Getting into a B.S./M.D. Program
Elton Lin
So, you want to be a doctor. And you’ve decided that you’d much prefer a combined B.S./M.D. program over the traditional route into med school. These combined programs have many advantages, such as the flexibility to major in a non-science field as an undergrad or sometimes shaving a year off the long process of getting your M.D. (We explore these programs’ benefits, with a list of the current top offerings, in another post.)
Whatever the reason, you’ve decided that the B.S./M.D. approach is the right path for you. However, these combined programs – which offer you conditional acceptance into med school right out of high school, sometimes without even having to take the dreaded MCAT – are cut-throat competitive! How do you make your application stand out?
The requirements themselves for a B.S./M.D. program are often quite tight. Take a glance at this list of a few of the country’s programs – not even necessarily the top ones.
The minimum admission requirements from a smattering of B.S./M.D. programs (from PrepScholar)
* The University of Miami is the only program on this list that scores one of the top twelve spots on CollegeVine’s list.
Sadly, numbers like these can seem disheartening, especially since these are only the minimum requirements. To actually stand a good shot of getting accepted, you’ll probably need GPA and test scores a good deal higher!
The main thing that you’ll need to get into a B.S./M.D. program is a stellar GPA aiming for as close to a 4.0 (unweighted) GPA as possible. And you won’t get this by taking “easy” classes, where most of your grade comes from participation. The admissions teams who are looking to admit people into B.S./M.D. programs want to see that you can hold your own in the hardest, most rigorous science and math classes that your school offers. You’ll need to show that you’ve taken your school’s most challenging courses and excelled in them.
What about standardized tests? To stand a decent chance of getting into any reputable B.S./M.D. program you’ll want at least a 1500 on the SAT and a 34 on the ACT. That will require plenty of studying, a lot of practice tests, and possibly taking the tests more than once. Start by taking them in your junior year, so that if you have to retake either of them, you can do so early in your senior year before you’re bogged down by studying constantly to hold up that 4.0 GPA!
And what about extracurriculars? Do B.S./M.D. programs care about those? Answer: YES! Since they’ll be offering you not just acceptance into college, but conditional acceptance into med school, these programs want to see that you’re exceptional both inside and outside the classroom. Furthermore, in a combined B.S./M.D. program, the admissions teams are looking for you to demonstrate a strong interest in health and medicine. Not all of your extracurriculars need to be medicine-related, but a good chunk of them should be. Some options are volunteering at a hospital, shadowing a doctor, helping a professor with medical research, or getting involved with a summer medical program.
These combined programs can eliminate a lot of the stress of getting into med school. However, B.S./M.D. programs aren’t without their drawbacks. Because the admission requirements are so challenging – most students who would be accepted into a B.S./M.D. program could also get into the pre-med track at much more prestigious schools, such as Stanford or the Ivy League. In other words, the B.S./M.D. programs even at second-tier schools are competitive at that high a level! Furthermore, many of the top schools like Stanford and Harvard offer an almost guaranteed route from pre-med into med school, with many of their pre-med students being accepted into at least one medical school. And most of these schools do not offer a B.S./M.D. option, which means that if you’re dead-set of getting into a combined program, you’ll have to forgo the Ivy League.
So is a B.S./M.D. program really right for you? Think twice if you’re not 100% sure that you want to go into medicine, or even if you might want to re-consider your options for med school. (Most B.S./M.D. programs let you do this, but you forfeit your conditional acceptance.) But if you’ve got your heart set on being a doctor, and you’re enthralled with one of the universities that offers a combined program, then, yes, a B.S./M.D. may be a good option. And – despite the tricky path to admissions – we can help you put your best foot forward!
¹ With the lone exception of Brown