would u recommend a combined BA/MD for a GI hopeful?

[internist88]

Hi, I'm going to be a junior in high school, and was thinking about applying to an accelerated Medicine program. Would you recommend me doing this; I'm thinking about this because I'm very doubtful about myself, and don't think that I can make it as a doctor. Thus doing this program will guarentee that I get into med school, but, although Internal Med isn't hard to match from what I hear, would I still have a good chance at landing a GI fellowship? Even if you have no advice, if someone can even bring up a list of a few very good accelerated programs that I should look at given that I'm predicting I will get a 3.6 or 3.75 gpa in extremely hard classes (IB diploma), around 2000 to 2100 on the SAT, and have a lot of extracurricular activities and a few leadership positions.

PLEASE HELP ME!! thank you!

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[VCMM414]

A partial list of very good combined programs:
Northwestern
Rice/Baylor
CWRU
USC
Brown
Boston U
NYU

This info is quite a few years old. You should check to see if the said programs are still available. None of them were easy to get into back when I looked into them. 1500+ on the old SAT and 3.8+ high school GPA, while not required, are not uncommon among accepted applicants.

In any case, landing good IM positions can be done even coming from less prestigious medical schools. One of my attendings went to Chicago Medical School (now known as Rosalind Franklin?), matched at Mass General, and now is faculty at a well-known program. Another attending did the same and matched into GI from MGH. GI is tough to match into, but certainly not impossible coming from decent IM programs. Besides, matching in fellowships is >12 years down the road for you. What's the rush?

 

[Elahuhu]

Hi, I'm going to be a junior in high school, and was thinking about applying to an accelerated Medicine program. Would you recommend me doing this; I'm thinking about this because I'm very doubtful about myself, and don't think that I can make it as a doctor. Thus doing this program will guarentee that I get into med school, but, although Internal Med isn't hard to match from what I hear, would I still have a good chance at landing a GI fellowship? Even if you have no advice, if someone can even bring up a list of a few very good accelerated programs that I should look at given that I'm predicting I will get a 3.6 or 3.75 gpa in extremely hard classes (IB diploma), around 2000 to 2100 on the SAT, and have a lot of extracurricular activities and a few leadership positions.

PLEASE HELP ME!! thank you!

Please tell me you're kidding! Don't you have better things to worry about as a high school student? I can guarantee that talking about capsule endoscopy and ERCPs is the best way to NOT get laid on prom nite.

Having said that, I know several people who have gone thru combined undergrad/med school programs and none of them has regretted it yet. I don't think I could have done a six year combined program, but to each his own, I guess. It will not put you at a disadvantage when it comes time for residency/fellowship applications.

 

[an1ta]

Hi, I'm actually in a 7 year program and applied to a total of 8 combined programs when I was a senior in high school so I am familiar with the process. If you are absolutely sure that you want to become a doctor, then I highly recommend applying to some sort of combined program. It takes a load off of your shoulders during your junior year to know that you are guaranteed acceptance into at least one medical school. Be sure to research the programs you are applying to because some require you to take the MCAT and obtain a minimum score, while others don't require the exam at all. Minimum undergraduate GPA and scholarship options also vary. In addition, some programs are binding, meaning that you must matriculate to that medical school and if you apply out, your spot is lost. Others allow participants to take the MCAT and apply out.

Although I had heard good things about 6 year programs, I had also heard that the 6 year programs are way too condensed and don't give you a real feel for undergraduate life, so I only applied to 7 and 8 year programs. I really wanted to have a normal undergraduate experience, so that's why I opted out of applying to 6 years. I found these books to be immensely helpful during the application process: From High School to Med. School : The definitive guide to accelerated medical programs by Jason Yanokski and Ashish Raju (great advice and gives a good background), and I used The High School Doctor: The Underground Roadmap to 6, 7, and 8 Year Accelerated/Combined Medical Programs (Ba/Md) in the United States by Koneru Najendra Sai, Omar Wang, and Vineet Arora because it has a comprehensive list of programs (some of the info in the book is incorrect/outdated, but you can call the schools to check if they have programs). There are other books that would be helpful too..check out amazon.

If you aren't sure that you want to become a doctor or if programs don't seem like the right fit for you, then there are early acceptance programs that some medical schools offer in which you apply to the med school usually following your sophomore year and can be granted guaranteed admission. And then there is the traditional route, which allows a plethora of options. Hope this helps and good luck!

Hi, I'm going to be a junior in high school, and was thinking about applying to an accelerated Medicine program. Would you recommend me doing this; I'm thinking about this because I'm very doubtful about myself, and don't think that I can make it as a doctor. Thus doing this program will guarentee that I get into med school, but, although Internal Med isn't hard to match from what I hear, would I still have a good chance at landing a GI fellowship? Even if you have no advice, if someone can even bring up a list of a few very good accelerated programs that I should look at given that I'm predicting I will get a 3.6 or 3.75 gpa in extremely hard classes (IB diploma), around 2000 to 2100 on the SAT, and have a lot of extracurricular activities and a few leadership positions.

PLEASE HELP ME!! thank you!

 

[gwen]

hey guys,

i actually did a 6 year bs/md program and loved it. i also came from an IB background (but from the 1600 SAT days). its true, a 6 year program can be pretty brutal. i had plenty of AP/IB credit so it wasn't really a problem for me. i had summers off and got to do college in two years instead of 4. for those who didn't have as many credits, it SUCKED. they were in college ten days after high school graduation (one actually hadn't even graduated from high school...she had to go back a few days after we started the program to graduate). they were stuck every summer at the college.

some people really need their college years (i don't blame them - college IS fun). some people just want to get it over with. i don't know what the right answer is - but it worked out fine for me. i'm an IM attending at the age of 26. i am going to work for some time until my hubby finishes his cards fellowship and still manage to do my fellowship, enjoy married life and then have kids at a decent age. these aren't things most high school students think about (i don't think i did either). my goal was to just get the headache of med school applications and all that nonsense competition over with right away.

all that said, you have to be certain you want to do MEDICINE. this talk about being a "GI hopeful" is way too premature. please don't mention that at your interviews. its hard to find a person who truly sticks to what they initially wanted to do (except psychiatrists...and even that doesn't work all the time _). i thought i was going to do OB when i started med school, then almost did PMR and am now doing IM. my friends from other med schools have started out with surg and moved to anesthesiology. trust me, things change...just make sure your interest in medicine doesn't, otherwise, a program would totally screw you over. i'd go to a regular college then.

 

[gwen]

internist88, you seem ridiculously obsessed with money. i briefly glanced at your recent posts and they all ask about how much money each field makes. you even said that you want to do dentistry over medicine, then GI, then cards, then asked about pulmo, then thought that derm was a IM field.

jeez, what do you really want in life? its cool that you want to know about financial compensation, you'd be stupid not to care. but do you even know what you want to do in life in terms of what you like/are good at? you seem to be going into this for the money. hun, go into business or something if you want money. medicine is not that field anymore. and i would NOT recommend a combined program for someone so unsure.

and btw, 3.7 IS pretty low...even if you're an IB student.

 

[Jiminy Cricket]

Hi, I'm going to be a junior in high school, and was thinking about applying to an accelerated Medicine program. Would you recommend me doing this; I'm thinking about this because I'm very doubtful about myself, and don't think that I can make it as a doctor. Thus doing this program will guarentee that I get into med school, but, although Internal Med isn't hard to match from what I hear, would I still have a good chance at landing a GI fellowship? Even if you have no advice, if someone can even bring up a list of a few very good accelerated programs that I should look at given that I'm predicting I will get a 3.6 or 3.75 gpa in extremely hard classes (IB diploma), around 2000 to 2100 on the SAT, and have a lot of extracurricular activities and a few leadership positions.

PLEASE HELP ME!! thank you!

chill out, go on vacation....chances are by the time u're in med schl you wont even want to be a gi anymore.

dont think too far into the future and miss out on the present.

 

[naegleria brain]

I'm in med school now; got here through a 6 yr med program.

i knew all along i loved medicine; if you want it, do it. i had a blast undergrad, way more fun than my friends who went to Harvard and MIT (and incidentally are now freaking out about getting into med school).

to this day when pouring over books or spending 48+ hrs awake marathon i think back to those days of how good it was.

youre going to work ur butt off here in med school, even though you're probably a cocky high schooler (no offense, but every high schooler thinks theyre king); you deserve a good break in college for the hell that awaits

if you want GI, you gotta do well in med school. and the other people are right, you simply haven't had enough exposure. there's no way you've learned everything aboug GI, cardio, nephro, neuro, etc. and when you actually start shadowing doctors, medicine isn't anything like what you thought it'd be.

but hey, you want medicine, look a little closer into the future. how you do in med school determines what you do as a career. so getting into a med school as a high schooler means going to a program.

i had a 4+ GPA and a 1560 old SAT at a very competitive NJ high school. BS/MD programs will not hurt your chance of matching into a field, but like i said, take it one at a time. residency is all about your history in med school, not undergrad, and certainly not high school.

get into a medical school first; then you'll have three years to figure out what you want to do.

and don't be too money oriented. i was like that once, but realized that as doctors, there's only so much a few extra hundred-thousands will mean. i mean if i were totally into the money, i'd say derm (and i did for a while), till i admitted i find their jobs...well, not really my type.