<p>KLM: my vote will be WashU. Based on the stats you provided, your D is capable person with a good work ethics(If not, she could not accomplish so much). If she keep the same pace in WashU as in high school, she could easily get into top 20 Med schools. Plus, she will study with much higher caliber students in WashU. One of them could be her future husband.</p>
<p>Just my 2c.</p>
<p>@KLM deredcao makes good points</p>
<p>@KLM123, congratulations! I read your posts with great interest as DS14’s stats are similar to that of your DD. Unlike your DD’s solid ECs of volunteering and shadowing at hospitals, my DS’s EC’s are in BoyScouts and science/medical research. DS has also talked to UMiami, WashU and BS/MD’s. I tried to imaging if my DS14 were to have the great fortune of the same three options your DD is facing. I would advise him to forgo the NEOMED (particularly if there is no merit $.) Then the rest of two choices are tougher. But I would most likely go with WashU. Having said that, one of posters suggested that, for a girl, BS/MD is still better since the environment provides less distraction to go off course - I tend to agree. If my DD17 were in the same situation, I would probably go with BS/MD.</p>
<p>Thank you all. Appreciated.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your daughter getting accepted into NEOMED. I have not only taught in the program but my D is currently in the program. Just like your D, my daughter had excellent STATS and her ideal program was Harvard (for which she was wait-listed and then rejected). Other than that she was sure she is not going to give up a BS-MD program for any other school. So when she got accepted at NEOMED it was a no-brainer for her. Most of her class mates had rejected top undergrad schools to be at NEOMED). I think if your daughter is sure about going to med school do not miss this opportunity (like they say, a bird in hand is better than the two in the bush). I have previously taught in the undergrad part of BS MD at NEOMED for several years. It is an excellent program and students are very competitive. I do not think your D will miss high quality education if she goes to NEOMED. My ex-students have gone to almost any best residency and graduate program in the country (the list includes Harvard, JH, Cleveland Clinic, etc.). If you want more info, please let me know. Youngstown is a nice campus although the other two are better. Regardless, this program is excellent at all three locations.</p>
<p>klm - do let us know where your daughter went finally</p>
<p>Anyone on here get an interview or get in at Rice or WUSTL? Still curious if I will get off the waitlist at Washington…</p>
<p>ReadytoRetire</p>
<p>Don’t make comments and judgments about a program without being in the program. It is all he said she said. What do you mean by low rated? If you go and check the residency match they have matched all over. As a patient I would prefer someone who is caring from a low rated (according to you) program rather than a high rated program (a geek) who is arrogant/theoretical who has very little hands on experience.</p>
<p>Wondering whether anyone received interviews from two or more of the following: REMS, PPSP, USP and what you did about the clash in interview dates. </p>
<p>Were any of the programs more willing to work out alternate dates for you?</p>
<p>Invited to interview at REMS and PPSP (applied but not invited to USP). Contacted Roch U/G office at the first whiff of their postponing REMS weekend from Feb to the same days as PPSP and USP (those two also conflicted in 2012). Their feedback was “let’s cross that bridge if you are invited to more than one”. When the invites went out and there was a conflict, Roch was not flexible because part of their criteria was to observe how candidates interact with one another in group activities. With a slight preference for CWRU, didn’t want to blemish my application with PPSP so didn’t ask them for an exception. Candidate interaction is probably an important selection criteria of the PPSP interview days as well. Ended up turning down my invitation to REMS. The BA/MD interviews at CWRU and WashU coincide with larger events (accepted student weekend and interviews for scholarships, etc). I think Roch this year was just unaware of the overlap when they had to postpone from their usual Feb REMS weekend (or was it planned to determine who really ranked Roch higher?). It was disappointing and anticlimactic to go through the whole application process including writing additional essays, parental recommendations, etc. and then be forced to turn down the interview because they scheduled it on the same days as other leading program fixed group interview dates. Part of the twists and turns, I guess, of applying to BA/MD programs.</p>
<p>Alliance1, </p>
<p>Not knocking NEOMED. I’m actually recommending it to KLM. It is fully accredited and there are some great matches. Here are some current rankings for NEOMED that you may be interested in. NIH ranking 116/135 MCAT ranking 115/134 Mixed ranking 106/134. I am not sure if these numbers have any real value and they could be distorted because of the large amount of 6yr students, but they are what they are.</p>
<p>Congrats on your daughters acceptance.</p>
<p>This is not a true ranking or comparison. BS/MD students are different from students entering a regular MD program when they are 22/23/24 years. When students enter BS/MD they are 16/17/18 years old and admission is based on ACT/SAT/GPA/interview etc… NIH or any other organization should rank BS/MD as a separate group and not combine them with regular MD admission where MCAT/college GPA/research/interview drives admission.</p>
<p>^ It depends on the proportion of students coming from the different programs though. If BS/MD route has 15% vs direct MD has 85% then those rankings work but if BS/MD has 40 or 50% then it makes no sense to use the rankings based on MD admissions.</p>
<p>^^^ Thank you jandjfishing! Your experience helps me be mentally prepared for a similar problem next year and not get too attached to this route. </p>
<p>Anyone else have experience with requests for changing interview date at either Case PPSP or WUSTL USP ?</p>
<p>It is very interesting to read the debates on medical rankings. NIH ranking of medical schools depends solely on the total NIH research/training funding the medical schools receive and nothing else. So, obviously schools with larger endowments generally will rank higher because the schools have more money to attract better and more researchers who will in turn be more likely to bring in even more NIH funding to the medical school. The ranking is definitely not funding per researcher but total funding. A smaller school with fewer researchers will obviously have less funding, yet it does not mean that the researchers or the medical schools are lesser in reputation. When I was in academia with two large NIH research grants, the medical school just would not allow me to spend more than one month a year doing clinical work in order that I can continue to put efforts in my research and hence continue to get more research grants for the medical school.</p>
<p>On the other hand, medical school ranking based on MCAT is solely a ranking that looks at the average MCAT scores of the admitting students. Yes, this will be affected by the number of students who are admitted via the BS/MD route. In my mind, it is not a good indicator of how good a school is, other than how difficult it is to get into the school. This denominator is determined by the pool of applicants and not the medical school.</p>
<p>If you think about…the entire effort: a competition driven, hard number (class rank, SAT/ACT Score, GPA)distinction landscape, of 4 to 10 plus years in duration, is the engine/spirit of “Medical School” !! It is no wonder that we/us/them cannot let go of ‘RANK’ as our EGOS demand it…our competitive essence must have it. To suggest otherwise, despite the integrity of the explanation is heresy…we just cant swallow that somehow the number game may no longer apply! UGGGGHHH! Excuse me whilst I wipe the VOMIT off of my new CROCS…</p>
<p>@tropixx, sorry that you feel this way. Unfortunately this is reality and I was just trying to reassure everyone that those numbers are NOT everything. I used to think the way you do before going into medical school and even when I first graduated from medical school.</p>
<p>I wasn’t passing judgement…just commentary with a touch of sarcasm. It is hard to let it go and some struggle…the young man who is troubled over PSU/JEFF vs Harvard cant get past the “Harvard” thing(I am not taking sides) or the young woman choosing Union/AMC because she’s afraid she wont match @VCU despite the fact that she loves VCU!
These dilemmas are all rank/status driven with a hint of (?) We struggle with such things as we spent SO MUCH of our energy achieving LOFTY and most often, NUMERICAL distinction…ie, those with less than 1500 DO NOT apply(as if 1480 precludes success)</p>
<p>It’s funny you put PSU/Jeff next to Harvard, last year given the choice, actually two kids picked the former. I agree this ranking is the most stupid thing, after working many years in a professional career, any profession outside academics, looking back at it. </p>
<p>Problem lies in 17-18 years old are not seeing/getting whole picture of their chosen field, so name/rank dominate their decision. In case of Jefferson, people outside of philly probably not aware of its network and strength in tri-state area. I saw a post here, put Temple and Drexel ahead of Jeff, using source “you name it” ranking, why not just ask local doctors who are in-the-know.</p>
<p>hahah yes sadly for us reputation is a huge factor. Like when I got into Pitt, WVU, and Drexel I couldn’t seem to bring myself to let go of such a prestigious bs/md program and medical school like Pitt. But, in the end, I saw the big picture of the field of medicine and picked Drexel. A doctor is a doctor to me, and all I know is that I’ll love my job no matter where I go to college for it.</p>