How to Get into a BS/MD Program

How to Get into a BS/MD Program

If you’re someone who has always known they wanted to be a doctor, you might be interested in a BS/MD program. In general, medical students follow a similar path towards earning their MD. They apply to an undergraduate program, attend college, earn their Bachelor’s Degree, then go through the med school application process to earn a spot at a medical school. Alternatively, BS/MD programs offer a less traditional path for navigating college admissions.

As you can likely guess from the name, BS/MD programs combine the two degrees. That means first-year college applicants can apply to both undergraduate and medical school in a single application. If accepted, students are committing to attending both schools and completing both degrees. Some BS/MD programs are even accelerated, providing students the opportunity to finish medical school a year or two earlier than students who took the more traditional path.

Even though nearly 50 medical schools offer BS/MD programs, they offer far fewer spots for the BS/MD program than for regular medical school. This means that admissions to BS/MD programs are very competitive.

So, how do you get into these competitive BS/MD programs? In this article, we’ll walk you through the process of applying to BS/MD programs and how to stand out.

We’ll cover:

BS/MD program admissions
Application requirements and eligibility
How to apply to BS/MD programs (including building your school list, the application timeline, essays, interviews, and recommendations)
And more!

Before we jump into the application itself, let’s start by taking a closer look at the BS/MD admissions process.

BS/MD Program Admissions

As previously stated, if you are accepted to a BS/MD program, you’re gaining admission to not one, but two schools: an undergraduate university and a medical school. Most of these programs are at universities that have both of those schools. For example, if you apply for the BS/MD program at the University of California, San Francisco, you would be doing your undergraduate classes at UCSF, and then your medical school classes at the UCSF School of Medicine.

On the other hand, these programs can also be partnerships between two nearby but separate institutions. So, BS/MD students may end up earning their degrees on separate campuses, even in different cities! One example is the partnership between Montclair State University and the New Jersey Medical School at Rutgers University. In this case, students will complete their undergraduate degree in Montclair, NJ, and then their medical degree in Newark, NJ.

Now, let’s look at the admissions process. First, each BS/MD program’s undergraduate institution evaluates and processes all applications. Then, admissions will pass strong applications to the medical school for further evaluation. If the medical school finds a candidate compelling, they’ll invite them to interview. So, the process is a little more intensive than your typical undergraduate application–and even more competitive.

How Competitive are BS/MD Programs?

Because many people are interested in direct medical programs and accelerated MD programs, BS/MD programs are extremely competitive.

One of the best BS/MD programs, according to the BS MD programs ranking, is at Brown University. Brown offers an 8-year Program in Liberal Medical Education. Of the 4100 applicants to the PLM 2027 undergraduate class, Brown only accepted 74 students. That’s a less than 2% acceptance rate.

While 74 may not seem like many students, some BS/MD programs have even smaller class sizes. Baylor University is another of the best BS/MD programs according to the BS MD programs ranking. This program accepts just 6 students each year.

Because the best direct medical programs are so competitive, it’s important to put a lot of thought and effort into every aspect of your college admissions process. But don’t worry–we’ve got plenty of tips and advice for putting together a stellar BS/MD application coming your way.

An Important Note: While all BS/MD programs are considered direct medical programs, that doesn’t necessarily make them accelerated MD programs. An 8-year BS/MD program is not considered accelerated because you’re still completing 4 years of undergrad and 4 years of medical school. Accelerated MD programs are shorter, typically 6 or 7 years. That means you’ll emerge with a medical degree faster than you would otherwise.

Understanding the BS/MD Program Application Process

On its face, the BS/MD program application process is similar to the typical undergraduate application process. Some BS/MD programs even accept applications through the Common App!

Since you’re applying to a very specific program, you will need to tailor your application to each BS/MD program and school you apply to. Most BS/MD programs require additional essays as part of their application. In these essays, you’ll need to clearly communicate your goals and why a BS/MD program is a crucial step towards reaching those goals.

It’s important to meet all deadlines when applying for BS/MD programs, and to prepare ahead of time. Make sure to thoroughly review all of the requirements long before the deadline so you feel prepared when it comes time to apply. This is true of all college admissions, but especially true of BS/MD programs that might have special requirements.

BS/MD admissions can vary year-to-year. Some schools discontinue their programs, and others create new ones or new requirements. Be sure that you’re getting up-to-date information from each school’s official admissions website before setting out to apply.

BS/MD Program: Requirements and Eligibility

In general, most BS/MD programs are open to students currently enrolled in their final year of high school—just like regular college admissions. However, the best BS/MD programs will also have their own specific eligibility requirements.

Some are test-optional while others are not. Some are only open to U.S. residents while others invite international applicants. Indeed, you may be surprised to learn how much requirements can vary between BS/MD programs at different schools.

Examples of BS/MD Requirements

Here are some requirements from three of the schools on our BS MD programs rankings list: Brown University, Rutgers University, and University of Connecticut.

Brown’s BS/MD program doesn’t have any specific requirements besides those for regular undergraduate admissions and is test-optional. However, the website recommends that students “take advantage” of any honors or AP classes that are offered in their high school.
Rutgers requires a minimum 1400 SAT or 32 ACT and only accepts scores from tests taken before October of your college admissions cycle. Rutgers is only open to high school seniors with US citizenship or permanent residency.
At UConn, there is no minimum required SAT score. However, BS/MD students are required to have at least a 3.5 GPA, and submit two additional letters of recommendation.

We recommend doing your own research to further explore BS/MD requirements, because they often vary between schools. Remember, just because one school doesn’t have any specific requirements doesn’t mean that’s true of every BS/MD program.

BS/MD major requirements

For students wondering how to know what to major in, sometimes choosing a BS/MD program can make that decision easier. Many programs focus on traditionally “pre-med” majors, like chemistry or biology. However, other programs allow applicants more flexibility when it comes to choosing a major. In these programs, students can apply to any of the school’s offered undergraduate majors.

For instance, UConn’s offering prioritizes choosing a major in undergrad and allows students to choose from 115 undergraduate majors while also attending events and seminars at the medical school. At UConn, figuring out how to know what to major in might be a little harder, but you gain a lot of freedom with the many different options for choosing a major!

Ultimately, the most important thing to remember about BS/MD programs is that they are all different. Some require SATs or a minimum GPA, some are only open to U.S. applicants, and some just have the same requirements as the undergraduate program. Always research the programs you’re interested in well before your application deadline.

Building your BS/MD Program List

Once you’re set on applying to BS/MD programs, it’s time to think about which programs you’d like to attend.

There are some similarities between choosing an undergraduate program and choosing a BS/MD program. You’ll want to look at things like class size, location, and academic offerings. But remember, you’re also looking at your future medical school. So, you’ll need to think long term and consider what you want out of a medical school as well.

Think about your needs

When you’re trying to choose the best program, there are many things to take into consideration. First, look at BS MD programs ranking lists in order to get a feel for the best BS/MD programs. Then, think about what you want to gain out of a program: Do you want accelerated MD programs that will get you an MD in less than eight years? Or are you just looking for direct medical programs where you can attend med school and undergrad at the same university? Do you want to avoid taking the MCAT before matriculating to medical school?

Ranked lists like CollegeAdvisor’s can be helpful, but you need to dig a little deeper to figure out which program is the best fit for you. Look at the program’s specific offerings, and what they offer in terms of choosing a major, extracurriculars, class size, and volunteer and research opportunities. Just like you would with a college, if there is any specific discipline or research area you’re interested in, see if there are any professors with the program that work in that field.

Balancing your college list

When you’re building your college list, remember that these BS/MD programs are all very exclusive. Because of their selectivity, you should consider all of them “reaches.” This means that any college advising professional would encourage you to balance your college list with target and safety schools. Look for schools with strong pre-med offerings, exciting lab opportunities, or nearby hospitals that you can volunteer at.

Take advantage of resources

If you’re not sure about a certain school, be sure to go to the school’s information sessions, or reach out to the admissions office and ask to speak to alumni or current students about their experience.

College advising sites like CollegeAdvisor also may have testimonies from BS/MD students that you can explore:

Watch this webinar on applying to BS/MD programs.
Read these articles from a student at the Texas A&M BS/MD program about a day in the life and 5 misconceptions about the BS/MD degree.
Check out our guide about finding your fit and choosing the best BS/MD programs for you

Now, let’s turn our attention towards managing application timelines and deadlines.

BS/MD Program Application Timeline and Deadlines

Once you’ve identified your dream BS/MD programs, what comes next?

Look at your school’s website to determine the application timeline. Deadlines for schools can vary, even year to year at the same school, so make sure that your information is up-to-date.

Some schools have the same deadlines for students as their regular undergraduate programs. For example, Brown allows students to apply Early Decision or Regular Decision even if they are applying for the BS/MD program. Brown’s application website makes sure to note that the students applying to the BS/MD must complete special essays for their program.

If you apply Early Decision to a BS/MD program and are accepted, the decision is binding—even if you’re just accepted for an undergraduate degree and not the whole program. The admissions committee may also defer you to regular admission and provide an admissions decision according to that timeline.

Many BS/MD programs have deadlines in October or November, earlier than Regular Decision for most schools. Depending on your school’s application deadline, you’ll likely hear back about interview invitations between December and February. Following a round of interviews with top applicants, BS/MD programs generally send out admissions decisions in the spring, but each school will be different.

Breaking Down the BS/MD Application

Since BS/MD programs are so competitive, it’s important to stand out as much as possible in your application. To help you prepare, let’s do a deep dive into the components of the BS/MD program application.

Deep Dive Into BS/MD Application

Academics

Strong academics are non-negotiable for a BS/MD application. Though not all schools have GPA or SAT requirements, impressive academic stats are implicitly required nonetheless. Many schools have gone SAT-optional since 2020, but if you have taken the SAT and score at or higher than the program’s average, submit your score.

Just like with a regular college application, your BS/MD application is an opportunity to tell a story about who you are—to establish your personal brand, if you will. If you have weaker grades in a specific area, make sure that you justify that as part of your application narrative.

Extracurricular Activities

The next component of your application is your extracurriculars. Since you are applying to gain admission into medical school as well as an undergraduate institution, you should have research experience, lab experience, have shadowed someone in a hospital, or some other type of medical volunteering. These relevant experiences should be thought of as a requirement: sometimes explicitly stated, sometimes implicit, but always present in a stellar application.

Requiring experience in the medical field for a high school student might seem strict, but remember, you’re trying to convince the admissions committee to essentially preemptively admit an 18 year old to medical school. You must have shown a demonstrated interest in medicine before applying.

However, BS/MD programs still value well-rounded candidates. This can be tricky: you only have so many hours in a day, how can you dedicate yourself completely to medicine and still be well-rounded? The answer is that making a commitment to a career in medicine requires that you have experimented at least a little bit in other fields. If you’ve tried different types of clubs and extracurriculars, you can make a better argument for why you know medicine is the right path for you—and why, having been a part of, say, youth politics or theater, would make you a better doctor than someone who’s been laser-focused on medicine.

Essays

Another important component of this application are your essays. There will almost certainly be additional supplemental essays for the BS/MD program. These essays will ask you questions like: Why do you want to participate in this program? Why do you want to be a doctor? They may also ask you about your values or goals.

Since almost all BS/MD applicants have incredible academics, the essays are an area where you can stand out. Be yourself, write clearly, and be specific about your experiences. BS/MD admissions committees have a tough job: deciding which of their high school applicants are prepared to embark upon an 8-year journey straight out of high school.

Your job in the essays is to convey that you have seriously considered why you wish to pursue medicine, and why you are choosing to make that commitment now. Maturity and thoughtfulness are important to showcase here.

Letters of Recommendation

BS/MD programs will often ask for additional letters of recommendation. Try to get a letter of recommendation from your medical extracurricular, someone who works in your lab or a doctor that you’ve shadowed. This can enhance your extracurricular resume, adding additional value to the experiences. Additionally, be sure to include recommendations from your math or science teachers.

Interviews

If you are a top candidate, you will be invited to interview. Not everyone gets an interview, and admissions officers use these interviews to humanize their applicants. They want to know what you’re like as a person, and whether you can convey why you should be admitted. Again, admitting a student to a program like this is a big risk, so the interview is for admissions officers to evaluate your dedication to medicine and how thoroughly you’ve thought about this decision.

Certainly, these applications can be a lot to handle. If you want more guidance on any aspect of the application process—how to know what to major in, how to choose the right school location or class size, whether to go pre-med or pursue a BS/MD, writing supplemental essays, how to optimize your extracurriculars—college advising can help.

For now, let’s discuss how to tackle each section of the application in more detail.

Academics

Undoubtedly, academics are a key part of the BS/MD admissions process. Since BS/MD programs have very small class sizes, you will need to demonstrate your preparedness for college-level and medical school level work. Indeed, the best BS/MD programs are looking for students who have the study skills, time management skills, and persistence to make it through their rigorous courses and become physicians.

So, how can you demonstrate these skills in your application? To start, here are some aspects of academics that BS/MD programs are looking for in the admissions process:

High grades
Rigorous coursework
Strong test scores

Let’s discuss each in more detail!

High grades

BS/MD program admissions officers are looking for top grades, especially in relevant math and science coursework. However, put your full effort into all of your courses. One reason for doing so is that it will help you with choosing a major in college.

As previously stated, some BS/MD programs allow you to have any major. Many students struggle with how to know what to major in as a result. Use your high school experience to explore new topics and courses to help you with choosing a major in college. And, do well in your courses to maintain a competitive GPA!

Rigorous coursework

Unfortunately, receiving high grades alone won’t be the key to impressing direct medical programs. In fact, course rigor is just as important. Accelerated MD programs are full of difficult classes, so admissions officers want to see that you took rigorous courses in your high school career and excelled at them.

Rigorous courses can include honors courses, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses, or dual enrollment courses at a college. Make sure to take the most challenging courses available to you, especially in math, physics, chemistry, and biology. However, do not shy away from taking advanced courses outside of these subjects that interest you as these can be just as valuable.

Test Scores

Another way to demonstrate academic readiness for a BS/MD program is to achieve high test scores, particularly on the SAT and ACT. While some undergraduate universities and BS/MD programs remain test optional following the pandemic, the vast majority of BS/MD applicants will have strong test scores. Utilize all the resources available to you, such as test prep courses, online practice tests, or tutors, to ensure that you can score the highest possible score on the SAT or ACT.

BS/MD Application Tip!

While the allure of BS/MD programs is that they sometimes do not require students to take the medical school exam, called the MCAT, many of them still do. Scoring well on the SAT and ACT can demonstrate to those programs which require the MCAT that you are able to do well on a challenging standardized test.

As you can see, excelling academically is key to helping your application stand out and, later on, can help you with how to know what to major in once accepted. Some BS/MD programs are designed specifically to encourage students to explore other fields. Brown’s PLME program is just one example of a program that encourages students to follow their passions outside of medicine so they can become well-rounded and humanistic doctors.

While strong academics are a foundation part of the BS/MD program application process, extracurriculars are equally important. Coming up, we will explore the role of extracurriculars in your BS/MD program application.

Extracurriculars

Extracurriculars are important in college advising, and this holds true for BS/MD program admissions as well. In the admissions process, extracurriculars are a way to showcase characteristics of your overall personal brand. Additionally, extracurriculars often help students with how to know what to major in, as they provide insights into future career paths.

In the BS/MS program admissions process, extracurriculars are a way to demonstrate your commitment to medicine as a career path. Indeed, accelerated MD programs need to ensure that your interest in medicine is well thought-out and based on real-life experiences. You will want to make sure your extracurriculars include a mixture of the following experiences:

Examples of Extracurricular Activities

Volunteering/Community Service

At its core, the medical profession is a service profession. We expect medical professionals to have empathy for others and a desire to help improve others’ lives. By volunteering, you demonstrate that commitment. While volunteering in a hospital or clinic would be ideal, any type of community service is valuable. You could serve meals in a food bank, tutor young students, or make visits to a senior citizen home.

Clinical Exposure/Shadowing

Gaining clinical experience is critical for your BS/MD applications, as it demonstrates that you have been in a medical setting and know what it is like. Aside from volunteering in a hospital, you could request to shadow doctors to learn about their real world experiences.

Research

Another valuable experience for BS/MD program applications is research. While it can be difficult to get research experiences as a high school student, you can research summer programs hosted at universities or reach out to professors at local colleges to see if you can help them with their research. If all else fails, you can design your own research project and enter competitions to demonstrate to colleges that you have the critical thinking skills to be an excellent researcher.

While medicine-related extracurriculars are a must-have for BS/MD program admissions, do not write off other extracurriculars. Indeed, other activities are just as important for maintaining a balanced life and demonstrating that you are a well-rounded applicant in the college admissions process. Just be aware of your own limits, and avoid piling on more than you can handle and really invest your time and energy into.

A Note on Building Your BS/MD Program Resume

When building your BS/MD program resume, follow all the key pieces of college advising advice for making a strong resume. These include having clean formatting, using strong action verbs, and whenever possible, trying to quantify your impact.

In addition, your BS/MD program resume should demonstrate your leadership and maturity. Whenever possible, highlight places where you were promoted, took on additional responsibility, or mentored others. The best BS/MD programs are looking for students who already have the interpersonal, organizational, and leadership skills to navigate challenging responsibilities.

Furthermore, always be honest on your resume. Lying or even embellishing details, if caught, can lead to automatic disqualification. Remain confident that who you are and what you have accomplished is enough to land you in a solid future program or career.

Essays

While many aspects of the BS/MD program admissions process are similar to the general college admissions process, the essays are one area where they differ. Indeed, BS/MD program applicants must write more essays than the normal college applicant.

In addition to the Common App personal statement and school specific supplemental essays, BS/MD program applicants will also need to complete program-specific supplemental essays. These essay prompts will generally relate to your interest in medicine. They may ask about prior experiences, what led you to want to become a physician, your long-term goals, and how a BS/MD program will help you achieve them.

Additionally, some BS/MD programs require students to enroll in the honors college. Consequently, you may be asked to complete an honors program essay. Overall, BS/MD program essay prompts can vary immensely. To help you get a better sense of the essays you may encounter, below are a few essay prompts from top BS/MD program applications.

Rutgers University Essay Prompts

To apply to Rutgers 7-year BA/MD joint program, applicants must write a 600-word essay that responds to all four parts of this prompt:

Part I. Discuss why you are interested in pursuing a career in medicine. (150 words)
- Points to consider:
  - What aspects of medicine most appeal to you?
  - What do you think are the most challenging facets of medicine?
  - What sparked your interest to pursue a career in medicine?
Part II. Describe your health-related volunteer experiences and the time devoted to them. (150 words)
Part III. Discuss what has attracted you to apply to the School of Arts & Sciences-Newark, apart from the BA/MD program. (150 words)
- Points to consider:
  - What areas of our campus are you familiar with?
  - How would you get involved on our campus?
Part IV. Discuss why you are specifically interested in attending Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) over other medical schools. (150 words)
- Points to consider:
  - What aspects of NJMS most appeal to you and why?
  - Describe the mission of NJMS and how it relates to your goals as a physician.

To respond successfully to this prompt, make sure that you are being concise and covering all parts of the question. Secondly, be specific about what draws you to the program, the School of Arts and Sciences, and the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

Stony Brook University Essay Prompt

For the Stony Brook Scholars for Medicine 8-year BS/MD program, applicants must write a 650-word essay that responds to this question:

What aspects about medicine/dental medicine intrigue you? Describe how these aspects influence your life.

With this response, Stony Brook is looking for specific examples of what motivates you to pursue medicine. They also want to see a personal connection to medicine, conveyed by examples of how your passion for medicine has shaped your life. Be sure to use specific examples and anecdotes to illustrate your response.

University of Connecticut Essay Prompts

Applicants to UConn’s Special Program in Medicine must write responses to three supplemental essay prompts, which are:

1. Please briefly share the influences on your decision to pursue the field of medicine, including shadowing experiences and other medical related activities.

2. Please describe your interests, activities, hobbies, etc., outside the area of health sciences.

3. Please describe a role you have held in a meaningful group/peer-related activity.

While responding to these prompts, be sure to avoid simply restating your resume. Instead, form a narrative about why you chose different extracurriculars and what you learned from them. Lastly, for the third response, use specific details to demonstrate how you work with others, emphasizing your impact in helping the group achieve its goal.

University of Illinois at Chicago Essay Prompts

For UIC’s Guaranteed Professional Program Admissions process, students must write three essays in total:

Common Application personal statement
Honors College statement
GPPA statement

The second essay is about why you want to join the Honors College and how you will contribute to the community. The third is an essay about what advantage an accelerated MD program will give you. In your response, you might include examples of ways in which an accelerated pathway will advance your career goals, and what unique features of the GPPA program make it the right program for you.

As you work on your supplemental essays, be sure to utilize the free college advising writing resources available to you, like this webinar and article from CollegeAdvisor. Coming up, we will explore the role of letters of recommendation in the BD/MD application process.

Letters of Recommendation

Another critical part of your BS/MD program applications are your letters of recommendation. Depending on the program, you may need to submit anywhere from 2 to 5 letters of recommendation.

Most of your letters should be from academic references, especially teachers of medicine-related subjects like math and science. However, you can also include a letter of recommendation from another adult who has supervised you in some capacity, such as in a volunteer role, job, or shadowing experience. Make sure that you read the requirements for letters of recommendation for each of the programs you wish to apply to before you request your letters.

When requesting letters of recommendation, there are some best practices to keep in mind. Be sure to ask your recommenders at least six weeks prior to a deadline to give them ample time to plan. Provide them with information such as your resume or reasons for wanting to attend specific programs, so that they can write the strongest, most tailored letter possible. Lastly, be sure to thank your recommender with a thoughtful note.

Interviews

In the BS/MD application process, students who submit strong applications can expect to be contacted for an interview. While interviews can provoke a lot of nerves and anxiety, remember that being selected for one is a great sign. It means your application was exemplary and gave admissions a positive impression of your potential to succeed through such a rigorous program. Walk into your interview with the confidence in knowing that you are an accomplished candidate.

Nevertheless, preparing for an interview is very important. Your goal is to demonstrate maturity. One way to do so is to be well-prepared. In your BS/MD interview, you will be asked difficult questions about your immediate and long-term goals. Prepare responses that use specific details and examples to illustrate your points. Here are a few other questions you may be asked:

Potential Questions You’ll Answer

How do you know you want to pursue medicine now?
What are your strengths and areas of growth?
Why is our BS/MD program right for you?
What is a topic within the medical realm that interests you and why?
What is a meaningful medicine-related experience you have had and what did it teach you?

Make sure to tie your responses back to the program to which you are applying whenever possible, demonstrating why their specific program is a good fit for you. Avoid focusing on superficial details like BS MD programs rankings, and name characteristics that will influence your career goals and daily experience.

Interview tips

To pull off a strong interview, you might want to consider the following tips:

Prepare responses with specific details and anecdotes to illustrate your point.
Have your resume and any other helpful materials handy, but do not read from them.
Keep your responses brief while answering the question.
Take a deep breath before responding. Feel free to ask for a moment to think before you answer.
Bring questions you want to ask of your interviewers.

If you prepare well for your interview, it will likely feel conversational and useful to both parties. Remember, one goal of an interview is to ensure that the program is a good fit for you as well.

Qualities of a Strong BS/MD Application

While accelerated MD programs have different applications, there are some common qualities that make up strong applications. Here are some characteristics of strong applications for direct medical programs:

Characteristics of Strong BS/MD Applications

Tells a story

A strong application will tell a cohesive story about why you are the perfect fit for a program, what you will add to the program, and how you will benefit from it. To tell that story, you will want to make sure you develop a personal brand. and that all parts of your application speak to that brand.

Showcases your maturity

As we noted, the best BS/MD programs are looking for mature candidates. To showcase your maturity, put together a polished application that emphasizes your leadership, critical thinking skills, and social and emotional skills.

Demonstrates your dedication

Since accelerated MD programs need applicants who are certain they want to attend medical school, your application must prove you are dedicated to being a doctor. You can demonstrate your dedication by having a variety of experiences in the field and writing thoughtful essays about why those experiences taught you that being a doctor is the right career for you.

If you spend the time making sure your application has these qualities, you are much more likely to be a compelling candidate for direct medical programs. Next, we will talk about even more ways to make your application stands out.

Tips For Making Your BS/MD Application Stand Out

While many applicants will have strong test scores, an expansive list of extracurriculars, and glowing letters of recommendation, the best BS/MD programs have very small class sizes and can only admit a handful of students.

Tips for Your BS/MD Application

1. Reflect on your “why.”

Before you even begin to apply to accelerated MD programs, reflect on why you want to pursue medicine and why a BS/MD program. If you aren’t clear on your “why,” it will be difficult to convince admissions officers of why they should accept you.

2. Emphasize your strengths

Developing a personal brand involves identifying the strengths that you wish to showcase. Some of the common strengths that the best BS/MD programs are looking for are leadership, compassion, communication, inquisitiveness, and dedication.

3. Choose relevant recommenders

Ask for recommendations from math and science teachers who can speak to your academic strengths. Also look to extracurricular supervisors who can emphasize other soft skills such as communication or leadership.

4. Write compelling and polished essays

Your essays are the space to make your case for why your experiences and goals make you the perfect candidate. Polish them off by editing and proofreading them carefully.

5. Be authentic

Tell your own story and avoid trying to say only what you think college admissions officers want to hear. Honesty is always more compelling.

How to Get into a BS/MD Program – Final Thoughts

In this article, we took a broad look at BS/MD programs. We explored the competitive nature of admissions to direct medical programs and looked at BS MD programs rankings. Then, we discussed how to build a college list for BS/MD programs and the timeline for applying. Additionally, we looked at the details of making a strong BS/MD application, including academics, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, essays, and interviews.

As a final reminder, we encourage you to spend serious time thinking about whether a BS/MD is right for you. Applying to these programs is an incredibly large investment of time and energy, and many students who attend regular bachelor’s programs go on to become successful doctors. However, if you do decide to apply, remember to look beyond BS MD programs rankings and make your decision based on specific aspects of the program that you like. Indeed, BS MD programs rankings will not give you the full picture for whether the program is right for you.

When you are ready to apply, remember that CollegeAdvisor is here to help. We can help you craft a strong and compelling application, setting you on your path towards your dream of becoming a doctor.

This article was written by advisor Rachel Kahn and senior advisor Courtney Ng. Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.