Hey guys,
Got referenced to this thread by aSagacious. I'm in this program this year and continuing on to an MS at VCU next year while reapplying. For those who are interested, here are my general thoughts on the program:
If you haven't taken a graduate course's load or don't have a strong study ethic, the first semester of the program can be particularly difficult. Some of the faculty say it's even harder than med school, although personally that's hard to imagine. Unless med school's not as hard as it's made out to be. I think this has more to do with the stress of feeling like your performance will dictate your chances at medical school than it does the workload or the program's pace. Probably a combination of the two.
So it is challenging and more to test your stamina handling the course load, but not so challenging that people weren't keeping part time jobs or volunteering (against initial advice) while in the program and still performing well. It's not a chance to raise you GPA, if that's what you're really hoping for, unless you're going to work hard at it.
Something to note: The guaranteed interview for the 3.5 GPA is only at the end of two semester. That's not to say you might not be offered an interview earlier, which some like myself did have, just that it's not guaranteed.
And I would warn that although the interview is guaranteed, that's still not a seat. Apparently you have to not be crazy, come off as socially inept, or awkward during the interview.
Nice things about the program: you meet a lot of the faculty that are involved with the med class and teach the same courses between med school and the grad school. You also meet a handful of faculty involved in the admission committee, so be sure to talk to them and ASK FOR LETTERS. Finally, it also gets you in the door for a masters, as many students opt to do, or even continue into PhD if things don't work out or you have a change of heart.
Other thing to consider: the courses you take are directed at graduates in various biological disciples, not medical students or pre-meds. So while there's some clinical correlation, expect more basic science background with scientific methods. This is especially true with the appropriately named "supercourse" biochem which is a prerequisite for practically every degree granting program at the school (so it's a very comprehensive survey course that often feels more like "Scientific methods" and microbiology than your traditional biochemsitry.)
Old exams:
Physiology exams are kept under lock-and-key for the previous 5 or 6 years, past exams are given for years prior to that and usually represent the material well enough but not always. They also are switching out k-type questions. Histology is changing up the whole course next year, our exams were powerpoint with 1 min questions and no going back (strongly encouraged course but not prereq). Biochem exams are handed back and older ones exist, for most of the faculty: same question types when not ad verbum, often just changing answer choices (positive AAs versus negative, cooperative vs competitive, etc.) There's enough variation that you actually need to appreciate the material rather than memorize past exams (although that may pass you as well, just not with an A).
Anyways, I'm happy I ended up doing this, even though I had the interview and didn't get the offer. The faculty are mostly amazing, they're very supportive and for the most part are friendly and approachable.
If you guys/gals have specific questions I'll try to check back and answer. If you end up attending next year, send me a PM at some point and hunt me down if you have any questions or need help with anything. Especially with the physiology or histology courses, those were my favorite.
