Hi! So I’m current a high school junior who really wants to go to a BS/MD, my current top choices are UCONN and UALBANY. I have a 4.4 weighted GPA, 3.8 UW, two medical internships (one paid and in a lab and the other through a private practice), 250+ shadowing hours, 6 honor societies, on my towns DEI Commitee and Youth Advisory Board, 1 of 2 student representatives on my towns Board of Education, Debate Team President (2 years, loads of awards, won state tournaments), founded a debate team at the middle school where I teach them, UNICEF Club founder and president, Aspiring medical professionals club president for 3 years, muslim student association founder and president, hope for the homeless president, student council representative (was president freshman year), founder of free math tutoring organization at public library, 7 APs (6 more next year), founder of a medical organization that connects doctors with patients unable to seek healthcare in Pakistan, and have one research paper published (with a doctor). As of right now I have a 1400 SAT (im hoping to get it up to at least a 1500 by the time I apply). Any tips for what to do? Advice? Or opnions on my chances? Thank you!!!
Congrats on your achievements. A few suggestions are:
-Recognize that BS/MD programs are reaches for any applicant. Apply widely including to 4 year BS programs and, if interested, some BS/DO programs.
–Study for the SAT and work to bring up your score (you might do a practice ACT to see if that is a better exam for you.)
–Understand that many BS/MD programs have significant hurdles to pass before students are admitted into the MD part of the program. Understand each program’s requirements.
–Most MD students do take the traditional route of applying to med school after undergrad.
–Pay attention to finances as you go through the college application and selection process.
You might want to research the LECOM Bs/Do program. You would be required to apply to a LECOM partner undergrad program, and LECOM.
Tagging @momsearcheng who can talk about this more.
I agree with others that BS/MD programs are a reach for pretty much every student. It seems way more likely that you will get to go the more traditional route where you get a bachelor’s degree and then apply to medical school. Of course this approach works for a lot of students, including many who did not have quite as impressive a record as you do currently. Also, of the students who start university thinking “premed” most end up doing something else. There are a lot of other options that you might want to consider at some point.
When you get to university expect your premed classes to be tough, and full of very strong students. Plan to put a huge effort into your academics from the moment that you arrive in university (which I understand is more than a year into the future).
I like the fact that you have quite a bit of medical shadowing experience. This might help. Getting more medical experience is likely to help your chances for a BS/MD program.
I am a bit concerned about how many ECs you seem to have. You are doing a lot. You also apparently have a lot of AP classes lined up for next year. Be careful not to get yourself overloaded.
If you do not get into any BS/MD programs, then I think that you are very solidly on track to get accepted to a long list of universities any one of which would be very good for a premed student.
And make sure that you budget for a full 8 years in university (my understanding is that a BS/MD program might shorten this to 7 but I do not think that you can count on this working out). Generally it is usually easier to save money for the first four of these (the bachelor’s degree). The MD part in most cases is just plain expensive. It would be best if you can avoid taking the full cost of the MD as debt, and minimizing debt is very important for a potential MD.
Thank you to everybody whose helped answer!!! Just for some more background, tuition isn’t a huge concern for me at the moment and I’m 100% confident that I want to pursue medicine instead of going to another path! It’s been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember, so I am quite confident in not wanting to switch to any other career path!
I think that this determination is likely to help you quite a bit.
What do you like about those BSMD programs, specifically?
Which state are you from? Many combined programs preferentially admit students from their state.
Are you leaning towards or away from any specialties?
There are quite a few BSDO programs I’d recommend before LECOM, like MSU, KCU, NYIT, Rowan, and Adelphi/PCOM. LECOM has quite a few downsides that one should do their due diligence on before choosing.
There are also undergrad schools with specific links to medical schools that can provide early assured admission, though these may sometimes be competitive and sometimes be automatic for those meeting certain criteria.
I’m from Connecticut and would prefer to stay in the Northeast, however it of course does depend on where I get accepted to
You look like a fantastic person and a great student!
Just make sure those “shadowing” hours actually involve patient contact, especially with under-served/vulnerable populations. I have been in doctors offices with HS and college students who were shadowing- and on the one hand, they are seeing medical care up close which is great. But standing in the corner of an examining room while my PCP tells me “keep up the good work, the statins are working” doesn’t give a HS student much insight into the physician/patient relationship for tougher situations.
I know successful BS/MD applicants who volunteered in homeless shelters for example. They weren’t shadowing anyone- they were actually sitting with human beings in tough situations who had to navigate nutrition, hygiene, immunization/vaccination, being appropriately clothed in bad weather, etc. They weren’t providing medical care– they were helping people understand a prescription, or persuade them to see the dental van that showed up every week. I know successful BS/MD applicants who have volunteered in a hospice center. Not providing medical care (or shadowing a health care provider) but doing what needs doing as someone is dying.
A BS/MD committee wants to know that you understand that not every patient is a clean, well fed person eager to be compliant with their doctor’s orders. And that you’ve walked the walk. Good luck!
I’m not a fan of BS/MD programs. Of all the premed hopefuls that come out of high school, less than 10% actually go to medical school. College is a maturation process where you discover your real passions. For high schoolers, it’s a complete setup for failure. The best thing you can do for yourself is go to an affordable school you would be happy in. Spend some time exploring your passions and THEN decide premed or not. You don’t want to make big career commitments like that before exploring for yourself. Good luck!
To be fair, only a very small number of those who become doctors do so via BSMD programs. The intake is extremely small (as per for-profit sources*), as low as 500 students nationwide, and these programs are unlikely to admit anyone they don’t think is fully committed to the goal. It’s very very difficult to get accepted because, as you rightly say, many high schoolers are not mature enough to be that committed to the goal. According to those same sources though, the completion rate is high, at 90% or higher.
*Various for-profit sources gave similar summaries, but I won’t link for-profit college advising companies here on CC.
OP, you need to do more research before you decide such a program is right for you. You have a lot of interests. Make sure that you are pursuing it for the right reasons. There are a number of excellent videos by successful BSMD applicants. You don’t have to compare yourself to them. The students posting the videos I’ve seen have compelling reasons for wanting to go the BSMD route and have ridiculously strong backgrounds. You can probably take away something from their journeys. Good luck.
That is true but I am sure that the numbers are higher for the students enrolled into BSMD and BSDO programs.
Also not all combined programs are created equal. Some have very high matriculation requirements making me wonder whether there is a significant benefit to being in this program.
Also, note that these typically have conditions (e.g. college GPA, sometimes MCAT, among other things like pre-med extracurriculars) to maintain your admission to the medical school. Also, be aware of the cost of the associated medical school as well as undergraduate.
For example, UConn’s program has the following conditions to continue to the MD program, according to Special Program in Medicine – Undergraduate Admissions :
3.6 college GPA is generally much more difficult than 3.6 high school GPA. 80th percentile MCAT is around 511 for 2026-2027, according to https://students-residents.aamc.org/media/19701/download . Also, the “favorable interviews” condition is discretionary and subjective.
Maintaining a 3.6 GPA in tough premed classes will not be easy.
Someone I know had high school stats which were very similar to OP’s stats, went to a university which is probably very close to U.Conn in overall difficulty, just barely did NOT maintain a 3.6 GPA in the tough premed/pre-vet classes, but nonetheless still did just fine in acceptances to DVM programs. Very good relevant experience was probably very important in this case, but stretched out the process (much of the experience was after getting a bachelor’s degree).
I think that getting into a BS/MD program might be nice, but is really not critical in this case. A good student can become a doctor either way. With a 3.8 unweighted GPA plus a 1400 SAT getting accepted to an undergraduate program which is very good for a premed student also seems to be very, very highly likely.
Premed classes will be tough, and doing well in them while getting good relevant experience will be key, along with keeping the whole thing within budget.
Next door in New York State the public university system offers one of the most reasonable out-of-state tuition packages of any state university system. Medical school is expensive, so it’s worth factoring in cost for anyone. So option #1 might be SUNY Stony Brook, just a ferry ride across the Sound from Bridgeport Stony Brook, has a BS/MD program called Scholars in Medicine. It takes 8 years to complete this program.
Another cost effective option is through the City University at the CUNY College of Medicine through the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education. Undergraduate dorms are available at the City College of New York campus and students in this program are guaranteed dorm spots. It is a 7 year accelerated program with undergraduate study being completed in 3 years. My niece became a physician through this program and found it to be very demanding and stressful. Its reason for existing is to train doctors to work in underserved areas.
A more expensive route is through private colleges. Albany College of Medicine has a BS/MD program, using 3 feeder colleges in the Albany area, RPI, Union, and Siena. Each of the 3 undergraduate colleges feeds into a track with a different focus. The RPI program takes 7 years to complete. The Union and Siena options Ardith 8 year programs.
Looking east from Connecticut, you can check out the 8 year BS/MD program at Brown University in Rhode Island. It is the only BS/MD program in the Ivy League. This program takes 8 years to complete.