Help for High School student admitted to several BS/MD Programs

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SikhSpartan89

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Hello, I applied to a bunch of BS/MD programs and was admitted to the following, I need help in deciding which one is the best option. I am a Michigan resident.

MSU Medical Scholars
BU SMED
RPI Physician Scientist
Union Leadership in Medicine
Lehigh/Drexel
Villanova/Drexel

Right now I am leaning towards MSU Med Scholars because of the low tuition and 7 year option, but i heard it's difficult to get good non-primary care residencies at the Michigan State College of HUman Medicine. The other options are the Boston University 7 year program which has a great medical school but really high tuition +MCAT (28 required), and the RPI Physician Scientist program (3.4 GPA required). How good is the Michigan State School of Medicine and which is the best option?


Thank You

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Hello, I applied to a bunch of BS/MD programs and was admitted to the following, I need help in deciding which one is the best option. I am a Michigan resident.

MSU Medical Scholars
BU SMED
RPI Physician Scientist
Union Leadership in Medicine
Lehigh/Drexel
Villanova/Drexel

Right now I am leaning towards MSU Med Scholars because of the low tuition and 7 year option, but i heard it's difficult to get good non-primary care residencies at the Michigan State College of HUman Medicine. The other options are the Boston University 7 year program which has a great medical school but really high tuition +MCAT (28 required), and the RPI Physician Scientist program (3.4 GPA required). How good is the Michigan State School of Medicine and which is the best option?


Thank You

I can't comment on the state of Mich schools but I can tell you that you should do one thing......

Even if you don't need a high score for the MCAT, the best thing I could say is that you should still try to strive for higher then the minimums and do the awesome extracurriculars. Why?? You might find as you get older that you like the possibility of going elsewhere. I have met many a 7 year student that after doing better then expected on the MCAT and other things decided they want to go to another school. The problem is they don't have the extracurriculars to back them up to get into one of those top tier schools.

So keep your options open and do everything even if you don't need to just in case you change your mind.

I will also suggest going to a program where they give you the option of opting out of 7 year should you choose to do so.
 
trust me, if you were qualified to get into a bs/md program, achieving at least a 28 mcat will be no problem for you. in fact, most of the smed's at my school routinely wipe the floor with the rest of us (so to speak) in terms of their performance on the exam, and they dont have any minimum score that theyre required to achieve.

i'm not overly familiar with any of the schools/programs you listed, so i'm sorry i cant help more with that. good luck! :luck:
 
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oh my reasoning for that is because msu is basically primary care based and if that's not your main interest (which how can you even know at age 17 or 18?) then you're somewhat out of luck when you do "apply" for residency elsewhere like you said.

and BU is a good program! =) haha
 
BUSMED because your undergrad years will rock. I know plenty of SMEDS here and they're awesome.
 
don't do any. if you can get into these, im sure you can get into a great undergrad. go there, study hard, have fun and apply later. if it were me, thats what i would do.
 
What med school do the RPI kids go to?
 
The RPI kids go to Albany Medical College.
 
Does anybody know anything about MSU College of Medicine?
 
The RPI kids go to Albany Medical College.

I'm gonna vote NAY for AMC then. Not because of educational reputation, but because RPI is a pretty boring place for college and AMC seems like a pretty boring place for med school. Seriously, you're going to college, you NEED, and yes I mean NEED, to factor FUN into this equation. BU damnit. I have no idea what Union is though.

And just to add to that... If rankings matter to you, which they shouldn't, I believe BU is the only one on your list in the top 50.
 
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Actually, MSU is ranked #14 for primary care.
 
Actually, MSU is ranked #14 for primary care.

Unfortunately, primary care rankings don't mean diddly squat, though. UCSF is ranked below it at 38 as is Mayo, Northwestern, Umich, etc. etc.

Plus, it seems like you're shying away from schools that don't match well outside of primary care.

edit: I don't wanna sound like I'm bashing MSU. The truth is, no matter what U.S. MD school you go to, as long as you perform extremely well, you WILL get a residency that's high on your list. I'm just trying to make you decide on other factors... I know I personally didn't think about any of this stuff in H.S.
 
Go to a school which lets you opt out of the program. You may decide to go elsewhere for med school later and if typically students who get into these programs stand a good chance of getting into top programs elsewhere the old fashioned route. Sorry, can't help you with choosing which program. The only ones I've heard that are good were Baylor/Rice and Northwestern's, don't know much of anywhere else.....
 
Hello, I applied to a bunch of BS/MD programs and was admitted to the following, I need help in deciding which one is the best option. I am a Michigan resident.

MSU Medical Scholars
BU SMED
RPI Physician Scientist
Union Leadership in Medicine
Lehigh/Drexel
Villanova/Drexel

Right now I am leaning towards MSU Med Scholars because of the low tuition and 7 year option, but i heard it's difficult to get good non-primary care residencies at the Michigan State College of HUman Medicine. The other options are the Boston University 7 year program which has a great medical school but really high tuition +MCAT (28 required), and the RPI Physician Scientist program (3.4 GPA required). How good is the Michigan State School of Medicine and which is the best option?


Thank You

Go to the school that you enjoy the most. Your competitiveness for residency will be determined by 1. your grades in medical school 2. your scores on your board exams 3. your letters of recommendation from your clinical preceptors. Any medical school in this country can prepare you for any residency provided you do well.

If you are in a school that you hate, you won't do well. In the end, it's your performance and not your school that matters.
 
I'm in a BS/MD program through Wayne State =)

I get to go to the Undergrad school I wanted to all along, and then have acceptance to Wayne's right away.

I like that I get to change names of the school I go to so I'm not stuck with one university for all of my schooling, but I also like the fact I'm able to go research and spend time on the SOM's campus during my summers if I want to, too. I'm pretty sure there's only one two or three week conference/seminar/class session I have to attend during my undergrad, but I haven't attended the "orientation/welcome MedStart" thing yet.

Anyways, I know Wayne's not on your list, but those are the reasons I chose the BS/MD program I did.

And I applied and was accepted to more than one, also. So just make sure you aren't going to a med school for just the name or anything else and will actually enjoy your years there...
 
Thanks for the help....anyone else want to help?
 
I turned down Union/AMC's program last year for a couple reasons. First, it's so damn expensive! Second, I've heard some lukewarm responses about the AMC experience. Third, Union is way too far from AMC to actually go to campus and research/shadow physicians. Fourth, there's no option of opting out of the program.

I also declined Drexel's interview because I realized that if I'm going to be forced to take the MCAT... I'm not going to be gunning for a 28 or whatever... I'm going to be working my butt off to score as high as I can. And if that's the case, I might as well go the regular route.

Ultimately, I chose VCU/MCV's program because I liked the med school and there's also the option of applying out (while still retaining your seat at MCV). So it's a win-win situation. I guess you didn't apply here, but I would strongly advise you choose a program that is flexibile like mine is. If none of them are very flexible, then it might be better to do the normal premed thing.
 
MSU-CHM is a fine medical school, but if you go through the whole application process the old fashioned way you'll find that there are a lot better programs out there (at least for what I was looking for). The one reason why MSUCHM has such a high primary care USNEWS ranking is because almost everyone places into a primary care residency. It sounds like you may want to at least have the flexibility of doing a different residency (and don't worry about being undecided, almost all of us on SDN are and we're 4 years further along than you), so MSU CHM may not be the program to afford that flexibility, and I'm pretty sure you're contractually obligated to stay.

As others have said, if you're intelligent enough to get into these programs, it's fairly likely that you will be competetive enough to get into some great top 20 or top 10 programs later on (don't you at least want a crack at Hopkins, Harvard, or Penn?).

My personal advice (from a fellow Michigander): as a rule, I don't like to make commitments that lock me into my future for too long. 4 years for undergrad is long enough, I can't imagine signing a contract that would lock me into staying somewhere for 8 years, especially at 18 years old (I definitely didn't have myself completely figured out then). I'd look into programs that allow you to at least apply to some other schools, because I'm sure in 4 years you'll be able to do better than MSU.
 
MSU-CHM is a fine medical school, but if you go through the whole application process the old fashioned way you'll find that there are a lot better programs out there (at least for what I was looking for). The one reason why MSUCHM has such a high primary care USNEWS ranking is because almost everyone places into a primary care residency. It sounds like you may want to at least have the flexibility of doing a different residency (and don't worry about being undecided, almost all of us on SDN are and we're 4 years further along than you), so MSU CHM may not be the program to afford that flexibility, and I'm pretty sure you're contractually obligated to stay.

As others have said, if you're intelligent enough to get into these programs, it's fairly likely that you will be competerive enough to get into some great top 20 or top 10 programs later on (don't you at least want a crack at Hopkins, Harvard, or Penn?).

My personal advice (from a fellow Michigander): as a rule, I don't like to make commitments that lock me into my future for too long. 4 years for undergrad is long enough, I can't imagine signing a contract that would lock me into staying somewhere for 8 years, especially at 18 years old (I definitely didn't have myself completely figured out then). I'd look into programs that allow you to at least apply to some other schools, because I'm sure in 4 years you'll be able to do better than MSU.

I agree. Locking yourself into a program for 8 years when you're fresh out of highschool makes no sense. So much will change when you actually start college and get exposed to different ideas. I would suggest that you pick a program that will allow you to apply to other medical schools. Secondly, make sure the place you choose will be a pleasant experience. Afterall it is college, it's supposed to be the best years of your life!
 
i think HumbleMD hits the nail on its head. MSUCHM is a decent program, but my impression is that it is the second worst MSU medical school. the DO school does what CHM does (primary care), only better. in all honesty, CHM might be the worst medical school in michigan, IF your goal is not primary care. and why would you want to basically limit your options now when you have no idea what kind of medicine you actually want to practice?
 
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