Doctor18

I will be a senior, and I'm set on pursuing a medical career. It would be AWESOME if I got into a BS/MD program, so I would love to know if my stats will be good enough!

Class Rank: Top 10/500
GPA: 4.0

SAT: 2320 (800 Math, 750 CR, 770 Writing)
PSAT: 224 (should qualify for National Merit Semi-finalist)

SAT II:
Math Level 2: 800
Chemistry: 790
Chinese: 780

AP:
Chemistry: 5
English Lang. and Comp: 5

AP courses taken by the end of Senior year: 8

Notable ECs: President of Tri-M Music Honor Society, Captain of Varsity tennis, Officer of Science Olympiad team, Officer of Cultural Diversity Club, National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Concertmaster of school orchestra, selected to attend NYLF Medicine

Community service: ~200 hours at Voorhees Pediatric Facility

Research experience: ~200 hours at Jefferson Medical College

Shadowing experience: 2 weeks with a family doctor; 2 days with an interventional cardiologist


I'm going to apply to numerous 7 or 8 year combined programs, with BU, Northwestern HPME, and Pitt as my top choices.

Do I have a chance of getting into ANY BS/MD program!?

THANK YOU!!!

neoevolution

Stats look great. Bio-M might be needed at some places rest looks good.

Doctor18

thanks neoevolution! youre one of the best people on here. thanks for all your posts and replies that you do. it all really helps! =)

josesuk

Yeah, your grades and medical-related experience are very strong. I think you have a fair shot at any BA/MD program, even UPitt.

Raycmr

You have a great chance but make your self an expert in one field of medicine. That way you can talk without notes during the Med school interview portions for 30 to 45 minutes . Pick an undeserved field like any pediatric specialty since they need pediatric neurologists, reheumotologists etc. It will make you stick out above the crowd and they will remember you when they make their decisions.

Good luck.

neoevolution

You don't need to pick a specialty to focus on. Interviewers know many med students change interests, they won't expect you to know what you want to do from high school. Picking one now may seem over zealous and misinformed, especially a very niche field you might not know much about. Known current events about medicine, the reasons you want to be a doc, what experiences led to that realization, and general medical exposure will better serve you. Saying you are interested in primary care is very different from pediatric neurology.

Doctor18

okay thank you everyone! Another quick question though: As I showed above in my stats, I have significant volunteering at the Voorhees Pediatric Facility, which isn't a hospital but it's still a facility with many patients and nurses and specialists and some doctors. I know many people say that having "hospital volunteering" is a must. I don't have any hours at an actual hospital. But would my case at the pediatric facility count as "hospital volunteering"?

Raycmr

Picking a specialty works wonderfully at certain schools. Remember each combined program will see several several Val's for each spot so your grades and ECs are not enough. my daughter has known for years she wanted to be a pediatric neurologist and has volunteered to work with autistic kids in high school as a girl scout making communication books and now in college working as an ABA while in college. She talks about autism in depth and during her joint interviews and her Yale interview was told she was one of the best ever interviewed.

I believe your center would count enough for the combines but might not satisfy if you were applying to a med school traditional route. My D also spent days shadowing different doctors in high school to include several days with an interventional cardiologist and a developmental neurologist. Most of the Ped specialties are greatly undeserved and are not the highest paid specialties . But as several doctor friend and relatives have advised med schools are looking for mench type potential applicants who are looking for the greater good of society more than ever.

Raycmr

I wrote the above on a tablet so forgive the typos.

ferredoxin

Great stats, I think you have a very good chance at least getting an interview at all the programs you mentioned. For the more competitive programs like HPME, they expect you to be very smart of course, but your non-science experiences are what distinguish you during the interview. In my HPME interview, they didn't really ask me anything medically-related, the questions dealt more with my extra curricular activities. Make sure you can talk about other interests whether they are in research or art or history!
Best of luck!

Doctor18

Thank you everyone!

@ferredoxin, Your mentioning about non-science experiences triggered another question: I have been involved with a certain orchestra for three years now, and I was considering dropping out of it my senior year because a) It's not all that fun anymore, b) It's quite expensive and c) It's time consuming. But I'm worried that dropping out will seem like I don't have commitment, and I'm worried that interviewers will ask why I dropped out and I won't have a good enough answer.

So should I stay in the orchestra just so colleges won't question my commitment!?

NUCat117

Your stats look great! But keep this in mind. People with amazing stats often don't get in to these BS/MD programs and people with OK stats can get into a lot of these programs. Your stats are better than mine, and I'm in HPME right now. Although stats are important, make sure your essay is top notch, candid, and genuine. You have to sell yourself and escape the definition of a test score or a GPA. They want to know you. Like what ferredoxin said, it's those non science activities that are going to make you stand out. During my interview, 80 percent of what I talked about with the program director was related to politics, and what I've done in that field. So remember to have something you don't think is easy to match. Good luck!