Direct Med Programs

ibcdude

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I was interested in knowing about the direct med programs in the US, is there a list of the official schools that offer it directly out of high school?
ALso how competitive are these programs vs a regular 4 yr med program and the pros and cons of the two options? What would you prefer?
 
I don't know if there's a list of all the available programs, but I go to a school that has just started a program like this. As far as the competetiveness of the program, here are the requirements (to my best knowledge):
To get in you must have a 3.8 unweighted HS GPA and at least a 1300 or 1400 on SAT

To stay in you must maintain a 3.6 in freshman year, 3.7 in soph year, and 3.8 in junior year. You must also maintain clinical volunteering through these 3 years. Once you meet these requrements, you spend your 4th year at USF COM and earn dual credits for BS and MD.
 
These programs are highly competitive. For starters, you absolutely must have some medical experience (i.e., shadowing a physician, hospital volunteering, etc.). If you can't list something in this arena, your application will probably rejected almost immediately.
 
I would say the advantage for me is that I do not have to stress about taking the MCATs. Also, I only have to maintain a 3.3 to remain in the program, and can major in whatever I want. This kind of security is a nice contrast to my traditional pre-med friends who have to take the MCATs and stress over keeping a 4.0 (not that I slack because of the GPA req haha).
 
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