Medical What do I need to do to be competitive for a BA/MD or BS/MD program?

[Mr.Smile12]

I am currently a sopohmore in high school. My plan is to go to a BA/MD or BS/MD program.

I have currently done many extracurriculars; Science Olympiad, tennis, Pre-Med, DECA, BPA (officer), and Ultimate Challenge Club, I am currently thinking about cutting DECA and joining HOSA and Interact club, as I am worried that might be too many Extracurriculars.

My current GPA weighted is a 4.35 which will probably go down a little bit after this semester is added. My unweighted is mid-3.8 probably will go wayyy down. I have gotten a D in AP world last semester, so that drastically changed my GPA.

Anyway the reason I am writing this is I need help on making a plan for the next 2 years, so that I can make it to a competitive BA/MD or BS/MD program. The problem is I am a terrible test taker (ACT/SAT). I took the pre- ones and did terribly. What should I do? Please let me know if anybody has had success with these programs and I would love to ask some questions. I want to know what I should do during my summers. I plan to take the SAT and ACT next year. (my junior year). I need to know when to apply Senior year for BA/MD or BS/MD. What should I do about my GPA? And how can I be a competitive applicant?

Sorry, if that might be too much but any help would mean alot!

Hello and thank you for your question.

Sorry to tell you this but your standardized exam scores are very important. You'll be taking more of them over time, and a history of standardized exams often anticipates future success on standardized exams. You should not be afraid to get some help because other students you will be compared against will have strong scores and high school involvement in medicine or science.

Not getting into an accelerator program is not the end of the world. You need to see about monitoring and mentoring help as a student wherever you go to college, but you need to show why you would be ready and mature enough to start earlier.

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[lord999]

And it doesn't stop from there. Even when you enter the program, the medical license qualifiers USMLE or COMLEX are much higher stakes and can actually be career disqualifying for certain specialties for failures or below average scores.

Data and Analysis - AAMC

This table displays statistics on USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 Content Knowledge (CK) scores for first-year residents in 2016-2017.

www.aamc.org

If you are not scoring in the top 20% of your class cohort (1780 under the current SAT, 26+ ACT, 510+ for the MCAT), you must improve to at least that good to be competitive. For the first tier schools, you need to be in the top 1-3% of the cohort. If you read the threads for med school admissions, there are many agonizing over the MCAT scores.

Also, since AP Chemistry and AP Biology tend not to be taught before the junior level, there really cannot be a good evaluation on your academic qualifications as of yet. Once you have those two (and your upper mathematics score from Calculus AB or BC preferably), then it becomes a clear picture of what can and cannot be done.

Look at the LizzyM algorithm to see a picture of what competitive means. You do not have to be Harvard material, but you do have to be in the upper cohort to stand a chance, even with reach applicants.

For the Junior and Senior years:
1. You must take and perform well (no less than A- averaged across the classes) for the AP/IB Chemistry and Biology classes and pass the requisite exams (even though you will probably end up retaking the classes).
2. You must pass College Algebra and preferably past Calculus when you apply.
3. You figure out which programs you want to apply to for the BS/BA to MD programs and then look up their admission requirements.
4. You take whatever standardized exam you want (or both) and score at the 80% or better (Top 20% of the cohort), you should be shooting for top 5%.
5. You need some time in volunteering in a clinical context if you are over 16.