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  1. #1
    liz is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Default DS wants to go to med school. Advice please

    Looking to get advice on pre med/med schools.

    DS is a junior in our town's public high school. DS has known for a few years now that he wants to be an MD. He's doing well in school, taking mostly AP and Honors classes. One thing we've noticed about our public schools is that there isn't extensive guidance or help for college planning. I say this, because I have friends whose kids receive much more detailed guidance in the private schools. DH and I also went to public schools, and we remember it being similar. The guidance counselors were helpful, but obviously stretched thin taking care of so many other students. We're really wondering what schools look for on transcripts/applications.

    And then there are the school loans that DS will be facing. College prices are no joke and I feel kind of sick thinking about the amount of debt he is going to face since he's looking at least 8 years of expensive schooling. We've gotten some advice about going to a state school for pre med and then med school or the other option of applying to a dual BS/MD college with guaranteed admission to their med school. We're a bit overwhelmed on that one. Obviously we want DS to like his choices (money isn't the sole factor, but a realistic one), so we aren't ruling out any schools yet.

    If you have any advice or thoughts I'd appreciate it!

  2. #2
    PunkyBoo is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
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    Following, as we are in the same boat with DS1. I've let him lead in researching what good choices are in preparing for med school. He's applying for several health care related internships for this summer (which will be remote unfortunately) and if he doesn't get any, he plans to take a class at a college while working.

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  3. #3
    mommy111 is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Definitely apply for a 8 year BS/MD, it will save him time and you can choose not to do the MD if you'd like. Many kids also decide to take a year or two off to make money to pay for part of school. My nephew is in med school and he worked for 2 years, lived with his parents and saved like crazy between college and med school to not inflate his debt. It will pay for 75% of his med school but of course it was not cool while his friends were living in apartments with girlfriends for him to live at home with mom and dad and siblings
    '...everything can be taken from a man but one thing, the Last of the Human Freedoms, the ability to choose one's behavior in any set of circumstances, the Freedom to Choose One's Own Way.' -Viktor Frankle

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  4. #4
    pharmjenn is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
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    My niece knew from early on that she wanted to be a doctor and is graduating from Medical School next month. She went to a state school for undergrad (VA Tech) and applied to MD schools during her senior year. She was not accepted and took a year off, worked as a medical assistant at a friend's office and as a Scribe in a local ER.
    She applied the next year to both MD and DO programs and was accepted to a DO program.
    Definitely encourage your son to look at DO as well.
    For undergrad, I don't think you need to be at an Ivy to get into Med School as long as you do well and have diverse interests
    mom to Billy 12/07

  5. #5
    klwa is online now Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    I think you might want to talk to some of the medical schools that he'd like. Some may have different "wants" from undergrad than others. (Back in the ancient days of the 90s, I know some people in my engineering school were planning to go on to med school and had been encouraged to do a non-med undergrad, while doing bio & chem as their elective type courses.) What type of medicine he's considering will affect what are the best schools (especially if you're considering both financially and employability) and that's going to affect the best mode forward.
    -Kris
    DS (9/05)
    DD (8/08)
    DD (9/12)

  6. #6
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    DD wants to go to med school too, and DH (physician) and I have started researching this. I agree with the advice to go to a state school to save money. Med school admission requires top grades and a high MCAT. He doesn’t need to major in biological sciences, and it seems that med school admissions are slightly higher for other majors. Having the opportunity to do research in undergrad will also help. Not sure which state you live in, but some universities reserve med school slots for their own undergrads, so I could be helpful to go to a state school for undergrad that has a medical school. Also, I don’t think the combined BS/MD programs are necessarily the best. I’ve read mixed reviews. Unless your state has one, I probably wouldn’t consider to too seriously. I’ve heard they can be very competitive to get into. DH lucked out and got into the med school in his state, so his loans weren’t super astronomical.


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  7. #7
    sariana is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Has he considered a military academy/career?
    DS '04 "Boogaboo"
    DD '08 "Lilybear"

  8. #8
    Kindra178 is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    If you want to be a doctor, it probably doesn't matter where you goto college as long as you get great grades while there. This is probably not true if you want to be in research or teach.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by georgiegirl View Post
    DD wants to go to med school too, and DH (physician) and I have started researching this. I agree with the advice to go to a state school to save money. Med school admission requires top grades and a high MCAT. He doesn’t need to major in biological sciences, and it seems that med school admissions are slightly higher for other majors. Having the opportunity to do research in undergrad will also help. Not sure which state you live in, but some universities reserve med school slots for their own undergrads, so I could be helpful to go to a state school for undergrad that has a medical school. Also, I don’t think the combined BS/MD programs are necessarily the best. I’ve read mixed reviews. Unless your state has one, I probably wouldn’t consider to too seriously. I’ve heard they can be very competitive to get into. DH lucked out and got into the med school in his state, so his loans weren’t super astronomical.


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    My dh is a doctor and not fan of the combined programs undergrad/medical school. Both my kids have some interest in medical school and it is not something we are considering for either of them.

    One option to consider would be pursing a PhD/md if your son is interested in working at an academic medical center. The government paid for my husband’s entire program including a small stipend for living expenses. He then did less research than is typical during his surgical residency because he did three years during medical school for his PhD.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by georgiegirl View Post
    DD wants to go to med school too, and DH (physician) and I have started researching this. I agree with the advice to go to a state school to save money. Med school admission requires top grades and a high MCAT. He doesn’t need to major in biological sciences, and it seems that med school admissions are slightly higher for other majors. Having the opportunity to do research in undergrad will also help. Not sure which state you live in, but some universities reserve med school slots for their own undergrads, so I could be helpful to go to a state school for undergrad that has a medical school. Also, I don’t think the combined BS/MD programs are necessarily the best. I’ve read mixed reviews. Unless your state has one, I probably wouldn’t consider to too seriously. I’ve heard they can be very competitive to get into. DH lucked out and got into the med school in his state, so his loans weren’t super astronomical.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    My dh is a doctor and also not fan of the combined programs undergrad/medical school. Both my kids have some interest in medical school and it is not something we are considering for either of them.

    One option to consider would be pursing a PhD/md if your son is interested in working at an academic medical center. The government paid for my husband’s entire program including a small stipend for living expenses. He then did less research than is typical during his surgical residency because he did three years during medical school for his PhD.
    Last edited by westwoodmom04; 04-06-2021 at 03:36 PM.

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