bs/md combined program -- strengths and weaknesses

[TaigaPrincess18]

Hello, all!

I am an upcoming senior in a public school located in the deep south of New Jersey. I was interested in applying for a BS/MD combined program within the area, but I have also come to know that admissions into such programs are extremely competitive, as only a small percentage of students stand the chance of even being considered. A student capable of entering a combined/accelerated track, for example, is equally capable of gaining admission into any other top institute in the country. My problem is that, with my stats, I am unable to determine whether my caliber matches up with such standards...my stats are as follows:

Class Rank: 1/463
Weighted Average: 103.63%
SAT scores: 2130/1390<--old system (will be taking this again in October)
Junior year courses: AP Chemistry, Honors Physics, Honors Pre-Calc, Honors U.S. History II, Honors Spanish IV, Honors English (due to the limited nature of AP courses available at our school, I was only able to complete one)
Proposed senior year courses: AP English Comp and Lit, AP Biology, AP Spanish, AP Calculus, Honors Anatomy and Physiology, UMDNJ Medical Science Academy Scholar (Introduction to Issues in Biomedical Sciences), UMDNJ Research Project
Miscellaneous: Visharad in Bharatnatyam (Completed Indian Dance Discipline), Teacher at Arya Dance Academy, UMDNJ Mini-Medical School Scholar (two years), National Honor Society, editor of school newspaper, participant in research regarding mach-laurentz thrusters, conducted research in dnazymes at new jersey governor's school of the sciences (2008 NJGSS alumnus), president of asian awareness club, assistant at local diabetes clinic (gave me the opportunity to shadow the doctor simultaneously), volunteer at local hospital, nursing home, and local red cross (about 200 hours worth of volunteer work), and some other things that are probably not worth mentioning...


...any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
TaigaPrincess18

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[orangeANDgreen]

I applied to the BS/MD program at University of Miami and the University of South Florida

I was accepted at both, UM was a lot more selective than USF was, i think UM took 25 kids out of 500+ applicants

I had a 2180 in the SAT, unweighted 4.0, 3rd in my class, did pretty well on my AP exams, (4s and 5s), played varsity basketball for 2 years, member of all the honor societies they offered, some leadership experience, strong volunteer at church, did research one summer and shadowed a doctor another summer.

I think with your grades and a strong essay as well as good letters of recommendations you should be in good shape for the interview, and then its basically up to you to do anything to get selected. UM had a laid-back interview, but it was one that no one felt confident about.

USF didnt even have an interview and they basically selected you if your grades were good and they would rather "select more students and have some drop out than select few students and leave capable ones out". If you don't mind the Florida heat, USF is a good safety school if you really just want to be in any BS/MD program. Oh and they gave me alot of scholarships, they were basically going to pay me to go there, but I chose Miami just because of its higher prestige, and well...its Miami

hope this helps

 

[DwyaneWade]

Hello, all!

I am an upcoming senior in a public school located in the deep south of New Jersey. I was interested in applying for a BS/MD combined program within the area, but I have also come to know that admissions into such programs are extremely competitive, as only a small percentage of students stand the chance of even being considered. A student capable of entering a combined/accelerated track, for example, is equally capable of gaining admission into any other top institute in the country. My problem is that, with my stats, I am unable to determine whether my caliber matches up with such standards...my stats are as follows:

Class Rank: 1/463
Weighted Average: 103.63%
SAT scores: 2130/1390<--old system (will be taking this again in October)
Junior year courses: AP Chemistry, Honors Physics, Honors Pre-Calc, Honors U.S. History II, Honors Spanish IV, Honors English (due to the limited nature of AP courses available at our school, I was only able to complete one)
Proposed senior year courses: AP English Comp and Lit, AP Biology, AP Spanish, AP Calculus, Honors Anatomy and Physiology, UMDNJ Medical Science Academy Scholar (Introduction to Issues in Biomedical Sciences), UMDNJ Research Project
Miscellaneous: Visharad in Bharatnatyam (Completed Indian Dance Discipline), Teacher at Arya Dance Academy, UMDNJ Mini-Medical School Scholar (two years), National Honor Society, editor of school newspaper, participant in research regarding mach-laurentz thrusters, conducted research in dnazymes at new jersey governor's school of the sciences (2008 NJGSS alumnus), president of asian awareness club, assistant at local diabetes clinic (gave me the opportunity to shadow the doctor simultaneously), volunteer at local hospital, nursing home, and local red cross (about 200 hours worth of volunteer work), and some other things that are probably not worth mentioning...


...any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
TaigaPrincess18

Every program is different but your stats are not going to hold you back with a slight bump in the SAT score. The difference maker is going to be your personal statement and your interview (if there is one).

 

[desidp12]

im sure u know about all the 7 years in NJ. Drexel Med School has A LOT of 7 year med programs with colleges as drexel undergrad, villanova, and others. BU has one with UMDNJ. the 7 years in NJ require that u have a 1400 or above in one sitting. u just missed it by 10 points, but im sure u can get it above 1400 in october. u definitely have stellar stats and extracurricular activities. i agree that it will all come down to ur PS and interviews.

i had to go through 3 interviews for my program. i only have one piece of advice. expect ANYTHING....lol. im not trying to scare you but its the truth. i was never asked ONCE why i wanted to be a doctor, ONCE! but i was asked how u make roti.

oh yea.

i did the UMDNJ pre-med honors program, fall 06. i think the one u did is during the spring. it was at newark, right?

i bet gov school was amazing. u prob know my friend, she was at gov school this year as well...sciences. such a small world.

 

[orangeANDgreen]

i had to go through 3 interviews for my program. i only have one piece of advice. expect ANYTHING....lol. im not trying to scare you but its the truth. i was never asked ONCE why i wanted to be a doctor, ONCE! but i was asked how u make roti.

when i was at my interview for miami, they asked me how i would convince a homeless person who did not want to work, to actually go out into the workforce and earn a living...i understand the social aspect of the question but im still trying to see the relevance that has on being a doctor

so desidp12 is right, expect anything at all

 

[TaigaPrincess18]

im sure u know about all the 7 years in NJ. Drexel Med School has A LOT of 7 year med programs with colleges as drexel undergrad, villanova, and others. BU has one with UMDNJ. the 7 years in NJ require that u have a 1400 or above in one sitting. u just missed it by 10 points, but im sure u can get it above 1400 in october. u definitely have stellar stats and extracurricular activities. i agree that it will all come down to ur PS and interviews.

i had to go through 3 interviews for my program. i only have one piece of advice. expect ANYTHING....lol. im not trying to scare you but its the truth. i was never asked ONCE why i wanted to be a doctor, ONCE! but i was asked how u make roti.

oh yea.

i did the UMDNJ pre-med honors program, fall 06. i think the one u did is during the spring. it was at newark, right?

i bet gov school was amazing. u prob know my friend, she was at gov school this year as well...sciences. such a small world.

lol, roti? wow...yeah, I actually didn't do the pre-med honors program...it was more like a string of lectures spread out over the course of 8 weeks (every Wednesday) at the UMDNJ Stratford campus. They referred to it specifically as UMDNJ-SOM Mini-Medical School. I'm looking forward to participating in their medical science academy for the upcoming school year, though. And yes, gov. school was amazing! The only reason why my parents didn't allow me to go to UPenn for their biomedical research program for high school students last summer is because they wanted me to do gov school this summer instead (it was free and not as long). I am so grateful to have had the opportunity, too! who was it that you knew went to gov school, by the way?
also, I was thinking of applying specifically to drew u for their accelerated program...any thoughts? are there alternate programs that i should specifically be considering, given that there is a whole stockpile, and contrary to the opinion of my parents, i cannot possible apply to all of them at once?!

 

[tennisball80]

Hehe nice stats guys

Hope you all can get in !

 

[desidp12]

all the 7 years in jersey are with UMDNJ. if u move forward at the undergrad institutions u apply to in their interviews, u will have only ONE interview at UMDNJ regardless of the number of programs u apply to. be it tcnj, drew, rutgers, boston u, etc. therefore i would concentrate more on the undergrad institutions where YOU would like to go.

as i said before, drexel med has numerous early assurance programs (http://www.drexelmed.edu/Admissions...uranceLinkagePrograms/tabid/2329/Default.aspx)

 

[Dance5257]

Hi I go to a public hs in NJ. I am entering my senior year. Here are my stats:

SAT: 2270--800M, 800W, 670 CR. I plan on retaking this in Oct. to raise my CR score

SAT2s: Chemistry 770
US History 720
Math 2 800
Biology-M 710

Weighted GPA: 93/100
Unweighted GPA: 95/100

By the time I graduate, I will have taken the following APs: Chem (93%), US History (93%), Bio (91%), Stat(93%), Econ, Calc BC, English Language and Comp(90), English Literature and Comp

ECs: Junior States of America-3 yrs (will run for office senior year)
NHS
Spanish Honor Society
Archives
Speech and Debate-2 years
Class Council- 1 year
Girl Scouts since kindergarten--earned Silver Award in 9th grade and will earn gold award this summer (I'm going to help develop a village in India)
Summer Science Scholars Academy at Robert Wood Johnson for 1 summer
Mini Medical School at Robert Wood Johnson
Volunteer at hopital >200 hrs

What are my chances of getting into any 7 year BS/MD program? Some of the ones I am looking at include TCNJ, Boston University, Drexel, and George Washington School of Medicine. Are there any other schools you think I should be looking at?

Thanks =]

 

[CScull]

Dance, why is your unweighted GPA higher than your weighted?

 

[gotmilklol]

I was gunna ask the same question, loll
Why is your weighted lower than your unweighted? (Mixup?)

 

[mathlegend]

Or did you get way lower grades in your weighted classes?

 

[Inter SMED]

Hey, I am a recent high school graduate from CA, who also happens to be an international student. I was accepted to Boston University's Seven-year Liberal Arts Medical Education program (commonly referred to as SMED), and I just wanted to post my stats to add a new perspective.

Valedictorian
GPA Unweighted: 4.0
GPA Weighted: 4.67 (highest available at my high school)
SAT:2300 (all sections) / 1590 (CR and M)
ACT: 36 Composite (36 Eng, 35 M, 35 R, 36 Sci)
SAT Subject Tests:
1. Math IIC: 790
2. Korean with Listening: 800
3. Chemistry: 770
4. Spanish: 780
5. Biology M: 750

EC: Volunteered at local hospital (200+ hours), Received the Volunteer Guild's scholarship award for high school students (from aforementioned hospital), Secretary for the Aerospace Club, Certificate of Merit from National Young Leaders Conference, Distinguished Alumnus for CYLC, Member of Service Club, Was a choir member at Church, played drums at Church band for four years, Member of the National Society of High School scholars, Life Member for California Scholarship Federation, Did Biochemical research at University of Chicago for two summers, Student Counselor, Student Ambassador, and International Student Liaison officer at school.

I was also accepted to the following schools:
Columbia, Vanderbilt, Brown (not PLME, unfortunately), Northwestern University (not HPME), Washington University in St. Louis Tulane U (with full ride), St. John's University (with full ride), UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, Illinois Institute of Technology, Whitworth University.

Interviewed for: Northwestern HPME, Oxford University School of Medicine (the one in England) - rejected from both.

Rejected from: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Duke

If you have any questions about the BU Seven year program, or just want to talk about being an international student/applying to top-tier colleges without going insane, send me a message!

Hope this puts things a little more in perspective. Ciao!

 

[loku]

hey
I am an international student too. I am pursuing bachelors from univ. of mississippi, is there anyway i can get a transfer to bs/md program in BU? any idea?
Thanks

 

[EyEnStein 07]

You guys will m ost likely be considered...ranking 1 is a huge plus..ec's and if essays are good you should be in. 2100 is probably low 25 to mid 50% of the students they take...but anything 2250+ should be good game. Anyways none the less you all who ive read so far have a good chance. Just apply to many...dont just think applying to 1 will get you in..after all they do look for a bit more than GPA and SATs

 

[Inter SMED]

hey
I am an international student too. I am pursuing bachelors from univ. of mississippi, is there anyway i can get a transfer to bs/md program in BU? any idea?
Thanks

Sorry Loku... I went ahead and asked my office (we actually have a small office just for Seven -year Meds, woot), and they said that it is impossible for students from other institutions to transfer into the BS/MD program in BU, although students inside Boston University may apply for a secondary BS/MD program called MMEDIC. However, they also mentioned that the Boston University School of Medicine is one of the more open schools for accepting international students, so the best option would be to try your very best in college, then apply through the conventional route. I am sure that it is the same case with all the other BS/MD programs, such as PLME, HPME, etc. If you have any other questions though, pertaining to the SMED program, please do not hesitate to contact me!