Need help making a decision

[greenlizard]

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I have been accepted to the postbac program at Bryn Mawr and Temple University and am having a hard time deciding between the two.

I have listed the pros and cons for both programs:

Temple
Pros:
Conditional acceptance to TSUM
Access to TSUM and hospital for shadowing and etc

Cons:
Classes with ugrad (huge lecture classes)
Safety

Bryn Mawr
Pros:
Classes with postbacs only with good support
Good environment
Flexibility to visit linkage schools before applying and have a choice

Cons:
Still have to apply to med school on top classes

I value the conditional acceptance and shadowing opportunities with Temple, but safety is big concern. For Bryn Mawr, I value the quality of teaching but don't like the idea of having to go through the application process (with the linkage schools) which may or may not result in a conditional acceptance.

If anyone can address my concerns, I would greatly appreciate it. Other inputs to help with my decision are also welcomed.

 

[Hoya2011]

Temple ACMS, no question.

 

[henge]

Were you accepted to Temple BCMS?

Since BM has a 98% success rate, you almost certainly will get into med school if you go to BM. The big difference between BCMS and BM, of course, concerns where you want to go to medical school, which involves not just neighborhood considerations but also the prospects for a successful match (check out how TUMS students do in the match) and the availability of in-state tuition rates.

Based on the chatter on this forum, the GPA prong of the Temple conditional acceptance will not be difficult to meet, so your acceptance to TUMS will effectively depend on getting a 30 on your MCAT. If you're worried about getting that MCAT score, I've read that BM offers linkage to Brown, Dartmouth and Rochester which don't require taking the MCAT. There are some old posts suggesting you need a 3.7 in the BM post-bacc program to meet the link conditions at Rochester and Dartmouth. Many, many BM students go to Rochester, and quite a few go to Dartmouth and Brown, but I can't tell how many are doing so by link vs open application. Brown's website says, re: linkage, that it likes students who have been out of school for a while. Didn't see anything about what criteria Dartmouth and Rochester use. I'd be interested in knowing how hard it is to get into those links.

BM has plenty of other links that require the MCAT. If you are worried about having an undesired glide year, check with BM and see how hard it is to link to one of the other schools and to meet the conditions of the link. I seem to recall some old chatter here to the effect some links require an MCAT of only 27. And I remember one SDN poster saying his linkage process at BM consisted of, literally, sending off his BM app to the med school and having an interview. If the 27 MCAT links exist, and if it's easy (both substantively and procedurally) to get into one of those links, and if the med school is no less desirable than TUMS, then it seems BM would be a better choice. Lots of 'ifs' there, but it seems BM should be able to provide you with most of the answers.

 

[greenlizard]

I am in Temple.

I agree with everything you said about BM. It is also all the 'ifs' that is holding me back on the decision on BM vs Temple.

I do worry about the 30 on the MCAT but most people I talk to says its doable.