Is a Baccalaureate Degree Required?

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BlakeC93

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I am thinking about applying to the Oklahoma State University College of Medicine, and I am wondering whether or not I will need a Bachelor's degree to be admitted.

I am currently a freshman in college, and I am considering taking the MCAT next year and applying to medical school as a junior. If I were admitted, I would finish my junior year, then go to medical school. By doing this, I would not complete a Bachelor's degree.

The website says that 90 credit hours are required at the time of entry, but it says nothing about how many hours are required to apply, nor does it say that a degree is required. Can I still be competitive without a degree?
 
Being that this question is school specific, you would be better served asking in the OSU-COM thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=912653

Or e-mailing admissions at the school.

My guess based on what you've said is that it's highly recommended (90 hours is up close to 8 semesters) but not required. If your stats measure up and ECs etc etc, I'm sure you will be competitive.
 
they usually only accept people w/o a bachelor's if they are extremely bright, you have to blow them out of the water to really get in without a bachelors at any med school. Why the rush anyway? enjoy college and have some fun before it's all business and no play.
 
I just re-read your post... calm down dude. You're a freshman, relax and enjoy life. Apply after your junior year like most do. If you really want to go gung-ho, work your way up to some upper-division science classes and blow them out of the water.
 
I know you are eager to get started up I think the 90 credits rule or more theoretical as I have never heard of anyone who has gotten in without a bachelors. I have heard of programs where your first year of med school goes to your final year of college, but that is usually a specific program through 2 specific schools and under very specific circumstances. Every acceptance I have ever heard of requires completion of a bachelors if it isn't already completed. Plan on doing all four years as it will bite you in the arse if you don't.
 
N a word yes you can be accepted without your undergraduate degree. You have to be really good but # in my class didn't have it. It was awwarded after the first year.
 
125896 said:
N a word yes you can be accepted without your undergraduate degree. You have to be really good but # in my class didn't have it. It was awwarded after the first year.
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Are you in med school? Based on your post history, I am curious about what you mean as "# in my class didn't have it" if you aren't a med student.
 
There are several people in my class that are in the BS/DO program. It is the same as any other Medical Honors-type programs across the country, where your fourth year of undergraduate study is your first year of medical school. As such, the few in my class that went to Nova for undergrad and are in this special program do not have a bachelor's yet. I assume they'll get it at the end of first year.
 
NeuroLAX said:
There are several people in my class that are in the BS/DO program. It is the same as any other Medical Honors-type programs across the country, where your fourth year of undergraduate study is your first year of medical school. As such, the few in my class that went to Nova for undergrad and are in this special program do not have a bachelor's yet. I assume they'll get it at the end of first year.
Click to expand...
BS/DO programs are different.

OP, you can try, but the chances are rather low. The people I've seen without a BA/BS are usually from another country and have a degree in Pharmacy or another field that's typically not a BS/BA in the US, but they do complete 90 units in the states.
 
TriagePreMed said:
BS/DO programs are different.

OP, you can try, but the chances are rather low. The people I've seen without a BA/BS are usually from another country and have a degree in Pharmacy or another field that's typically not a BS/BA in the US, but they do complete 90 units in the states.
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True. I guess the only way OP will know for sure is to contact the school. That would have been my first move to begin with.
 
The only way they will let you waive the Bachelorate requirement is if you have a doctorate degree, such if you did the 2-4 PharmD program.
 
serenade said:
The only way they will let you waive the Bachelorate requirement is if you have a doctorate degree, such if you did the 2-4 PharmD program.
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Is that on their website?
 
I just don't see the point of staying for a fourth year if I don't have to. I will have 85 credits when I apply and 116 when I matriculate. I would take the MCAT during the spring of my sophomore with all pre-reqs completed. And I would apply for one school, the OSU-COM, the summer before my junior year. I think I have a good shot even without a baccalaureate degree.

I did a summer of research with a professor at the OSU-COM, and I know many physicians who went there. Also, the professor with whom I am researching next semester is great friends with a professor at the OSU-COM, and one of my biology professors, who would definitely write a rec for me, used to be a professor at the OSU-COM. I work at a hospital in Tulsa, so shadowing a DO and getting a rec from him/her will not be a problem. I am an in-state student, and I have hours upon hours of volunteering and clinical experience. And I have only completed my first semester of college. I feel as though with another year and a half of volunteering and studying, I will be good to go.

And if I don't get in early, I will just take the MCAT again during my junior year and apply again before my senior year.
 
Ask. You may not see the point of staying, and we all agree with you, but it is what it is. The med students before you are likely sitting on a completely worthless degree. Again, we agree with your reasoning but that doesn't change anything. Call up OSU and ask them specifically if they require a bachelors degree prior to matriculation. if they say yes, you are out and you HAVE to complete it.

them giving you a degree after first year is usually through a program so don't assume it will be OK and they will just do it.
 
BlakeC93 said:
I just don't see the point of staying for a fourth year if I don't have to. I will have 85 credits when I apply and 116 when I matriculate. I would take the MCAT during the spring of my sophomore with all pre-reqs completed. And I would apply for one school, the OSU-COM, the summer before my junior year. I think I have a good shot even without a baccalaureate degree.

I did a summer of research with a professor at the OSU-COM, and I know many physicians who went there. Also, the professor with whom I am researching next semester is great friends with a professor at the OSU-COM, and one of my biology professors, who would definitely write a rec for me, used to be a professor at the OSU-COM. I work at a hospital in Tulsa, so shadowing a DO and getting a rec from him/her will not be a problem. I am an in-state student, and I have hours upon hours of volunteering and clinical experience. And I have only completed my first semester of college. I feel as though with another year and a half of volunteering and studying, I will be good to go.

And if I don't get in early, I will just take the MCAT again during my junior year and apply again before my senior year.
Click to expand...

I think you don't realize that 10% of medical school students do drop out/ fail out. If you're part of that percentage, and I'm not saying you will be, you'll literally have nothing except a high school diploma. Either way, just do your senior year or start taking 20 hour semesters.
 
I emailed the admissions officer at OSU-COM to see if my plan will work. I am still awaiting a response.

I understand the risk. I may get into medical school and drop out, but that is a risk I am willing to take. And if I do drop out of medical school, I will only be a semester away from a B.S. in Biology.
 
BlakeC93 said:
I emailed the admissions officer at OSU-COM to see if my plan will work. I am still awaiting a response.

I understand the risk. I may get into medical school and drop out, but that is a risk I am willing to take. And if I do drop out of medical school, I will only be a semester away from a B.S. in Biology.
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Well actually you'd have to re-enroll, have to adhere to new curriculum set, and likely waste plenty of time. Either way, my opinion stands firm. Just get the B.S.
 
serenade said:
Well actually you'd have to re-enroll, have to adhere to new curriculum set, and likely waste plenty of time. Either way, my opinion stands firm. Just get the B.S.
Click to expand...

My ultimate goal is to go to medical school. If I am unable to excel at OSU-COM, then I will definitely be unable to excel in a Ph.D program for a science degree. So what would be the point of having a B.S. in Biology? I wouldn't be able to teach, and I am sure that the credits on my transcript would be just as good for another job as the entire B.S.

I am not worried about not being successful once I am accepted. If I can get into medical school, I will do just fine. I know people with much less ambition who have been successful in medical school.
 
Given the relative uselessness of a Biology degree (and many B.S. degrees), you wouldn't be the first to think this way. There's quite a few Canadian M.D. schools that require the 90 credits and I know plenty of strong students who have gotten in after only completing 3/4 years of their degrees. If you have the stats and the experience, that extra year won't make any difference.

my 2 cents. so if there are USDO schools that don't require the completion of the degree, plan accordingly and go for it. You never know.
 
Again OP. we all agree with you. But it is a hoop all of us had to go through. It sucks, but it is part of the game. Unless OSU specifically says you don't need, you need it and even then the rest of the schools require it so trying to jump ahead in the system just isn't going to work. Unless you are part of a specific program, I would bet that any acceptance is going to require completion. Save yourself some time and go to the DO CIB on the aacom website. You will see there that effectively every single school has a 100% if their students with a bachelors degree. And if it is less than 100% you will see it is because they didn't calculate those with the graduate degrees (75% Bachelor, 25% grad). Look it up. Ask all you want and hope for the best, but it is part of the process so plan on getting your bachelors.
 
FrkyBgStok said:
Again OP. we all agree with you. But it is a hoop all of us had to go through. It sucks, but it is part of the game. Unless OSU specifically says you don't need, you need it and even then the rest of the schools require it so trying to jump ahead in the system just isn't going to work. Unless you are part of a specific program, I would bet that any acceptance is going to require completion. Save yourself some time and go to the DO CIB on the aacom website. You will see there that effectively every single school has a 100% if their students with a bachelors degree. And if it is less than 100% you will see it is because they didn't calculate those with the graduate degrees (75% Bachelor, 25% grad). Look it up. Ask all you want and hope for the best, but it is part of the process so plan on getting your bachelors.
Click to expand...

http://www.aacom.org/resources/bookstore/cib/Pages/default.aspx

Just thought I would link it since there are people who don't know a "DO MSAR" exists.
 
Hey all, so I spoke with the admissions counselor at the OSU-COM. She said that I can enter without a baccalaureate degree as long as I meet some other requirements.

So, verified by the faculty, I am good to go.

I just need to get a 3.7 GPA and a 30+ MCAT.
 
BlakeC93 said:
Hey all, so I spoke with the admissions counselor at the OSU-COM. She said that I can enter without a baccalaureate degree as long as I meet some other requirements.

So, verified by the faculty, I am good to go.

I just need to get a 3.7 GPA and a 30+ MCAT.
Click to expand...



Well, good luck to you.
 
BlakeC93 said:
Hey all, so I spoke with the admissions counselor at the OSU-COM. She said that I can enter without a baccalaureate degree as long as I meet some other requirements.

So, verified by the faculty, I am good to go.

I just need to get a 3.7 GPA and a 30+ MCAT.
Click to expand...

After you physically obtain those stats (which will not be easy at all) you have to actually be granted an interview, from there you need to do well in the interview, then get accepted which is usually a 4-6% chance i believe, varies from school to school but still pretty low chances.

Anywho goodluck 🙄
 
BlakeC93 said:
Hey all, so I spoke with the admissions counselor at the OSU-COM. She said that I can enter without a baccalaureate degree as long as I meet some other requirements.

So, verified by the faculty, I am good to go.

I just need to get a 3.7 GPA and a 30+ MCAT.
Click to expand...

You are a freshman right? Let us know how it turns out.

Also realize that it really isn't smart to apply to one school. But you are gonna do what is best for you so good luck.
 
FrkyBgStok said:
You are a freshman right? Let us know how it turns out.

Also realize that it really isn't smart to apply to one school. But you are gonna do what is best for you so good luck.
Click to expand...

I'm going to put everything I have into this one application, and if I don't get in, I will stay for my senior year at TU and apply to several schools (13-15) during the normal time, i.e., the summer before my senior year.
 
FrkyBgStok said:
You are a freshman right? Let us know how it turns out.

Also realize that it really isn't smart to apply to one school. But you are gonna do what is best for you so good luck.
Click to expand...

I usually thought the only annoying thing Freshmen could do was praise the Messiah Ron Paul. Apparently I was wrong.
 
"If I can't get a 3.7 GPA and a 30+ MCAT, then I don't want to go to medical school anyway."

This is my official stance on all things medicine. You all may think I am dumb to do what I am doing, and I may be, but as long as the aforementioned statement holds true, I think I will be alright.
 
And that is stupid. Maybe you think we should all be impressed by your goal to do well, but the fact is that if grades and an mcat are the sole things that can keep you away from medicine, you should probably reevaluate your reasons for wanting to go to med school. What happens when you get the grades and then OSU says "sorry, you don't fit our school. Rejected." What happens when you have a 3.6 but you love working with people? What happens when you have a 4.0 but you just can't break a 29? Seriously, if grades can so easily make you give up medicine, you should probably find something else to do.
 
BlakeC93 said:
"If I can't get a 3.7 GPA and a 30+ MCAT, then I don't want to go to medical school anyway."

This is my official stance on all things medicine. You all may think I am dumb to do what I am doing, and I may be, but as long as the aforementioned statement holds true, I think I will be alright.
Click to expand...

No I just think its dumb when a freshman says this.
 
FrkyBgStok said:
And that is stupid. Maybe you think we should all be impressed by your goal to do well, but the fact is that if grades and an mcat are the sole things that can keep you away from medicine, you should probably reevaluate your reasons for wanting to go to med school. What happens when you get the grades and then OSU says "sorry, you don't fit our school. Rejected." What happens when you have a 3.6 but you love working with people? What happens when you have a 4.0 but you just can't break a 29? Seriously, if grades can so easily make you give up medicine, you should probably find something else to do.
Click to expand...

I work at a hospital, I am on a cancer research project, I volunteer with neglected children every week, I have co-authorship on a cancer research paper with a professor at the OSU-COM, and I have never wanted to do anything else in my life than become a physician. My stance is if I can't get a 3.7 GPA (which is a joke) and a 30+ MCAT (which is also a joke), then I don't DESERVE to become a physician.

You all are really just being condescending and dense, to be honest. I have said several times that this is not my only goal. If I fail in doing this, then hey, guess what, I can just stay the extra year and be on the same EXACT track as EVERYONE else in my class. I'm just taking a fun shot.

And please, don't give me that "freshman" talk. You are what, 22, 23? Please...

I have had just as much experience in the medical field as ANY other pre-med student on this site. I have taken bodies to the morgue, watched people die, and talked to terminally ill cancer patients.

I just thought it would be a good idea to get opinions from the guys on this site who I respect, the guys who are doing what I want to do, who are who I want to be, but I just got B.S. in return.

Nothing ANYONE says on this site will change my mind. My mentor is a professor at the OSU-COM, she teaches a medical school course, and I have spoken with the admissions counselor at the OSU-COM. If they are on my side, then nobody here can persuade me otherwise.

And yes, this is a bit of a rant, but I am just tired of having you all talk down to me. You all act like I am just some stupid kid who doesn't know better.

Oh,and I did the math. If I go to medical school a year early like I plan to, I will be just ten credits short of a B.S. in Biology. I have that many credits from AP and IB.

Thanks for the support, though.
 
Well aren't you a special snowflake. That had absolutely nothing to do with what any of us were saying.
We were one, telling you that your plan is limiting yourself and that generally not a great idea. Frsky for example had a family and was willing to relocate to go to med school. So who the hell cares that your mention was from OSU, you're acting like he was your dissertation advisor!
Secondly you know absolutely nothing about how you'll do following years. Likewise you're making claims of getting a 3.7/30 as if it were as easy as getting a 4.0/ 2000 on the sat. Furthermore a 3.7/30 would as I mentioned put you above the average matriculate at OSU by a solid SD. So sounds like your mentor managed to do fantastically without a 3.7/30.

Anyway, good luck.
 
29. And we wouldn't treat you like you are a stupid kid that thought he didn't know any better if you didn't act that way. You are sitting here saying that the process applies to everyone but you. You are saying that you are going to be a stellar applicant when about 7% of people who claim premed actually make it. You say a 3.7 is no problem. Enlighten us with what you got the first semester. You say that people with a <3.7/30 don't deserve to become physicians. Your comments go back and forth and you make no mention about going another year if it doesn't work out until the very last post. I am not telling you this stuff because I want to see ou fail because it gets me sexually excited. I am telling you this because your comments have thus far implied that your are setting yourself up for failure. But hey, I don't really give a crap. So good luck and hopefully you know what you are doing.

Also if nothing anyone says can change your mind, why ask?
 
I wasn't talking to you about not knowing what you are talking about. I am sure you know a lot more than I do, and I respect your opinion. I was talking to the other pre-med poster.

How am I acting like a stupid kid? Everything I have said is backed by evidence and realistic goals. I am not in middle school talking about my Oncology/Hematology Fellowship.

I didn't say the process applied to everyone but me. I have a good connection with the people at this one medical school, and I think I have what it takes to expedite my process. I did not pull this plan out of nowhere. I did a full summer of work with a professor at the OSU-COM and I know other professors there. I think this one school would admit me without a B.S. because I believe I have what it takes and I know the right people.

I earned a 4.0 my first semester.

I never said people with <3.7/30+ do not deserve to become physicians. Never. I said that I would not feel deserving if I could not get those scores. If I am not capable of getting those scores, how am I going to pass boards?

My SECOND post on this thread said that I would stay for my senior year if I did not get in to OSU. Note, a big problem with med school apps is being overwhelmed. You have 13-15 applications while taking 15+ credits. That is difficult. I will be applying to just one school, then if I am not admitted, I will apply during the next cycle with my peers.

I graduated high school with great scores and I got in to every school to which I applied. I am not somebody who sets himself up for failure. If I thought that this plan could potentially lead to disaster, I would not pursue it. But after speaking to admissions people and professors, I know that this plan is safe. If I am not admitted during the early cycle during my junior year, I will stay at TU, take the MCAT again if I did not get a 35+ the first time, and apply the summer before my senior year with everyone else. I cannot stress this last part enough because it seems like everyone keeps skipping over it.

I made this thread during the winter break, so I hadn't yet heard back from the OSU-COM admissions counselor.
 
serenade said:
Well aren't you a special snowflake. That had absolutely nothing to do with what any of us were saying.
We were one, telling you that your plan is limiting yourself and that generally not a great idea. Frsky for example had a family and was willing to relocate to go to med school. So who the hell cares that your mention was from OSU, you're acting like he was your dissertation advisor!
Secondly you know absolutely nothing about how you'll do following years. Likewise you're making claims of getting a 3.7/30 as if it were as easy as getting a 4.0/ 2000 on the sat. Furthermore a 3.7/30 would as I mentioned put you above the average matriculate at OSU by a solid SD. So sounds like your mentor managed to do fantastically without a 3.7/30.

Anyway, good luck.
Click to expand...

Most of your post was redundant. But I did catch one snippit that made me giggle.

"...claims of getting a 3.7/30 as if it were as easy as getting a 4.0/ 2000 on the sat."

I graduated high school with a 4.52 GPA and a 2360 SAT.

Maybe I should make another thing clear. I am not going to a D.O. school because I do not think I could get into an M.D. school. That is not it at all. If I am not admitted to OSU-COM during my junior year, then I will apply mainly to allo schools during my senior year.

Oh, my mentor, the professor, is not a student. She is a professor. Is it your critical reading skills that helped you get such a stellar MCAT score? Because I have explicitly stated that she is a professor numerous times.

I like OSU because I know a lot of the faculty, the students there are amazingly nice (I was in high school when I did research there, and the med students took me to lunch with them almost every day over the summer), the facilities are great, I love Tulsa, and I truly believe in the osteopathic philosophy.

I am not bragging or calling myself some genius, but I am not an underachiever, by any means.
 
Another thing that may help my application: I am a URM.

And the Cherokee Nation will pay for my tuition and books, etc. if I go to the OSU - COM. So I would be stupid not to go there, right?

Anyway.

/thread
 
BlakeC93 said:
Most of your post was redundant. But I did catch one snippit that made me giggle.

"...claims of getting a 3.7/30 as if it were as easy as getting a 4.0/ 2000 on the sat."

I graduated high school with a 4.52 GPA and a 2360 SAT.

Maybe I should make another thing clear. I am not going to a D.O. school because I do not think I could get into an M.D. school. That is not it at all. If I am not admitted to OSU-COM during my junior year, then I will apply mainly to allo schools during my senior year.

Oh, my mentor, the professor, is not a student. She is a professor. Is it your critical reading skills that helped you get such a stellar MCAT score? Because I have explicitly stated that she is a professor numerous times.

I like OSU because I know a lot of the faculty, the students there are amazingly nice (I was in high school when I did research there, and the med students took me to lunch with them almost every day over the summer), the facilities are great, I love Tulsa, and I truly believe in the osteopathic philosophy.

I am not bragging or calling myself some genius, but I am not an underachiever, by any means.
Click to expand...

You can go ahead and reread my comment. Nothing I said contradicted your claims of her being a professor. I however was frank in saying that you're acting like she's your PhD advisor or something. Regardless, I think you've obtained an answer to all of your questions.
 
"Furthermore a 3.7/30 would as I mentioned put you above the average matriculate at OSU by a solid SD. So sounds like your mentor managed to do fantastically without a 3.7/30."

Please explain, because I do not follow.

PhD adviser? No. But I did do a project that resulted in co-authorship with her when I was 18. I'm not trying to make my resume seem amazing, but you all are acting like the things I have done are trivial.
 
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