If you didn't have to take the MCAT, fill out secondaries, etc..

BU Medical Sciences
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Read below before answering..

  • Take the acceptance and not have any worries for the next two years

    Votes: 105 55.9%

  • Apply elsewhere regardless for either costs/other factors

    Votes: 8 4.3%

  • Study for and take MCAT and if you do well, apply elsewhere.

    Votes: 75 39.9%
  • Total voters
    188
PreMedder

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Please read below before participating in the poll, thanks SDN.

I just finished sophomore year at Tufts and was extremely fortunate enough to have been accepted into Tufts University Medical School through the Early Assurance Program (more info here, http://www.tufts.edu/med/admissions/md/special/earlyassurance.html).
Quick cliffs re: the program:
- not binding acceptance (I can apply elsewhere if I choose to do so, I would just lose my assured spot in the class of '17
- if I attend, tons of time saved/spent doing things I care about (including not having to "build" an application suitable to random adcoms) by not having to sit/study for the MCAT, and not having to go through the crapshoot of the med-school applications process.

The advantages of the program are really amazing, however, my main concern is the cost. Ideally, I would like the possibility of choosing a cheaper state school (NY resident) - or maybe an equivalent/upper tier research school, but that would mean I would have to continue this pre-med route/mentality for two more years instead of cutting it short now.
- Also I'm not sure if this is a legitimate concern or not, but do residencies place much stock in your MCAT score? I'm sure they mainly look at your boards, but I vaguely remember hearing someone say once that they sometimes look at the MCAT score. If this was the case, would not having one hurt me?

If you guys were in my shoes, what would you do, what factors would you consider, and why. I don't want to go blindly into this and my family, although supportive, doesn't have much of a clue about anything medical-education-process related so I'm reaching out to SDN for wisdom.
 
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The state schools in NY are not as prestigious as Tufts
 
Tufts is the most expensive private school in the country, if I remember correctly. How do you plan to finance your education?
 
How much is Tufts? in general though, I'd say take it and run with it. You could still take the MCAT, and if you do well, try your hand, but if you do poorly, you should definitely stay put.
 
TheProwler said:
How much is Tufts? in general though, I'd say take it and run with it. You could still take the MCAT, and if you do well, try your hand, but if you do poorly, you should definitely stay put.
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I know I voted for that! If you want to find out whether risking for a better deal is worth doing, the mcat is the first step anyways. No harm in taking it to find out, then reassess
 
Long Way to Go said:
Tufts is the most expensive private school in the country, if I remember correctly. How do you plan to finance your education?
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As of now loans - my parents will probably help me out with ~25% of the cost of wherever I go though.

TheProwler said:
How much is Tufts? in general though, I'd say take it and run with it. You could still take the MCAT, and if you do well, try your hand, but if you do poorly, you should definitely stay put.
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Tuition is $53902. The projected total of room and board/transportation/etc is ~$82k.
http://www.tufts.edu/med/docs/about/offices/finaid/COA1112MDPhD.pdf

I was originally intending on doing just that, but in your opinion, is it worth the effort of having to study hard for 3-4 months for the MCAT (if I were to take it, I would only want to take it once and study accordingly)?
 
I'm surprised you don't have to take the MCAT regardless. All of the dual-admission programs that I'm familiar with require you to maintain a certain GPA and attain a certain minimum score on the MCAT (usually anywhere from 27-30, depending on the program). I would still take it and see how you do.
 
I would at least take the MCAT to keep my options open. 82K tuition is pretty hard to swallow.
 
glasshalfMD said:
I'm surprised you don't have to take the MCAT regardless. All of the dual-admission programs that I'm familiar with require you to maintain a certain GPA and attain a certain minimum score on the MCAT (usually anywhere from 27-30, depending on the program). I would still take it and see how you do.
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It seems that it is a pretty new thing:
(Please note: Beginning in the fall of 2010, students entering into the Medical School via the Early Assurance program will not be required to sit for the MCAT examination prior to matriculation.)
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I was kind of surprised by that too, but I guess because it is Tufts selecting from a subset of its own students, they're a bit more OK with it.
 
I vote to apply elsewhere because Tufts is just WAYY too expensive...You will likely get into a NYS school if you apply broadly and do well on your MCAT.

The only question is: do you care about prestige of the school you'll attend? There is a chance it will be less prestigious than Tufts.
 
Yeah, the no MCAT thing is relatively new. But the program also takes kids from BC/Northeastern/Brandeis/Holy Cross - not just Tufts
Anyone have a rough estimate @ the average cost of attendance to other private med schools (not just tuition)?

Re: prestige, not really that worried about it too much - any medical school is good in my eyes. But if upper tier schools offer certain opportunities that I'm not aware of, I would obviously more strongly consider applying elsewhere.
 
OP, I think you just have weigh the pros and cons for yourself. People here seem to usually be pretty mixed when it comes to these early assurance programs. I would personally have loved to apply to one if there was one at my school; I think the whole application game is a huge hassle. But again, maybe there are things that are not important to me that may be important to you.
 
Chops369 said:
I would at least take the MCAT to keep my options open. 82K tuition is pretty hard to swallow.
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You might have missed two posts above yours:
"Tuition is $53902. The projected total of room and board/transportation/etc is ~$82k."
The tuition is only ~10k more than the average which is only ~40k over 4 years when compared to 200-250k debt isn't a drop in the bucket, but isn't that big of a factor to me. Now if it were in fact 82k TUITION, that would be different, but those projected costs that they add on to reach 82k I'm sure would be similar no matter where one attends.

Long Way to Go said:
http://services.aamc.org/tsfreports/select.cfm?year_of_study=2011
Covers tuition, fees, and health insurance; doesn't cover cost of living.
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Thanks.

WeAreNotRobots said:
OP, I think you just have weigh the pros and cons for yourself. People here seem to usually be pretty mixed when it comes to these early assurance programs. I would personally have loved to apply to one if there was one at my school; I think the whole application game is a huge hassle. But again, maybe there are things that are not important to me that may be important to you.
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Yeah I agree with you and was originally hesitant to post since it is such a personal factor, but I'd like to see what other factors other people would to into consideration just so I know I'm not overlooking anything.
 
That is expensive. Tuition for 3rd/4th year will be higher as well due to a longer academic year.
 
honestly, what if you grew a tuft at tufts?
 
1 more vote for Tufts.
 
Take the MCAT and see how you do. You could murder it and then be in a position to either get a huge scholarship somewhere or go to a really prestigious school (and probably cheaper.) I think it is certainly worth the effort to see what your possibilities are.
 
PreMedder said:
Anything specific reasons why?
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Yeah. Because then you can be lazier, have less pressure, and do more things that you want to do instead of worrying about which hoop to jump through next.

Nobody cares about your MCAT score after being accepted. So that won't hurt you. You also don't have to worry about shmoozing with professors, getting LORs, stocking up on volunteer experience, becoming president of some stupid club, etc etc etc.

Seriously, I would take your acceptance and run with it.
 
Isoprop said:
Yeah. Because then you can be lazier, have less pressure, and do more things that you want to do instead of worrying about which hoop to jump through next.

Nobody cares about your MCAT score after being accepted. So that won't hurt you. You also don't have to worry about shmoozing with professors, getting LORs, stocking up on volunteer experience, becoming president of some stupid club, etc etc etc.

Seriously, I would take your acceptance and run with it.
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Isoprop, I think we are the same person.
 
I recommend looking up the exact tuition year-by-year because I know some schools the tuition drops for 3rd and 4th year. If it rises significantly, however, screw Tufts. This is a pretty pathetic scheme by Tufts in the first place; basically they are looking for kids with rich parents to line their pockets with while simultaneously lowering the admission standard (no mcat) for medical school to entice these kids. I hope someday I can hold a position of power academic medicine to try to curb these profiteering schools. 54k tuition, are you ****ting me?
 
SchroedingrsCat said:
This is a pretty pathetic scheme by Tufts in the first place; basically they are looking for kids with rich parents to line their pockets with while simultaneously lowering the admission standard (no mcat) for medical school to entice these kids. I hope someday I can hold a position of power academic medicine to try to curb these profiteering schools. 54k tuition, are you ****ting me?
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I fail to see the scheme. If Tufts didn't have this program, then they will lose tuition money? I doubt Tufts will have trouble filling their class and collecting their tuition without the early assurance program.
 
Certainly doesn't hurt to take the MCAT and see where you stand. However, the MCAT is a pain the butt and would save you a lot of stress.

But to be honest, I would use Tufts as a backup. Sacrificing a summer is really not a big deal if you end up getting accepted to a Texas School and have to pay $15k/year!
 
As a Columbia student, I recently chanced upon a similar offer to Mount Sinai School of Medicine. It also involves no MCAT and is hinged upon a Humanities/ Social Science major. Besides that, all the prereqs are the same, excluding a year of physics. My take on it: take it and RUN, and its not even CLOSE. How many countless 4.0 / 28 MCAT students have we all seen??? These students are guaranteed NOTHING. As a matter of fact, no one is guaranteed ANYTHING. One can slave away for years and by through some poor luck or a mediocre mcat, be relegated to a school in the middle of nowhere. If you're a true stud, you can casually take the MCATs and explore from there..This opportunity is almost mind blowing in that it eliminates, in sequential order of significance:

1) No ridiculously-overdone-sweaty-palms application cycles or interviews
2) No MCAT
3) Less undergrad stress
4) No "fluff" time wasting EC's such as volunteering and pseudo research
5) Freedom. study what you want, do well, and you're in the clear
6) How competitive will med school admissions be in several years--who knows. Maybe 36 will be the new 32. Heck, not maybe, definitely. Take a look at your average applicant's credentials from as early as 2005, and I assure you the class of 2012 will have them blown out of the water. This is the unfortunate reality of fewer available spots nationwide and a larger body of prospective applicants.
 
I vote for Tufts. So many pre-meds can only dream of such opportunity. I know I did then!

As far as tuition go, its all a drop in the bucket compared to your future. No school is going to be "cheap," and somewhere along the way this tuition difference will be chump change.

The MCAT is not the type of exam that you sign up for and take a week later. You study ridiculous amount and its pure hell. Save yourself the stress.

Also if you didn't intend on doing them in the first place, you can skip out on the pointless ECs like volunteering. At least you can enjoy undergrad!

There is also no guarantees that you will be accepted even with good stats. Remember there are endless amojnts of pre-meds with the same or better stats and the same bullsh*t ECs. Tufts is also great school, who knows where you will end up?

You know where I stand. 🙂
 
I always wondered how Tufts suckered people into actually paying such ridiculous tuition..... Now it all makes sense. They've got your nuggets in a vice.

Has anyone mentioned military scholarships to you yet? They cover all tuition, regardless the amount. You pretty much just have to have an acceptance, and a pulse, to qualify. Something to consider.
 
AllDaWEI said:
I vote for Tufts. So many pre-meds can only dream of such opportunity. I know I did then!

As far as tuition go, its all a drop in the bucket compared to your future. No school is going to be "cheap," and somewhere along the way this tuition difference will be chump change.

The MCAT is not the type of exam that you sign up for and take a week later. You study ridiculous amount and its pure hell. Save yourself the stress.

Also if you didn't intend on doing them in the first place, you can skip out on the pointless ECs like volunteering. At least you can enjoy undergrad!

There is also no guarantees that you will be accepted even with good stats. Remember there are endless amojnts of pre-meds with the same or better stats and the same bullsh*t ECs. Tufts is also great school, who knows where you will end up?

You know where I stand. 🙂
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So, basically you echo verbatim what I've said. 😉 lol
 
2012Aggie said:
Take the MCAT and see how you do. You could murder it and then be in a position to either get a huge scholarship somewhere or go to a really prestigious school (and probably cheaper.) I think it is certainly worth the effort to see what your possibilities are.
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I'm with this. If you bust your ass and get a 40 or something, go back into your pre-med mentality. If you can get a scholarship, it'll all be worth it.
 
take the MCAT! you'd be doing yourself a huge disservice if you decide to go into ~$300k of debt without fully exploring your other options. if you get 32+ then you should strongly consider applying out and with a strong application you will likely get at least a couple of interviews at SUNY schools where you would need to borrow half as much as you would to go to tufts. if you get 35+ you'd be competitive for more prestigious schools, most/all of which are cheaper than tufts.
 
Calm down. All you need is a month to cram for the mcat if you're good at standardized tests and you'll do well. It's kinda fun too you'll actually learn some physics which was neat.
 
The only good reason I can think against it is if you a really certain you want to go into plastics or urology, Tufts medcial center doesn't have residency programs for those specialties. But even in that case, there are others in Boston you could likely get some research at during med school. As far as cost, if you're certain you would go to one of the SUNYs instead, then maybe consider it, but do some research on the fields you want to go into (since you mentioned upper tier research schools) especially if you think you'd want to go into academia. So give some thought to what you want to do, and take a shot at the MCAT, but I'd say sticking with the program is a good idea. The cost isn't really much more than most schools, bar in-state tuition, so it's about what most people borrow. Tufts has a good rep, and Boston is a nice big city, not a small college town you'll feel you outgrew by the time you finish undergrad, so it might be nice sticking around. And keep in mind, no matter how well you do, no one is guarteneed admission anywhere in the normal application process. Applicants with good scores get some bad luck and get in no where - it happens. I'd be hesitant to pass on a sure thing if you don't have a really good reason for it.
 
The cost for Tufts is the major deterrent. Ideally it would be nice to sit tight and enjoy undergrad, leaving that highly focused pre-med mindset on the back burner. But 80k per year is hard to swallow.
 
it all depends on what your GPA and projected MCAT are. if they are pretty high, then you have a really high chance of getting into a better + cheaper med school.
 
iggs99988 said:
So, basically you echo verbatim what I've said. 😉 lol
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LOLZ! It is nice to see someone who actually agrees too. Looks like we feel same way.

It also better than getting yelled at by some member saying you are a horrible person and will make a terrible physician if you don't volunteer.

Somehow I get the impression that not every guaranteed admissions student is a horrible failure because they didn't jump through hoops. 😎
 
Are you really expected to pay $82,000/year? Does Tufts not have financial aid? Considering you are a Tufts undergrad, you must have some idea of the financial support available.
 
Take it and get a military scholarship. Otherwise, :nono:
 
i'd take it, there's no guarantee of an acceptance later and you can spend the next 2 years of college pursuing your own interests without having to go through the hoops and the stress of the application process.
 
It really comes down to whether or not you want to risk your acceptance by hopefully getting accepted later into one of the NY state schools, thus saving you about $100k in tuition. The good news is your parents are helping you out with a sizeable chunk, so your COA at Tufts is about $62.5k/yr, or roughly $250k over the 4 years. That's probably about what the going rate is these days for most students (not attending their state school) so you have plenty of company.

It would be foolish to risk the Tufts acceptance for an "upper tier"" school. The competition is tough at the very top schools so it is a huge gamble. Trying for an "equivalent" school makes no sense at all. Academic scholarships are few and far between so I wouldn't count on one to help you out. Tufts is a well respected school, and in Boston which is a medical hub. Thus your chances at a good residency at Tufts, the surrounding area, or even elsewhere would probably be higher than at one of the NY state schools. And as we have all learned, residency is what counts in the end.

Don't forget there are additional costs involved with applying/interviewing at medical schools. For the average 15 schools it will run you a couple thousand dollars just in fees (MCAT, AMCAS, Secondaries). Then you have all the travelling expenses (airfare/train/car rental, hotels, meals, etc.). It can really add up and take a bite off that $100k difference (I have probably spent close to $10k this year). And by not having to worry about the MCAT, volunteering, etc,. you could get a summer job(s) and save up a few dollars reducing that difference even more.

So you will have to decide if the possible tuition savings is worth the risk. None of us can make the decision for you, but since you asked you can see from the poll what the majority would do. And no doubt the ~60% of medical school applicants that won't get in anywhere this year would take your Tufts acceptance in a heartbeat. Good luck to you whatever you decide.
 
Thanks so much for all of your input! I wanted to let you know that a few nights ago I decided to take the assured acceptance to the TUSM class of '17! On top of reasons that Isoprop, iggs99988, and AllDaWEI outlined, the most prominent reasons for this decision were that money was becoming less of a pressing factor for a variety of reasons, as was the conceived "prestige/tier/etc" of the med school. Plus, I REALLY do not want to be the pre-med process's b**** for the next year and a half... I'm looking forward to being able to enjoy college without the seemingly endless hoops of the MCAT studying/application process/interviews/etc. Good luck to everyone and thanks for all of the advice - this forum has been invaluable throughout my first two UG years.
 
PreMedder said:
Thanks so much for all of your input! I wanted to let you know that a few nights ago I decided to take the assured acceptance to the TUSM class of '17! On top of reasons that Isoprop, iggs99988, and AllDaWEI outlined, the most prominent reasons for this decision were that money was becoming less of a pressing factor for a variety of reasons, as was the conceived "prestige/tier/etc" of the med school. Plus, I REALLY do not want to be the pre-med process's b**** for the next year and a half... I'm looking forward to being able to enjoy college without the seemingly endless hoops of the MCAT studying/application process/interviews/etc. Good luck to everyone and thanks for all of the advice - this forum has been invaluable throughout my first two UG years.
Click to expand...
Man, I cannot wait for that. -__-
I would've done the same thing.
Congrats!
 
PreMedder said:
Thanks so much for all of your input! I wanted to let you know that a few nights ago I decided to take the assured acceptance to the TUSM class of '17! On top of reasons that Isoprop, iggs99988, and AllDaWEI outlined, the most prominent reasons for this decision were that money was becoming less of a pressing factor for a variety of reasons, as was the conceived "prestige/tier/etc" of the med school. Plus, I REALLY do not want to be the pre-med process's b**** for the next year and a half... I'm looking forward to being able to enjoy college without the seemingly endless hoops of the MCAT studying/application process/interviews/etc. Good luck to everyone and thanks for all of the advice - this forum has been invaluable throughout my first two UG years.
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Congratulations, that's a sensible and mature decision. A bird in the hand really is worth two in the bush.
 
It depends on how competitive your stats are. If your EC's and GPA are strong, why not take a shot at the MCAT? Worst case scenario you continue with Tufts, and best case scenario is you apply to cheaper schools with possible scholarships. Just my $.02.
 
This probably doesn't affect the OP that much, but in about two more years or so...these programs are going to be HIGHLY sought after, considering the new MCAT will be out...heh heh heh...
 
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