Wow. All of these responses are so nasty. From someone who is ACTUALLY in the ABLE program...
- They pay for your tuition in-full AND you get a stipend for housing (not a money sucker)
- They only accept up to 12 students BECAUSE they pay for your tuition.
- Being a small cohort, you get to know your CHM professors very well -- a huge benefit once you matriculate the following year.
- Acceptance to MSUCHM is pretty much a guarantee. You have to get a 3.2 overall GPA in your ABLE year (but you also get free tutoring, working with an education specialist, work with professors, etc) so they don't let you fail. In fact, in the history of ABLE, very few students did not matriculate the following year (less than 10 students in the 30+ years of the program). They often refer to it just as a 5-year MD program.
- You get to join any student organizations through the medical school that you want, resulting in more years of leadership positions if you so choose.
- You can put anything from your ABLE year on your ERAS, including publications, shadowing, etc. a HUGE advantage.
- You take anatomy, anatomy lab, neuroscience, biochem/histo through the medical school and all but 1 of those classes you get the exact same curriculum so you're way more prepared for your M1 year. You also take neurobiology, physiology, and a public health class.
- Because you take anatomy your summer and first semester, you can TA/bluecoat for undergrads/M1s starting 2nd semester of your ABLE year (great for people interested in surgical specialties)!!
- We've already started doing practice step 1 questions
- You have a mentor who helps you with study techniques, test strategy, etc. this has helped me IMMENSLEY
- You can even participate in CHM research forums (easy way to get publications)
- You meet with the residency advisor in the summer so you get extra time to plan a path to residency apps
- Because you're so close with your professors, your LORs are amazing and personal, especially if you want them for scholarships.
- Students in who did ABLE are known in CHM because they are SO far ahead of their classmates because they've seen so much of the material already. They even distribute ABLE students among different learning pods because they know the ABLE students will help their classmates with the content.
- ABLE is only for disadvantage students who faced adversities during undergrad which likely impacted their ability to succeed academically. My classmates have battled the unthinkable and still managed to make it into medical school. They understand how much more difficult it is to gain acceptance to medical school when you don't come from extreme privilege like the majority of medical students. They are incredible and so much kinder and humbler than the narcissistic, stuck-up students that make up a lot of medical school classes. From their stories alone, I've learned so much about atypical barriers to care and how to show empathy for those who come from different backgrounds than myself, lessons that will directly change how I deliver medicine to my future patients (and that a LOT of physicians/students could benefit from, see above).
I, too, was disappointed that I was referred to do an ABLE year instead of directly entering CHM, but honestly, I think if I had the choice now, I would opt to do ABLE. It's not like other post-baccs/SMP where you are one of many students taking undergraduate/graduate classes spending thousands of dollars without even a guaranteed acceptance. You can't apply to the ABLE program. You apply to CHM through AAMCAS and interview just like every other applicant. You have a reserved seat for you in CHM for the following August. There are SO many advantages to this program that will help you in the long run, it's worth it.
