Chance into BS/MS programs

[indigoleague]

SAT 1(M/CR/W/Essay) : 800/750/800/11
SAT 2: 800 MII, 800 Physics, 780 Chem
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.83/4.33
Rank: 23/550- top 5%
AP: Bio(4), Calc AB(5), Calc BC(5), US History(5), Language(5), Micro(5)
Senior Course Load: most AP
Awards: National Merit, AP Scholar with Distinction, Honor Roll

Extracurriculars:
1. President of Charity: New startup that raises money for a notable cause through fundraisers. So far raised $5000 which directly aided the intended target
2. Tae Kwon Do: After practicing for 7 years, I reached Black Belt
3.High School Soccer: Played freshmen, sophomore and senior years. Received varsity letter senior year
4.Guitar: Been playing for 8 years with teacher and performed in a few recitals
5.Science Honors Society: Part of executive board that helped pass this club through BOE. Once passed, became committee member in charge of fundraising
6.DECA: Committee Member in charge of recruiting new members. Have been participating in competitions since freshmen year
7. App Developing: Been recreational developing apps since 8th grade but recently launched two apps onto Android Market. Each has about a 1000 downloads

Job/Work experience:
1. Interned at a biomedical laboratory during the summer: unpaid but have name on published paper
2. Recreational soccer referee: paid to officiate soccer games for a season
3. Family Practitioner shadower: Helped around a private office and learned a lot through patient interaction

Volunteer/Community Service:
1. Hospital volunteering: worked at front desk, kitchen, and emergency room: 220 hours
2. STEM Museum: worked in a variety of exhibits: 120 hours
3.Blood Drive: Hosted a blood drive locally by publicizing it and managing it
4.American Cancer Society: Committee Member in charge of hosting Relay For Life(2 events, two years)

Am I a strong candidate for any BS/MD programs? I live in NJ so schools connected with njms, drexel, temple, are my top choices. I am applying to 25-30 lower to mid tier schools but do you think I have a shot to reach the interview round? Also, after reaching the interview round, is the interview the only thing that decides accept/reject or do they continue looking at resumes? Thanks!

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[DrHart]

I'm voting no because I hate these types of threads

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

1) This belongs on hSDN, not Pre-Allo

2) I would really strongly recommend against BS/MD in general because as a highschool senior you have no reasonable idea what being a doctor is like or if you will enjoy the level of science required. Most people I know who did the combined degree were miserable because they felt like they missed out on so much of the exploratory and experimental aspects of college. For example how do you know you wouldn't prefer a career in research as a PhD? Or Psychology? Hell, you could take a class in business and fall in love with consumer marketing or something like that. One primary care shadowing experience is really not sufficient to give you any idea what the day to day life of most residents or attendings is like. Theres quite a lot of bs in medicine and I wouldn't recommend committing to it without seeing what goes on "behind the curtain" so to speak.

3) Also even a full course load of AP classes is not an accurate indication of your ability to succeed in premed and med courses. I know at least one person well who was a highschool superstar, went BS/MD and failed out 2.5 years in because she couldn't make the required 30 MCAT score. Let me tell you that would really suck.

If you read all that and still wanna go for it, by all means do. I can't comment from experience but I don't see how your credentials could be much better given the near perfect AP grades, SAT, and volunteer work. I would say get some more shadowing, but to be honest, I have no clue how much BS/MD programs care about shadowing. In any case, good luck with whatever you do!

 

[WedgeDawg]

Moved to hSDN

 

[ComputerGuy365]

1) This belongs on hSDN, not Pre-Allo

2) I would really strongly recommend against BS/MD in general because as a highschool senior you have no reasonable idea what being a doctor is like or if you will enjoy the level of science required. Most people I know who did the combined degree were miserable because they felt like they missed out on so much of the exploratory and experimental aspects of college. For example how do you know you wouldn't prefer a career in research as a PhD? Or Psychology? Hell, you could take a class in business and fall in love with consumer marketing or something like that. One primary care shadowing experience is really not sufficient to give you any idea what the day to day life of most residents or attendings is like. Theres quite a lot of bs in medicine and I wouldn't recommend committing to it without seeing what goes on "behind the curtain" so to speak.

3) Also even a full course load of AP classes is not an accurate indication of your ability to succeed in premed and med courses. I know at least one person well who was a highschool superstar, went BS/MD and failed out 2.5 years in because she couldn't make the required 30 MCAT score. Let me tell you that would really suck.

If you read all that and still wanna go for it, by all means do. I can't comment from experience but I don't see how your credentials could be much better given the near perfect AP grades, SAT, and volunteer work. I would say get some more shadowing, but to be honest, I have no clue how much BS/MD programs care about shadowing. In any case, good luck with whatever you do!

I agree. These programs are unnecessary.

 

[md-2020]

I also despise BS/MDs, but to answer your question (since no one else seems to be willing ) you're competitive.

 

[VagabondKing]

You're competitive but I'd strongly advise against a BS/MD program while still in high school.

If I was in your situation I would aim for a really solid undergrad university or see if any state schools offered me a full ride x 4 yrs.

 

[medguy24]

With the ability you have you can almost certainly get into a top notch MD school in the future. Don't waste your time with low tier bs/md schools
Go to a top tier undergrad and then a top tier md school

 

[efle]

I'd echo the advice to go to a premed powerhouse like an Ivy, Stanford, Duke, Hopkins, WashU, Rice etc. You can figure out if medicine is right for you as part of building a strong app and will be set to apply to great med schools. And if you decide medicine isn't for you, you're at a good launchpad into pretty much all other career options too

 

[ZedsDed]

You can figure out if medicine is right for you as part of building a strong app and will be set to apply to great med schools. And if you decide medicine isn't for you, you're at a good launchpad into pretty much all other career options too

Seriously, how these 17 year-olds looking at BS/MDs just "know" that they want to be cardiothoracic surgeons is beyond me.

 

[GrapesofRath]

There are a couple conditions in which I would consider a BS/MD program

1) You get into a BS/MD program but don't get into one of these top schools. This possibility is all too possible given the way UG admission is now days, and that is no knock on the OP who has a great app. So basically, you get into a school like Boston College or UNC and are deciding between that and your BS/MD at something like U of Missouri. In this situation, I think there's a good reason to go into the BS/MD path. You have a great avenue to pursue at the BS/MD program and if you choose the BS/MD isn't for you you really aren't that much worse off with a degree from a school like Missouri than UNC or BC.

2) You get into a BS/MD at a very good school but are trying to decide between that and a very top school. Say you get into a BS/MD at Northwestern and are deciding against an offer from Harvard or Yale or that type of program. I could see either decision being a good one for you in that case.

3) You get into the BS/MD program at Brown. If you get into HPLME take it and I'd take it regardless of wherever else you get in. Very laid back program with no real numbers cut offs and Brown is exactly the type of school you can explore other interests and can decide you want to pursue something other than medicine. And if you pursue a non medicine related field you are doing so at a top school. Win win win all around.

The bottom line is like others have echoed be very careful about being hell bent on a BS/MD program. There are certainly situations where it is a good option and none of us know about how strong your aspirations to medicine are. Finances also matter here; a BS/MD at State U can often be much much cheaper than going to a school like Cornell with little to no financial aid.

Finally, one thing you should realize is that some of these top schools are almost like BS/MD programs in some ways in that even a meh performance their can get you into med school.

Get into Harvard or Yale, be an average student, graduate with a 3.4-3.6 and if you get a decent MCAT score you'll likely get into medical school. Do well in a Harvard or Yale, you are likely going to have top 20 school II's lined up. That simple. And in the process if you decide you don't want to do medicine you get to do a non-medicine field from one of hte very best schools in the country not a State U where a BS/MD could be.

I actually know of 4 people who chose Harvard and Yale over a BS/MD program at U of Pittsburgh which is a decent but not top not State U but has a top med school and that decision turned out very well for them. 2 of these people ended up not pursing the medicine path. They got jobs that wouldn't have been realistic going to Pitt for UG. The other two weren't even great students at Yale but a 3.65 with a good MCAT score was good enough to get them into an MD program of similar caliber to Pitt. Note, not all top programs are like this. The competition is rather fierce at a school like JHU or UChicago, being average probably isn't enough there. Big part of the reason to apply broadly all around to top schools and talk to pre-meds there and see how their pre-meds fair in medical school admission.