Dartmouth vs. Northwestern vs. UMKC 6-year Medical School

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
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<p>Premed at Dartmouth or Northwestern or the 6 year path at UMKC’s Medical School (No MCAT and residency after 6 years)? What do you all think?</p>

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<p>Any program that compresses 8 years into 6 sounds like something I would stay far, far away from.</p>

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<p>Both Dartmouth and Northwestern will have student bodies that will probably run rings around that at UMKC. This is what UMKC says about admission requirements:</p>

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<p>Frankly unless someone is a URM they would have a tough time with admission to Dartmouth or Northwestern undergrad with a 29 or 30 ACT.</p>

<p>I’d go to one of these two and take my chances on another med school. If you decide somewhere along the way that you aren’t cut out for medicine you’ll still have a degree from Dartmouth or Northwestern.</p>

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<p>I would avoid the UMKC program completely.</p>

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<p>Congrats on getting into Dartmouth and Northwestern!</p>

<p>If you are good enough to get into Dartmouth then you are good enough to get into a far better medical school than UMKC. You could get into top 20 medical schools in the country. Coming to UMKC med school to avoid the MCAT is the biggest mistake you can make. Don’t sell yourself short. Go to Dartmouth.</p>

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<p>I’ve heard a few things about the UMKC program (from MO) and one of the reasons I didn’t apply is that they do not send their kids to competitive residencies. I got the feeling that UMKC maybe aimed for kids who want to go into primary care (possibly rural medicine?).</p>

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<p>I meant to say if the cost of attendance is the same at Dartmouth and Northwestern then pick Dartmouth. But if Northwestern gives you a better financial package then go to Northwestern. Take the IVY if the cost of attendance is the same. Both are really good top rated schools. Most kids will kill to get into Dartmouth.</p>

<p>Avoid the UMKC 6yr program, it stands nowhere in comparison to Dartmouth or Northwestern. It is a terrible program and that is why it is rated absolutely lowest in the country. At Dartmouth or Northwestern you will have intellectual match with other students who will be your friends for life, who will be in top jobs, and you will establish a great network of connections in future. At UMKC students are just not the same caliber they will mostly serve rural Missouri areas because choices are limited when you come from UMKC. </p>

<p>Choose the IVY or the top-15 school over the lowest ranked program in the country. It would be a huge mistake to give up Dartmouth or Northwestern for UMKC.</p>

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<p>While I can’t comment on which is the best option, I will opine that the above statement is irresponsible. The simple fact is that the vast majority of matriculating premeds at Dartmouth and Northwestern earn “low” grades in the sciences and wash out of premed. The average gpa from both schools is a ~3.3, which is too low for unhooked applicants to med school. </p>

<p>Eadad has it correct. If you forgo the guarantee, you are taking a risk, a big risk. Both NU and D do extremely well with premed advising and med applications, but the vast majority of matriculating frosh never make it to the application status. Sure, some find that med school is not what they really want, but others find that C’s in Chem change their minds for them.</p>

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<p>Google is your friend. <a href=“http://www.med.umkc.edu/news/sections/prn/backissues/back_pdfs/April08_PRN.pdf[/url]”>http://www.med.umkc.edu/news/sections/prn/backissues/back_pdfs/April08_PRN.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Look beyond the colorful brochures of the UMKC program, they are sugarcoated to say the least. Look to find out why UMKC is the lowest ranked program in the country, why they get the lowest NIH grant, why the teaching quality is so deficient, why the students struggle to actually graduate in 6 years, why the attrition rate is so high, why they won’t tell you the average USMLE score when all other schools will, and so many more factors that puts UMKC med in the lowest tier. </p>

<p>It would be a very costly mistake to give up DARTMOUTH or NORTHWESTERN for UMKC.</p>

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<p>HighHope, if you are claiming specific knowledge about the UMKC program, tell us what it is. What is your personal experience? If not, get off your high horse. Sheesh. </p>

<p>Just state it as your “opinion”. </p>

<p>And btw, it is certainly not a program I like…but it is far from “the lowest ranked”. And lots of schools refuse to release step scores “officially”.</p>

<p>Are you waitlisted at UMKC? ;)</p>

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<p>O.K. I was curious about his personal experience and …here ya go… </p>

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I don’t think he likes it very much anymore. ;)</p>

<p>I don’t read that forum so I hadn’t seen all this.</p>

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<p>HighHope:</p>

<p>While perhaps you are not ecstatic about your experience at UMKC, you do not know the poster and have no idea on how well (or poorly) s/he would do at Dartmouth or at Northwestern. (Actually, you have no idea on how well YOU would do at either of those colleges, either.) Nor do you know how well (or poorly) s/he tests – perhaps the MCAT will be a killer for him/her, and a really low score would eliminate allopathic medicine.</p>

<p>The brutal facts are that approx. 20-30% of any undergrad population starts as premed Frosh year. Of those, perhaps 20% actually get to the stage of filing applications to med school. Of those, 50% get in. The point is that many, many premeds entering Dartmouth and Northwestern do not make it through the premed gauntlet.</p>

<p>A med school guarantee is worth something. In retrospect, it may not longer be worth it to you…but do not assume that you would achieve the same gpa at NU or D as UMKC.</p>

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<p>It was helpful for me to realize that the poster was having buyer’s remorse. He feels the same as I did about a week after buying a Oldsmobile Delta 88. I knew a lot more about that car than I wanted to know, so his posts could be a cautionary tale with value to others if his review was factual and devoid of histrionics. As it is, it comes across as angry and exaggerated.</p>

<p>Roving bands of med school gang-bangers. Yeah, right.</p>

<p>“Yo. Yo. Yo. Don’t be dissing peds, man. I will $%#$ you up.” lol</p>

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<p>ah i need help too. Its between WashU, Northwestern, UIUC, or the UMKC program.</p>

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<p>For a traditional UG student , I’m really not a fan of any accelerated program (official or otherwise) that limits your college years or what happens during those years. Any program. Anywhere. Or even graduating early by using AP credits or overloads. </p>

<p>College is a time to test yourself. Try on new things, or as my D’s mentor advised her “Throw things against the wall and see what sticks.” So my answer will always be…go to the place where you can do that. Some of the BS/MD programs look like they allow it. Some not so much. UMKC’s six year is just not my cup of tea.</p>

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<p>Futuredoctor16: You have to take the difficulty of each instituion into consideration. Northwestern and WashU are very tough, but UMKC is no better. IF you feel you do not have the aptitude for rigirous studying, UMKC WashU and NU are not for you. If this is the case you should go to UIUC; however, there is another aspect that should be adressed: price. Although UIUC’s tuition is a small fortune, it is not even comparable to the tuition for UMKC WashU or NU. If it were my choice I would attened UIUC. </p>

<p>You should’ve applied to UChicago and then you wouldn’t be in a predicament :)</p>

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<p>coursework isn’t the problem; i just want to know each school’s difference like the OP. and how about rice/baylor med scholars? its between that one and UMKC for guaranteed programs.</p>

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<p>If you have Rice/Baylor as an option, you shouldn’t even be considering UMKC. BCM is one of the best medical schools in the country. Rice/Baylor is a way better deal than the rest.</p>

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<p>I agree schrizto. Did you get into Rice futuredoctor16?</p>