Would you ever apply to NEOMED?

[awildfandango]

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[Redpancreas]

I understand that a vast majority of people on this forum are extremely driven &intelligent individuals and a school like NEOMED would be out of the question. But for the students that were not always driven and completely sold on medical school while starting their undergraduate studies and struggled initially would you reccommend a direct entry path like the one posted below.

http://www.neomed.edu/admissions/medicine/csu

Do any of you know anything about this medical school? Do they generally produce mostly primary care physicians? Is it barely a step up from a Caribbean or DO school?

Are you kidding me? Of course it is. It says it is an LCME accredited allopathic college of medicine ( or in other words, if you're not interested in D.O. it's not even a D.O. school) I personally don't know much about the school but I applied for the BS/MD ages ago... let me find their match list..hang on:

Here: http://www.neomed.edu/DEPTS/PubRel/press releases/2011_Match.pdf

As you can see multiple students got residencies in Case Western and a couple went to Mayo. Those are the big guns! Also, many got into places like Duke and other major teaching hospitals! This medical school is for real (just like all U.S. medical schools) and don't feel inferior for one second if you are the one who wants to apply there. It's a great school and I'd take an acceptance there any day!

I know about it because I applied to the BS/MD in high school

-Also, there's no point having an inferiority complex on SDN. You're forgetting that people usually post to feel good about themselves. You won't see people writing paragraphs about their low stats unless they're looking for encouragement or are telling people how they went from a 28 to a 43.

Ok, now the only thing I dont understand is why do they call this a direct entry program I'm not exactly sure why but maybe it's because students are able to apply even if they're not done with college and they'll be allowed in?!?! I'm not sure. The thing I'm sure about is that it's a real deal U.S MD school program. The requirements are pretty standard practice.

Can anyone jump in on why it is called "Direct Entry M.D. Admissions"?

 

[Nymphicus]

Can anyone jump in on why it is called "Direct Entry M.D. Admissions"?

It just means going to medical school after college (i.e. the normal way) rather than BS/MD or transferring from another medical school.

"About the Program

If you thought that NEOMED offers only an accelerated B.S./M.D. program, here is a new perspective: normally 20 percent of our first-year medical school students are admitted via the traditional four-year pre-medicine route."
​

http://www.neomed.edu/admissions/medicine/direct

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

People usually don't apply to this school/it isn't very well known because the majority of their matriculants come through the BS/MD program. There's basically no shot at the school if applying OOS either because they fill the rest of the regular MD slots with in staters, which leads to almost nobody outside of Ohio even knowing that this school exists.

 

[KnuxNole]

Any US school is good. When you don't get an acceptance, I don't think people are saying "Well at least I didn't have to attend the lowest ranked US MD school!!!"

 

[plumhill]

I understand that a vast majority of people on this forum are extremely driven &intelligent individuals and a school like NEOMED would be out of the question. But for the students that were not always driven and completely sold on medical school while starting their undergraduate studies and struggled initially would you reccommend a direct entry path like the one posted below.

http://www.neomed.edu/admissions/medicine/csu

Do any of you know anything about this medical school? Do they generally produce mostly primary care physicians? Is it barely a step up from a Caribbean or DO school?

Many students from my high school went to NEOMED and most have had a positive experience. In addition, a few people I know from college have gone on to NEOMED, and again, most have had a positive experience. The only thing that turns off most people is the fact that most students there are going through an accelerated BS/MD program and if you're a non-trad (like I'm about to be) then you'll be at least 4-5 years older than most of the first-years in your class. In addition, of the Ohio allopathic schools, NEOMED has the most in-state bias. But the fact that NEOMED isn't a name-brand or well-known school hasn't stopped anyone from succeeding. As with other non-top 50 schools, you can still match into an exceptional residency if you utilize the resources of your school and make sure to get a high Step 1 score.

 

[awildfandango]

Thanks for the replies! I ended up calling the admissions department to try and set up a meeting to discuss with an advisor/coordinator of the CSU program for the direct admissions/post bacc options. They have not gotten back to me yet but when they do I'll be sure to ask them many questions.

For the direct entry path I would assume that you are supposed to apply your junior like any traditional medical school path without the gap year. Originally I had planned on taking the MCAT during spring 2014 after I have completed all of my upper level biology courses and try to go the gap year route. But if this CSU program is not extremely competitive like traditional medical schools with >30 MCAT scores I might start doing some mass studying this spring for the MCAT and take it during the summer.

This is what the website says:

Academic Criteria
No less than a C- on all required courses and:

3.25 overall GPA in undergraduate coursework (3.50 for Non-Ohio residents), 3.20 sGPA in biology, chemistry, physics and math (3.25 for Non-Ohio residents), MCAT score of 8 or higher in each subtest on the most recent test, or
3.50 overall GPA in undergraduate coursework, 3.50 overall GPA in biology, chemistry, physics and math, MCAT composite score of at least 24 on the most recent test, with subtest scores of 8 or higher in two sections and no less than a 7 on the third

 

[sivman17]

Current 4th year student at NEOMED... To answer one of the OP's original questions, the school was originally founded in order to increase the number of PCPs in Northeast Ohio. However, that does not mean you are limited to primary care. You are free to explore any specialty you want. I don't have the list in front of me, but students match into virtually all specialties every year.

Although this was my only medical school experience, I would have to say that your education won't be all that different wherever you go. Lectures are always going to be boring, exams are always going to be hard, and you will always have to put in lots of independent study time outside of class. It's somewhat cliche to say, but you truly get out what you put in. I know people here that failed, simply because they didn't want to put the work in. There are others in our class that just matched to very reputable programs in Ophtho (Mayo Clinic) and Urology.

My medical school options were limited because I got a 24 the first time I took the MCAT. I took it again and raised my score, but the 24 still scared some schools off. When I spoke to one of the school's dean who rejected me for an interview, he said the 24 concerns him because he said there is a correlation to that and board scores. I vehemently disagree with that. The MCAT is nothing like the USMLE exams you take in med school. And anyway, I did well on USMLE Step 1 and very well on Step 2. I am currently interviewing for radiology, which is historically a very competitive specialty. I do not at feel hindered for going to school here.

In the end, if you have the grades, especially on USMLE Step 1 and 2, you can match into any specialty at virtually any residency, no matter what school you go to.

 

[113]

I don't live in Ohio, but if I did, I would apply the **** out of NEOMED. 🙂

 

[Script11]

I graduated from NEOUCOM (before the name change)-would like to add my sentiment that the education received here was excellent, it may not have the Harvard prestige, but you will be as successful as you want to be. I have classmates who are practicing all over the country, I did not have difficulty with finding residencies or fellowships & am successfully practicing in the field of my choice (pediatrics). I do agree that this program definately encourages students to enter primary care fields, but you have the opportunity to enter any specialty you desire.

 

[DrHart]

I have two friends who are currently in the BS/MD program.
Firstly, if you plan to apply via traditional route (4 years undergrad elsewhere -> 4 years NEOMED) I wouldn't make NEOMED my first choice. Last time I checked it wasn't ranked very highly and the stat profile of incoming students is not very high. Being a US med school, I'm sure you'll get a good education, but it won't be top tier quality. In the end, how well you do in getting a good residency will depend on how hard you work.
As far as the BS/MD program goes.... I don't know if you're familiar with the colleges NEOMED is associated with (Kent State, Youngstown, and Akron) but around Ohio these are not good schools. My friends who go there say the classes are remarkably easy and the students who are also enrolled in the BS/MD program are sub par as far as pre-med students go.
NEOMED requires something like an 8 in each subject of the MCAT which isn't very competetive. I'm not entirely sure the GPA requirements but I know it isn't very high. I believe these low requirements don't help develop a good work ethic, which would translate to low work ethic in the med school portion. (not to mention my friends tell me NEOMED is notorious for cheating and academic misconduct). I also talked to several doctors about the program... most of whom told me that the doctors they know from 6 year BSMD programs are socially stunted because they had their nose in a book when they should have been having some fun in college.
If you're positive you want to be a doctor and can manage ~20 credit hours a semester (summers included) for 2 years, and also have confidence in your work ethic, I'd say its not a bad deal. But I decided to go to a 4 year college with higher standards, ~15 credits a semester, and summers to work and have fun. An extra 2 years of a doctors salary isn't enough to make me aim lower than a top 50 med school. -- just my 2 cents

 

[Wanderlove]

I live in northeast Ohio and hadn't even heard of NEOMED until recently. I would probably apply, but it wouldn't necessarily be my top choice. I noticed that the standards for acceptance to NEOMED are pretty low compared to other schools, which can be both good and bad.

 

[Morsetlis]

People usually don't apply to this school/it isn't very well known because the majority of their matriculants come through the BS/MD program. There's basically no shot at the school if applying OOS either because they fill the rest of the regular MD slots with in staters, which leads to almost nobody outside of Ohio even knowing that this school exists.

Pretty much.

I almost applied to it but I saw the OOS stats.

That is not to say, that I would not rather be there, than here.

 

[Dr Dazzle]

So you only need a 24 mcat after 2 years of undergrad to move on to the med school?! It's a 6 year program right? That seems very low. I'm surprised that their students do well enough on the USMLE to match competitive specialties.

 

[DrHart]

http://www.neomed.edu/studentresources/ProfDev/ResidencyPlan/Class%20of%202012_Match%20Results.pdf
heres 2012s matches... some pretty good matches but there seems to be an awful lot at summa/neomed.
the reason why mcat requirements are so low is because some don't usually even finish the basic sciences before you take the mcat. in a lot of cases you might have orgo yet to take. if you do manage to get through all the classes you don't have too much time for review <.<

 

[YankyDoodle]

http://www.neomed.edu/studentresources/ProfDev/ResidencyPlan/Class%20of%202012_Match%20Results.pdf
heres 2012s matches... some pretty good matches but there seems to be an awful lot at summa/neomed. <.<

10% of the class matched into Orthopaedics?!! Respect

 

[Dr Dazzle]

What does this say about correlation between MCAT and USMLE then...hmmm

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

http://www.neomed.edu/studentresources/ProfDev/ResidencyPlan/Class%20of%202012_Match%20Results.pdf
heres 2012s matches... some pretty good matches but there seems to be an awful lot at summa/neomed.
the reason why mcat requirements are so low is because some don't usually even finish the basic sciences before you take the mcat. in a lot of cases you might have orgo yet to take. if you do manage to get through all the classes you don't have too much time for review <.<

The distribution is pretty typical (except for the abnormally large amount in ortho) so unless you're really hung up on not staying in Ohio for residency people are still matching into whatever they want.

And yes, apparently people are still scoring well enough to match ortho, derm, rads, rad-onc, ophtho, etc.