<p>hmm thats kind of a touch decision, collegefreak. What medical school is the lehigh program affiliated with? </p>
<p>I don’t think any of us really know what decision you should make at this point, since I would base it on which ivy you get into. Personally, I’d go there over Cornell, since cornell is known for being cut-throat. </p>
<p>Give us some more info on the lehigh program so we can help you out.</p>
<p>I think you should read from high school to med school. One of the guys who wrote it said he chose Lehigh over an ivy and he does not regret it for one minute. I also got into a program with the U, Cincinnatti, not the most well known and I will still choose it over Brown if I should get in. I don’t think it is a question of being lazy in college cuz I don’t think you can and still do well on the MCAT (I still have to take it), I just think it is a load off my mind.</p>
<p>well lehigh is associated with drexel medical (does anyone have rankings/info on this school?)</p>
<p>u need to maintain a 3.45 overall gpa (3.25 in sciences)
mcats required: 9 in all sections or overall 30</p>
<p>the mcats are kind of a turn off but the drexel “pathway” thing they have where they set your 3rd and 4th curriculum based on your interests…they have a good matching program for residency from what i heard…they have two different options: problem based learning or traditional</p>
<p>so…it does sound good (drexel med anyway…not a big fan of lehigh (the location KILLS))</p>
<p>i’m completely stuck…my parents have no clue either (but it seems they’re pushing the med program more)</p>
<p>is applying to and getting into traditional med school really that insane? is a good student from a great school not going to get in?</p>
<p>i find out from the ivies tomorrow</p>
<p>this has to be the hardest decision i’ve ever made…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>We are thinking on the same lines. </p>
<p>I got accepted into GW’s 7 year BA/MD program today and it was very flattering given the fact that they are filling 20 slots from 600 who applied. But I am not sold on this being necessarily the best way to proceed. Most of the successful applicants to these combined programs are high achievers with excellent academic records and an ability to test well. It is not logical to think that everything will fall apart if one goes the conventional route, sit the MCAT and then apply to med school.</p>
<p>So what then would be the compelling reason to pass on an excellent education from a top notch undergraduate school? If all goes well with my undergrad and the MCAT, I might succeed in getting into a top notch medical school.</p>
<p>I cannot see the logic behind it - which is why I did not apply to any other programs besides GW.</p>
<p>Also, just about every physician - family friend or acquaintance - that I have spoken to, has advocated the conventional route.</p>
<p>Just thinking out aloud! Tomorrow, I’ll know where I stand with my two Ivy apps and by Monday, I should know where I stand with regard to Stanford.</p>
<p>Good points, wouldbemd. Even my interviewer at the Rochester REMS program told me that he didn’t see why all of the kids interviewing were so desperate to gain a spot in the combined program - only 1 in 10 gets in to a combined program in the nation, whereas the national acceptance rate for med school is about 1 in 3. </p>
<p>I think it’s definitely important to consider the prestige of the medical school in the combined program. I don’t know…my biggest fear is that I’ll always regret doing a combined program because I’ll wonder if I could have gone to a better medical school had I gone to an Ivy. There are always horror stories about top students at prestigious schools having to go to med schools outside of the country, but it doesn’t happen to ALL students. I just don’t know if I want to work and stress for four more years…</p>
<p>i think the best thing to do is to snatch the combined program if it’s affiliated with a good medical school – NW, REMS, Baylor. On the other hand, if the medical school isn’t so hot, compare it with your regular undergrad options. If the two are on relatively the same tier, then take the medical (preferably even one that will let you apply out). </p>
<p>I dont think it would be a good idea to go to a low tier combined program over a top ivy. Doesn’t make much sense.</p>
<p>I agree to mr_sanguine completely. couldn’t have said it better</p>
<p>would u place drexel med above an ivy (columbia, cornell, brown…hopefully i get in today!)</p>
<p>mr sanguine, your post gets to the heart of the issue. </p>
<p>You have summarized the options very succinctly!</p>
<p>i got into cornell human ecology and lehigh/drexel ba/md and i’m trying to chose where to go…i am also consideering barnard…does anyone know if you could apply out with the lehigh program? does anyone have advice on what program i should chose? How is drexel medical school?</p>
<p>Sorry, Sima - I have no idea as the answer to your question.</p>
<p>You have gained admission into two terrific undergrad schools - congrats.</p>
<p>Good luck with whatever you do.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The problem is, there are only about 800-1000 applications at most to the majority of the BA/MD programs out there. Take BU Med as an example. It gets about 500 applications I think, and accepts about 50 of those –> 10% acceptance rate. When you apply as an undergrad to, say, BU Med, the applicant pool becomes 10,000 and the acceptance rate shrinks to 1%. Also, I think it’s fair to say that the applications from undergrads are as a whole better, since they’ve had to go through the whole AMCAS, MCAT, etc. The applicants to med programs only need to submit additional essays and recs, so it’s conceivable that people who really aren’t <em>that</em> interested are applying just for the heck of it. Combining those two factors, it’s fair to say that admission to BA/MD programs is significantly less competitive than regular admission to a medical school. Once you get to college, there are going to be many more people thinking <em>pre-med</em> and actively pursuing that. As anecdotal evidence, I know one Princeton girl who was accepted into HPME and seriously regrets not going to the program. To summarize, it’s probably not a good idea to bank on being accepted into a top medical school out of undergrad simply because you were accepted into GW- although that is certainly evidence of your strength. Of course, it depends on the individual applicant- I’m sure that if you decide to attend an ivy, you’ll kick butt in undergrad and get into a great medical school. </p>
<p>As for me, I have an update…Brown PLME, BU med and Yale are my three choices. Brown would give me the ivy undergrad education, but its medical school isn’t as great as BU’s. Yale is obviously an awesome school, but I’m going to have to work like heck if I go there. Factors like GPA req’ts and MCATs at the med programs aren’t important to me…what is important is the quality of the med school in terms of residency placement versus the quality of the undergrad experience. Any advice?</p>
<p>well said, asterstar! do you know the stats regarding the residency placements for graduates of the brown and bu programs? if you opt for the combined med program, perhaps these figures, if available, will help you make your choice.</p>
<p>mr sanguine said it well - I would definitely consider the prestige of the medical school…if it’s a good one, I would take it over the top ivy. As for me, I’m definitely leaning towards REMS, but am waiting on Rice/Baylor (interview in three weeks). I think I’d take Rice/Baylor over REMS as of now (though haven’t seen the campus) just because Baylor is a pretty darn good med school.</p>
<p>what do u think guys, Northwestern’s HPME ($42,000/yr for 3 yrs, then $50,000/yr for 4 med yrs) or Harvard ($32,000/yr for 4 years)? </p>
<p>(of course money is not the only factor, just giving u the details)</p>
<p>how about this one guys: nyu or lehigh/drexel?</p>
<p>nyu is like top 10 in premed while drexel med is near the bottom 25%…plus lehigh’s location SUCKS!..guarantee and 7 years is nice though…its a toughy</p>
<p>what do u think?</p>
<p>what do u think about the University of Cincinnati med school, any info?</p>
<p>neom3x11:
you are not the only faced with this dilemma. take a look at this site ******* for march 13, 2005 under the rubric:
Harvard or a BA/MD program?</p>
<p><a href="http://www..com/thread.php?thread_id=148685&mc=16&forum_id=1%5B/url%5D">http://www..com/thread.php?thread_id=148685&mc=16&forum_id=1</a></p>
<p>hope you are able to access it.</p>
<p>neom, first, congrats on getting into my top two schools that I got rejected from. you must be god. I am not sure where I would choose; I have a friend going to HPME right now as a freshman and is finding it to not be too dificult, and is thinking of applying out. that’s always an option for you as well, don’t forget that.</p>
<p>as for myself, I have to choose between BU’s 7 year med vs. Duke. gah. I’m so lost and confused as to what to do. any suggestions?</p>
<p>and asterstar, what do you think youre gonna do? that’s a tough situation as well, and I have no advice, because I can’t even solve my own dilemma.</p>
<p>Many people feel that if they choose the presigious undergrad they will have “the experience of a lifetime” and all kinds of fun and free time. I think this a huge misconception. Yes, (using rajpatel’s example) if you went to Duke you would be surrounded by bright, motivated kids, and lots of different experiences. However, as a pre-med at prestigious university how much free time do u honestly think you will have? In between class you will be attending meetings, and then probably have to volunteer go to labs in the evening, and then studying all night. Being a pre-med ANYWHERE naturally lends itself to NOT having a life. Of course one can still go out and chill a lot but grades might suffer. If you went to BU you could carve out the “time of your life” for yourself and actually have the time and energy to take advantage of it, enencumbered by extensive research projects, hospital shadowing, meetings, and classes.</p>