Tufts MBS vs Loyola MAMS vs Tulane Cellular and Molecular Biology

[Newlearner2017]

I am graduating from JHU this May with major in Neuroscience. I submitted SMP applications late March 2019 and completed them 2 weeks ago. So far, I have been accepted to the following SMP programs: Tufts MBS, Loyola MAMS, Tulane Cellular and Molecular Biology. I am waiting to hear from JHU, U Cincinnati, and Boston.

I am looking at the following two options and would like your advice.

Option 1: SMP program - classes with 1st year medical school students (e.g. Tufts MBS). I plan to apply to medical schools cycle after completing the SMP program. I believe this will typically be hard and risky program but it may get me into a good medical school.

Option 2: SMP program where I will do best to improve my GPA(e.g. JHU).


I have decent ECs, I may have to strengthen clinical experience. My stats are as following:

GPA:
cGPA - 3.00
sGPA - 3.00

MCAT:
515

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[Newlearner2017]

I had one bad semester (1.73 GPA) when injured my right hand that took a month to recover. In addition, I took 17 science credits during this semester and had too many activities (Varsity Fencing, Model UN, Dancing) besides research etc. My senior year grades has been A or A-. I know I can do well in SMP if I focus and put in the required time. I am NJ resident

 

[Newlearner2017]

Thanks. This is helpful.

I suggest selecting the best program based on medical school acceptance rates and the level of support given each applicant. The schools in Option 1 guarantee an interview invitation if applicants hit certain GPA and MCAT cutoffs, so that is quite helpful as you then have a 1 in 4 or a 1 in 3 shot of an acceptance. You are in good shape at Stritch (Loyola) and Tulane from an MCAT perspective. Not sure about Tufts, though your MCAT is a bit above their overall med school applicant median.

If it were me, and I was in your shoes, and I really wanted to go an allopathic medical school, I'd seriously look at Loyola because 1. Stritch provides a decent clinical education. 2. There are other good, not terribly competitive, medical schools in the Chicago area, e.g., Rush. 3. There are some other good, not terribly competitive, medical schools in the upper Midwest.

Assuming you do very well in one of these programs, you are still, unfortunately, not operating from a position of strength and so I would not get too hung up on rankings, prestige or location. Having Stritch or a school like Rush, or one of the couple of state schools in NJ as options would be an excellent outcome, imo. Having completed this cycle with very high stats from a top Ivy, it is really competitive out there. I was fortunate with admission to a great school but it was way more competitive than I expected going in. Good luck.

Btw. I asked about residency because, if you were a MA resident, then Tufts or BU could make sense because of UMass. Also, I don't understand the difference between your Option 1 and 2.

Thanks a lot! This is very helpful.

 

[Newlearner2017]

Thanks. This is helpful.

I suggest selecting the best program based on medical school acceptance rates and the level of support given each applicant. The schools in Option 1 guarantee an interview invitation if applicants hit certain GPA and MCAT cutoffs, so that is quite helpful as you then have a 1 in 4 or a 1 in 3 shot of an acceptance. You are in good shape at Stritch (Loyola) and Tulane from an MCAT perspective. Not sure about Tufts, though your MCAT is a bit above their overall med school applicant median.

If it were me, and I was in your shoes, and I really wanted to go an allopathic medical school, I'd seriously look at Loyola because 1. Stritch provides a decent clinical education. 2. There are other good, not terribly competitive, medical schools in the Chicago area, e.g., Rush. 3. There are some other good, not terribly competitive, medical schools in the upper Midwest.

Assuming you do very well in one of these programs, you are still, unfortunately, not operating from a position of strength and so I would not get too hung up on rankings, prestige or location. Having Stritch or a school like Rush, or one of the couple of state schools in NJ as options would be an excellent outcome, imo. Having completed this cycle with very high stats from a top Ivy, it is really competitive out there. I was fortunate with admission to a great school but it was way more competitive than I expected going in. Good luck.

Btw. I asked about residency because, if you were a MA resident, then Tufts or BU could make sense because of UMass. Also, I don't understand the difference between your Option 1 and 2.

Can you share acceptance rate and advising at Tufts and Loyola?

I read Loyola has 95% acceptance but not sure if it is for MD, DO, international. Also regarding Loyola’s guaranteed interview program with Stritch, what % of people interviewed are accepted?

 

[Newlearner2017]

On Cincinnati. It's an excellent medical school with superior facilities and a number of nationally distinctive practice areas, e.g., pediatrics and emergency medicine. Cincinnati is a very nice, very livable city. I know a couple of very strong candidates who are considering attending in the fall. Most who interview there are very impressed with it. It's a state school.

If you get accepted to its program, I'd also strongly consider it, assuming it offers the same benefits as the others. You could, for example, graduate, work for a year in Ohio, establish residency and apply to Cincinnati and a number of other state medical schools in Ohio as a state resident. To boost your clinical experience, as an example, you could get your EMS certification and work as an EMT for a year. You would then have a strong narrative as to why you would like to attend Cincinnati. There are many ways to skin this medical school acceptance cat!

Thanks, I have heard great things about UC program.

 

[tekkenman11]

Can you share acceptance rate and advising at Tufts and Loyola?

I read Loyola has 95% acceptance but not sure if it is for MD, DO, international. Also regarding Loyola’s guaranteed interview program with Stritch, what % of people interviewed are accepted?

It is a 95% overall acceptance rate within 3 years. This includes the year you start the program for those who decide to apply during it + the year after you graduate + another year for re-applicants. Nearly everyone who does get into medical school does so at a MD or DO (with most people getting into an allopathic institution). There might be a handful of people in every class who have to go to podiatry school or international MD but that is a more rare outcome.

With the old Stritch admissions committee the majority of people who received the guaranteed interview were accepted but that has changed in recent years with the new committee but I'm not sure why. It's probably around 1/4th or 1/3 now.

source: alum

 

[Newlearner2017]

Thanks for a great feedback on Loyola! I am strongly considering Loyola MAMS.

Is there any anyone who can share your experience/recommendation on Tufts MBS program?

 

[Newlearner2017]

My first choice at this point is going to be U Cincinnati smp if I get into the program.

In addition, I am trying to find out the impact of change to Tufts medical school curriculum on MBS program. Does anyone has more information about this change that goes in effect this fall (2019)?

Is it possible for me to put the deposit for tufts and Loyola until I hear from Georgetown and U Cincinnati?

 

[Newlearner2017]

I am heavily leaning towards Tufts MBS, sending the deposit/acceptance tomorrow. No word from uc.

 

[Tigriski]

My first choice at this point is going to be U Cincinnati smp if I get into the program.

In addition, I am trying to find out the impact of change to Tufts medical school curriculum on MBS program. Does anyone has more information about this change that goes in effect this fall (2019)?

Is it possible for me to put the deposit for tufts and Loyola until I hear from Georgetown and U Cincinnati?

Hi, I am actually going to be attending Tufts this fall and was also accepted at UC. The changes in the tufts curriculm make so it is essentially just like the UC curriculum but i felt it offered more mentorship and opportunities to shadow. They both have student run free clinics (however the boston population is more diverse), NBME integration, long term primary care experience (i think Cincy has this? cant remember). The change in tufts curriculum is a change towards systems and not traditional (i.e. when you do renal you learn anatomy, physiology, pathology etc at once for that organ system) instead of learning all anatomy for all systems then all pathology for all system etc. they have just moved things around in a big way that is like cincy, which i thought was for the better. they sold me on their curriculum during interview day.

I liked that tufts does rotations at 21+ hospitals around boston, while Cincy had 3 (although, still all phenomenal). I was satisfied with both curriculums (even though ill be a "guinea pig" for tufts curriculum, the adcom seemed receptive to student input). There are changes to their curriculum that they tweak semester to semester and then there are bigger changes that occur every 10 years do as a result of their 10-year revision. tufts is also P/F with no internal ranking with cincy is P/F with internal ranking.

I felt very satisfied with both MD programs, so i just chose based on city and money. Surprisingly, (idk maybe not, UC is public and Tufts is private) I am a life long resident of Ohio (went to ohio state, grew up just north of Cincy) yet UC was more expensive than tufts because I was only given loans (fed unsub+grad plus), and tufts gave me a nice scholarship + decent interest free loan. UC gives out merit and tufts is need-based only. I have a single parent with almost no assets and my EFC at UC was 10% of the total cost of attendance--impossible for my family. So it was loan city for me there. To live in boston with high EFC tufts was cheaper for me. Im not sure how wealthy you or your parents are so you may need to disregard this point. If youre wealthy and youre stuck with full tuition at tufts then ouch. But if not, the more expensive sticker price may be cut down to something better--something that wont likely happen at UC. I loved my interview day at UC and was super set on going there until i saw the money. i got my UC package before Tufts, once i got my package from tufts I happily chose tufts.

I can agree with the other comment that Cincinnati is a cool city, maybe the best in ohio. But in my opinion, it doesn't compare to boston, nyc, chicago, or DC. I am urban inclined, but i grew up happy in a ruralish area. dont forget to think about location.

 

[Newlearner2017]

I just accepted and paid the deposit for Tufts MBS program.

 

[Newlearner2017]

I was accepted to UC smp program. I am leaning towards uc. I am planning to visit uc and tufts this month to make the final decision.

 

[Jadoc25]

I am just finishing the Tulane cell and molecular biology masters - I absolutely loved it, if you are still interested feel free to message!! Its a really unique program!

hey hey! Would love to ask you some questions about the program!

 

[neurogorl8]

Feel free to message me!

Hi! Would it be possible for me to ask you some questions too?

 

[nmsIA]

I am just finishing the Tulane cell and molecular biology masters - I absolutely loved it, if you are still interested feel free to message!! Its a really unique program!

Hey. I had a few questions if you don’t mind answering.

 

[nmsIA]

I just accepted and paid the deposit for Tufts MBS program.

Hey. I had a few questions regarding this program. Do you mind answering them?

 

[nmsIA]

Hi, I am actually going to be attending Tufts this fall and was also accepted at UC. The changes in the tufts curriculm make so it is essentially just like the UC curriculum but i felt it offered more mentorship and opportunities to shadow. They both have student run free clinics (however the boston population is more diverse), NBME integration, long term primary care experience (i think Cincy has this? cant remember). The change in tufts curriculum is a change towards systems and not traditional (i.e. when you do renal you learn anatomy, physiology, pathology etc at once for that organ system) instead of learning all anatomy for all systems then all pathology for all system etc. they have just moved things around in a big way that is like cincy, which i thought was for the better. they sold me on their curriculum during interview day.

I liked that tufts does rotations at 21+ hospitals around boston, while Cincy had 3 (although, still all phenomenal). I was satisfied with both curriculums (even though ill be a "guinea pig" for tufts curriculum, the adcom seemed receptive to student input). There are changes to their curriculum that they tweak semester to semester and then there are bigger changes that occur every 10 years do as a result of their 10-year revision. tufts is also P/F with no internal ranking with cincy is P/F with internal ranking.

I felt very satisfied with both MD programs, so i just chose based on city and money. Surprisingly, (idk maybe not, UC is public and Tufts is private) I am a life long resident of Ohio (went to ohio state, grew up just north of Cincy) yet UC was more expensive than tufts because I was only given loans (fed unsub+grad plus), and tufts gave me a nice scholarship + decent interest free loan. UC gives out merit and tufts is need-based only. I have a single parent with almost no assets and my EFC at UC was 10% of the total cost of attendance--impossible for my family. So it was loan city for me there. To live in boston with high EFC tufts was cheaper for me. Im not sure how wealthy you or your parents are so you may need to disregard this point. If youre wealthy and youre stuck with full tuition at tufts then ouch. But if not, the more expensive sticker price may be cut down to something better--something that wont likely happen at UC. I loved my interview day at UC and was super set on going there until i saw the money. i got my UC package before Tufts, once i got my package from tufts I happily chose tufts.

I can agree with the other comment that Cincinnati is a cool city, maybe the best in ohio. But in my opinion, it doesn't compare to boston, nyc, chicago, or DC. I am urban inclined, but i grew up happy in a ruralish area. dont forget to think about location.

Hey I sent you a private message. If you don’t mind, can you please answer my questions. Thanks!