First-year Illinois resident hoping for BS/MD or Pre-Med [Biology major; 3.967 UW GPA, 36 ACT]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Hi! Would truly appreciate any advice/chance me’s I can get!

Demographics

  • US domestic (US citizen or permanent resident)
  • Illinois
  • Public HS

Intended Major(s): Biology, Comp. Bio., Biological Sciences, Biochem (bio+smth else typically)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.967/4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA: 5.042/4+ (on 4+ scale)
  • Class Rank: N/A
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 36 composite
    • Math: 36
    • English: 35
    • Reading: 36
    • Science: 36

List your HS coursework

  • English: AP Lang (4), AP Lit (current)
  • Math: Linear Alg (Dual, current), Multivar Calc(Dual), AP Calc BC (5)
  • Science: AP Bio & AP Chem (current), AP Physics 1 & 2 (5s on both), Anatomy (Dual)
  • History and social studies: AP Econ & AP US Gov (current)
  • Language other than English: Spanish 4 (Dual) {total 3 Spanish credits}
  • Other academic courses: AP Seminar (4) + AP Research (3)

Awards

  • AP Scholar w/ Distinction; AP Capstone
  • Congressional Silver Award
  • President’s Volunteer Service Award (Gold)

Extracurriculars

  • NHA-Certified Phlebotomist Volunteer @ local clinic: 100+ hours; performed blood draws + interacted w/ patients
  • CNA: just class, not work so far; 40+ hours clinical experience thru class tho and interacted w/ patients; have certification tho
  • Patient Relations Hospital Volunteer: 80+ hours; wayfinded for visitors
  • Shadowed surgical dept: 100+hrs; observed + interacted w/ PAs, scrub nurses, attendings, residents, etc.
  • Tutor thru non-profit: ~300hrs; started local chapter w/ 10+ ppl;taught foundational math + reading skills
  • Tennis: Varsity 4 years, captain 3; no major tourney wins or similar tho
  • Dance: ~12yrs; taught younger students; help manage performances thru emceeing, backstage stuff; currently preparing for major dance performance (almost debut)
  • Math Teacher(paid): for middle school + HS students; 1yr; organized curriculum for some geometry chapters
  • Autonomous Vehicle Comp. club @ school: began it; competed & got 4th place 2 years in a row; was captain + lead builder; worked w/ 3D

Essays/LORs/Other

*just estimates for LORs

1st LOR from freshman bio + anatomy teacher (8/10?): we have a good relationship, but nothing too deep. She seems to like me, and has positively commented on my curiousity to learn before

2nd LOR from Spanish (8/10?): good relationship, again not too deep, but she def likes me bc I asked questions + met w/ her outside school; said she will talk about importance of cultural {Ig like being open minded} in connection with the class and my dance?

Resident(now attending) from shadowing exp (7/10?): only knew me for a week but offered to write LOR; has mentioned my observational skills + interest in med

Common App Prompt: Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

  • Discussed how I learned to stay present through half-marathon and tennis match; used books as overarching metaphor

Why Medicine: basically story of my med journey (not exactly in these terms); grandmother passed and I saw impact on family → transition to interest in hospital → transition to exp as CNA + phlebotomist → realized I couldn’t provide reassurance about everything the way I wanted to → shadowing experience showed me doctors could and essentially motivation for becoming physician is desire to do something with my own hands to treat the whole person with scope + knowledge

Schools

BS/MDs:

Case Western

UIC

DePaul

Brown

Nova Southeastern

Rutgers-Newark

URochester

PennState

UPitt

TCNJ

IU Indianapolis

Union

Temple

George Washington

Pre-med:

UW-Madison

UIUC

Northwestern

Johns Hopkins

WashU

USF

Loyola

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Can you afford oos coa for premed? Can you explain your rationale in your premed list, like why do you have e.g. Wisconsin on your list considering how expensive it would be oos?

For the premed list, I would recommend you look at universities with Early Assurance Programs: Early Assurance Programs — Fast Track to MD . The University of Miami not only has both a 7 and 8 year EAP, but their med school also offers a 3 year MD / 4 year dual degree (MD/MPH or MD/MBA).

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Congratulations on your achievements.

Do you have budget constraints? If so, what is your annual budget and will you qualify for need based aid? As a possible med student, you do need to plan for 7-8 years of costs, which for many students means minimizing undergrad costs.

All the BS/MD programs are reaches. As for the non-BS/MD programs, I expect you will get into USF, Loyola, and UIUC. What first and second choice major are you applying for at UIUC?

Make sure to get all apps in by the EA deadline for schools that offer that. Have you submitted any apps yet?

You might also consider schools with early acceptance to LECOM. Early Acceptance Program | Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

Getting an LoR from a 9th year teacher is less than ideal, and may be an issue at some schools. What year was the Spanish class? Can you get LoRs from junior year teachers?

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The Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) is an eight-year continuum that allows students to combine both their undergraduate studies and medical education at Brown University.

I would consider applying to the PLME Program. There are also over 40 universities offering similar types of programs.

Medical Schools Offering Combined Baccalaureate-MD Programs, by State and Program Length, 2025-2026

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As noted, all of the BS Md programs on your list should be considered reaches…even though you are a very strong student. These programs have extremely low acceptance rates. Also, you need to read the fine print on all. Some don’t guarantee acceptance, they guarantee an interview. Some allow you to apply out to other MD schools and some don’t. @WayOutWestMom

The rest of your list looks balanced to me, and you seem to have a good chance of acceptance to schools on the rest of your list.

One thing to keep in mind…if you go the regular medical school route, the “activities” you did in high school won’t matter unless they are continued while you are in college.

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Budget first - for some on your list you’ll need $850K.

Given your #s, there are others you can start at $20K.

Where you go for undergrad likely means little to getting into med school. Here are two med schools that publish where kids came from.

So your budget should be first and foremost over school name. But if you can’t afford the full 8 years, your accomplishments will qualify you for significant merit at fine schools.

So I’m putting 3 things - a UTK and UK colleges attended and a top school (Vandy’s) apps - so you can see, even from a top school, applying to med school is no picnic. But I think top school doesn’t matter. What you do at school as a student is what matters.

Tell us about budget and good luck.

As for chancing, I can’t on the BS/MD or guaranteed admission - but you can do a LECOM school like Rhodes and others for that for that or Nova SE but for undergrad - you could get into all you list with obviously NU, JHU and Wash U being schools that can go either way although I would lean yes into Wash U. But your profile is strong. But in your case, you should base a decision on $$ - so for example, 1500 kids from your state go to Alabama. Why?? For smart kids it’s low 20s and they have the McCullough Pre Medical Studies program. So think $850K if you go to Wash U and don’t have need - and ask your parents - can they pay?? If not, the time to chip away at the budget is now!!! You don’t want to be straddled with hundreds of thousands in med school loans if they can be avoided. Med school won’t care if you go to WVU or UIUC or Wash U, etc.

Good luck.

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Hi! Thank you so much for the reply!

My freshman year bio teacher is the same teacher I had for anatomy jr year so I’ve had her twice! And my Spanish teacher is from jr year as well!

First major choice @ UIUC is Molecular & Cellular Bio + Data Science. I haven’t decided on a second choice but am leaning heavily to integrative biology.

I will not qualify for need based aid, and in terms of budget constraints I’m hoping for instate tuition (hoping for UIC GPPA), or a good amount of scholarships.

I’ve submitted Penn State’s bs/md and a couple others for undergrad (IU, Rutgers, UPitt, Loyola, USF).

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Hello! Thank you for the reply!

I am planning to apply to PLME, but don’t have high hopes for the school because of its selectivity. Hoping for a bs/md closer to home like UIC GPPA, DePaul, or IU Indianapolis.

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Why wouldn’t you get in state tuition at the Illinois publics? The word hope threw me off.

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You say you are a “first year Illinois resident”…in your subject. What does this mean?

When did your family move to Illinois?

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RE: BS/MD programs

All them are reaches since the acceptance rates are in the low single digits.

For OOS public BS/MDs, check the individual school’s rules about if you may be able to qualify for in-state tuition for the professional (MD) portion of your program. Otherwise you’ll be committing yourself to pay high OOS tuition for 4 years of med school.

The biggest issue is the cost. Med school is pretty much in the $100K/year price range right now. It will be MORE expensive 5 years from now. You will only be able to borrow $200K lifetime in federal students loans and will need to borrow the rest in private loans at a higher interest rate and with less favorable repayment options.

Scholarships for med school are extremely limited and you should assume you won’t receive any. Can you/your family afford 4 years of OOS tuition plus 4 years of med school tuition?

Public OOS undergrads will not offer you scholarships because public universities simply don’t have then funds to do so.

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Actually, they can cash in on public merit. But they have to be flexible - schools like Alabama, Ole Miss, KU, Texas Tech, WVU and many more of different sizes and geographies will be $30k or less. There’s others - like SUNYs, Florida schools, Purdue and more that will be under $50K and under $40k depending on the name - even full price.

Many Illinois students go to out of state schools for savings.

But they have to be flexible in geography and name, which for a true med school applicant, won’t cause any harm and would save them a lot of $$$.

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UMiami has merit scholarships for up to full ride as well as a few more for up to full tuition, in addition to having an EAP.

Some of the Neomed EAP partner schools also have full tuition merit scholarships (Kent state, Akron, Walsh), with Miami Ohio having a super competitive full ride but no full tuition scholarships for oos students.

And for a true financial safety, you can’t forget full tuition and one year of housing + goodies at U of Alabama: https://afford.ua.edu/scholarships/oos-international-freshman/

Also if you’re okay with going DO, consider applying to the BSDO at NSU, it might be a better fit given your lack of research. (But maybe stick to the MD if surgery interests you; NSU MD is significantly better through their agreement with HCA east florida). LECOM offers programs ranging from an EAP when in a partner college to 4+4, 3+4, and 2+4 BSDO programs you apply to in high school. If you’re interested, LECOM has rolling admissions so you can wait till you’re done with all your applications due Nov 1st.

But there are BSDO programs for better DO schools than LECOM, like MSU, KCU, NYIT, and PCOM

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Illinois also requires you to self-report courses and grades after submitting the Common App.

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Based on their current list, OP is going to have to manually enter their courses and grades in to at least three different systems:

-common app courses and grades
-STARS
-UIUC’s internal STARS like system

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Top EE Programs by State
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Your stats look amazing, but keep in mind that all candidates that are seriously considered by BS/MD programs have perfect/amazing stats, so it’s hard to do a “chance me” because no one is a shoe-in. My daughter is a premed freshman at Case Western (she didn’t apply for BS/MD), but for Case there are multiple rounds and interviews with the med school that an applicant has to pass, and they don’t find out until Spring. Case doesn’t publish exact admission rate for BS/MD but word on the street is it’s between 1-2%.

Are you 1000% percent sure you want to be an MD? My daughter is my youngest (father, grandma, uncle are doctors) and I can’t tell you how many of my older kids’ friends started out premed and “sure” they wanted to be a doctor, and I would estimate 80% of them switched around sophomore/junior year. For BS/MD programs, you’re making the decision as a senior in high school to be bound to one path for the next 8 years. Yes, it’s a “guarantee” for med school, but almost all of them still have a GPA and MCAT requirement (I believe UMKC is one of the only ones still without MCAT, but have read that their match rates for competitive specialies is pretty low). Additionally do you want to be bound to one specific med school?

If you end up premed, a lot of kids applying to schools don’t think about some of the most important factors besides rank, such likelihood of being able to maintain a top GPA, weed-out culture, proximity and competitiveness of volunteer/research/clinical positions (how much time do you have to spend getting to those places, which would take away from your study and extracurricular time), med school acceptance rates (but also look at that number critically because some T20 schools weed out “weaker” kids in their intro classes in order to be able to boast a 70-80% med school acceptance rate). Cost is a major conversation to have with you family since private undergrad is around 100k now. These are the factors that led my daughter to choose Case over bigger name schools like Washu, Hopkins, UChicago, UCLA. Make sure you visit the schools - we visited all of these schools. Case wasn’t at the top of the list until we visited and were blown away. She is thriving at Case and positive that she made the right decision. Make sure you look for the right fit over labels, rankings, and if the school gives you all the tools to succeed.

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My first reaction is that your stats are very good.

Medicine is a long path. To get to the end of it (first get an MD and then complete residency) is going to require a lot of work and a lot of determination. Your high school stats suggest that you have the academic strength to pull this off. Determination and budget and the ability to work with people might be the other three requirements. Of course some students just decide that they want to do something else (not making it to an MD might be a good result if a student finds something else that fits them better).

The next thing that comes to mind is that you need to budget for a full 8 years of university. It would be a huge help if your parents can help significantly with the cost of medical school. There are a huge number of universities (hundreds of them) which are very good for premed students. Students who are in very good MD programs (and in very good biomedical PhD programs) typically come from a huge range of undergraduate schools. Finding one that is affordable is very important.

The third thing that comes to mind is that you already have a significant amount of experience in a medical setting. I think that this will help you.

I also like the fact that you have taken all of AP bio, AP chemistry, and AP physics. Physics for example is included on the list of required premed undergraduate classes.

Working with the public is a big part of what a doctor does. This is helpful and relevant experience. Sticking with dance for 12 years does suggest that you have a good chance of having the determination to make it all the way to being a doctor.

A nurse practitioner who I know very well has told me that the ability to speak Spanish has been helpful in every job that she has ever had. Of course this will also be helpful for a doctor.

I think that you are doing very well. If you stick with the plan to become an MD, and if you have the determination, and if the budget works, then I think that your chances are very good of getting there.

I cannot predict whether you will get into any BS/MD program. As others have said these are all reaches. However, you might, you are a very competitive applicant for these programs, and you can also go the more traditional route of first getting a bachelor’s degree and then applying to MD programs.

Perhaps my two biggest pieces of advice is to keep doing what you are doing, and pay attention to budget. It would help you an enormous amount if your parents are able to cover something like half the cost of medical school when you get there, and even more would be even better.

It would not surprise me at all if you end up with a very affordable acceptance somewhere like UIC, and a less affordable acceptance somewhere that is a bit higher ranked (let’s suppose maybe WUSTL or JHU). In this case, you will want to discuss the full 8 year budget with your parents and do not just automatically attend the highest ranked university that you get accepted to. It really is not obvious whether you would be better off starting off in the top 1/4 of incoming freshmen at UIC or coming in as an average incoming freshman at JHU. You will find quite a few very strong students in the premed classes at any of these schools. I doubt that this would make much difference one way or the other in terms of your chances of ever getting to medical school or graduating with an MD and going on to an appropriate residency. If you end up with this choice, then it might not be easy to decide which way to go (unless the full cost of the more expensive choice is not too difficult for your family).

One daughter by the way was pre-vet (same required undergraduate classes as premed, same “cost of 8 years” issue), and was faced with a similar choice. She went with the affordable undergraduate choice (ranked slightly lower overall than UIC, but a good fit for a pre-vet student), did very well in DVM admissions, and found herself well prepared for the DVM program. At this point having take the more affordable route did work out for her (and for at least two premed friends who did the same thing, and who are MDs now). However, this can be a tough choice and each family needs to make their own decision.

Best wishes. I think that you are doing very well, and most likely will have to choose from a list of very good admissions come April.

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Out of everything you’ve listed, I think the weakest part is your LORs. If you’re applying to BSMD, or even some highly competitive colleges, there can be a lot of weight put on the LORS. In all 3, you mention “not too deep”, and they really want to see at least one from someone who knows you extremely well over time and can vouch for you as a person, your ethics, personal drive. LORS can make or break post-grad admissions, so remember for BSMD you’re basically applying to med school 4 years early. Assuming everyone has stellar stats to even get through the door, they want to see unusually high level of maturity as well as acuity, passion/certainty for medicine.

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Excellent post. I will add- maturity AND resilience. A teacher who can vouch for how you handle failure. (you got a C on the midterm- did it crush you or energize you to change your study technique?) A teacher who can vouch for how you handle being wrong (a discussion in class- you had the wrong facts-- do you concede graciously or double down?) etc.

Doctors are often wrong. Patients die despite the best efforts. Patients are non-compliant. Medical Science changes- sometimes slowly giving the profession time to adapt, and sometimes turns on a dime (a promising clinical trial gets halted because the patients are experiencing dangerous side effects). You aren’t being evaluated based on “is this person mature compared to other 18 year old’s”. You are being evaluated on “does this person show the flexibility, humility and grace required to survive and excel at their medical training”.

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You are qualified to get into any undergrad, and any 8 yr program - and you might not get into any 8 yr program. You have a shot at all of them. In my opinion, the issue here is money. Unfortunately, this site asks about “budget” as a euphemism for MONEY, and people respond, “I don’t have a budget” Meaning what? Your family can pay for everything, or can pay for nothing, or somewhere in between? Does your family qualify for fin aid? Or is your family wealthy enough to pay 800K for your education, without any adverse effect on their life or retirement planning?

If you don’t qualify for massive fin aid, and if your family isn’t very wealthy, you’ve got to consider MONEY. You’re a fantastic student. You might be better off going to college, and then applying to med school. Some med schools are now tuition-free. If you do as well as an undergrad as you have in high school, you could have a shot at them. But it also happens that people with very high GPAs and MCATs from the most selective colleges don’t get into ANY allopathic med schools. DO schools are more of a sure thing. It would be very nice to know you’ve got a sure admit (as long as you keep your grades up), without having to take the MCAT, possibly. It would also be nice to not drop 400k on undergrad.

I agree with your plan to apply to both 8 yr and undergrad programs. You can decide after you get acceptances and fin aid offers.