) I do know that the med school I go to could matter on residency placements, outcomes, etc. I'm aware BU has an EAP too, and so I could attempt to pursue that instead, or both. I believe BU also scores better on rankings but honestly from what I remember they're so close it could be negligible. And there are other EAPs open to all students, but I'm sure they're also much more competitive due to the higher applicant pool. As a Rhode Islander, is there no best option? Could I use my address in MA to claim I'm a MA resident? And then go to UMass instead for cheaper? What other options are there for me? Should I try going the normal route (MCAT, AMCAS) to widen opportunities? I feel it would be more stressful and time consuming than simply getting good grades, but is it worth the risk for the potential lower cost and better options for med school? What do you all think, especially with where Tufts sits in the medical community? Is it worth the price tag? Is the debt manageable? I'm open to ideas.

Hey there. UConn may be a good option, they offer residency after one year. While you will pay a reduced NE regional price the first year, you're next three will be in state. Hope this helps.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Another thread on the boards here suggests UVM also has a campus in Connecticut. I'd check that out and connect with admissions.

 

[PsychoForPsychiatry]

Another thread on the boards here suggests UVM also has a campus in Connecticut. I'd check that out and connect with admissions.

Like UConn, after checking I found they also consider someone an in-state resident after one year. So it seems both UConn and UVM are good options.