BS/MD and BA/MD

[patelakshar]

Hey....I am currently a sophmore in High School...I have a got a 30 on the ACT and I plan to have about 7 AP Courses (BIO, CHEM, PHYS, HIST, ENG, etc...) and a 4.75 gpa....i am also volunetering and job shadowing at a hospital...am part of sci-o, scholars bowl and student gov...you guys think i have a decent chance of getting accepted to any combined/accelerated programs? If so, which ones?


Thanks,
~AKi

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[stapler187]

what is a 4.75 gpa?
isnt that inflated on a 4.00 scale?
that's not saying much, without knowing your relative rank and strength of h.s.

 

[zdogg790]

You'll only get accepted if you are also a member of SADD and History Club. You also need to raise your GPA a few points.

Good Luck!

 

[The Chronic MD]

Just out of curiosity...do you have a life? I would try to get out more, and understand how a "chill" lifestyle can accomodate your educational glory. I am going to med school next year, and I have been enjoying myself immensely throughout the process. By the way, what the f%#k is the scholars bowl? A bunch of 4.75 students challenging each other at bumper bowling...or is it the type of bowl that "The Chronic" would like to join in on...?

ity:

 

[klp14]

Woah, guys. You're being so rough on the kid!

To the OP, check out the stats on a couple of accelerated programs (aamc.org has a list on their combined degree webpage) and talk to your guidance counselor or a pre-med advisor at the local college.

 

[paean]

As you can see, postings that can be seen as self-agrandizements rarely get real answers. If you are actually trying to get info, and not showing off, get a copy of the MSAR and see if they have admission stats for the combined programs you are interested in.

And if you post about wanting to do a combined program, I hope you have thick skin because lots of pre-meds tend to jump on anyone who posts about doing one with unpleasant comments like Chronic MD exemplified. Too bad there's not a pre-premed forum for you guys to communicate without the more traditional pre-meds getting their knickers all in a bunch over.

Good luck, and I hope you are enjoying what you are doing. (I was something of a nerd in high school, did a lot of academic activities, and had fun doing them, so I know that it's possible, unlike some of the people who assume that you would only do them to get into a "good" college.)

 

[Gleevec]

A 30 on the ACT is sorta low for a combined program. Also most of those programs have SAT requirements instead.

I dont know what a 4.75 GPA is, and 7 APs is average. Your ECs are good enough to get you into a combined program if you have some medical related stuff. But definitely, work on getting a high SAT score. That is a huge component of these sorts of things.

Originally posted by patelakshar
Hey....I am currently a sophmore in High School...I have a got a 30 on the ACT and I plan to have about 7 AP Courses (BIO, CHEM, PHYS, HIST, ENG, etc...) and a 4.75 gpa....i am also volunetering and job shadowing at a hospital...am part of sci-o, scholars bowl and student gov...you guys think i have a decent chance of getting accepted to any combined/accelerated programs? If so, which ones?


Thanks,
~AKi

 

[The Chronic MD]

Hey...take it easy!

Paean, I know kids just like you and patelakshar (not a lot of them though)...and each of them would tell both of you the same thing I did (to chill out and enjoy yourself). Sit back and have a cold one, watch a good movie, or hit up Enrico's in North Beach for a delightful cocktail. Sure, "enjoying oneself" is subjective, but try to sit back and not take everything too seriously...I could care less if this kid does a combined program or not, it's just that I hate to see people stress themselves out at such an early age, worrying about getting into medical school six years down the line.

Patel, recognize! You're chillin with a 4.75 and all that stuff to go with it! Just keep doin what your doin. I know kids who have gotten into those programs with less "accolades" on their resume. Just make sure to sit back and take a deep breath, and trust me, all will work out in your favor!

 

[paean]

Chronic, if you had been around for a little longer here, you would know that the high school me I referred to was a while ago.

I rarely say anything like this to other posters, but I noticed that most of your posts have been derogatory to others (or in some cases, to what you seemed to assume they were saying). Please take the time to read what people actually say on the board, it's hard to have a conversation when you jump to conclusions and put people down.

If you noticed, the OP is not concerned about getting into med school in 6 years, he's talking about something in 2 years, which is a very reasonable time frame for looking at how to get where you want.

As for the idea of "chilling out," um, what do you think we are doing? People who post on SDN tend to be relatively laid back procrasinators, although in the case of the pre-meds, hopefully not too laid back, or they'd never start studying for the MCAT. And my comment about enjoying some of the activities similar to the ones the OP mentioned was true. If you tried hanging out with some friends and building an experiement or a literary magazine, you'd see why it can be a lot of fun. (And depending on the friends, sometimes you also avoid the hangover you get if you had gone out to a bar.)

 

[paean]

Chronic,

okay, I just reread my post, and your last one, and I think that my tone may have been a little harsh. Hard to ask someone for "good behavior" if you don't model it, right? Just try to be a little kinder to SDNers who have different ideas about how to have a good time (I just read your celebratory post), okay?

paean

 

[LizardKing]

Hey everyone, relax...the kid has legitimate concerns.

I went to the USC BS/MD program and I know a lot about this application process. High stats and great EC's won't guarantee you anything...it's SO competitive to get into these programs. I know plenty of people with 4.75 GPA's and 1600 SATs who get turned down by these combined programs. They don't even get interviews. This is not some rumor...it's for real.

What will work is showing a lot of maturity on top of academic ability. That's really what they're looking for (unless you've already published in Nature, etc.). So work on those essays, and really be honest with yourself...you have to appear to genuinely want to do medicine and to make that commitment right out of high school.

 

[The Chronic MD]

Aki-

I know you're sick of seeing me, or hearing from me reply, but here is also something to consider: If you get admitted to one of those programs, you will be in the same place for 6+ years...It better be somewhere that you like. For example, LizardBoy was forced to cheer for USC football for who knows how many years! (I'm just bitter about Nov. 30) If you go the more traditional route, you are never in the same place for more than 4 years...that's a good thing if you end up in -20 degree weather...

Paean-

It's all good. I never take offense to any of this, cuz it's good fun posting on this site.

 

[*sunny*]

I know that for NJ schools will only interview you if you have a 1400 SAT from one sitting, meaning you can't combine the math and verbal scores from two different tests. as far as ap's and your gpa, in the end it won't matter...every other student applying will most likely have the same ec's and classes as you do, so SATs play a big role. Also, the bs/md at umdnj (nj school) usually only accepts less than 15 students STATEWIDE- so it is an incredibly competitive program- i don't know what it's like for the schools you are looking at, but if your state school has a program that's the best place to start looking- good luck!

 

[merlin17]

Hi,

I would definitely go out and buy the MSAR. It has statistics for all of the combined programs. I am afraid that you will find that a 30 ACT is near the minimum for many of these programs. Others seem to have state residency requirements.

Another thing you need to think about are your extracurriculars. I would imagine that getting into one of these combined programs is similar to getting into a very competitive undergrad. They look at the whole picture. It sounds like all of your extracurriculars are academic in nature. I would imagine that to get into one of these programs without spectacular numbers would be to have something else that was really special. If you were an all-state soccer player or played the chello for 10 years etc...something to make you stand out. That said I don't know what sci-o and scholars bowl are so I may not be the best advice here.

As far the the GPA and AP courses those are great but you didn't mention class rank. Many of these programs are looking for people in the top percentages of their graduating classes. The number of AP courses is only relative compared to what other students at your high school take. If you are taking as difficult a course load as the other top students in your class, then you are doing great =)

Finally, these combined programs can be great. They can save you a lot of trouble later on. I personally, however, turned down a very good combined program and it has worked out great for me. I went to college, really explored whether or not medicine was the career or me, and now I am heading to a much better medical school. I also know a number of people who start combined programs and have dropped out and applied through the normal application process. Depending on what you want to do in medicine (say you really decide you want to pursue academic medicine, or research) the school you started at may not be the best school for you.

So anyway, you haven't gotten much advice so I am just trying to help. Good luck and have fun!

 

[fava]

i also turned down a combined program, and am applying now. i don't regret my decision at all, even despite stressing over the mcats, and all of the money i could've saved... i agree with everything merlin said. plus, even though i knew i wanted to be a doctor when i applied to that 7-year program, the fact remains that i was just 17 years old... i ultimately decided that i owed it to myself to do some exploring during my undergrad, without committing myself to something so huge at such a young age.

 

[Dr. Dodger Dog]

Originally posted by The Chronic MD
Aki-

I know you're sick of seeing me, or hearing from me reply, but here is also something to consider: If you get admitted to one of those programs, you will be in the same place for 6+ years...It better be somewhere that you like. For example, LizardBoy was forced to cheer for USC football for who knows how many years! (I'm just bitter about Nov. 30) If you go the more traditional route, you are never in the same place for more than 4 years...that's a good thing if you end up in -20 degree weather...

Paean-

It's all good. I never take offense to any of this, cuz it's good fun posting on this site.

USC football kicks serious ass... and if you go to USC, you are not STUCK here for 8 years... if you do well, you can leave if you don't like it... LizardKing is at Hopkins now and many others have gone onto other places as well... med programs like USC's are really good and flexible... but enough about that... I have finals to study for....