UCLA/UCR 7-year BS/MD program

I got accepted into that program as well (last year), but I decided not to do it. I heard that it's super cut-throat and competitive. I would rather enjoy myself during college.

 

Chill! You allowed just over 3 hours between the posts, which is ridiculously short to start complaining. Furthermore, this is a volunteer board where people post answers to questions out of the goodness of their heart, so please be patient. People do other things besides check SDN.

-RA

 

really considered this program as an option 5 years ago. decided to do the "normal" route b/c of a friends first-hand experience. apparently, only the top 24 in the class make it on to the MD portion at UCLA. well, in my friend's class, the top 24 all had 4.0 GPA's. she had a 3.8 GPA (damn good, but not good enough). she had to transfer out and get a "real" bachelors at another UC.

 

joe joe... do i know you??
p

 

I am in the program. And no, you dont have to have a 4.0 to get in the ucla phase. The average gpa is like a 3.7, and like 33 mcat score. The teacher here at ucr ar ecomplete idiots, and dont know how to teach. Trust me, I'm not just a complaining premed. Last year the entrance class had the lowest average gpa (about 3.6) for the ucla school od medicine.

 

yes only the top 24 out of 200 (or a number close to there that changes every year depending on the incoming freshmen class), but they have cut-offs that you have to meet. So for example, I am a 2nd year student, and there is like 90 people remaining. It is very competive, but think of it this way, 24 out of 200, or 125 out of 5,000. I would go with the first The only bad thing about the program, you cant really pick your classes because you have a sit schedule (except you pick your ge's) and the teachers make the classes much harder to weave people out of the program. I ahve taken classes at UCLA and USC and they ar emuch easier than here, but if you are committed to excelling, it is very possible. I hope I can just make it in

 

Though I may be way off-base, I would think that the competition at Riverside - the "AA UC" - would be much easier than the competition at UCLA itself, not to mention other California schools like UCSD, or Berkeley or Caltech or Stanford. I always thought the UCR/UCLA program was designed to get more minorities into UCLA Med. Or does it in fact take top students from all over California and pit them against each other in classes designed especially for the program that just happen to occur at the Riverside campus? Because if you'e just competing with the general UCR population I can't imagine it being very tough.
(Edited because the mac I first posted from can't do quotations or apostrophes right on this board)

 

You're competing against the 199 other people in the program for 25 spots. They're all bright people, and they all want to get into UCLA Med--Really bad. No matter how you cut it, it's tough.

I went to the 8 year program at USC, which guarantees a spot at USC-Keck Med. The UCR/UCLA program does not guarantee anything. I'd say forget about this program. If you're smart and driven enough to make their 25 out of 200 cut, you will get into med school anyway graduating from another school. You can go to a better undergrad and enjoy your 4 years. And you'll have more options in the end.

-LK
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Class of 2006

 

the program just happens to be at ucr, and the classes are specifically designed for this program. so eventhough ucr is know as crap, this program is nationally known bc you take sepaerate classes. for more info go to www.biomed.ucr.edu
this program is actually designed for students that are confident that they want to do medicine and want to save a year of school

 

Wow that does sound incredibly tough. When I first heard of the program I thought "damn, I should have applied to Rivaside 'cause I would have a guaranteed spot at UCLA Med!" but apparently it's not like that


To answer your question Lumi, here's what the site says, but pretty much if you make it through the third year then you're set...

The number of students who go on to medical school from the Biomedical Sciences Program is tracked for those who are still in the program through the 3rd year; in this group there are an average of 50-55 students. 24 are selected for the UCR/UCLA MD program; of the remaining 26-31 students; about 20-25 go on to apply for medical school; from this group about 50-60% are accepted to other medical schools.

 

I got accepted to this program too but decided not to go. Freedom in taking classes that I want was too important to me. Plus I go to a school ranked higher than UCR so assuming I was not one of those 24 people to go to UCLA med, I have a better chance at admission. By the way, I believe after 3 undergrad years, 2 med school years are done at UCR and only the last 2 are done at UCLA. With a 3.8+ and 35 MCAT you can go to UCLA anyway and spend all 4 years there rather than 2. I think I chose the better option.

 

So how exactly does this work? Are the top 24/25 chosen at the end of the 3rd year? Or...

-RA

 

It's probably pretty competitive to get into, but I'd imagine once you're in, it's probably easy going, since everyone has a spot at Keck, assuming they meet the requirements. I know one of the requirements is that they make you take the MCAT, but I think you only have to get the national average or something?

Dr. Kevin?

-RA

 

To guarantee your spot at USC-Keck from the 8-year program, you have to get 8's on each MCAT section and get above a 3.3 GPA. You can major in anything you want, as long as you complete some basic science courses.

USC's program doesn't really foster a cutthroat environment because everyone's pretty much accepted to USC-Keck Med from the beginning. A bunch of people apply out to other med schools their senior year, so there's some competition involved with that. But overall it's laid back.

 

let's get one thing straight, USC's B/MD program is not easy to get into. i applied there with a 1550 and 3.97 GPA, and although i got an interview, i ultimately did not get in. UCR's program, in comparison, is pretty much a shoe-in to get into if u had good stats in HS. after researching that program some more, it def. did not appeal to me. it seemed like just a ploy by UCR to get some bright people to enroll at their school. the weed out sounds lame, and if u don't make the cuts, ur left with a UCR degree (blah), or u have to transfer. moreover, even if u do make it all the way to ucla, u don't even get to take classes with the reg. ucla med students! it's like ur second class. honestly, if i had went to UCR and made the cuts, i don't think i could ever really think of myself as a true ucla med graduate.

 

The UCR/UCLA program designed to get more URMs into medical school? No way. My mom works at RCH (Riverside community hospital) and the students in the program come in once in a while and she says that they are nearly all asian.

I also got accepted to the program but decided not to go. I think I would have had a good chance of making it through, but I just wanted to take my time and enjoy college. I just don't think I would enjoy an atmosphere where I know that I have to compete against others like that.

 

It is better to go the traditional route if you can, unless you are ok with the idea of not making into the med program and change your major after that. I have many friends that have really good credentials and did not make it in.
Then again, the UCR/UCLA are trying make a lot of changes with the program. Starting the next yr's incoming freshman, they will not have the privilege of competing against the 250 ppl that comes in. But the entire school, upon their 3rd yr, will be eligible to apply for the biomedical program at UCLA. And if you are biomed major, and got rejected after 3rd yr interview, you are eligible to apply your 4th yr to the program again.
So for me personally, I wouldn't do it, knowing that the 24 spots are up for grabs for who knows how many people.
I can attest to that because I went to UCR and was in the biomed program.

 

silver_eyes,


the program has its positives as being quite prestigious. When I entered, a lot of ppl have heard of it and have told me that it will be hard, but at the same time I might get the chance of going to UCLA, one of the top medical institutions in the country.

First yr was alright, I was in the same class as most other science majors, so was second yr, and becoming more selective 3rd yr. We basically took the pre-med required courses in order to fulfill the basic required load of a medical school bound student. It was neat because we also got to observe at a local hospital upon our 3rd yr once a week.

Overall, the course load was quite rigorous, it did take a lot of time. And we had to take our MCATs the summer after our 2nd yr.
For those that made it to the medical school phase, it was pretty cool for them. I'm not too sure how they're liking it, though I've heard many different stories about it, both good and bad.

For those that did not make it thru like me, we apply again. i decided to take a yr off and this yr I applied again to med schools and got in.

Either way, it was a risk, and I did learn a lot. On one hand there's the risk of jeopardizing one's GPA due to the accelerated speed, while on the other, the chance of one making to med school upon 3rd yr was about 50%. Most 3rd yr classes were around 45-50 students when they interviewed.

For the current biomeds, the university is trying to lighten the load for them, i.e. they took away a lot of classes that were once required. And of course, to the pt. of the changes that were made recently as I have mentioned in my last post.

Hopefully you're enjoying university of the pacific. I am definitely a traditional-bound advocate. At the same time taking the accelerated path with a grain of salt, in retrospect.

 

I'm in the third year of the program right now.

The first two years have the similar workload to any other university with premeds; you have to take the same basic sciences. It's the third year where it gets more rough -- the classes are much more challenging. Anyhow, I see it as an easier route to get into UCLA because, as someone stated earlier, the chances are usually around 45% than the typical <10%.

This year, we have 74 students in the third year. The dean told me our year is apparently the most competitive of all the 30 years the program has been in place...so this year it's going to be about 30% chance of getting in for us. The biomed major is going to be thrown out and anyone from the university can apply to the 24 med school slots (that'll be effective in three years). Also, it will not be an accelerated program anymore; priority will be given to fourth years and even fifth years.

It's not an easy shoe-in. They still want high stats. Last year, the average GPA was a 3.76 and the MCATs a 10.2 (though I know many people who were accepted with lower MCAT scores around 27-28. Usually, biomeds don't do as hot on the MCAT)...I'm also told that the third year is what counts -- if you don't get good grades then they feel you won't be able to withstand the med school curriculum.

For anyone looking into the UCR/UCLA route, I advise not going to UCR only for this because everyone from the university will be applying -- so it'll be much more competitive.

I can help you with any other info, just ask.

 

by the way, it's a common misconception to think that the UCR/UCLA program is for minorities. It is most definitely not -- most students are asian and white. The DREW/UCLA program, on the other hand, is another story.

I think the program is to get more brighter kids to UCR...and perhaps to have our own med school one day.

 

I think they will eventually have med schools at the cal state level.

look at SUNY.

its just a matter of time.

maybe 50 years or so.