OP, take the bs/md route... rank means nothing, it means how much $ the school receives from NIH. the only benefit you will get from attending a top school is more research opportunities. step scores are all based on the student not the school..you will find out medical school is all self study, no faculty member is going to hold your hand while you memorize every step of krebs cycle or w.e., you need to learn it on your own - same goes with step1. all this info from other premeds is bad, ive been through the process and ive seen the results/stress. applying is stressful, costs a lot of money and even if you get that magical 36 mcat, no guarantees. your interviewer can not like you, maybe your gpa is low, you didnt volunteer enough hours or have enough leadership experiences. all things you can avoid by taking the easy route. you will end up with an md from an lcme accredited school, equivalent to any other US md. and although i cant tell you that its easier to get into bs/md programs than go the traditional route, i have a few med school friends who went that route and they tell me how happy they are they didnt have to jump through all the hoops and bs we traditional applicants had to do. anecdotal yes, but so is the friend who rejected a guaranteed baylor acceptance to enter harvard md/phd
