Apply out of 8-year BA/MD program?

[miscelaineeous]

Here's my current situation.

I'm interested in Internal Medicine/Cardiology as possible fields for residency post medical school. However, I'm currently in an 8-year BA/MD program at a state school and I'm wondering if it's worth it to explore combined/accelerated programs between medical school and residency, if such programs exist. This, however, would mean applying out of my program and losing the security of having a seat reserved in medical school.

I'm also wondering if the calibur of the medical school affects how competitive my application will be further down the line. Are private schools worth the extra tuition? If not, then I might as well enjoy what I have and worry about applications in another 4 years.

Thanks.

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[jeevesbond]

Hi...

I understand some of your concerns as I had them in the past as well. First off, there are no combined med school residency programs that I am aware of. Let me also state that I am a seven year BA/MD student at a state school program as well. I think having the security of a medical seat is wodnerful and a great segue into enjoying a worry free college career. With that said, will it inhibit you come residency time. Well that depends on how you do. from my experience you can garner interviews at top programs many different ways. In general however, if you dont have a top name program (i.e. harvard, hopkins, etc) then you will likely need to have very good board scores, great clinical rotation grades (with honors in your internal medicine rotation and AIs), some research experience and a few extras to get you in. I had many of these things, and I believe that going to a state school did not hurt me getting the interviews. So this means you can get great interviews and good matchs from state schools. The problem is that its hard to be perfect in med school. I think students coming from top programs have more leeway in what stats they need for consideration to a top im program. Thus med school name will help if you arent a perfect candidate , and certainly wont hurt if you are perfect. In the end only you can decide whether its wortht he money to go to a private school. If i had to do it again, I might consider different paths, and depending onw hat day you asked me, I would tell you sometimes that I would go to a private school (with my grades and mcats probably could have gone to some good ones) and on other days would simply tell you that id redo the program...anyway PM me if you want some more info...and if you want considerably more info (i.e. post match results) pm me after march 16th, and ill let you know then...good luck in your decision process...

jeeves

 

[Gharfunkle]

Here's my current situation.

I'm interested in Internal Medicine/Cardiology as possible fields for residency post medical school. However, I'm currently in an 8-year BA/MD program at a state school and I'm wondering if it's worth it to explore combined/accelerated programs between medical school and residency, if such programs exist. This, however, would mean applying out of my program and losing the security of having a seat reserved in medical school.

I'm also wondering if the calibur of the medical school affects how competitive my application will be further down the line. Are private schools worth the extra tuition? If not, then I might as well enjoy what I have and worry about applications in another 4 years.

Thanks.

What up my friend. I agree with jeevesbond's assesment. I am also in a similar situation, at a 6-year BS/MD program. Having just gone through the process of applying to internal medicine, and as jeevsey old boy has said, you need to excel in several of the aformentioned categories in order to receive interviews at top IM programs. You do get some slack in that regard, going to a brand-name institution for med school. That being said, it is not necessary to attend a top IM program to receive cardiology fellowship, although it certainly helps. The most important thing, no matter to which institution you go for residency, is to work hard and learn medicine well, because cardiology in general is competitive and if you stand out, you can get in, no matter where you come from. As for me, I would not have applied out, despite pretty decent grades and MCAT because I valued being in the 6-year program, which for me is a benefit when going into cardiology, because there are certain pressures that I think I would handle a little bit better (namely the long hours of Cards fellowship) simply due to being younger. Had I been in your shoes, I think I would have given more consideration to applying out of the program. But again, the hassle of applying to medical school would have made me more hesitant. It is tough to say. Regarding combined medical school/residency combined programs, I dont' know of any - but attending any institution for medical school certainly does increase your chances by a large amount for getting residency at that institution. PM me if you would like to discuss more. Take care and good luck with everything.

-Gharfunkle

 

[gwen]

believe me, stick to your ba/md program. i went through a 6 yr bs/md program and am doing just fine. as far as cardio is concerned, my fiance also did the same 6 yr bs/md prog as me (its a state school), went to an ivy league university hospital in the east coast for IM and is now going to do cardio at an awesome univeristy hospital. so its possible. you just need to have good scores...but honestly, that is the case if you went to harvard med as well. do you think they'd prefer a harvard grad with a 189 over a state school grad with a 260?