MD/JD plans?

[Trekkie963]

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A while back there were some discussions about people intending to get both MD and JD degrees, some of whom were applying to joint MD/JD programs.

I was just wondering, now that the admissions cycle is pretty much over, what plans have some of these people decided on?

 

[Trekkie963]

Anyone?

😕

 

[beponychick]

Hey Trekkie,

As of right now, I am still considering the dual degree. I got waitlisted at the medical school that has the program (RWJ) and so I am a bit discouraged, but I am hoping they will come through. I am preparing for the June LSAT right now and praying the RWJ will show me some love. 🙂 How about you?

 

[japhy]

beponychick,

i am sending out all of my good vibes that you will get off the waitlist. i am interested in hearing how things turn out. i will make sure and email you once i am finished with finals.

 

[xanthines]

I only thought about doing the MD/JD after I applied. Unfortunately, I'm on 3 waitlists (something tells me, I'm about to be on 4!) and none of the schools have MD/JD programs.

I was wondering if anyone had experiences putting med school on hold , say between years 2 and 3 to go get a JD. I've heard of people getting PhD's and MPH's even though they didn't apply to dual-degree programs. They asked for some time off and they got it! However, PhD's and MPH's have direct relevance to medicine. JD's are only arguably directly relevant.

beponychick: I hope you get off the waitlist! I know it sucks, firsthand!

-X

 

[Trekkie963]

I was wondering if anyone had experiences putting med school on hold , say between years 2 and 3 to go get a JD. I've heard of people getting PhD's and MPH's even though they didn't apply to dual-degree programs. They asked for some time off and they got it! However, PhD's and MPH's have direct relevance to medicine. JD's are only arguably directly relevant.

This is currently my plan. I am going to go to USC medical school and probably just go to USC law school after my basic sciences and before starting clinicals. I had asked after I got into USC about the possibility of a "joint" program and they said it was not possible to abbreviate the course of study, but they granted leaves of absence from the med school to do things like law school without any problem.

I had looked into this option at other schools without formal programs, too, and it seemed like nobody would have a problem granting a three-year leave of absence between the second and third years of medical school.

 

[japhy]

xanthines,

i am currently on leave from med school having finished the first two years. it was very easy to apply and get approved a leave of absence for law school. it looks like i will be in law school for the full 3 years, but on the upside i will be able to get a masters in bioethics during my time at penn. i am not even attending the same med and law schools and it was not a problem. obviously i had an extremely supportive dean's office at my med school. financial aid has been stressful, but i'll pay for it some how.

any questions about how i got this set up or how much fun law school is feel free to pm me. i am right in the middle of finals so it may take some time to get back with you, but i am happy to answer questions.

 

[Trekkie963]

Yeah, USC doesn't care if I go to their law school or another one, either. I just figured I would stay there because it would probably be cheaper than other schools and I wouldn't have to move. UCLA would be an option, too.

Japhy, I take it you are doing law school at Penn--where are you doing med school? Also, how did you decide on your law school?

Thanks, everyone, for posting!

 

[japhy]

i am attending med school at utah. i decided on penn becaue they let me in... they are one of the first schools to push interdisciplinary studies throughout their graduate and professional schools. there are amazing interactions with wharton, with the bioethics center and all of the other grad schools. i am able to get a masters degree in the same time that it would take to finish law school. plus, penn is very well known as being a low stress and student friendly law school. law is such a different beast then medicine. kids here are friendly and cooperative. i honestly can't imagine going to a school that ranks their students. part of that can be attributed to the school. no one has a hard time finding a great job coming out of penn. no, they don't send as many people to the supreme court as yale but we hold our own in academic and clerkship positions. i also was impressed with the financial aid i was offered. i had a mentor back home who was a law professor, she always told me to go to the best school i could get into. in the legal realm, name matters. no matter how much i think such a system is stupid and bunk it is just the way the game is played. it seemed to help get me a job this summer with the aclu.

anyway, usc has a great law school. i applied there, but i felt that penn had more to offer in terms of health law classes, between the law school and wharton (which has awesome health econ classes).

 

[beponychick]

Thank you Japhy,

I appreciate your support. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope that things will work out. I will let you know if I hear anything from them 🙂

 

[beponychick]

By the way,

Good luck on finals Japhy!

 

[Trekkie963]

i had a mentor back home who was a law professor, she always told me to go to the best school i could get into. in the legal realm, name matters. no matter how much i think such a system is stupid and bunk it is just the way the game is played. it seemed to help get me a job this summer with the aclu.

anyway, usc has a great law school. i applied there, but i felt that penn had more to offer in terms of health law classes, between the law school and wharton (which has awesome health econ classes).

This is the main issue that has me concerned. I applied to law schools this year, but since I am not doing a joint program will just be starting med school instead. I know that I can get into "better" schools than USC, because I already have. My pre-law advisor, though, suggested going to USC or UCLA over any other schools, because they are good schools and the "transactional cost" of going someplace far away wouldn't be worth it. I guess I have another two years to decide what to do, but I think I would be pretty content at USC, and I am fairly confident that I could get some merit-based aid there to make everything more affordable (med school PLUS law school is pretty scary cost-wise).

Also, since I am not planning to actually work as an attorney, I don't know that the name-game matters as much. Its more important to me that I go someplace where I'll be happy and be able to learn what I need to know. I didn't apply to UCLA or USC this cycle, but looking at their websites and hearing people talk about the schools USC sounds pretty good to me. I did look at Penn, though I didn't apply there because I was quickly made aware of my rejection from Penn Med, and I definitely thought it would be a great place to go to law school!

I appreciate the insight into your experience that you've provided.