<p>wouldbe, where do you think you’ll end up going?</p>
<p>thanks everyone for your thoughts. i think you’re right.
i’ve thought about it a lot and there’s really no reason to attend a namebrand undergrad school that gives me no guarantees on medical school when i’ve got such a great offer from northwestern. i really haven’t got any particular attachments to princeton or any of the others and i know i definitely want to be a doctor. i guess i was just a little afraid of committing so soon. thank you for the reassurance.</p>
<p>Still not fully decided, asterstar - but if I had to make a choice today it would not be GW’s BA/MD program.</p>
<p>I am trying to approach this in a rational and objective manner. I think you were the one who posted some statistical information pertaining to the number of applicants versus the number of offers at BU’s medical school. It was an excellent and dispassionate post with relevant data that anyone should consider who seeks to make an informed decision.</p>
<p>So I have been gathering historical information on the medical schools that have accepted applicants from the undergrad schools that have offered me a slot and the placement rate into the different medical schools. I will also be visiting GW again and spending a day or two there, talking to faculty as well as students who are currently in the program.</p>
<p>The basic issue for me - and I don’t intend to come across as cocky - is that I am absolutely confident that I will be able to get into a pretty decent medical school as and when the time comes, if I decide to go the under-grad route. For me not to do so would just be a total aberration in relation to my academic track record to date. I suspect that this is true when it comes to most successful applicants to the more highly regarded combination programs.</p>
<p>What is missing on this forum are contributors who were in a position where they got into one of these programs and then chose instead to go the undergrad route - and how they feel about their decision with the benefit of hindsight. I am not looking for anecdotal stories.</p>
<p>I met someone today who did make such a decision - he was offered a place in a couple of programs and decided to pursue an undergrad degree instead from a highly regarded school - not an Ivy. He is now in his third year - and says that it was absolutely the best decision to have made. He has completed his MCAT and scored well. He will be applying to med schools shortly - so where he ends up getting in is still an unknown. </p>
<p>I wish guys like this person would also post their perspective on this choice.</p>
<p>BTW, I have yet to meet a single physician who has given an unqualified endorsement to one of these programs versus the undergrad/medical school route. I have talked to at least a dozen physicians - those in practice, academics as well as those in research.</p>
<p>I will certainly post what I end up doing.</p>
<p>wouldbemd, i admire your confidence that you can go to a top notch school, do well, and get into a good med school</p>
<p>i think i can say that most hpme/gw applicants that were accepted could do very well at the aforementioned colleges you were accepted to, and get into a good med school just like you said you would… but it’s not a GUARANTEE, and some people may not want to deal with that stress that comes along with being a premed at a prestigious ivy… that is why most people choose to apply to ba/md programs</p>
<p>if you are willing to give up the guarantee, i have no doubt you’d be fine, it’s just that it may be an easier journey if u were in gw’s program than if you were living the life of a premed at any ivy</p>
<p>best of luck to you</p>
<p>wouldbemd: “I think that there is a legitimate case that can be made that if the options are between a mediocre med school that is part of such a program versus a top notch undergrad school, one should look take a serious look at the latter.”</p>
<p>I think this is true in my case…with Lehigh/Drexel 7 year program vs. Stanford…but I’m visiting both in a week, so I’ll be thinking about it…</p>
<p>same here zik…nyu vs lehigh/drexel</p>
<p>hmm…I can see choosing stanford over the security of a ba/md program</p>
<p>i’m not sure nyu would qualify as high enough in my book</p>
<p>but then again, the undergrad experience in nyc would be something that can’t be matched anywhere else</p>
<p>i totally agree, the lehigh program definately tops nyu undergrad but not standford. i wish nyu still had a ba/md program.</p>
<p>zik id say stanford because as long as u work hard enough i think ull do fine at stanford and will be able to get into a good med school as well as having a great undergrad experience
however if u truly care about saving that 1 year, go to the med program
id go to the program over nyu, not over stanford</p>
<p>the extra year isnt a big deal to me, it was really just the guaranteed med spot that i was applying for (the year off was just a nice bonus…) …any other things i should consider?</p>
<p>Any thoughts about Stanford vs. Brown 8-year BS/MD program? Guaranteed seat in MD school is indeed quite tempting.</p>
<p>yo ceetee idk about doing browns 8 year program cuz altho the college itself is mad good, on us news rankings brown is pretty low for med school
but then again us news isnt that reliable and i have a feeling that brown is a pretty damn good medical school esp around the rhode island area but u gotta remember that the brown program is still 8 year and you dont really save any money or anythign or even a year, u just save the worries about applying to med school
oh you know what u should do - see if u do the brown program, they will still let u apply out to diff medical schools if u want - if u can do that then id say DEFINITELY go to brown cuz then ull be set with good undergrad and good backup (brown med) and u can still apply to better ones- thats what u should do
but if they dont have that then id have to side with stanford</p>
<p>well, Brown still ranks about #40 in research and #15 in primary care, so that’s pretty decent. I think it’s better to look at the residency placement of the school…and you’re right, BMS doesn’t consistently get the top residencies. </p>
<p>I don’t think the program allows you to apply out, but I could be wrong on that.</p>
<p>considering you get great undergrad from brown and a guaranteed med spot, i’d pick that over the great undergrad from stanford with no guarantee…</p>
<p>check on that applying out thing…</p>
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<p>mistaiappa, clearly there are no guarantees. It is a question of making a best judgement as to the likely outcome if one pursues a certain course of action. You are right that it would be a whole lot easier to maintain a 3.3 GPA at GW and stay in the program. However, that is not a motivating factor for me. Coasting along, is just so alien to how I approach things - whether in terms of academics or other facets of life.</p>
<p>I do appreciate that you took the time to post your thoughts.</p>
<p>i agree with the consensus: brown over stanford. attending stanford will not guarantee anyone a spot in medical school: the competition is too steep.
i only applied to three combined degree programs, received interviews for two and was selected for one: boston university. my safety schools were the uc’s. So its between ucberkeley as a regents & chancellors scholar or bu’s ba/md program. the rankings for research (28) and primary care (48) are not bad. i’ve heard that the med school is fantastic and their graduates are placed in top-notch residency programs. besides, the program allows for lots of research opportunities as well as hands-on clinical experiences. boston is a great place for medicine and for living in general.</p>
<p>ceetee - I would definitely go with Brown PLME. Brown undergrad is prestigious in itself, and even though Brown medical school isn’t AMAZING, it’s a pretty decent school. Stanford IS a great school, but when compared with Brown (being an ivy an all), I don’t know if it would be worth the extra stress and uncertainty.</p>
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<p>zik, I have now heard from Stanford that I have been accepted there - so that is one more variable in terms of the decision that I am facing.</p>
<p>As I have read the posts by various individuals regarding the factors that argue for these programs what surfaces repeatedly are:</p>
<p>No need to do the MCAT
Guaranteed acceptance into medical school
More relaxed pace during the undergrad phase if one joins one of these programs
No need to go through the hassle of applying for med school as one nears completion of the regular undergrad program.
Saving a year and the related cost by joining the program
Pressure relating to doing pre med at an Ivy or comparable school</p>
<p>All of the above would clinch it for me if I was having to choose between a top notch undergrad school and a program with a top notch med school. But to opt for a mediocre (or less) med school as compared to a top notch undergrad school for the reasons outlined above is less convincing.</p>
<p>Now is it possible that after completing my undergrad at an excellent school, I might end up in a mediocre med school? Sure that could happen! However, my best judgement is that the odds favor that I will fare better. </p>
<p>Time will tell!</p>
<p>wouldbemd, these programs u don’t coast along, 3.3’s or 3.5 required GPA’s are no breeze at northwestern or case or boston univ or wherever</p>
<p>but it does prevent burn out before med school and allow you to enjoy oyour undergrad life before fully devoting your time and energy to becoming a physician later on in med school, residencies/fellowships, and finally practice or however you use your MD</p>
<p>mistaippa: on the contrary, I’ve talked to many HPMErs at Northwestern and they’ve said that the 3.2 GPA requirement is actually pretty easy to meet. I have a friend who finished his undergrad phase at Northwestern, and when I asked him what he did during his undergrad years…“uhh I don’t know. I just played a lot of tennis, I guess.” lol and my interviewer also said she had really relaxing undergrad years. Sure, it might not be a piece of cake to get a 3.2 but it’s definitely not NEARLY as bad as you think it is.</p>