Tufts MBS 2010-2011 Thread

[klmnop]

nope, but i'm sure if you email [email protected] she would be able to help you

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[cormorant1]

I am only stating that the top 20% at tufts get automatic interviews, and going by statistics and PROBABILITY, if you are rocking a 4.0 in one of their programs, you are going to be accepted into that program.

Most of the students in the 2008-2009 Tufts MBS who qualified for the automatic interview just got the thumbs down from the TUSM admissions committee. I am talking about people who finished the program w/ GPA's north of 3.8. The SMP students who do get accepted usually have pretty good stats from undergrad.

What is a better gauge of if you can handle the medical school curriculum than actually going through that curriculum?

Logical point of view but has no bearing on reality. SMPs are a relatively new phenomenon and adcoms just do not take SMP GPA's that seriously.

 

[jslo85]

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know if Tufts MBS program give out need base scholarships or grants or is it strictly different form of loans?

Does any postbac program give out need base schoalrship or grants?

Thanks

You should apply for the

"Alvar Gustafson Fellowship for Kids Who can Read Good and Can Do Other Things Good Too"

I'm sorry but is this a real fellowship??

observe

[YOUTUBE]7ffj8SHrbk0[/YOUTUBE]

Yea... I guess I am not much of a movie person or a person with a sense of humor. Thanks for not really answering my question but answering it with a inappropriate response. But whatever its just how people are on these forums I guess and please refrains yourselves from responding back to me because i am past this response.

Some people don't like humor, I guess. Stick up your butt, eh?

Tay33, I guess you failed to read the ending of my message. I didn't ask for your personal opinion and personally would like for you to not respond to me "trying" to educate me on what your opinion was to a response that I did not like. But since I can anticipate you still responding back to my message I will go ahead and tell you that I still do not care for any future responses you may give me.

Thanks in advance

I say this in all seriousness: good luck with med-school interviews and building rapport with your interviewer. You have the personality of a hangnail.

And in all seriousness I see why people are seriously turned off from these forums. You do not even personally know me but seem to insult my personality because I did not like a response to your message which was not even funny at all. But hey apparently I wont get into med school because I don't have a sense of humor or know how to take a joke. But once again I personally do not care what you think of me because I actually have GREAT interviewing skills.

Ok klmnop you need to get a life because no one was talking to you Mr. I respond to every thread on SDN every five minutes. Why wont you get your own student doctor forum since you apparently do not do anything else all day besides respond to things..

I guess you didn't find that funny now did you???

Wow. I apparently have been looking in my boredom at all the wrong threads. This was one of the most entertaining reads that I have seen in this part of the forum.

 

[klmnop]

haha, that was a fun day

 

[tay33]

Yeah I think we've got ourselves a future anesthesiologist. She'll be knocking out pt.'s in no time with her engaging personality.

 

[somedaydoc13]

officially sent my deposit in today! although it was a tough choice between Tufts and BU

 

[docmetal]

hey everyone. Been lurking for a while and just got accepted to tufts mbs and cincy and now I don't know which to pick. I know the success rate for tufts hasn't been established yet but it seems like few people are having luck with tufts med. Given my lackluster undergrad stats which school would give me a better reapplication? (More interviews)

 

[cormorant1]

I know the success rate for tufts hasn't been established yet but it seems like few people are having luck with tufts med.

Don't go to Tufts MBS expecting to get into TUSM. That is the carrot they dangle in front of you (in the form of "guaranteed interviews") to get you to matriculate. In reality, they only take about 7 or so from each MBS class of 100 (though they'll often interview as much as 50% of the class). Go back and read this thread...

 

[jslo85]

If you wanted a "linkage" back to the medical school, UCinn out of your two options is a far better pick. Comorant is right but I don't feel that it's really the carrot on a stick analogy but more so of an added on the side incentive. Tufts does have a reputation on getting their students into medical school at a substantial percentage.

If you're looking at programs that are strongly favored to sending their own students back into their own medical school, off the top of my head I would say EVMS MedMasters, UCinn, Tulane ACP, and Temple.

 

[kris37]

Most of the students in the 2008-2009 Tufts MBS who qualified for the automatic interview just got the thumbs down from the TUSM admissions committee. I am talking about people who finished the program w/ GPA's north of 3.8. The SMP students who do get accepted usually have pretty good stats from undergrad.


Logical point of view but has no bearing on reality. SMPs are a relatively new phenomenon and adcoms just do not take SMP GPA's that seriously.

I disagree.

I finished Tufts MBS with a 3.93 and got into Tufts Med for next year. I also had beyond terrible (embarrassingly low) stats from undergrad. During this interview season, all the schools seemed to take my SMP GPA very seriously.

 

[drizzt3117]

I disagree.

I finished Tufts MBS with a 3.93 and got into Tufts Med for next year. I also had beyond terrible (embarrassingly low) stats from undergrad. During this interview season, all the schools seemed to take my SMP GPA very seriously.

Did you do the program last year?

I also think it's pretty school dependent. That said, if you're getting a 4.0 or close at a reputable smp you'll get into med school somewhere, pretty much guaranteed.

Also 3.93 is what, all As/honors except one or two classes? I have to imagine if that's not the highest gpa in your given class, it's pretty close.

 

[IntelInside]

I disagree.

I finished Tufts MBS with a 3.93 and got into Tufts Med for next year. I also had beyond terrible (embarrassingly low) stats from undergrad. During this interview season, all the schools seemed to take my SMP GPA very seriously.

how many interviews did you get and what were your undergrad/MCAT stats if you dont mind

 

[cormorant1]

I disagree.

I finished Tufts MBS with a 3.93 and got into Tufts Med for next year. I also had beyond terrible (embarrassingly low) stats from undergrad. During this interview season, all the schools seemed to take my SMP GPA very seriously.

Congrats. If you are who I think you are based on your name, you deserve it But how many MBS'ers from your class will be attending with you? I'm guessing it'll be only a fraction, probably just 7 or 8 out of the ~95 who applied.

As for the usefulness of a SMP GPA, I got the feeling from talking to other interviewees that a 4.0 uGPA from a community college was more desirable in the eyes of medical admissions committees than a 3.0 uGPA from a liberal arts college and a 4.0 SMP GPA.

 

[somedaydoc13]

does anyone know anything about the fitness facilities at tufts... is there anything at the med school?

 

[cormorant1]

does anyone know anything about the fitness facilities at tufts... is there anything at the med school?

Yup, there is an awesome gym in the basement of the main medical school building. It's literally a 40 second walk from the room where you'll have most of your classes.

Right now it's only open to students (i.e., MBS, MD, PhD, etc.). However on my interview tour, one of the guides rather ominously mentioned that "a lot of med students have been complaining about how crowded the gym gets, and we will restrict it to medical students only if it gets worse"

 

[drizzt3117]

Congrats. If you are who I think you are based on your name, you deserve it But how many MBS'ers from your class will be attending with you? I'm guessing it'll be only a fraction, probably just 7 or 8 out of the ~95 who applied.

As for the usefulness of a SMP GPA, I got the feeling from talking to other interviewees that a 4.0 uGPA from a community college was more desirable in the eyes of medical admissions committees than a 3.0 uGPA from a liberal arts college and a 4.0 SMP GPA.

If you substitute "random state school" for community college and both candidates had equivalent MCATs then you're absolutely right. I'm not sure I would disagree with that decision though.

 

[KYIAmed]

Hey everyone. I will will be declining my acceptance today so that should free up a spot. Good Luck

 

[flicka19]

Does anyone know if people ever get off the waitlist before July 15???? That is pretty late in the game to find out...

thx

I wouldn't count on it, at least not before July 15th. I spoke with Emily Keily (the director of admissions). And she said that she doesn't know when she would be looking at the waitlist again, but that it would not be before July 15th. And she told me that last year she was calling people the day before orientation.

If you have another acceptance, I would go with that.

 

[gujuDoc]

Congrats. If you are who I think you are based on your name, you deserve it But how many MBS'ers from your class will be attending with you? I'm guessing it'll be only a fraction, probably just 7 or 8 out of the ~95 who applied.

As for the usefulness of a SMP GPA, I got the feeling from talking to other interviewees that a 4.0 uGPA from a community college was more desirable in the eyes of medical admissions committees than a 3.0 uGPA from a liberal arts college and a 4.0 SMP GPA.

Obviously a 4.0 in ugrad GPA is more desirable then a low ugrad and high grad GPA, but for those in that situation, SMPs are their way of proving they can do it. That's why they exist besides the function of making money for a school.

 

[ThePedro]

Hi All,

I began filling out my AMCAS app today. Anybody have any idea where to fill in the information and coursework for the MBS program? Plugging it in to the 'colleges' section does not allow you to select TUSM, only Tufts University. It then allows you to enter a graduate degree in biomedical sciences and future coursework. Is this the correct procedure?

Thanks,

Pete

 

[somedaydoc13]

Hi All,

I began filling out my AMCAS app today. Anybody have any idea where to fill in the information and coursework for the MBS program? Plugging it in to the 'colleges' section does not allow you to select TUSM, only Tufts University. It then allows you to enter a graduate degree in biomedical sciences and future coursework. Is this the correct procedure?

Thanks,

Pete

I was doing this too... when you enter Tufts you can only select Tuft University but there is a spot to correct the name of the school so I did that. Did you list course numbers or just the names of the core courses as shown on the MBS website?

 

[cormorant1]

If you substitute "random state school" for community college and both candidates had equivalent MCATs then you're absolutely right. I'm not sure I would disagree with that decision though.

Can you explain why? I am curious about your reasoning

 

[docmetal]

I made my choice and I will be attending tufts in august.

If it helps anyone else, here's my reasoning.

Although uc is a great school, cincinnati is a dump. It seems like the majority of uc grads stay there or go to another ohio school. Ohio residency law makes it a great setup to go an ohio school. That said, I absolutely do not want to spend potentially 5 years in ohio.

As far as cost, uc tuition is 30,400. Tufts is about 34,000. Not much difference there. Cincy rent is around 600 for 1br. Boston is around 700 (with roommates). Commute cost is negligible.

The mph option during the gap year gives me something to do and a backup degree with career options.

Finally, I really like clam chowder.

See you all there in august! (Unless I get into tulane acp, then forget about it!)

 

[drizzt3117]

Can you explain why? I am curious about your reasoning

Because that candidate give no reason to suspect they wouldn't succeed in med school, they got all As in undergrad, you can't do better than that *shrug* given the fact they got the same mcat score, you have to figure they're equivalent candidates anyways. Med schools feel the same way, though. If you attended a ransom state school like, idk, San Diego State and got a 4.0, and a 35 MCAT, you'd be interviewing at and getting into top 10 programs while a 3.0 cgpa 4.0 SMP 35 mcat student would bw happy getting I to their host program.

 

[klmnop]

Because that candidate give no reason to suspect they wouldn't succeed in med school, they got all As in undergrad, you can't do better than that *shrug* given the fact they got the same mcat score, you have to figure they're equivalent candidates anyways. Med schools feel the same way, though. If you attended a ransom state school like, idk, San Diego State and got a 4.0, and a 35 MCAT, you'd be interviewing at and getting into top 10 programs while a 3.0 cgpa 4.0 SMP 35 mcat student would bw happy getting I to their host program.

Just for the sake of argument, you didn't quite explain why one might be chosen over the other.

While UGrad candidate gave no reason why they could not handle a med school curriculum, SMP candidate actually proved they could handle the curriculum.

I've thought about this briefly over the last few weeks as I mull over my pending SMP commencement (not in the graduating sense). As ridiculous as the process and cost for medical education already is in the united states, to me it seems that a school should look more favorably on a student that has been thrown into a medical school-like environment and proven themselves, over a student that got a 4.0 taking lord knows what classes at a school that gives extra credit on final exams. Because undergraduate schools are variant in quality of professors, education, and grading schemata, if I were an adcom I would favor something more standardized such as proven medical school coursework.

Now I don't see it happening in the near future where a degree from an SMP-granting institution puts students at the front of the line, thus making it an unofficial prerequisite, although it would be interesting if one of the SMP-granting institutions required an initial 5th year to fully 'prepare' students.

Just a though, definitely won't happen though.

 

[drizzt3117]

Just for the sake of argument, you didn't quite explain why one might be chosen over the other.

While UGrad candidate gave no reason why they could not handle a med school curriculum, SMP candidate actually proved they could handle the curriculum.

They showed they can handle it for one year. Med school is four years, and the next two are orders of magnitude harder than the first. The SMP student for the most part already failed before, what's to say they won't do it again?

 

[klmnop]

They showed they can handle it for one year. Med school is four years, and the next two are orders of magnitude harder than the first. The SMP student for the most part already failed before, what's to say they won't do it again?

Yeah I understand this, but there obviously no way to prove someone can handle 4 years of anything, especially with escalating rigor. But it is definitely more than the Ugrad has proven. Is it not true (in general, not including your MIT) that M2 is harder than M1 is harder than SMP is harder than Ugrad, not to mention each curriculum respectively is more akin to the material used in your future profession.

3.0 is different then failed, but true, there is nothing to say they wouldn't do it again... just as there is nothing to say they might have another bad 4 years. to make a shotty comparison.... mlb hs draftpicks are rarely thrown into the majors without spending at least a year or two in the minors, developing and proving themselves. Now, I'm pretty sure an mlb team would choose to call up a former mediocre high school pitcher with a 2.0 era and a 12-3 record in AAA minors, vs. a state champion HS phenom with 4 no-hitters against 180-lb 18 year-olds in suburban Delaware.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't quite understand the full logic.

 

[cormorant1]

They showed they can handle it for one year. Med school is four years, and the next two are orders of magnitude harder than the first. The SMP student for the most part already failed before, what's to say they won't do it again?

-The SMP student "failed" in undergrad but succeed in 1st year medical school.

-The straight-from-undergrad student succeeded in undergrad, but just has neither succeeded nor failed yet with medical school curriculum.

I can see how this would put traditional applicants in a better position relative to SMP students... however I'll be curious to see how the statistics on SMP student success in medical school play out over the next few years.

Thanks for discussing this, I'm sure it will be an important topic to bring up in interviews.

 

[jslo85]

This is a very interesting argument.

I can see Drizzt's point of view and can/do believe that an Adcom will view it in the same fashion but from a pre-med's point of view who has gone through the actual classes and have heard from enough friends in SMPs, I can't help but acknowledge Klmnop's thoughts as well.

Though this serves zero purpose/isn't even an accurate example, I can probably liken what Drizzt is saying to NBA teams selecting high prospect draft picks out of college instead of pulling D-League stars. Yes the college players haven't had the opportunity to experience higher-tier play but they have shown a pristine track record in excelling in the tougher leagues whereas D-league stars do excel but they have never shown great promise to be drafted early in the first place. (Sorry was looking at my fantasy Keeper league and ESPN boxscores of the SA/PHX game while skimming SDN)

Inwardly, I do hope that Klmnop's viewpoint does come true in the future though I do not see it realistically happening. SMPs have "evolved" to the point where the classes that they take are virtually identical in many programs to the MS1 class and are also exposed to the environment/faculty which allows the med school administration to treat it more or less like a year long interview. This may or may not be true depending on the class size/program structure but I do feel that SMP students offer many advantages that students applying traditionally straight after graduation lack or have not had a chance to display. It may only be osteopathic programs but from correspondances with KCOM admissions/faculty, they treat their program with pride in matriculating virtually the entire MBS class in all the years that it's been in existence because their two years of experience has made them a superior candidate. They were even able to convince the school to keep costs at an abnormally low tuition for the sole reason that the program had a proven record of churning out great medical students who performed better than the average KCOM MS1. Even Touro-NV's admissions director said that successful graduates of the M.H.S program had compelling stats after completing the program that made it an easy decision to accept them into the Fall class. I will be the first to admit that they only accept 8-10 students each though.

Oh well carry on! (back to browsing SBNation)

 

[klmnop]

This is a very interesting argument.

I can see Drizzt's point of view and can/do believe that an Adcom will view it in the same fashion but from a pre-med's point of view who has gone through the actual classes and have heard from enough friends in SMPs, I can't help but acknowledge Klmnop's thoughts as well.

Though this serves zero purpose/isn't even an accurate example, I can probably liken what Drizzt is saying to NBA teams selecting high prospect draft picks out of college instead of pulling D-League stars. Yes the college players haven't had the opportunity to experience higher-tier play but they have shown a pristine track record in excelling in the tougher leagues whereas D-league stars do excel but they have never shown great promise to be drafted early in the first place. (Sorry was looking at my fantasy Keeper league and ESPN boxscores of the SA/PHX game while skimming SDN)

Inwardly, I do hope that Klmnop's viewpoint does come true in the future though I do not see it realistically happening. SMPs have "evolved" to the point where the classes that they take are virtually identical in many programs to the MS1 class and are also exposed to the environment/faculty which allows the med school administration to treat it more or less like a year long interview. This may or may not be true depending on the class size/program structure but I do feel that SMP students offer many advantages that students applying traditionally straight after graduation lack or have not had a chance to display. Oh well carry on! (back to browsing SBNation)

Haha, well put. I thought about using the NBA for my example first, but then I thought of all the marquee players that came straight from high school (even though for every non-college grad there are 30x as many college grads and 5x as many 'stars', ie. bird, magic, wilt, mj, ai, shaq, wade, carmelo...the list goes on... compared to lbj, dwight, kobe, garnett and some others)

anyway, i also thought of nfl but there really is only one route into the nfl, and d2 superstars rarely outshine d1 avg. (ie, random state school 4.0 vs. prestigious 3.0)

wow, such digression...back to tufts

any of you former/current mbs-ers know when you have to decide to do an MPH, as in... can it be done with a gap year after the MBS... probably not.

Also, am I correct in assuming the MBS offers interview assistance other than simply random tips from an advisor.

 

[drizzt3117]

Ppl go by what they know, which is ug grades and mcat, and since mcat is equivalent... We all know for the purposes of med school that straight Bs isn't going to cut it.

Yeah I understand this, but there obviously no way to prove someone can handle 4 years of anything, especially with escalating rigor. But it is definitely more than the Ugrad has proven. Is it not true (in general, not including your MIT) that M2 is harder than M1 is harder than SMP is harder than Ugrad, not to mention each curriculum respectively is more akin to the material used in your future profession.

3.0 is different then failed, but true, there is nothing to say they wouldn't do it again... just as there is nothing to say they might have another bad 4 years. to make a shotty comparison.... mlb hs draftpicks are rarely thrown into the majors without spending at least a year or two in the minors, developing and proving themselves. Now, I'm pretty sure an mlb team would choose to call up a former mediocre high school pitcher with a 2.0 era and a 12-3 record in AAA minors, vs. a state champion HS phenom with 4 no-hitters against 180-lb 18 year-olds in suburban Delaware.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't quite understand the full logic.

 

[Cali Anteater]

Right now it's only open to students (i.e., MBS, MD, PhD, etc.). However on my interview tour, one of the guides rather ominously mentioned that "a lot of med students have been complaining about how crowded the gym gets, and we will restrict it to medical students only if it gets worse"

Hey guys - I'm going to graduating from Tufts with an MBS/MPH in a couple weeks and I served as the Student Senate President this year (which represents MPH and MBS amongst other degree programs). I can tell you for a fact that the gym will NEVER be restricted to just med students. There is no way that med students could support the gym through their fees alone and the med school admin know its a battle they could never win to restrict to just med students. So no worries - the gym will stay open to all on the Boston campus.

Also - I wanted to give you guys an update on the admissions status for MBS straight from the Director of Admissions in order to clear up any rumors. Currently approx 40 spots remain in the program which means they are still ACTIVELY REVIEWING any new apps. It is true that if you have been WL - then you might not be looked at till July 15th. Averages so far this year have been:
MCAT - 28.4 and GPA - 3.33. REMEMBER THESE ARE JUST AVERAGES!!!!


Hope the info helps.

 

[klmnop]

great stuff

 

[docmetal]

Great info cali thanks. I have a couple questions for you.

What is the tuition for the mph?

Do mbs students have access to the medford campus gym? Is it cheaper or safer to live in medford and commute?

How are the students graded? Are there mult choice exams or essay? If essay, are the professors fair in their grading? Also is there a curve and is it based on the med student grades? Just needed clarification because a previous post stated grades were based on mbs class avg.

Do you know anyone that has not completed the program with a >3.5 gpa? How have they fared with admissions?

Sorry to be a pain, thanks for all your help.

 

[Cali Anteater]

Great info cali thanks. I have a couple questions for you.

What is the tuition for the mph?

Just under $50,000 for base tuition

Do mbs students have access to the medford campus gym? Is it cheaper or safer to live in medford and commute?

Yes, all Boston students have access to the Medford gym. It may be cheaper to live in Medford but safety really is not a huge concern in the Boston area unless you are talking about some parts of South and East Boston. The admissions office with the student senate has set up a housing network for students this year. If you are accepted and would like to be apart of this housing network (e.g. looking for roommates/places) - please contact the admissions office.

How are the students graded? Are there mult choice exams or essay? If essay, are the professors fair in their grading? Also is there a curve and is it based on the med student grades? Just needed clarification because a previous post stated grades were based on mbs class avg.

Except for Molecular Bio and Intro to Clinical, all exams are MC. I'd say for the essay exams - profs/TAs look for key words and as long as you hit those key words, you are fine. Curve is based on the MBS class. Typically 50% get As/A-s and the other 50% get B+s/Bs. Cs are only given out if somebody is an extreme outlyer (e.g. 2SD below the mean).

Do you know anyone that has not completed the program with a >3.5 gpa? How have they fared with admissions?

Sorry to be a pain, thanks for all your help.

Remember the 3.5 GPA is simply a measure of the MBS program. When you apply, you will still be looked at as an entire applicant. Typically, the lower your UG GPA is, the higher your MBS GPA better be. And no matter what, everybody's MCAT is expected to be decent (28 and above). But again, think of it as sliding scale. Clearly, maximizing the MBS GPA is the goal and I'd say those that typically did not get in either had below a 3.5 and/or did not have a decent enough of an MCAT given their UG GPA.

 

[IntelInside]

For someone who has a cGPA of 3.43 and a sGPA of 3.58 with an mcat of 32O does Tufts recommend applying during the SMP year and if so how would you indicate that you are participating in the program on AMCAS and does Tufts give the students opportunities to shadow some Tufts Alumni?

 

[alohakaoha]

This thread has been pretty quiet lately. I was complete here on 4/1 and still haven't heard anything, though I guess I still have 2 more weeks to go on their 6-8 week window that Tara Risi told me about.

I got into RFU's BMS program so I still have somewhere to go, but Tufts is my #1.

 

[klmnop]

This thread has been pretty quiet lately. I was complete here on 4/1 and still haven't heard anything, though I guess I still have 2 more weeks to go on their 6-8 week window that Tara Risi told me about.

I got into RFU's BMS program so I still have somewhere to go, but Tufts is my #1.

currently approx 40 spots remain in the program which means they are still ACTIVELY REVIEWING any new apps.

Apparently there's still plenty of time.
GL, hope to see you there.

 

[Cali Anteater]

This thread has been pretty quiet lately. I was complete here on 4/1 and still haven't heard anything, though I guess I still have 2 more weeks to go on their 6-8 week window that Tara Risi told me about.

I got into RFU's BMS program so I still have somewhere to go, but Tufts is my #1.

Yes 6-8 weeks is a good window. The app has to go through two reviews (admissions office and MBS committee) and the faculty director just got back from vacation on Monday. So stay patient - as I said about 40 spots still remain.

 

[klmnop]

Yes 6-8 weeks is a good window. The app has to go through two reviews (admissions office and MBS committee) and the faculty director just got back from vacation on Monday. So stay patient - as I said about 40 spots still remain.

what an awful time for a vacation, leaving kids' futures in the balance
whatever though, we all need breaks

 

[RogueUnicorn]

-The SMP student "failed" in undergrad but succeed in 1st year medical school.

-The straight-from-undergrad student succeeded in undergrad, but just has neither succeeded nor failed yet with medical school curriculum.

I can see how this would put traditional applicants in a better position relative to SMP students... however I'll be curious to see how the statistics on SMP student success in medical school play out over the next few years.

Thanks for discussing this, I'm sure it will be an important topic to bring up in interviews.

this is really here nor there, but supposedly, there are more AOA members out of the ~20 kids from the BU MAMS program that attend BUSM each year than the rest of the student body combined.

 

[klmnop]

this is really here nor there, but supposedly, there are more AOA members out of the ~20 kids from the BU MAMS program that attend BUSM each year than the rest of the student body combined.

maybe it was the wording, but i didn't understand what you meant

 

[RogueUnicorn]

most of the AOA members coming out of BUSM are BU MAMS kids, despite being outnumbered 8:1

edit: just to be clear, it's not as if i've personally sifted through the names and data. i've been told this directly by a faculty member heavily involved in the MAMS program as well as BU admissions

 

[klmnop]

most of the AOA members coming out of BUSM are BU MAMS kids, despite being outnumbered 8:1

oh oh, alpha omega... i was really confused, thought you were talking about american osteopathic assoc. which didn't make any sense

thats actually very interesting

 

[Crisco]

I've actually heard this too, from multiple sources.

 

[gujuDoc]

most of the AOA members coming out of BUSM are BU MAMS kids, despite being outnumbered 8:1

edit: just to be clear, it's not as if i've personally sifted through the names and data. i've been told this directly by a faculty member heavily involved in the MAMS program as well as BU admissions

I wonder if this is because they have seen the information for first year at the least from before or if they are just more motivated cuz it took a lot for them to get there in the first place. How do they determine AOA at BUSM if there is no honors, high pass, pass, fail system. So I wonder how they determine AOA? Do they still rank them but not tell them?

Just curious. I have been wondering about this for a while.

 

[Crisco]

I wonder if this is because they have seen the information for first year at the least from before or if they are just more motivated cuz it took a lot for them to get there in the first place. How do they determine AOA at BUSM if there is no honors, high pass, pass, fail system. So I wonder how they determine AOA? Do they still rank them but not tell them?

Just curious. I have been wondering about this for a while.

I'm gonna assume they use our % grades from each course and/or the grades are somehow loaded into system but only shows up as pass/fail. Either way, probably the main reason why SMPers tend to be AOA more than medical students is simply because SMPers are very driven - especially the ones who were "selected" to go to their respective medical schools. Other than their undergrad GPA, I wouldn't be surprised if basically every single SMPer that reenters their respective medical school is in the top 10-15% of the med school class.

But hey, that is proof alone that some people deserve second chances.

 

[drizzt3117]

If the school is true pass/fail, they often use just clinical grades for AOA. At some schools it's also quite qualitative, and may take into account other things besides grades such as step or ECs.

I'm gonna assume they use our % grades from each course and/or the grades are somehow loaded into system but only shows up as pass/fail. Either way, probably the main reason why SMPers tend to be AOA more than medical students is simply because SMPers are very driven - especially the ones who were "selected" to go to their respective medical schools. Other than their undergrad GPA, I wouldn't be surprised if basically every single SMPer that reenters their respective medical school is in the top 10-15% of the med school class.

But hey, that is proof alone that some people deserve second chances.

 

[gujuDoc]

If the school is true pass/fail, they often use just clinical grades for AOA. At some schools it's also quite qualitative, and may take into account other things besides grades such as step or ECs.

Ahh I see. how interesting. Crisco's other points about being more driven because they had struggled to get in might be true though. I was thinking the same thing and the fact that they are the type to do extremely well if they are the ones getting into the host med school of the bigger SMPs which only take some SMPers and the top ones usually.

But this is rather interesting and makes more sense.

 

[drizzt3117]

Ahh I see. how interesting. Crisco's other points about being more driven because they had struggled to get in might be true though. I was thinking the same thing and the fact that they are the type to do extremely well if they are the ones getting into the host med school of the bigger SMPs which only take some SMPers and the top ones usually.

But this is rather interesting and makes more sense.

Honestly it hasn't been my experience that SMP people at least in my program have done about average in the preclinicals. There are about 5-6 SMP people in our program and none of them are in the top 1/6 of the class, but in my experience, none of them are struggling either. Our averages for accepted students were 3.8/34 or so if I remember the data correctly from this cycle, so I imagine they had good credentials coming in. I don't know if doing a SMP at the host program would give you a big leg up but maybe it does.