<p>“Where we disagree is that you seem to think that that’s a bad thing. I am rather neutral. I would say that if you’re so concerned about that, then you should be equally concerned about all the ways that less statistically qualified people are getting into med school. For example, affirmative action. Or the Caribbean schools. Or the OD schools (as OD’s are fully licensed to practice medicine). I don’t know why you’d want to single out the BS/MD programs.”</p>
<p>I’m one of the biggest critic of AA that’s out there. However, I do see the problem that it’s attempting to address (although I don’t think AA is the best method for increasing the population of minority doctors).</p>
<p>I think you mean DO’s. I wouldn’t let a OD anywhere near my heart! As for DO’s and Caribbean schools, their candidates might have lower academic qualifications and but at least they have more experience (clinical, research, and life) and both they and the medical school will be able to make a more sound judgement as to their fitness for medicine. I do not think HSers are capable of making an informed decision about their career choice at this point (which is why 75% of college students change majors) and I don’t think medical schools can make an informed judgement about what kind of doctor the HSer will become. It’s one thing to see a lower college GPA and MCAT score and still decide to accept the applicant based on other factors. It’s another to see a HS GPA and SAT scores and attempt to predict what the HSer would’ve scored on the MCAT.</p>
<p>That’s just my opinion and it was my opinion 4 years ago when UCSD invited me to apply for their medical scholars program. I had better SAT/AP/GPA than most students on the BS/MD forum but didn’t feel that the handful of volunteering hours I had was enough to decide that I wanted to go through the toil of medical school to become a doctor. So I didn’t apply. After 4 years of premed at Cornell, no regrets.</p>