<p>Starting this thread, so people who are actually in certain BA/MD programs can post their personal experiences with certain programs. As we know, not all BA/MD programs are created equal by far so those who are actually in it, can tell the weaknesses of their programs. Be specific, not just “This sucks”.</p>
<p>They are very different. You need to compare based on certain criteria. How you can compare, for example, the accelerated 6 years program with 8 years program? I never heard of “Bad” combined program. They all attract the best of the best caliber students.</p>
<p>i heard umkc was bad.</p>
<p>actually every post by a UMKC student about the program has been negative.</p>
<p>One should not judge any program’s popularity/unpopularity based on the comments of a few students. Most combined programs will have its fair share of students that like , dislike or are neutral about the program.
The personality of the student and what she or he is looking for in the terms of the undergraduate college experience will determine whether they are a good fit for a particular program…irrespective of their strong wish and desire to be a physician! The 6 years programs are very intense and not for all especially if one is looking for a diverse and rounded undrgraduate experience.
In terms of the medical school experience …as most physicians will tell you the first two years are the same in terms of academic expectations for most medical students. iN the 3rd and 4th year, the opportunities for research/ speciality cilnical rotations are definitely more in the higher ranked academic medical schools.
The other factors that determines compatibility with a program are…location, climate, competitiveness and diversity of the student body etc etc. Cost of course is another factor to keep in mind.</p>
<p>Many really have had good experiences at UMKC.</p>
<p>Well…if ur criteria for a “bad” ba/md program is based on rankings, then obviously med programs are not created equal.</p>
<p>For instance, Northwestern HPME has an undergraduate rank of 12 now… and a Medical School Research rank of 20. When u compare this to lets say a medical program such as the University of Miami Med Program, which has an undergraduate rank of 51 and a Med School Research Rank of 55, u might be tempted to immediately side with HPME.</p>
<p>But its so hard to stamp a program as better because so many other factors come into play… for example, University of Miami is much more likely to give undergraduate scholarships (i have two friends that go there that got scholarships of 10k and 24k a year for the undergraduate portion of the program). Also, Miami has nice weather year round, whereas northwestern is covered in snow half the time. </p>
<p>In addition, the Uof M may actually possess some advantages over Northwestern’s med school too. For Instance, if u really wanna be an ophthalmologist, lets say b/c ur mom or dad owns a private practice and u want to continue it, then U of Miami’s Med program may not be a bad choice because its hospital has the #1 optho program in the country…so given the research opportunities that u can get in optho during ur medical schooling, one may choose it over northwstern.</p>
<p>So truly, its hard to qualify a program has better than another, unless two given programs are virtually identical except for a couple of variables here and there - a situation that rarely occurs.</p>
<p>In addition keep in mind that rankings themselves can be a misleading indicator for comparison if the methodology and priority system used to calculate the rankings is not studied. </p>
<p>For instance, if u look at the match lists into residency programs from big med programs such as Brown’s PLME and Rice Baylor, etc, u see that the top 10% of medical school students go into top 20 residencies. Well if u look at a medical programs such as CUNY Downstate in brooklyn, u will find that their match rates for the top 10% of the class do no differ too much. However, they are not ranked because they do not receive enough NIH grants to qualify . </p>
<p>The more u try to compare, truly the harder it can become.</p>
<p>No such ting as a bad BA or BS/MD program.
For people who have had to undergo the studying required for the MCAT could porbably agree that any program is worth it.</p>
<p>For the BA/MD programs that require an MCAT the score is usually lower than average score you would need to apply to that med school from college.</p>
<p>Pros of any BA/MD programs…less stress levels about getting into med schools.<br>
Cons…limited programs. Mostly in unkown and unranked colleges/ med schools
Does that compromise the education? Depends on what you are looking for.</p>
<p>joydad - what do you mean by “limited programs”? My D. is in one. It is true, she feels less stress - she needs only 27 on MCAT. She does not feel any limitations. She has one minor - Music Composition and thingking of another. She had no limitations in regard to major. However, I agree some programs might be more structured than others. D. applied to many and had a choice of 3. D. choose the one with more freedom. Another one did not have MCAT, but had only one major, third one was accelerated. </p>
<p>My advise is to apply to wide range and choose the one that fits you the best.</p>
<p>There only about 35 or so combined BA/BS/MD programs …a few 6 years,handful of 7 and 8 years and possibly one 9 year program. Some of the programs are very structured, some require Mcats, some are restricted to instate students …I believe only 4-5 programs are open to students from all over the country. Because of the competitive nature of getting in any of these programs its very difficult to predict which program one will ultimately end up at…and sometimes that can be very disappointing.Especially as a lot of the students that apply to these programs have a very good chance of getting into the top 20 universities or LACs.<br>
Miami DAP…your idea of applying to many of these programs is a very good idea. But even than the choices maybe limited because of the above reasons…so one has to be open to all kinds of possibilities when applying to these programs.</p>
<p>There are at least 20 that anyone can apply to that I know of. The top ones are very competitive including Northwestern HPME, Case PPSP, Brown PLME, Bu’s program, Rochester REMS, CalTech, etc There are a lot of great programs out there and many allow applicants from all over to get the very best students available. Many are new or are not well known but are just as high quality and all are amazing opportunities.</p>
<p>Clarification…my previous post should have read 14-15 pograms (possibly 20 oreo) that are open to all students. However for many of these open programs there are seats reserved for instate students… There is a list of the programs and the number of students they take from oos somewhere in previous posts will see if I can get that.
The point I am trying to make is that these are very competitive programs. If you want to be a physician and want to go to such a program you may not have a whole lot of choices in tems of a well rounded undergaduate education or a highly anked college/medical school ( if thats what you want) </p>
<p>Rather than questioning which are good or bad combined progranms.Apply to many that you think will suit your personality.Hopefully you will get in a few …and then narrow it to one which will best meet your needs!</p>
<p>I can’t think of any 7/8 year programs where the undergraduate education is not well rounded. They may not be highly ranked, but the colleges that I am aware of are all well rounded. As for the # spots for OOS students, there are only a few that one could apply to where there would be 2 seats for OOS like Michigan State or Wayne State (maybe a few more than 2). Most of the others that accept OOS applications can offer more of the seats to them. And usually it is so they can attract a higher caliber candidate and better their program/med school. It is competitive to get into a med program from OOS.</p>
<p>JoyDad and all, I woulnn’t say that these colleges and programs are not well ranke</p>
<p>TCNJ/UMDNJ has a 7 year BS/MD program.
TCNJ has been ranking TOP in USNews for Colleges in the northeastern US for the 17th time in a row
.
In NJ, TCNJ is known as the Public Ivy…</p>
<p>[TCNJ</a> tops U.S. News List of Best Colleges for 17th consecutive year; receives new rank as a top Up-and-Coming School](<a href=“http://www.tcnj.edu/~pa/news/2008/usnews.html]TCNJ”>http://www.tcnj.edu/~pa/news/2008/usnews.html)</p>
<p>So, I wouldn’t call this program as an unranked/unknown one at all.</p>
<p>sorry for my typos…I have a very poor keyboard where the keys stick…</p>
<p>Here’s another link from US News for Liberal Arts Colleges in the NE.</p>
<p>[Best</a> Colleges - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/masters-north-uc-rank]Best”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/masters-north-uc-rank)</p>
<p>Also agree with oreo about HPME and Case. </p>
<p>OP, There are no worst medical schools. In order to maintain their US accreditation, all Med schools have to maintain accepted standards in their coursework and training. </p>
<p>It’s the ‘Research opportunities/Research/NIH grants’ rec’d by med schools that gives them the hierarchy in US News rating for med schools.</p>
<p>However, if you are interested in purely clinical work, the research rating is not applicable to your selection. Research oriented ranking applies only to students who are interested in applying to MD/PhD programs.</p>
<p>As someone who left UMKC’s program and am now enrolled at UPenn’s medical school (as 4+4), I can tell you that not all BA/MD programs are good programs, with respect to quality of education. I’m glad I left UMKC when I did.</p>
<p>People know that many of the ones that have a BA/MD program create this route because they wouldn’t get that many people applying otherwise. I’m sorry jliu, but taking the MCAT was not a big deal. If you can’t handle the MCAT, what makes you think you’ll be able to handle USMLE Step 1?</p>
<p>Yes Pharmagal, but there are clinical rankings as well, not just for research in USWNR.</p>