BS/MD programs and BA/MD programs offer early acceptance to medical school for ambitious high school students. These programs take the stress off applying to medical school the traditional route for premedical students who know they want to pursue medicine. However, as with the traditional college application process, it can be difficult to identify the differences among BS/MD programs and know which BS/MDs to apply to.
This blog post is designed to help you understand how to choose which BS/MD programs to add to your list, and what factors to consider.
After reading this blog post, we recommend ranking each factor mentioned in order of importance to you. You can assign a value from 1 (highest priority) to 10 (lowest priority), or simply ask yourself some questions: Is this aspect a dealbreaker? (e.g. Are you absolutely against applying to programs that require the MCAT?). Or is this something that you feel strongly about, but are willing to waive your preference on?
When you research BS/MD programs, you can use your answers to these questions to guide which programs are the best fit for you. Understanding what makes a program unique is key not only to finding the best fit for you, but also helping you articulate the answer to, “Why this BS/MD?” in essays and interviews.
How to Choose BS/MD Programs
How to Choose BS/MD Programs Factor #1: Do I want to take the MCAT?
BS/MD programs offer guaranteed admission to med school. But there are a few asterisks attached, one of which can be an MCAT requirement.
It’s important to consider how the MCAT will change your college experience. If you go to a program with an MCAT requirement, you’ll be taking a summer (or a few months) of dedicated study time to ensure you reach the score you need. It is another hoop to jump through on the path to matriculating to medical school. Taking the MCAT is similar to the normal premed route.
Some programs, such as Brooklyn’s BA/MD or Hofstra’s 4+4 program, require relatively reasonable MCAT benchmarks students need to hit to matriculate to the medical school. These are usually based on a specific percentile (in Hofstra’s case, 80th percentile), but can also be a specific score (in Brooklyn College’s BA/MD program’s case, you need a MCAT minimum of 509) (1)(2).
Other BS/MD programs, such as Brown’s Program in Medical Education and University of Pittsburgh’s Guaranteed Admission program do not require the MCAT.*
*The exception, in the case of UPitt, is if a student receives admission to GAP without an SAT/ACT score as part of their application (UPitt offers test-optional admission).
Questions to Ask Yourself:
- What kind of experience do I want to have in a BS/MD?
- To what extent do I want my life to look like a traditional pre-medical student in college?
If you don’t mind having a similar life as a normal pre-med with a little less stress, you would most likely be more comfortable taking the MCAT.
- Do I mind taking the MCAT if the requirement is easier to achieve?
- Do I mind taking the MCAT if the medical school is extraordinary (i.e. 95th percentile+)?
- Do I want the option to apply out to other medical schools?
If you are interested in applying out and won’t lose your seat in your BS/MD if you do so, having an MCAT requirement might actually be somewhat of a perk.
How to Choose BS MD Programs Factor #2: How structured or flexible do I want my college experience to be?
The flexibility of a program can be determined by minimum overall and science GPA required to matriculate and program requirements, including required classes and required shadowing experiences. The higher the GPA requirement, the less time you will have to explore other interests, and the more your college life will feel like a pre-medical student. The key difference, of course, is that you will not have the stress of getting into medical school.
More broadly, the more requirements a BS/MD imposes on you in order to matriculate to the medical school, the more restricted you are in how you can use your academic, extra-curricular, and social time. The fewer requirements, the more flexibility to explore your interests, particularly non-medical interests, at the undergraduate level.
Questions to Ask Yourself:
- Similar to above, what kind of college experience do I want to have?
- Does the program dictate a course schedule (e.g. BU SMED)? Do I like that structure, or prefer more flexibility (e.g. Brown’s Open Curriculum)?
- Does the program restrict my major/minor(s), or do I have free reign to choose? How important is that to me?
- Does this BS/MD require a certain number of shadowing or community service? (e.g. UPitt GAP, Brooklyn BA/MD) How comfortable do I feel with this?
Thoughts from a BS/MD Program Alum
As part of the Honors Program in Medical Education at Northwestern, we had fewer curricula requirements to graduate compared to our non-BS/MD peers. Most Northwestern students take two first-year seminars; we only had to take one. We weren’t obligated to do anything medical-related, and only pursued those interests if we wanted to. And we had a relatively attainable GPA of 3.6. On the flipside, the University of Pittsburgh’s GAP program has medical extra-curricular requirements (e.g. research), and a 3.75 GPA requirement.
How to Choose BS MD Programs Factor #3: How strong is the medical school?
There are three key components to consider here:
- Medical School Rank/Reputation
- Residency Matches
- Curriculum
The first and arguably most important consideration is medical school reputation.
Why are medical school rankings important?
Medical school ranking has become increasingly important to get into strong residency programs, and competitive specialties. Some BS/MD programs with top ranking medical schools include Case Western’s PPSP program, Brown’s PLME program, University of Pittsburgh’s GAP program, University of Rochester’s REMS, among others.
Considering what the medical schools and their residency programs are known for also is important. The University of Miami is known for, for instance, its strong ophthalmology program; if that’s a possible area of interest, it might be worth adding to your list. Case Western, on the other hand, is known for its excellence in research.
Generally speaking, the higher the ranking on U.S. News, the better the medical school reputation. However, we want to warn readers to not dwell on the exact position of a medical school. Medical rankings change year to year. Being ranked the #2 medical school one year and then the #5 medical school the next year does not mean the medical school suddenly suffers from a much worse reputation.
Think about medical school rankings in buckets:
- Top 10
- Top 20
- Top 50
- Top 100
We also advise students to look at medical school rankings over the past five years.
- What bucket is the medical school in generally?
- Is there a general upward or downward trajectory?
The second component when considering the strength of the medical school’s residency matching. These tend to be dependent on the medical school reputation but perusing the residency match list gives you a sense of what caliber of institution, as well as geographic distribution, medical students tend to match to. Ask the BS/MD program committee or medical school for the match list. You can also find match lists by google searching “_____ medical school residency match list.”
The third component to look at is the BS/MD program’s curriculum, including the medical school curriculum. Some schools are better geared towards preparing you for primary care specialties for instance, than others. Northwestern Feinberg doesn’t have a formal primary care rotation like most schools; we do some clinic-based primary care throughout our four years of medical school, but given this curriculum format and the focus on research, our medical school matches much less than others into family medicine. Contrast this with Sophie Davis, a NY-specific BS/MD program that takes students who are mostly likely to go into primary care specialties (internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, etc.), or other medical schools that have a large number of students go into family medicine residencies.
How to Choose BS MD Programs Factor #4: How strong is the undergraduate institution?
College is a life-transforming experience, and it is important to consider how strong the undergraduate institution is and the culture of the university. Additionally, you can look at both the strength of the undergraduate institution and specific majors or departments at the undergraduate institution. For example, Albany Medical College has BS/MD programs with Union College (focused on leadership), Siena College (focused on service), and RPI (focused on research). In addition to taking into account the unique aspects of these programs, it is worth considering the better rank of RPI relative to Union and Siena if you’re on the fence and only would like to apply to one.
Specific steps to research schools:
- First, look to see what the undergraduate institution is known for academically.
- Second, look at the required curriculum (if there is one) for undergraduate students. Some schools have a “Core Curriculum” while other schools have “Distribution or breadth requirements” while other schools have minimal to no requirements.
- Third, look at possible majors you are interested in.
- Fourth, look at clinical opportunities at the school. Is there a medical school near or on-campus? Are there premed and service clubs?
- Fifth, look to see if there are paid research opportunities.
[ Read more: How to Build a College List ]
Questions to Ask Yourself:
- What resources will I get if I choose to go to this BS/MD? For instance, if you’re interested in study abroad, you might ask whether there a robust study abroad program, or, if not, whether you can easily study abroad with a different institution and get transferred credit?
- How strong is the department I want to get my bachelor’s degree in?
How to Choose BS MD Programs Factor #5: Personal Factors
As with the regular college admissions process, you should continue to consider personal factors when building your school list. One important factor is location. How close or far do you want to be from home? Do you want to be in a suburban, urban, or rural setting? Do you care about having a school campus?
Other Helpful Resources for College Applications
Use the information in this “How to Choose BS/MD Programs” blog post in conjunction with these other helpful posts!
- How to Research BS/MD Programs
- How to Build a College List with BS/MD Programs
- BS MD Programs: Everything You Need to Know
Additionally, you’ll find these profiles on BS/MD programs and pre-med programs helpful!