How to get into a BS/MD program
Applying to 7-year med programs? Here's what you need to know.
Applying to 7-year med programs? Here's what you need to know.
7 and 8 year guaranteed admission (BS/MD) medical programs are a lower-stress fast track to the medical profession. By reducing MCAT and GPA thresholds and effectively eliminating the need to tailor one’s resume almost exclusively around activities that appeal to medical schools, BS/MD and BS/DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) programs allow prospective physicians to have a more restful and balanced undergraduate experience while still accelerating the timeline on their career.
But because these programs are so attractive, they are also incredibly competitive. A mid or even low tier BS/MD program has a lower acceptance rate than most Ivy League Schools, and the students all have profiles better than the average student at Harvard.
Offered interviews
Accepted after interview
Average number of students accepted to a BSMD program
Accelerated medical programs have extremely different selection processes than the undergraduate institutions that host them. First, the standards are always much higher – this is because medical schools must already be convinced the student is already a good match for the field despite being a high schooler. Common stats for accelerated programs include being in the top 10% of the class, earning a 1560+ SAT score, and having stellar medical extracurriculars.
If you make it past the first round and are offered an interview, your profile is no longer relevant to your admissions decision — in the eyes of the committee, you have the exact same chances as all other candidates that made it to the interview stage. The sole differentiator now is your performance during the interview process, a process that cuts 80% of applicants. This cutthroat process is usually conducted over one or more weekends in a mini-interview format.
Due to the prestige of these programs and the sheer number of qualified applicants that wish to attend, it’s no surprise that most top accelerated programs have lower acceptance rates than Harvard. The most important way to be prepared is to be knowledgeable on the entire process and the relative importance of each step – interviews are the big gateway.
Use our free admissions chances calculator and learn your chances at over 500 schools and keep track of all your application deadlines with our application timeline.