<p>Does anyone know how well this program places in grad schools and jobs?</p>
<p>^ pretty good.
This isn’t an updated list. I have an updated version in pdf. PM me if interested in it. </p>
<p>pages.utdallas.edu/mcdermott/meet-the-scholars/mcdermott-scholar-alumni/</p>
<p>When I attended Finalist Weekend in 2013 with my son, I met numerous alums and their parents. About 2/3 of grads pursue grad school at some of the best schools in the country. The other third go on to jobs in a variety of industries. McDermott’s create a close knit alumni community which leads to job leads and grad school referrals. Remember, the McDermott’s typically turn down MIT, Stanford, and the Ivy League schools to join the McDermott Scholars program where they are further developed through their mentoring and community engagement programs.</p>
<p>@bigreddawgie is it true that if you do get mcdermotts, you have to stay at UTD for 4 years? and cant graduate early if you have ap creds?</p>
<p>also, im wanting to do pre-med, i was wondering if mcdermotts had good medical trips abroad that would help me get into med school?</p>
<p>^ yea you would have to stay for 4 years and cant graduate early. so that means you wouldnt be able to do PACT either. </p>
<p>They dont have any formal programs for you to do medical trips abroad, but some past scholars have done them in the past. As a medical student and having been through med school apps, those medical abroad trips wont help you get into med school and are kind of a waste of money.</p>
<p>@bigreddawgie thanks for the advice! how competitive is to get into PACT compared to mcdermotts and how is the pact scholarship in comparison to the mcdermott scholarship? (if you know)</p>
<p>^ At this moment, I would say mcdermott is more competitive. Mcdermott is an established program with people applying from all over the country. Not as many people know about PACT yet and it is just for texas residents, but in the future, PACT will probably be more competitive than mcdermott (just my guess). I think the PACT scholarship at utd is just the AES scholarship, not sure if there is a scholarship when you get to utsw or not.</p>
<p>@bigreddawgie oh wow i didnt know that. about how many people usually apply to mcdermott?</p>
<p>^ Im not sure on the exact numbers. As of the beginning of the month, over 900 applications were started. Of course, they wont all be completed though. Approx 60 will be invited for interviews</p>
<p>Hello bigreddawgie, </p>
<p>How do you get the information regarding how many applications were started for the McDermott? Is this publicly available info or are you part of the scholarship committee?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>@t14premed, Keep in mind that the McDermott and PACT scholarships look for somewhat different qualifications in their applicants. Sure, both place great importance on academic credentials, but the PACT is focused on those headed for health care profession whereas McDermott’s focus on developing future leaders in a myriad of professions.</p>
<p>My daughter didn’t apply for McDermott since she aims at PACT (3 yrs at UTD and 4 yrs at UTSW). And PACT doesn’t allow any gap year between UG and medical school if a PACT student extends his/her UG study to advanced level like BS degree instead of BA.</p>
<p>@blubba, I’m an alumnus of the program and we get periodic updates.</p>
<p>Blubba is right. The two programs have different goals for their students. Both require top notch applications though. Personally, not a huge fan of combined accelerated programs.</p>
<p>@blubba thanks for your insight! if I want to go into medicine do you think PACT would be better for me than McDermott
@bigreddawgie just curious, why are you not a fan of combined accelerated programs?</p>
<p>@14premed, UT-PACT application was already closed if you are senior in high school. If you are junior, please keep in mind that UT-PACT students’ statistics are very good in SAT/GPA/ECs more like Ivy-caliber students. The most of them are qualified for AES scholarship. So, study hard and take some medical experiences in next one year. If you have a strong commitment being an MD, you can consider UT-PACT as one of the options. It will give you better chance going to a medical school, not worrying about MCAT/GPA. Furthermore, UTSW is one of the prestigious medical schools.</p>
<p>@bigreddawgie, Thanks for sharing your insights as a McDermott Alum. Congratulations on getting in and graduating as a McDermott. DS is a McDermott now.</p>
<p>@t14premed, Since both McDermott and PACT are extremely selective, you may consider applying to both. The year my son applied, there as young man who applied to both and got into both. He chose PACT because he was set on medical school. If you don’t get PACT and do get McDermott, and if you do well in your studies, UT Dallas’s pre-professional advising can help get you into medical school. They (Dr. Harpham) claim a success rate of over 95% for those who do well academically in the pre-medical advising program.</p>
<p>You may wish to apply to some of the other BS/MD programs across the country. There are about 20 of them. Many don’t offer much assurance at all; in those programs you need to maintain a 3.75 plus GPA and score well in MCAT. Some offer you the chance to explore and take risks in classes in which you have interest but would otherwise not take to maintain a high GPA. Brown’s 8 year PLME comes to mind. My brother went through that program. U of Miami also has a combined program that is located in Coral Gables, a really rich and lovely location. UT San Antonio has the FAME program. Rice/Baylor too. Look up combined BS/MD on Google. Good Luck.</p>
<p>I am also not a big fan of combined programs that are accelerated. I believe students need time to mature as human beings, especially because the pre-med curriculum can be so regimented. When a pre-med takes primarily science and biological science courses with few electives, that person may miss out on the benefits of humanities classes. </p>
<p>Physicians need to call upon all of their insights, experiences and talents to serve their patients well and deal with the stress of medicine. It is not a profession for the faint of heart. So eliminating one year of personal growth in the liberal arts is not a good idea in my humble opinion. This is the main reason I am not a fan of accelerated programs. But I can see the financial savings of accelerated programs and respect families who value this practical aspect of accelerated programs.</p>
<p>^ that’s also my reason why I’m not a fan of accelerated combined programs. Going through 4 years of undergrad and straight to med school, you’re already going to be one of the youngest students in your class. There really is no good reason to rush through undergrad unless you want to gain an extra year of earning potential in the future. </p>
<p>t14premed, I understand the desire of having a guaranteed seat to med school. I went through the same thing back in high school. I applied to some top bs/md programs (northwestern, rice/baylor, pitt, etc) and interviewed at all the ones I applied to. Didn’t get accepted, but I’m glad I wasnt accepted. In the end, Im at a better med school and also made it out better financially. For mcdermotts, Im fairly confident that if you want to go to med school, you will get in somewhere. A guaranteed med seat is not that big of a deal, especially for a Texas resident. There is no right or wrong way to go. It’s really up to you in deciding what you want to do with your undergrad experience. High school me would have loved to go through undergrad in 3 years. Med school me cherishes my 4 years of undergrad and the experience I gained out of it.</p>
<p>@blubba @bigreddawgie those are completely understandable reasons for doing 4+4. thanks for you guys’s really valuable insight. i will definitely take that into consideration when choosing a college</p>
<p>by the way, bigreddawgie, how has mcdermott helped you for med school? and how is med school compared to UG?</p>
<p>UTD McDermott Semifinalist here! This seems like an amazing program, but I am not sure what I would do down the road, should I get acceptances from one of the HYPMS schools. It worries me that you have to make a decision before other results come out. However, my stats are relatively mediocre compared to others here : 34 ACT, 3.9 unweighted, 15/500 rank. But I did rank 2nd and 3rd place in Intel ISEF in 2 years, and am an Intel STS semifinalist, probably my only strength. I wish the best of luck to everyone here!</p>