CUSM MBS 2026-2027
Started by lovecake
Hi everyone! I was accepted to this program but was unable to attend the info session. Can anyone provide me with the details?
Additionally, I am having a hard time finding housing. I currently live in OC so if I had to, it would take me a little bit over an hour to commute one way. Considering that the class schedule is M-Thurs 8-12, I don't think I would mind if I am unable to secure housing by the beginning of the semester. Any thoughts? Advice would be extremely helpful.
Additionally, I am having a hard time finding housing. I currently live in OC so if I had to, it would take me a little bit over an hour to commute one way. Considering that the class schedule is M-Thurs 8-12, I don't think I would mind if I am unable to secure housing by the beginning of the semester. Any thoughts? Advice would be extremely helpful.
HeartofHealing
New Member
Hi everyone! Congratulations on your acceptance to this program. It’s definitely going to be a roller coaster of a journey, but in a good way 🙂 I am finishing up the program (literally about to take my last exam tomorrow, crazy) so if you have any questions at all feel free to reach out!
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HeartofHealing
New Member
I would join the CUSM Housing Facebook page! It is mostly filled with medical students, but sometimes there will be an open spot. A few of the MBS students from this cohort will be leaving the IE, therefore spots should open up!
HeartofHealing
New Member
All the exams are MCQs, but the biochemistry and pharmacology quizzes are short answer (handwritten) 🙂
i've been in the group for a few weeks but havent secured anything yet but i think i still have time before the beginning of the semester
congrats!
i wanted to ask about your experience because i've been hearing mixed opinions. how did you like it? were you a part of the MD pathway as well? TIA!
HeartofHealing
New Member
I genuinely had such a fruitful and successful experience, but I believe that is because I truly understood the reality and purpose of this program. It is really important to understand what type of program this is, what it is used for, and how you are able to leverage it. This program is only an academic enhancer for individuals who have a lower/non-competitive undergrad GPA. That is literally the only purpose! If you are someone who needs a stronger MCAT score, more clinical or volunteer hours, go do that! Do not waste your time and money attending a master's program that is geared towards academic repairment. Coming into this program, I reflected on my undergrad journey and found the weak spots in my current pre-med portfolio. I already have extensive clinical, volunteering, and leadership experience, and the only "red flag" would be my GPA. Therefore, this program was perfect for that. That being said, this program is absolutely brutal and is mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually taxing. It truly requires a different level of discipline and focus that most people are not prepared for. Throughout this program, I ate, slept, worked out, went to church, and STUDIED (occasionally I would go out and spend time with family), but this becomes your 9-5 (more like 9-9 during finals week). You have to give your 110% into this program; that is the only way to be successful. If you are someone who struggled academically due to poor study habits/strategies, you need to fix that right now before entering the program because there is no time to figure that out during. I would be more than happy to guide that as well, coming from someone who did not study at all in college to someone who is now able to do 8-10 hour study sessions. I was not a part of the conditional pathway, but I will be doing the guaranteed interview as I am applying more broadly this year.
Hi!! I’m currently in the MBS program and graduating soon. I was wondering if you had any advice for the guaranteed interview pathway. I know it’s not as straightforward as conditional admit, so I’d really appreciate any insight on how to maximize my chances.
im definitely worried about the rigor of this program. my undergraduate career was pretty rocky but i did graduate with honors; still, both my sGPA and cGPA are below average even after a DIY postbacc. additionally, i have not been in school for the past 3 years so i'm not that confident jumping into a master's program. any guidance would help!!
Not OP, but I'd appreciate hearing how you determined which study habits/strategies worked for you and how you were able to endure long study sessions. I got an ADHD diagnosis/accommodations within my last 2 quarters of undergrad, and while I finally experienced an upward GPA trend, I wasn't able to solidify my study skills within that short of a timeframe. That was 4 years ago, so now as I study for the MCAT I'm realizing how much I need to catch up on and refine
himmyneutron
Full Member
Thank you!! Could you possibly expand on what the thesis proposal looked like? Is it ultimately just a solo paper? Or a group project/paper turned into a presentation? Any info would be greatly appreciated!
HeartofHealing
New Member
heyy! i get it i was honestly really worried prior to starting the program as well. my best advice is to plan our your study schedule now and what your day to day routine will look like. ensure that you have a well balanced schedule (working out, eating, social time, 7-8 hours of sleep), there will be days that you are thrown off your schedule but the faster you get back on the routine it’ll feel more sustainable. the quickest way people burn out is when they lose that balance and start pulling all nighters, ive seen individuals do that and look like zombies after (no shade LOL they still did well tho) but i would not recommend that. right now take time to realistically plan out a schedule; class is usually 9-12pm M-T and F are reserved for exams. literally you have the rest of the time to fill it with whatever you want so i would recommend dedicated 4-5 hours of studying per day (reviewing content from that day and preparing for the next day), then i would take a break hit the gym, get dinner and socialize. i would def recommend getting enough sleep (7-8hrs) because once it hits midterm marathon (october-november exams every week) it gets harder BUT not impossible to get the sleep if you manage the time well. i would also spend time figuring out your study strategies (active recall, active recall and active recall). reading the slides over and over without deep comprehension aint going to do nothing for you. take time to read through the slides, and then close the slides and see what you remember. i used anki during the program and that was very helpful, we already had pre-made decks from previous years which i can send. another method that is useful would be closing your notes, going to a whiteboard and write out everything as if you were teaching someone the subject. the program also has tutors which i used heavily!!! use the resources that are given to you, there are tutors, pre med counselors and mental health counselors as well USE IT ALL. you are literally paying 40k (the price of a new tesla LOL) so USE THE RESOURCES. i literally used everything i possibly could to the very end. i am still working with the pre-med advisor as im applying this cycle. they also provide princeton review + AAMC prac exams for FREE for mcat prep which is amazing. sorry that was a lot and might be overwhelming BUT i hope it was somewhat helpful. feel free to personally message me for more guidance 🙂 happy to help any way i can.
HeartofHealing
New Member
heyyy! this took me a second to figure out tbh and i had to experiment a bit with different strategies. i also struggle with sitting still for a long period bc i get distracted so easily LOL. first things first do not study with friends, i repeat DO NOT STUDY W UR FRIENDS. that was my number 1 mistake the first few weeks. i would study with my best buddies and then it would turn into a 5 hour yap session abt God knows what. your friends will be there and you can hangout with them after, but when it comes to your study time protect that because it is sacred. if you want to study in group limit it to 2-3 people who are going to lock in with you, and i would only use study groups once for a specific reason. for example meeting up together to explain the concepts and go over practice questions BUT that is after you are done reviewing the content on your own and you are ready to teach someone else. that is when study groups will be useful. other than that lock in by yourself trust dont waste time (bc you really dont have much during this program). second thing is learning the different between active vs passive studying. majority of us use passive methods that barely got us a C in ochem and physics so DONT DO THAT. instead of re-reading slides over for the 100th time and just memorizing the color of the slides and not retaining anything, read the slide once, try and understand the concept, use chatGPT or gemini (whatever you want) to explain concepts you are confused about and then explain it to yourself again. once you are done, in a few days go back to that concept and re-explaining it to a friend or just yourself. to re-in force the knowledge i would use anki or some sort of spaced repetition program daily and lastly practice questions!! you need to practice applying the concepts you’ve learned. it’s easily to recall the definitions/mechanisms but its harder to apply it in different questions. thats what i struggled with the most was actually applying the concepts on the exam. i felt like i knew all the content and then i literally would black out on the exams so def do a lot of prac questions (notebookLM, chatgpt, professors questions), any and all questions you can find. use the tutors!! they are incredible and you can do 1:1 tutoring sessions so use them. they are MBS alumni who have succeeded and matriculated into the med program so they know what theyre doing. they also created study guides for every class and i personally used them all the time (sometimes instead of the prof slides LOL oops). ya anyways that was a lot feel free to personally message me for any further questions.
HeartofHealing
New Member
heyy! yes i can def talk about this. so essentially you are doing two different papers throughout the year. the first one is a 10 page research thesis with a group of 5-6 students. this one is apart of Critical Thinking in Biomedical Research (fall semester). you are able to select any topic, find research articles and perform a meta-analysis. the 10 page paper includes an abstract, introduction, materials and methods, analysis and discussion, followed by a class presentation. honestly it sounds more daunting than it really is. you are provided ample time to complete this project, as long as you start early on it youll be fine! plus its a whole group of you working together. the second project is a lot simpler and is a 3-4 page capstone research project. essentially the same concept where you choose any topic, create your own hypothesis and then do a shorter paper but no presentation. let me know if you have any other questions.
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Did you ever find one?
himmyneutron
Full Member
i did not.
are you able to start one?
Hi there, idk if you are someone else from the MBS program can help me with this question and apologies in advance if this is a bad question but I was wondering how translatable is the MBS degree from CUSM when applying to other MD and DO programs; like do other programs value the GPA that you get in the MBS program or do they view it through a different sort of lens if that makes sense?
Here's the Groupme link for 2026-2027 MBS students: GroupMe - Join the group for CUSM MBS C/O 2027
Let me know if there's any issues accessing it!
Let me know if there's any issues accessing it!
bananagreenie
New Member
Hi! Does anyone know if all classes are required in person or if any are recorded/virtual? I know Fridays will be exams but trying to plan my work schedule for next year and wondering what days i might have more flexibility 🙂
lovegirl99
New Member
Hi, I wanted to see if anyone can help me with this. My stats are pretty low because I had a really rough undergrad. I retook the classes in did post bacd but I am not sure if I should apply. I am below the required
lovegirl99
New Member
Hi, did you ever find out why your application was on hold
Hi, if you do not mind me asking what was your stats. I am trying to see if i should apply and my gpa is below the average quiet below but I retook most of my low classes in diy post bacc
Current CUSM MBS Alumni. I was in the same boat as you with ADHD. I got my diagnosis before the program. Reached out to the CUSM's LEED's accommodation program. Dr. Sabrina Wilhelm who is the director for the program for both MD and MBS helped me get the accommodations for all of the exams. It helped me go from a 3.6 first semester to above a 3.9 once I got the accommodations. Start early in the process. CUSM is very supportive of their students. If you end up starting in the MD program they also provide the same accommodations for the in-house MD exams and assist you with getting accommodations for STEP. Don't be afraid to ask for help and utilize all of your resources. Best of luck!
Only certain classes throughout the week are mandatory especially when there are quizzes or assessments. I highly do not recommend working at least for your first semester to adjust and get use to the pacing of the program. Around midterms you start to have an exam almost every week and these next 10 months are the most important of your life. If you dedicate and commit yourself to this program for the next 10 months from August-May it will take your very far.
Also see the sample exam schedule we had from this year's cohort.
For Fall 2025 October was probably the most brutal month (midterms) it really starts to pick up and that is where it is so important that you don't get behind.
Most successful MBS alumni who matriculated into the MD program say that the Spring semester is when its okay to start picking up (VERY part-time) jobs or opportunities. But it is very important to try and focus hard for the fall semester and start strong.
Average MBS class GPA is around 3.7. To get the conditional you need to be above that, but in general an ideal performance in an SMP program is a 3.7+ or higher to show meaningful improvements.
Take advantage of all the resources afforded to you. Also do not hesitate to reach out to all the professors. One of the strengths of the CUSM MBS program is all of your core faculty. They truly care about your success but they wont know how to help you unless you reach out to them. I struggled in pathophysiology the first semester literally got low 80's on the first two exams. I ended up getting a 98% on the final (keep in mind the professor uses USMLE style medical questions so this was a major accomplishment for me) but its because I went to the professor after every lecture and made sure I did everything I could to understand the material.
Also there is FREE tutoring affording by the medical students who were former MBS alumni. They try to host review sessions before every exams which also helps.
Another thing this program does for you is teach you how to utilize outside resources. You get a paid Osmosis subscription while being in the program. I would try to use it as a (first-pass) review method before diving into lectures.
hi everyone! i got placed on a high priority waitlist and i was just wondering if anyone else got placed on it too, or if any alumni were placed on it and then got taken off? this is the only program i applied to and rlly want to get in ! thank you in advance <3
littlewildcard
New Member
Same for me as well! Hope for the best for us!
hii yes i was and i got taken off the waitlist on the same day!
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Omg congratulations!!! That's awesome <3
