<p>@Matrix,
read my comment above carefully. The 2 semesters of Orgo is condensed to give a solid foundation for medical school (not for MCAT as that is not required). Ask any doctor if they ever learnt or used Orgo in medical school! I am sure the answer is no (unless there is some special case or instance it is required for which none of the docs i spoke to know of!) This is exactly the reason I like UMKC! I have consulted with many doctors and med students and they ALL agree - maybe you may want to check your statement that orgo is the foundation of medicine!!! Obviously it is not but some orgo is required as solid foundation for sciences which is covered at UMKC. Orgo 1 and 2 are both taught but it is only the parts that directly involves med school! This is the main reason why 100s of us are attracted to UMKC as it just focuses on medical school without unnecessary classes!</p>
<p>You guys who are twittering about “US News Rankings” deserve what you get. If you put in the effort, you will most likely get into the residency of your choice, Harvard or not. There is a doctor in my town who graduated from St. George’s School of Med (island) and the local medical community regards him as the most meticulous/best physician in the town and say that he is multiple times better than graduates from UT Houston and even UT Southwestern. The person, through his/her personal efforts makes the good doctor, not the school. </p>
<p>In conclusion, you should jump at the opportunity to attend ANY MD PROGRAM in the USA if you truly want to be an MD. US News factors in things not even dependent on quality of medical education in its rankings.</p>
<p>@Asianandproud, Well said. Those who put particular emphasis on School Rankings, in my mind and experience, are more concerned with bragging than the wish to be good doctors.</p>
<p>@IMGDAD, that is exactly what i have been adviced! Not to put too much emphasis on ranking</p>
<p>High ranking schools do not necessarily make you a good doctor and lower ranking schools do not necessarily make you a bad doctor. Whether you end up being a good or bad doctor depends on what type of doctor you personally want to be, caring or just a job? However, going to high ranking schools do help you with networking (which some people feel is important, but I do not because I believe in letting your work and ability speak for yourself!) and this will ensure an easier path to an academic career, if this is what you want to do.</p>
<p>@daisy1111. Yeah i agree, umkc is such a nice program and efficient program. I hate studying things that are unnecessary and won’t really benefit me. The only thing deterring me is the 500k pricetag. VCU is like 100k cheaper. Did you decide on RPI/AMC vs UMKC yet?</p>
<p>No i have not made up my mind yet. I like both programs and each program is special in itself and offers something that the other doesn’t! The match list is very comparable between the two. I am going to have a difficult time picking one. </p>
<p>@IMGDOC, you are very appreciated on this forum and ur opinion is very valued. I am giving up some top schools and programs to go to one of the direct/combined degree programs. It has been a difficult choice and i have spoken to many medical students and recent doctors and all their opinions have been very valuable to me</p>
<p>@Daisy1111, you are welcome and I wish you well. RPI/AMC program is an excellent one to be in if you enjoy research and want to be an academician. But if you want to be a practicing physician, UMKC would be better. Imagine spending one extra year (6 vs 7 years) learning the art of medicine and this would be highly desirable and relevant if you want to be a practicing physician.</p>
<p>By the way, what you said about O-chem is correct. To be honest, unless you want to specialize in Metabolic and Biochemical medicine, you do not need to know much O-chem at all to practice good medicine, but it is however needed for MCAT. You definitely do not need O-chem for pharmacology, even though superficially one would have thought that pharmacology is all about chemistry and O-chem.</p>
<p>I agree with IMGDAD. RPI/AMC is a good place to become a researcher. For someone desiring to be a hands on physician, UMKC would be a better choice. Besides, the Albany area is cold and dreary in the winter. I visited Albany a few times and was anxious to get back home - NYC.</p>
<p>Right, of course, I will concede that pedigree matters to a degree in academia. But, from what I have gleaned from this thread, very few of us are aiming for academic positions, so theoretically any LCME accredited school in general will do for that purpose.</p>
<p>Also, I know this is a little (or a lot) early for this, but what specialties are you guys intrigued by? I am interested in Orthopedics, but since I have mild scoliosis I might have problems standing for a long time. So I’m kind of thinking I’ll eventually end up in a sub-specialty of internal medicine.</p>
<p>If anyone is from Texas? I got into UT-Fame and UMSI at Texas tech! Going to tech b/c the undergrad will be so much more fun and I got full scholarship! Anyone else going there?</p>
<p>@Bballin5 congrats on UMSI and FAME! I’m from texas too, but I’m going to be in the BU SMED program next fall 
My friend, however, will be going to tech for the UMSI program, so you may meet him!</p>
<p>@asianandproud surgery seems really cool right now…I’d love to go into congenital cardiac surgery :)</p>
<p>Accepted to USciences/TCMC Program.</p>
<p>Where are you going sjshah?</p>
<p>Does anybody have any thoughts about harvard vs. boston university’s program?</p>
<p>If the BU program is making you get a 36MCAT + 3.8 cGPA then don’t do it. That doesn’t even deserve to be called a BS/MD program.</p>
<p>Is the choice between BU BS/MD vs Harvard?</p>
<p>If you can go to Harvard, you can always get into BU MD.</p>
<p>Edit: I meant you can always apply - not guaranteed to get in.</p>
<p>“always”…(?)</p>
<p>@asianandproud I don’t know where you got those stats from. BU requires a 3.2 gpa and probably a 40 MCAT (new MCAT is out of 60 points, so that’s 10 out of 15 on each section). </p>
<p>@iwannabebrown are you sure you want to pursue medicine? If so, I would go with BU SMED. You have the guaranteed spot in medical school, minus much of the stress. True, you still have to care enough to get a decent gpa and mcat, but it won’t be nearly as much work as trying to maintain a high gpa at Harvard. Also, going to Harvard won’t guarantee you a spot in medical school. I personally know of people who have gone to stellar undergrad schools (Ivy’s and top 20’s) but end up in an unranked/low ranked medical school (not saying they’re bad, but if you’re really considering harvard vs bs/md, I think you may be a bit prestige obsessed)</p>