My daughter (HS class of 2024 from Bay Area) wants to be a doctor specializing in Dermatology/Immunology and she has the following options to pick from. I’ve given the total cost of attendance after scholarships.
UMD Microbiology (48K/year) - Pros: Medical Research/Volunteering opportunities, Location since extended family is close by. Cons: Distance from home
UW (PreSciences - her interest is Microbiology - 60K/year) Pros: Proximity to home, Good ranking for biology courses. Cons: Getting the desired major is hard from what I hear.
CWRU (60K/year) Pros: Research school, Cons: Weather, Distance from home
Drexel BSMD - 8 year program (Honors college - 59K/year for the first 4 years). Pros: Direct entry to med school once minimum reqs of GPA and MCAT(513 with no section score less than 127) scores are met, Co-op/Research options
Cons: Not sure about the medical school ranking/matching or transfer options, 8 year commitment with no breaks, distance from home
We are first timers for US undergrad college admission process. From cost perspective, initially we preferred in-state schools but she has been waitlisted for the CA schools she wants to attend. She has some health challenges and as a parent, I was thinking of closer to home schools since I can visit right away if there is a need. But my daughter seems more confident to handle it on her own and probably the change of place/weather may help her too. She is leaning more towards the BSMD option but not completely sure. We plan to visit these schools in the next couple of weeks. We will check what more financing/scholarship options are available but we plan to find ways to support her if this is the best choice.
Can you please share your inputs about these colleges? Thanks in advance for your inputs and time.
PS: Sorry for the repeat post. Posting under my original account now. Hope this one goes through. I had some access issues with my original email account and hence created a new one to save time.
The college grade / GPA requirements are given at BA/BS+MD Early Assurance Program : “Maintain at least a 3.6 GPA in all coursework, including all BCPM classes (all biological sciences, chemistry, physics, and math), without repeating a course and with no grade less than a C.”
Also, “The MCAT is required prior to matriculation into the College of Medicine. Students must receive minimum MCAT scores of 128 in three sections: Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems; Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems; and Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior; and a score of 127 in Critical Analysis and Reasoning for a total score of 511 or a total of 513 with no section score less than 127.”
Your daughter can take the required courses for medical school applicants at just about every four year college in the country, arts conservatories excluded. So…for that, any of the mentioned colleges will be fine.
For the regular colleges, are these costs affordable without loans?
Same with the Drexel program.
I ask because the medical school portion will be funded with loans loans and more loans, and the bank of mom and dad. Costs will likely be $100,000 a year.
Did your daughter get any acceptances that are less costly? Or is this not a concern for your family?
Med school students do rotations in a variety of specialties. Really, a student can’t predict their residency specialty until they have their passing Step 1 score, and a number score on Step 2.
I also don’t think that dermatology is a required rotation so the student would need to do an elective rotation. I believe the same is true for immunology.
If your daughter has any doubts at all about being a doctor, I would not suggest the BS/MD program at all.
I just caught this…unless she is sure, I would not choose this.
Does that mean that she was admitted to some CA schools, but she doesn’t want to attend them? If so, do you mind sharing which in-state schools she was admitted to?
Based on the costs and health issues, I would choose UW or a UC school.
My son considered Drexel, but I would not want to send my daughter to Drexel. I have some concerns about the area of Philly it is in. CWRU is good for pre-med. But does she want to be in Ohio for 4 years… I think visits to the top choices will bring you some clarity.
Drexel BSMD - 8 year program (Honors college - 59K/year for the first 4 years). Pros: Direct entry to med school once minimum reqs of GPA and MCAT(513 with no section score less than 127) scores are met, Co-op/Research options
Cons: Not sure about the medical school ranking/matching or transfer options, 8 year commitment with no breaks, distance from home
Drexel lost its primary teaching hospital 2 years ago. For clinical rotations, students are sent all over Pennsylvania (yes, even to western PA) and Delaware for clinical rotations. Rotation sites are assigned by lottery so the student will likely end up bouncing around to several different locations in MS3 and MS4.
Drexel doesn’t host a dermoltolgy residency at any of its clinical sites so your child will need to find their own research opportunities and to do at least 2 away rotations in derm their MS4 year.
Dermatology is its own residency and one of the MOST competitive specialties in medicine. No one can be guaranteed they will match into derm.
Immunology is a fellowship level sub-specialty that requires completing an internal medicine residency first.
EDIT:
For comparison purposes: a student who has 3.6 GPA and 513 MCAT has 57% chance of getting a medical school acceptance via the traditional path.
@ucbalumnus - Thank you for the response. Yes, we read about these requirements and we understand that maintaining a good GPA and getting a good MCAT score will still be crucial in BSMD programs.
Just a note…University Hospital in Cleveland is located right on or next to the Case campus. Cleveland Clinic is down the road. Case kids can walk to the main University Hospital but would need to take public transport or drive to Cleveland Clinic.
@thumper1 - Thank you so much for the response. Cost is somewhat a concern for medical school but we are thinking of potential education loans during medical school years.
wants to be a doctor specializing in Dermatology/Immunology
This has been her passion since the beginning of high school and has some personal journey associated with it. She has done some relevant medical research (a bunch of literature reviews under a senior dermatologist) and plans to continue that path. I’ll let her know about these steps so that she knows what to expect.
She is leaning more towards the BSMD option but not completely sure.
We have had some detailed conversations with her about the long medical school path. She is determined to pursue medicine. The unsure part is only about whether through BSMD or premed → medical school path.
@lkg4answers - thanks for the response. She was admitted to UC Riverside, UC Merced, SJSU, Pitzer College, SCU - Waitlisted at UCB, UCSD, UCSB, CalPoly SLO
Note that Drexel medical school is $100k-$105k per year now (probably higher in four years), which seems comparable to typical private medical school costs.
Thank you for the response. We are planning to visit these colleges in the middle of April and will definitely keep the safety aspect in mind too. Ohio weather is a concern for us (parents). She has a couple of friends committing to CWRU. Let’s see if we get a clarity after the visits.
I am an alumni of SJSU and I feel its a great school for CS and engineering. In regards to pre-med or other Majors its not as well known. I will let others comment but that is the perception locally.
@chmcnm@thumper1 - thanks for your inputs. That’s good to know. Drexel’s forum says that they have Children’s hospital of Philadelphia close by. Do you think the students will have access to it?
