Tufts MBS, BU MAMS or UMDNJ Newark MBS Program?? Which one to choose from

[diva09]

Hello Everyone,

I was blessed with a great opportunity to choose amongst three programs that will enhance my credentials to medical school.

I am looking for people's opinions on the following three programs: Tufts MBS, BU MAMS, or UMDNJ Newark MBS program. Which program do you think is a better program and why? Cost is not a major concern for me because I am not trying to stress over cost. I want comments that focus on the quality of the program and why you would choose one program over the other. I am a jersey resident so I know that UMDNJ would make more sense cost wise. I have been reading past posts about all the programs so please people refrain from giving me answers like read through posts because I have been since I joined SDN. I just would like people to give their own personal opinions in a focused thread.

Thank You

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[jslo85]

I personally would choose Tufts MBS.

The curriculum and the class size are what attracts me the most to this particular program as opposed to the other two options. If we exclude cost, location (same as BU) and other factors and look strictly at the program itself, those are the factors that stand out to me the most.

BU has a larger class size and is more "established" in that it has been around longer than Tufts but the reputation of the Tufts program is high even though its new and the numbers/responses that I've been hearing are all positive. Both are in Boston and I won't comment on cost. It can also be completed in a year if you really chose to so this might be a plus for you.

UMDNJ I would put as third on my list purely based off of reputation but if you wished to stay in NJ and go to medical school at UMDNJ then I know they look preferentially at applicants from their own SMP program. Cost is also a plus for me but apparently it isn't really a considering factor for you. This can also be done in 1 year.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

i had this decision and went BU. can't go wrong with either. no idea re:newark

 

[diva09]

I personally would choose Tufts MBS.

The curriculum and the class size are what attracts me the most to this particular program as opposed to the other two options. If we exclude cost, location (same as BU) and other factors and look strictly at the program itself, those are the factors that stand out to me the most.

BU has a larger class size and is more "established" in that it has been around longer than Tufts but the reputation of the Tufts program is high even though its new and the numbers/responses that I've been hearing are all positive. Both are in Boston and I won't comment on cost. It can also be completed in a year if you really chose to so this might be a plus for you.

UMDNJ I would put as third on my list purely based off of reputation but if you wished to stay in NJ and go to medical school at UMDNJ then I know they look preferentially at applicants from their own SMP program. Cost is also a plus for me but apparently it isn't really a considering factor for you. This can also be done in 1 year.

Hello jslo85,

Thank you so much for your response. I will take these things in consideration when making my final decision.

Thank You

 

[diva09]

i had this decision and went BU. can't go wrong with either. no idea re:newark

Hello bleargh,

May I ask why did you end up choosing BU?

Thank You

 

[RogueUnicorn]

Hello bleargh,

May I ask why did you end up choosing BU?

Thank You

primarily due to the established nature of the program, and the fact that i'd rather go to bu med than tufts med

 

[Crisco]

same.
I'd rather go to BU med than Tufts.
BU's program is old and has a better established reputation. It's been around long enough that you can comfortably say all medical schools are aware of what the program is and what it is supposed to prove.

I'm not quite sure what the craze is about having/preferring smaller class sizes. I guess your concern would be that you fade into oblivion with the other 100+ students. In BU because the classes are divided into two tracks, each class only manages about 90 GMS students at any given point (except for biochemistry.) Regardless, if you're top 10-15% of your class and if you spend the time to visit your professors at least once in awhile, they will definitely know you.

At BU, each advisor has only about 10-15 students and most of them seem to be on the med school admission's committee.

The curriculum is about the same too. Actually, I think the curriculum for most SMP programs are similar with minor deviations.

at BU, you take histology, Physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology and/or immunology, biostats, and endocrinology

 

[diva09]

same.
I'd rather go to BU med than Tufts.
BU's program is old and has a better established reputation. It's been around long enough that you can comfortably say all medical schools are aware of what the program is and what it is supposed to prove.

I'm not quite sure what the craze is about having/preferring smaller class sizes. I guess your concern would be that you fade into oblivion with the other 100+ students. In BU because the classes are divided into two tracks, each class only manages about 90 GMS students at any given point (except for biochemistry.) Regardless, if you're top 10-15% of your class and if you spend the time to visit your professors at least once in awhile, they will definitely know you.

At BU, each advisor has only about 10-15 students and most of them seem to be on the med school admission's committee.

The curriculum is about the same too. Actually, I think the curriculum for most SMP programs are similar with minor deviations.

at BU, you take histology, Physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology and/or immunology, biostats, and endocrinology

Hello,

Thank you for your response. I think its hard decision for me but I think I know which program I will pick after doing pros and cons that are important to me.

Thank You all for your help.

 

[skalant]

primarily due to the established nature of the program, and the fact that i'd rather go to bu med than tufts med

In terms of residency matching, does Master of Science look better than Master of art? Additionally, is there any reason why not that many ppl consider RF BSM? I mean it's a 1 yr program with MS and the highest possibility of getting to its medical school with no gap!!!

 

[klmnop]

In terms of residency matching, does Master of Science look better than Master of art? Additionally, is there any reason why not that many ppl consider RF BSM? I mean it's a 1 yr program with MS and the highest possibility of getting to its medical school with no gap!!!

Tufts and BU give you an arguably better opportunity to be admitted to other schools than the home school, whereas the large majority of RFU students end up going to RFU, and not everyone necessarily wants to go there.

 

[skalant]

Tufts and BU give you an arguably better opportunity to be admitted to other schools than the home school, whereas the large majority of RFU students end up going to RFU, and not everyone necessarily wants to go there.

great to know that!!! Can you possibly tell me why you think BU or Tufts are better that RFU? And does it mean MA or MSc wont make any difference in your profile in terms of getting your first choice of residency?

 

[drizzt3117]

great to know that!!! Can you possibly tell me why you think BU or Tufts are better that RFU? And does it mean MA or MSc wont make any difference in your profile in terms of getting your first choice of residency?

The med schools? Besides location they're just schools with much better reputations. Rfu was on probation until recently.

 

[klmnop]

The med schools? Besides location they're just schools with much better reputations. Rfu was on probation until recently.

Interesting, is there a site somewhere that references the schools recently on probation?

great to know that!!! Can you possibly tell me why you think BU or Tufts are better that RFU? And does it mean MA or MSc wont make any difference in your profile in terms of getting your first choice of residency?

BU and Tufts are well known because of their age and their highly regarded undergraduate programs, which RFU doesn't have. Likewise, their med schools are not top 20, but they are viewed relatively highly among private schools, especially because the location offers amazing educational resources and opportunities. RFU isn't a highly known school, probably because it is a graduate school only.

If you are talking about the SMP, BU is better because you take ~6 med courses (i forget) and it has about 20 years of success in getting people into enumerate medical schools around the country. Tufts is better because it offers 7 med courses and is building off the reputation of the undergraduate school and med school and, despite being young, has had great success and even better reviews regarding the quality of the program.

RFU offers 4-5 courses that I believe are grad courses that are similar to medical courses and taught by medical school faculty. I've read around that some midwestern schools like it, but who knows which those are. Tufts and BU I guess have reputations for giving students a chance to get into several other schools, which may include RFU.

 

[skalant]

Interesting, is there a site somewhere that references the schools recently on probation?



BU and Tufts are well known because of their age and their highly regarded undergraduate programs, which RFU doesn't have. Likewise, their med schools are not top 20, but they are viewed relatively highly among private schools, especially because the location offers amazing educational resources and opportunities. RFU isn't a highly known school, probably because it is a graduate school only.

If you are talking about the SMP, BU is better because you take ~6 med courses (i forget) and it has about 20 years of success in getting people into enumerate medical schools around the country. Tufts is better because it offers 7 med courses and is building off the reputation of the undergraduate school and med school and, despite being young, has had great success and even better reviews regarding the quality of the program.

RFU offers 4-5 courses that I believe are grad courses that are similar to medical courses and taught by medical school faculty. I've read around that some midwestern schools like it, but who knows which those are. Tufts and BU I guess have reputations for giving students a chance to get into several other schools, which may include RFU.

See this is another thing I am confused by!!! I looked into the course load of RFU and BU. In RFU, 37.5/49.5 credits (or 12 courses) are medical schools courses but all the forum in SDN say 4-5!!! On the other hand, BU offers 7 courses in medical school. Additionally, you have to do a thesis, by which many wont be able to finish the program within a year and have to stay in pre-med status for another extra year. Can you comment on that?
Here are the link for both schools:
RFU
http://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/dnn/chp/home/CHP/IHS/Biomed/Program/tabid/1773/Default.aspx
BU
http://www.bumc.bu.edu/master-arts-medical-sciences/about-the-program/sample-curriculum/
Thanks again for your time.

 

[klmnop]

Check out the course descriptions: http://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/dnn/chp/home/CHP/IHS/Biomed/Courses/tabid/1769/Default.aspx
There seem to be 3-5 Med courses, its difficult to determine based on the vague descriptions. On the 'Curriculum' page I believe they refer to them as Grad-level courses as well, also ambiguous. I believe, however, that if they were in fact med-courses that had the same exams as med students they would advertise this. And furthermore, if you are unable to decipher what type of classes they are, a med school adcom that is not familiar with the program will also have difficulty.

if you email them I am sure they can answer your questions clearly, they were very helpful with mine...here is some info I got from emailing the RFU program:

Does this program have any linkage or affiliation with the Medical School? NO

Do you keep a record of medical schools previous matriculants have been accepted to other than Rosalind Franklin? We try to keep track but the records are not very complete since it depends on the student getting in touch with us after they have left our school. We typically have 2 or 3 accepted to other state schools, depending on their state of residence and we usually have several others accepted to osteopathic schools or Caribbean schools. Sorry I don’t have complete numbers for you.

 

[klmnop]

On the other hand, BU offers 7 courses in medical school. Additionally, you have to do a thesis, by which many wont be able to finish the program within a year and have to stay in pre-med status for another extra year. Can you comment on that?

Do a search in the BU MAMS 2010 & Tufts MBS for "BU", "2 years", "thesis", and stuff like that. There is a lot of chatter about completing the MAMS in one year and applying during the program. I'm not familiar with the details of it and honestly I'm not going to go back and look at what everyone has said because its come up quite often.

 

[skalant]

Do a search in the BU MAMS 2010 & Tufts MBS for "BU", "2 years", "thesis", and stuff like that. There is a lot of chatter about completing the MAMS in one year and applying during the program. I'm not familiar with the details of it and honestly I'm not going to go back and look at what everyone has said because its come up quite often.

Thanks klmnop

I have actually read all the comments by the students currently or previously in the program. You will not receive any Dean's rec. letter. And if you end up with a research from scratch, you will not likely be able to finish the program within a year. Even on the AAMC website, the average length of the program is 16 months. I honestly love Boston but it seems like RFU is offering a more course-based program with higher chances of getting to at least their own medical school.

 

[Crisco]

Thanks klmnop

I have actually read all the comments by the students currently or previously in the program. You will not receive any Dean's rec. letter. And if you end up with a research from scratch, you will not likely be able to finish the program within a year. Even on the AAMC website, the average length of the program is 16 months. I honestly love Boston but it seems like RFU is offering a more course-based program with higher chances of getting to at least their own medical school.

BU program you can't finish it in a year if you go the lab route. You do get a Dean's Letter. It is basically 2 years long, but unless designed like Georgetown where you can apply during that school year, you are pretty much gonna wait 2 years anyway. Comparing BU/Tufts to RFU is like sky and earth, unfortunately. Not that RFU is bad, but that BU/Tufts are very, very, very good programs.

You MIGHT get into their own med school. If you do, then good. If you don't, you are probably not in a very good position. In the case of BU, about 30~ students out of ~180 will get into its own med school. The nice thing about Tufts/BU is that it increases your chances of getting in pretty much everywhere. Also, pretty much all SMPs are course-based. Not quite sure what you mean by that, but you will expect a fair share of intensive med school courses in ANY SMP.

 

[klmnop]

BU program you can't finish it in a year if you go the lab route. You do get a Dean's Letter. It is basically 2 years long, but unless designed like Georgetown where you can apply during that school year, you are pretty much gonna wait 2 years anyway. Comparing BU/Tufts to RFU is like sky and earth, unfortunately. Not that RFU is bad, but that BU/Tufts are very, very, very good programs.

You MIGHT get into their own med school. If you do, then good. If you don't, you are probably not in a very good position. In the case of BU, about 30~ students out of ~180 will get into its own med school. The nice thing about Tufts/BU is that it increases your chances of getting in pretty much everywhere. Also, pretty much all SMPs are course-based. Not quite sure what you mean by that, but you will expect a fair share of intensive med school courses in ANY SMP.

If you do very well at RFU, you have a high probability of being accepted. If for some reason you do well and aren't accepted, other Illinois schools and some nearby midwestern schools have heard of the program and accept students from it. Also, RFU is designed for students to apply during the year, and this is why they brought it up in comparison to BU/Tufts which you can do this, but are not necessarily designed for it.