Everyone who already knows where they are going, all the best to you.
Any of you who have not made up their mind yet, remember - any decision YOU make is right for you at this time. Don’t make it out of fear of future.
If you didn’t get in, it is not considered a failure. You have got a taste of what is needed to apply 4 years from now and will be prepared.
Since I have been dealing with BS/MD students for almost 10 years (one of my ralative’s kid got into USC back then) I have met different people who have altered their courses before joining, after joining, after completing BS, and so on.
The ones that don’t have time to rethink are those who are in 7 year no MCAT programs. If they start, they usually keep going. I know a few who went to NU HPME and are now almost in fellowship programs. I know at least a couple who did 6 year programs who are successfully settled down after completing fellowships.
The ones who have 4 years, invariably start wondering. I know one who went to UK for an year from Rice/Baylor on a prestigious scholarship and went to Harvard when he got back. My relative had considered medical school costs at USC and since he was forced to take MCAT anyway and applied to Texas schools, completed medicine in Houston, and now is at a prestigious residency program. I know others who have originally turned down prestigious undergrad schools to go to Rice/Baylor who took MCAT and found that they could go to higher ranked schools than Baylor just like the one who went to Harvard. I am actually watching some of that play out this year for one or two I know… Baylor probably figured out many are leaving and have cut the number of seats over the years from 15 now all the way down to 6. I find it ironic that Debakey high school gets more combined seats for UH/Baylor than real college programs at Baylor.
OTOH, those who decided to pick an undergrad over a combined program are also successful. I know one this year who didn’t go to NU 4 years ago who will go to Harvard. I know one who didn’t go 7 years ago who is finishing med at Stanford. I know another who didn’t take Rice/Baylor about 10 years ago who ended up at Yale med.
I also know others who scored high on MCAT (one has a 42) who has not applied to med school 2 years after completing college because they are deciding whether they even want to do it. Some are postponing their admissions despite getting into top notch med schools because they have lucrative job offers they want to explore.
What I see among those who try out for BS/MD programs is determination. They have the will to succeed and they have more focus on getting into medical school than most of the other applicants who have a vague idea of becoming doctors. What does that mean - they are starting college on the right foot, have goals, plan ahead of time and try to get there.