BS/MD program students in med school

[directdoc]

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I wanted to see what BS/MD program students thought about going through the program now that they are in med school. Did you guys feel under prepared or did you feel the same as everyone else? Do you think not taking the MCAT had you behind when you started school?

 

[makeitstop]

I think most people will agree that the MCAT has little to do with med school other than getting you accepted. If you don't need that, GREAT. I definitely didn't feel like I missed out on anything by not taking the MCAT.

As for feeling behind in general...everyone comes from different backgrounds. Those people who were biology majors in undergrad, and have solid backgrounds in anatomy, physiology, histology, pharmacology, etc are at an obvious advantage over those with weaker science backgrounds. Having taken barely more science than the pre-reqs, I felt at a bit of a disadvantage, but no more so than those people who were English majors, etc in undergrad. And med school is such a different game than undergrad, the playing field really isn't all that uneven. If I could do it over again, I'd still stick with the BS/MD, no question.

 

[directdoc]

I think most people will agree that the MCAT has little to do with med school other than getting you accepted. If you don't need that, GREAT. I definitely didn't feel like I missed out on anything by not taking the MCAT.

Hmm...thats interesting. Thanks for the info.

 

[The Buff]

I wanted to see what BS/MD program students thought about going through the program now that they are in med school. Did you guys feel under prepared or did you feel the same as everyone else? Do you think not taking the MCAT had you behind when you started school?

Felt the same, and I majored in history. Absolutely not.

 

[Polo Gal]

Hi, I'm a senior in high school right now and looking into the BS/MD schools. Could you give me some advice on how to get in? Like what did you do that separated you from the other applicants and why they chose you?

 

[njbmd]

Moving to Pre-Allo as this thread has become a request for pre-med advice. Allopathic medical students can follow and reply there.

 

[Elixir86]

Hi, I'm a senior in high school right now and looking into the BS/MD schools. Could you give me some advice on how to get in? Like what did you do that separated you from the other applicants and why they chose you?

I'm currently a senior in undergrad who is in a BS/MD program. There are different websites and books that you can check out to find a list of BS/MD programs and their requirements. As for myself, I heavily volunteered throughout high school (my total hours was close to 400), shadowed doctors, etc. I also participated in other medically related activities such as blood drives, Operation Smile fundraisers, and things like that. Aside from the medically related things, a strong GPA and good SAT score are important, as well as extracir. activities in high school.

Overall, the key thing to stress is that you really want to be a doctor. Having a clear decision so early in life isn't always easy, so the administrators really want to know that they are accepting the people who are in this for the long haul and that they can handle all the work and pressure. Make sure your essay and your interview stress the point that you are committed toward this endeavor and you are mature enough to handle the things that will befall you in the future.

 

[Polo Gal]

The thing is that I was too involved with sports (water polo, swimming, tennis, karate) and piano for my freshman-junior year, since my parents didn't stress volunteering so much. I have a lot of awards from that, but I don't think it'll help me get in that much. I volunteer at a hospital now, started in April 2007, but I don't know if it'll help. I also work at a pharmacy, packing medicine. I didn't know about job shadows until a couple months ago, but I'm trying to contact my doctors to see if they will let me follow them around. Also, I am the math club co-president and I did junior lifeguard for a summer.

Do you think I'll be able to get in? I really want to become a doctor and help people ever since my grandfather died form kidney failure. My GPA is 3.977 (one B) unweighted, and 4.295 weighted. I'm taking a lot of IB classes since our school only has AP Statistics (which I"ve taken) and AP U.S. History. My SAT score was 2070, 780 math, 720 writing, 570 reading. ACT: 31 composite, 36 math, 31 writing, 28 science, and 29 reading. I also had an internship with a math software company for a summer. This summer, I'm in a Health Career Program at a community college for about 25 high school seniors.

Should I volunteer more? Or is this good enough? What were the main things (characteristics, etc) the programs are looking for?

What college are you in for the BS/MD program. I've looked at about everyone of them, but I"m not sure which one I should apply to.

 

[Elixir86]

The thing is that I was too involved with sports (water polo, swimming, tennis, karate) and piano for my freshman-junior year, since my parents didn't stress volunteering so much. I have a lot of awards from that, but I don't think it'll help me get in that much. I volunteer at a hospital now, started in April 2007, but I don't know if it'll help. I also work at a pharmacy, packing medicine. I didn't know about job shadows until a couple months ago, but I'm trying to contact my doctors to see if they will let me follow them around. Also, I am the math club co-president and I did junior lifeguard for a summer.

Do you think I'll be able to get in? I really want to become a doctor and help people ever since my grandfather died form kidney failure. My GPA is 3.977 (one B) unweighted, and 4.295 weighted. I'm taking a lot of IB classes since our school only has AP Statistics (which I"ve taken) and AP U.S. History. My SAT score was 2070, 780 math, 720 writing, 570 reading. ACT: 31 composite, 36 math, 31 writing, 28 science, and 29 reading. I also had an internship with a math software company for a summer. This summer, I'm in a Health Career Program at a community college for about 25 high school seniors.

Should I volunteer more? Or is this good enough? What were the main things (characteristics, etc) the programs are looking for?

What college are you in for the BS/MD program. I've looked at about everyone of them, but I"m not sure which one I should apply to.

I def. think you have a good chance of getting into a BS/MD program from the look of your statistics. I would def. continue volunteering and make a note in your application that you are still presently volunteering and plan to continue.

I don't really want to say which BS/MD program I am in b/c of security reasons, but I would say you have a good chance.

 

[drizzt3117]

I applied to and was accepted at one BS/MD when I was a HS student, and ended up turning it down. I only really knew about that one, which was in my hometown. I think if I had known about more BS/MD programs I may have been more likely to have enrolled in one.

 

[Sam212]

The thing is that I was too involved with sports (water polo, swimming, tennis, karate) and piano for my freshman-junior year, since my parents didn't stress volunteering so much. I have a lot of awards from that, but I don't think it'll help me get in that much. I volunteer at a hospital now, started in April 2007, but I don't know if it'll help. I also work at a pharmacy, packing medicine. I didn't know about job shadows until a couple months ago, but I'm trying to contact my doctors to see if they will let me follow them around. Also, I am the math club co-president and I did junior lifeguard for a summer.

Do you think I'll be able to get in? I really want to become a doctor and help people ever since my grandfather died form kidney failure. My GPA is 3.977 (one B) unweighted, and 4.295 weighted. I'm taking a lot of IB classes since our school only has AP Statistics (which I"ve taken) and AP U.S. History. My SAT score was 2070, 780 math, 720 writing, 570 reading. ACT: 31 composite, 36 math, 31 writing, 28 science, and 29 reading. I also had an internship with a math software company for a summer. This summer, I'm in a Health Career Program at a community college for about 25 high school seniors.

Should I volunteer more? Or is this good enough? What were the main things (characteristics, etc) the programs are looking for?

What college are you in for the BS/MD program. I've looked at about everyone of them, but I"m not sure which one I should apply to.

Although I am against BS/MD programs, you should stand an excellent chance at UMKC and NEOUCOM. Also look at SLU and University of Miami program.

 

[Meatwad]

If you know 110% you want to be a doctor, do it. At my school, the BS/MD program requires you to take the MCAT and score the "equivelant to that of an average matriculated student," so I assume that means you need a 30. I think some programs are less stringent and some don't require you to even take the MCAT, though, so I'd try for those.

 

[superfan56]

I wanted to see what BS/MD program students thought about going through the program now that they are in med school. Did you guys feel under prepared or did you feel the same as everyone else? Do you think not taking the MCAT had you behind when you started school?

brown university has a PLME program.

 

[Meatwad]

brown university has a PLME program.

I know of two people that went through it at Brown, both loved their experience, so that's definitely a good one to look into.

 

[superfan56]

I know of two people that went through it at Brown, both loved their experience, so that's definitely a good one to look into.

i used to work there and knew tons of kids that went through there, maybe not tons, but enough. all had a great experience. It's probably the easiest way to get into brown medical school as well

 

[GoldShadow]

I'm pretty sure all BMS students are from the PLME.

 

[Polo Gal]

Sorry i haven't been on lately, but thank you to those who have given me advice.

To Elixir86 and drizzt3117, do you know why they chose to accept you instead of the other applicants? And this might be kinda personal, but what were your SAT I and II and ACT scores?

I'm still scared that I might not get in. Some of the things I've taken into account are my low SAT verbal score (only 570), maybe 50 hours volunteering for a hospital, I've never taken biology and I won't really have a chance, and I don't really have a leadership position, the only things are like: group project leadership at school, at the Health Careers Program I mentioned, things like that. But i'm not captain of a team or anything. Would this leadership and other factors mentioned above affect my chances of getting accepted?

For those who talked about Brown University PLME: i'm not sure if my SAT verbal score of 570 is high enough. Do you really think I have a good chance? Why?

As for UMKC, I've never taken biology and the program says that they require it, but do you really need it? I can still take it in college, right? I've also looked at NEOUCOM, but they accept less than 10% out-of-state students (I'm from Oregon), so i'm not sure if i'll be able to get in. Should I still try?

Saint-Louise University has a BS/MD program? I didn't know that. I looked on their website, but couldn't find it. COuld you help please?

Overall, i'm just afraid that my lack of leadership positions, no biology class, and low SAT and somewhat low ACT score will lower my chances.