Rosalind Franklin BMS 2011-2012 Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Did anyone hear anything else about the scholarship?
Members don't see this ad.
 
I got into those three programs.
I am trying to go to med school right after these programs.
Which of these programs is the best for me?
especially, for the note that will get me into med school with the highest rate?
 
snipermonkey said:
I got into those three programs.
I am trying to go to med school right after these programs.
Which of these programs is the best for me?
especially, for the note that will get me into med school with the highest rate?
Click to expand...

EVMS is the surest chance of going straight to medical school after the program (85% or about 17/20 students usually matriculate into EVMS).

RFU has a 40-50% linkage rate, with about 20-30 students normally dropping out, leading to almost a 70% matriculation rate to Chicago Medical School.

BU MAMS will really help you if you do the the 2 year track, about 70% of students go on to allopathic school and about 15% go onto osteopathic school.

The surest program for a US MD school right after the program is EVMS. BU MAMS will get you into a wider variety of schools but it will take 2 years.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
bigloley said:
EVMS is the surest chance of going straight to medical school after the program (85% or about 17/20 students usually matriculate into EVMS).

RFU has a 40-50% linkage rate, with about 20-30 students normally dropping out, leading to almost a 70% matriculation rate to Chicago Medical School.

BU MAMS will really help you if you do the the 2 year track, about 70% of students go on to allopathic school and about 15% go onto osteopathic school.

The surest program for a US MD school right after the program is EVMS. BU MAMS will get you into a wider variety of schools but it will take 2 years.
Click to expand...

Main reason I ended up choosing EVMS over RFU. RFU is a great program and it has a strong historical linkage to CMS (plus you get a healthcare track option which was enticing) but (other than facing the harsh midwest winters) it's hard to pass up in-state tuition and strong(er) linkage at EVMS. I also withdrew from RFU so someone can move up off the waitlist. Best of luck to everyone next year! (Regardless of whichever SMP you may choose to enroll in)
 
thanks guys.
I just deposited my check for RFU-BMS, so i am definitely going to RFU.
another question.
i am willing to enter CMS right after the program,
what should be my timeline be?
 
snipermonkey said:
thanks guys.
I just deposited my check for RFU-BMS, so i am definitely going to RFU.
another question.
i am willing to enter CMS right after the program,
what should be my timeline be?
Click to expand...

I think you actually apply this cycle and RF holds your application until your coursework is finished, and then you glide right into CMS (given you get in that is).

I jut sent in my depost and will be going up to visit and such in early June. If anyone is looking for roomates on/around campus, please do let me know. I'd prefer rooming with students in the program
 
thanks.
i need someone to live as well (so far right now)
i applied for on-campus dorming, but they told me iim waitlisted, so
i still need to go to Chitown and look at apartments around the campus.
I am planning to fly there sometime next week and search
and also fly there for the june open house.
:)
 
I'm on a waitlist for a medical school and I just got accepted to this program. Is it ok if I accept the offer of admission here and if I get into med school in the next coming weeks I withdraw my enrollment here?
 
dewgong said:
I'm on a waitlist for a medical school and I just got accepted to this program. Is it ok if I accept the offer of admission here and if I get into med school in the next coming weeks I withdraw my enrollment here?
Click to expand...

absolutely. Thats what I'm doing. Good luck on the waitlist!
 
anyone plan on living in the city and commuting? I found a place 5 minutes away walking distance from the Metra which is roughly a 40 minute commute to campus. Let me know if anyones interested. It's a 3Br max or 2Br and study space, but it should be relatively cheap. $650-700/mo. each if we have 2 or 3 tenants total. [1600 sq. ft., 3Br/2b]
 
I heard that the committee did meet this week.
Anyone had a decision yet?
Will they call, email or mail a letter about their decisions?
 
i was in rfu bms last year and we are waiting on acceptance (or rejection) letters from cms which will come on wednesday.

i chose between rfu and bu mams last year. i shy'd away from evms because I applied late and missed the deadline. bu mams seemed like a huge risk to me.

matriculation has traditionally been 70%, but the competition has gotten a bit stiffer and there have been many more students than last year. I expect that this year acceptance will drop to the 60% range and maybe even lower next year. dropout rate was also very low this year.
 
MD please said:
I know a few people who applied around this time last year and got in (I think possibly wait listed first) but it definitely is a possibility.

good luck
Click to expand...
I applied like a week before the deadline and got in so you might as well just send it.
 
Last edited:
Members don't see this ad :)
plsfoldthx said:
i was in rfu bms last year and we are waiting on acceptance (or rejection) letters from cms which will come on wednesday.

i chose between rfu and bu mams last year. i shy'd away from evms because I applied late and missed the deadline. bu mams seemed like a huge risk to me.

matriculation has traditionally been 70%, but the competition has gotten a bit stiffer and there have been many more students than last year. I expect that this year acceptance will drop to the 60% range and maybe even lower next year. dropout rate was also very low this year.
Click to expand...

Good luck. I hope you will hear the good news soon.
Would u mind sharing your stats (BMS performance, MCAT, etc)?
 
Accepted into CMS. 3.3 gpa in the BMS program. Straight B's in med school courses.
 
Cavallo said:
Good luck. I hope you will hear the good news soon.
Would u mind sharing your stats (BMS performance, MCAT, etc)?
Click to expand...
In BMS med classes straight Bs with an A in physio.. 34r mcat and 3.15 ugpa.. once u get in though, it's all about grades and interview... and if u havent applied yet many people have gotten in with even more modest stats.
 
i called ms. knox
and they said they honor whatever your gpa and MCAT is
so all you have to do is do well in classes.
But my real question is this,
am i still sending applications to other med schools as well
when i apply to CMS via AMCAS?
I know 70% is a pretty high acceptance rate, but it is still not 100%.
Or,
should I think like, if you dont get into CMS, you dont get in to anywhere else?
:(. Im nervous... on whether I should retake the MCAT or not
 
snipermonkey said:
i called ms. knox
and they said they honor whatever your gpa and MCAT is
so all you have to do is do well in classes.
But my real question is this,
am i still sending applications to other med schools as well
when i apply to CMS via AMCAS?
I know 70% is a pretty high acceptance rate, but it is still not 100%.
Or,
should I think like, if you dont get into CMS, you dont get in to anywhere else?
:(. Im nervous... on whether I should retake the MCAT or not
Click to expand...
If you haven't already, apply to medical school concurrently and hurry. Yes, you are applying to CMS for the year directly after bms as well as other schools that may accept you. If they do, you can drop out of the program if you wish. Just try to get straight As in BMS so you'll at least have a good gpa in low chance that you don't get in. That's all I can say... you'll be hard pressed to find some place with a 100% acceptance rate and 70% is very generous imo compared to most other programs.
 
so the 30% drop rate from the program or whatever, thats mainly because people get accepted to some other medical school while in the program?
 
To current or past BMS students, what other medical schools aside from cms have you applied to?

Do you know of any others who opted out of chicago medical school?
 
DancinSarah said:
so the 30% drop rate from the program or whatever, thats mainly because people get accepted to some other medical school while in the program?
Click to expand...
Only like 5 people dropped this year out of about 110+ students.
 
Last edited:
DearScience said:
Accepted into CMS. 3.3 gpa in the BMS program. Straight B's in med school courses.
Click to expand...




Congrats!!!!!!
Do you mind sharing your extracurriculars???
 
Last edited:
rebel1 said:
Congrats!!!!!!
Do you mind sharing your extracurriculars???
Click to expand...

Thanks. Actually, I didn't have any EC's. I just got straight B's in CMCB, Biochem, Med Physio, Neuro, and Topics in Physio. Aced all my track courses.
 
Accepted into CMS!!!

Wonderful feeling!!!

Undergrad stats: 4.0 GPA / 34 M (2nd time after getting 21L)

BMS stats: 4.0 GPA

Future BMSers ask any questions you want...I would be glad to answer them...i'll post my experience later on this week!!

Just a few things...congrats to my fellow BMSer "Dearscience"...i'm suprised with the level of competition they accepted students with a B average. Those who understand what they are getting into will do well, the bottom line is if you belong to med school you will rock this program....CHOOSE HCAM!!! My lowest mark was a 98.8 with very minimal work....don't choose nutrition, women's health or the other ones...if you don't get into HCAM ask Melissa to switch!!
 
Congrats drake!

First of all, I'm not surprised at all that I was accepted w/ a B average regardless of the competition. Second of all, there were only 2 people in the entire BMS program that took nutrition, both of whom were accepted. Probably because they stood out and they took 3 more credit hrs than the rest of the BMS class.

So bottom line, work hard and you'll get in. You don't need stress yourself out if you don't get straight A's, I didn't.
 
drake19 said:
Accepted into CMS!!!

Wonderful feeling!!!

Undergrad stats: 4.0 GPA / 34 M (2nd time after getting 21L)

BMS stats: 4.0 GPA

Future BMSers ask any questions you want...I would be glad to answer them...i'll post my experience later on this week!!

Just a few things...congrats to my fellow BMSer "Dearscience"...i'm suprised with the level of competition they accepted students with a B average. Those who understand what they are getting into will do well, the bottom line is if you belong to med school you will rock this program....CHOOSE HCAM!!! My lowest mark was a 98.8 with very minimal work....don't choose nutrition, women's health or the other ones...if you don't get into HCAM ask Melissa to switch!!
Click to expand...
coulda saved 50 grand and applied directly lol but congrats

btw i got in wooo
 
Any recently graduated BMS students thinking about selling their used books, PM me.

I live in chicago, so can make a transaction fairly quickly.
 
How to get an A in a class for those who are used to studying a couple days before an exam in undergrad

If you have taken upper div biochem, cell bio, physiology, or neuro in undergrad... dont get cocky and study like you've never taken it before. I will admit that I grossly underestimated the amount of material that they present you with for each lecture. Just cause it has a similar name as your undergraduate class does not mean its the same class. Besides I doubt you still remember what Ankyrin is or even the ATP pay off of the TCA cycle is anyways. I know people who didnt even know what a mitochondria was before this program get As and people who have taken this stuff get Bs.

Things I have learned from my experience and watching other students do well. These things might seem obvious if you're normally a good student, but these simple tips really matter for the rest of us ******ed people

LEARN TO STUDY EVERYDAY. This was the most difficult thing for me to do and I finally got the discipline to do it during middle of physiology. I can't stress how important this was for me who had a serious problem with procrastination. You have tests every 2 weeks so it really pounds into you the importance of regularity when it comes to your readings. You get to put your finger in the candle several times before you learn or it burns you.

GO THROUGH YOUR NOTES MORE THAN ONCE. Again, took me more than halfway through physio to realize this, but I was the type of person to just try to understand it the first time and never see it again til the exam. A pretty strong trend I've realized between A students and B students is that A students will read their notes 3+ times.

WATCH LECTURES during mcb and cell bio I almost never went or watched lectures or even looked at slides(!) because of some random advice i heard on this board. As a result I B'd both classes. I think this is especially important for biochem. Also, there is a ton of information for each test and lectures help you navigate through what's most important.

DO PRACTICE EXAMS especially for physio! Remember that you will probably want to have studied all the material for the exam before you do this and you will only have a couple days to do it!

$50,000 DOLLARS think about how long it will take to pay that off as well as the opportunity cost of one year.

This last year until now has been sorta surreal and I still can't believe I managed to get in with a 3.0-3.1 sgpa. It's like some strange magic wormhole that teleports you to medical school in a year.
 
Last edited:
Hey! Congrats fellow new M1a's drake19, plsfoldthx and DearScience! Like DearScience I did straight up B's in the med school courses and still got in. I did some EC work while I was there though, there's a lot of opportunities for outreach programs. I did opthalmology glaucoma screenings, went to Executive Student Council meetings to name a few.

But future BMSers, just come in knowing you're going to work hard. Don't get caught up in the rumor mill! It's a stressful year in itself, time you spend worrying about getting into CMS is time you could use studying to get an A on that exam. That's not to say you can't go out and have fun once in a while or socialize :)

Plsfoldthx's post is legit in terms of how to succeed in the program, but just remember that there are different strategies for everyone! Good luck BMSers and see you in August!

stats:
uGPA: 3.25/25Q (lol eff you, Physical sciences)
graduate GPA (I have an MS): 3.50
BMS: 3.30
 
I wish we'd get roommate assignments for student housing sooner than 2-3 weeks before move in. I'd start sucking up to relatives for furniture if I knew what i needed :)
 
Someone PMed me with this msg

When you applied to AMCAS this past cycle did you put your BMS courses under "courses taken" or mention that you were a BMS student? Thanks

What I did was add the courses that I was going to take in the BMS program.

I'm not sure how important that is to make sure it is accurate for CMS - it may be important for other schools that you have the accurate course information there. Because originally I was put in the education track and I listed all the education track courses I was goign to take. HOwever I ended up switching to HCAM. On my AMCAS however were still the education track courses and I never changed it...anyways to make a long story short just make sure you indicate all the medical school courses and topics in physio (which you will be taking for sure). I believe there is an option to indicate that it will be a future/incomplete course.

You don't have to tell them you are a BMS student, they have it on record. I believe they have a list they go through when handing out interview invites, etc.
 
Contras to all the accepted students M1s.
If possible it would be a great help for many of us BMSers who r working on their AMCAS app to know if you guys did apply to other schools than CMS and if so which ones could be a way to go?
P.S. CMS is the Forsaken place to me, but to have a safety net is always a good plan B.

Thanks guys.
 
Cavallo said:
Contras to all the accepted students M1s.
If possible it would be a great help for many of us BMSers who r working on their AMCAS app to know if you guys did apply to other schools than CMS and if so which ones could be a way to go?
P.S. CMS is the Forsaken place to me, but to have a safety net is always a good plan B.

Thanks guys.
Click to expand...

Secondly, I would suggest you apply to your state school only. If you decide to apply to multiple schools, be careful how many you apply because our schedule is set so that you have exams every 2 weeks. Having all those interviews during a biweekly exam schedule could be very hectic.

Third, the only CMS course that finishes before March is cell biology. Biochem starts in August but there is a hiatus till March. Physio and Neuroscience finish in april and may respectively. So you won't have any course marks avaialable really excpet for MCB and your track courses. I'm not sure how that will fare for the med schools you apply to.

Lastly, if you can't get into CMS ...don't dream of any other school because CMS is by far the best chance you will ever get. This school was quite generous to me b/c my 34 M MCAT mark arrived after I finished my AMCAS. So they only saw my 21L MCAT score...I did get straight As and a 4.0 in undergrad so that may have compensated for the low MCAT score. So your MCAT / uGPA probably doesn't matter that much once you get into the program, because I got in with a 21L...what is most important is your CMS grades.

i'm suprised they accepted so many straight B students...with our schedule (VERY VERY LIGHT COMPARED TO THE M1s), every BMS student should be getting straight As no excuses...but that's just me...
 
Last edited:
i guess it sucks then :(
i am a green card holder as well
but i was going to apply to other state school as well.
:(
im so stressed, i finished my AMCAS application but did not choose which school to send the application to..
hELP!
 
Being a Green card holder ( permanent resident), should not effect your application at all. Schools care about International students who are not guaranteed to stay in this country or they cant receive loans to pay for the tuition when they are just on a visa.
 
Congrats Drake19! How did u manage a 34 on your MCAT after an initial score of 21? Do you mind sharing how you studied, how long u studied or what you did differently?

Thanks
drake19 said:
I never applied to another school because first off I am only a permanent resident / green card holder (not a U.S. Citizen).

Secondly, I would suggest you apply to your state school only. If you decide to apply to multiple schools, be careful how many you apply because our schedule is set so that you have exams every 2 weeks. Having all those interviews during a biweekly exam schedule could be very hectic.

Third, the only CMS course that finishes before March is cell biology. Biochem starts in August but there is a hiatus till March. Physio and Neuroscience finish in april and may respectively. So you won't have any course marks avaialable really excpet for MCB and your track courses. I'm not sure how that will fare for the med schools you apply to.

Lastly, if you can't get into CMS ...don't dream of any other school because CMS is by far the best chance you will ever get. This school was quite generous to me b/c my 34 M MCAT mark arrived after I finished my AMCAS. So they only saw my 21L MCAT score...I did get straight As and a 4.0 in undergrad so that may have compensated for the low MCAT score. So your MCAT / uGPA probably doesn't matter that much once you get into the program, because I got in with a 21L...what is most important is your CMS grades.

i'm suprised they accepted so many straight B students...with our schedule (VERY VERY LIGHT COMPARED TO THE M1s), every BMS student should be getting straight As no excuses...but that's just me...
Click to expand...
 
A PM I got...

Are the classes recorded via podcast or a video? Are there slides that are uploaded the night before the lecture? If so are this for all the classes or just some?

I am thinking of getting either an iPad or a Macbook. Any thoughts on whats better?


The lectures are recorded with video and uploaded on itunes for you to download. I guess that means they are a podcast. Lecture slides I believe for all classes were uploaded well in advance before class (for most courses). The only class where lecture slides weren't available before class was Dr. Glucksman's (biochem) lecture slides. I believe he was the only prof who did this because he said in class he wanted to give us the most "fresh" stuff.

On another note...for biochem just memorize the lecture slides and annotate/add your own notes from watching the lecture recordings. I don't think there was any instance during the year where there were exam questions only from the notes. For the first exam I focused mostly on the notes they provided rather than the lecture slides and did not get a great mark...after the first test, I disregarded the notes (glanced quickly through them or never looked at them) and just went with lecture slides and notes I had annotated from watching lecture recordings.

Regarding ipad/ macbook...I would go with a computer with powerpoint, so you can type notes. To be honest I stopped going regularly to lectures after feburary and I always hand written my notes while watching the lecture recordings. But if you like taking notes in class I suggest any comp with ppt so you can type quickly. Regarding the ipad, I have no opinion on that..
 
How did u manage a 34 on your MCAT after an initial score of 21? Do you mind sharing how you studied, how long u studied or what you did differently?

The first time I wrote, I was taking 2 summer courses and I was not really focused. I also did mostly content review rather than writing the practice tests. I think the key to doing well on the MCAT is lots of practice exams because the discrete questions test your knowledge but the passage questions test your application and just doing content review doesn't help really with the passage questions.

Just a side note, I think the MCAT does not accurately reflect one's ability to do well in medical school...b/c in my opinion MCAT tests more your ability to apply knowledge and think quickly. Sometimes you also need some luck to do well.
 
drake19 said:
How did u manage a 34 on your MCAT after an initial score of 21? Do you mind sharing how you studied, how long u studied or what you did differently?

The first time I wrote, I was taking 2 summer courses and I was not really focused. I also did mostly content review rather than writing the practice tests. I think the key to doing well on the MCAT is lots of practice exams because the discrete questions test your knowledge but the passage questions test your application and just doing content review doesn't help really with the passage questions.

Just a side note, I think the MCAT does not accurately reflect one's ability to do well in medical school...b/c in my opinion MCAT tests more your ability to apply knowledge and think quickly. Sometimes you also need some luck to do well.
Click to expand...
Practice tests. Practice tests. It's a lot like a game... like speed chess where the clock is breathing down on you.
My practice test scores in order: 21, 25, 30, 32, 34
Actual score: 34
 
drake19 said:
i'm suprised they accepted so many straight B students...with our schedule (VERY VERY LIGHT COMPARED TO THE M1s), every BMS student should be getting straight As no excuses...but that's just me...
Click to expand...
Why? They did it last year.

Anyways I think if you're scoring high Bs throughout the program, that's good enough for medical school.
 
More tips:
-If you get a high B, you can ask the course director for a letter to the admissions commitee your percentage grade. There is a rumor from Pullen that they are looking into percentage systems for judging BMS students. I haven't used it but I think if you're gonna get a letter, do it wisely because then they're gonna assume all other Bs without letters are low Bs.
-If you can be consistent about watching lectures and are not a morning person, then watch them. It is very tempting to skip class because the lectures are recorded and it is very easy to put off watching several days of lecture. Then you have to watch them all at once... which can be verrrry depressing. I've definitely been there.
-Expect to meet a diverse crowd... some people don't know what a mitochondria is and one even had a phd.
-Don't be pretentious about the material. The difficulty of the material is in some cases much less than in upper div undergrad classes, but there is a lottttttt of material you need to get down if you want an A. If you want a B, not so much.
-It's a small school... watch what you do and where you do it.
-Don't expect everything to be the same this year as the previous two years. There were many changes in our curriculum from the previous year's.
-Disease names were a b*tch for me to remember because many of them have names that have nothing to do with the condition... Ehler's-Danlo syndrome? Perinaud's?
-Don't be stingy for things you will need for studying. Need a pair of Bose noisecancelling headphones? A large desk? Spend the money to make studying more bearable cause you're going to be doing a lot of it.
-You will never find an opportunity like this one to get into medical school and is truly one of the best kept secrets in admissions. Don't **** this up.
 
Last edited:
drake19 said:
i'm suprised they accepted so many straight B students...with our schedule (VERY VERY LIGHT COMPARED TO THE M1s), every BMS student should be getting straight As no excuses...but that's just me...
Click to expand...

I'm very surprised whoever interviewed you didn't catch on to your arrogance..You come off as condescending to your future classmates who actually worked very hard this past year...But that's just me...
 
plsfoldthx said:
More tips:
-It's a small school... watch what you do and where you do it.
-You will never find an opportunity like this one to get into medical school and is truly one of the best kept secrets in admissions. Don't **** this up.
Click to expand...

A+ Word travels fast in a little school like CMS. Big Brother is always watching

And definitely don't take BMS for granted, it's a great program and if you do well you'll be taken care of.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

S
Rosalind Franklin University Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (BMS) Program
Replies
1
Views
488
Sia Jonas
Sia Jonas
A
Rosalind Franklin University SMP
Replies
1
Views
1K
Goro
Goro
Y
Bluefield SMP vs Rosalind Franklin MS
Replies
1
Views
642
Dochopeful13
D
S
BMS Rosalind Franklin
Replies
0
Views
938
Startingover123
S
carrot1868
Rosalind Franklin BMS 2022-2023
Replies
4
Views
2K
TonySoprano
TonySoprano
Top