Pro/Con: Would You Go To An Accelerated BS/MD Program?

[There are approximately 49 programs around the country that offer high school students guaranteed acceptance into medical school. Of these, about 21 of them allow you to shorten college by a year or two, allowing you to complete your undergraduate and medical school training in as little as 6 years.

In this Pro/Con post, I invited two physicians who each graduated from an accelerated BS/MD program, but have opposite opinions about whether they would recommend these programs to their child or a friend’s child. -WSP]

Pro: Among Other Reasons, Accelerated BS/MD Programs Are Cheaper Than Traditional Pathways

[Karna Sura, MD is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Radiation Oncology at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY. He attended the 7-year combined BS/MD program at Drexel University / Drexel College of Medicine. Along with his wife, Dr. Anjali Sethi Sura, Dr. Sura wrote the Unofficial Guide to Accelerated, Combined, BA/MD, and BS/MD programs: Complete Edition. – WSP]

BS/MD programs offer accelerated pathways to medical school without many of the hassles encountered on the traditional route. In general, applicants to BS/MD programs are in the top percentiles of their high school class, making them competitive for both Ivy League undergraduate programs and BS/MD programs. Students opting to enroll in a BS/MD program are more likely to receive scholarship money, have an easier college experience, and enjoy acceptance into medical school. On the other hand, the Ivy League experience brings prestige, an interesting array of classes, and the ability to explore diverse majors.

Accelerated BS/MD programs offer a financial advantage, since the college degree is condensed into 2-3 years instead of 4. Comparing my alma mater, Drexel University, to Harvard University, here is the breakdown for tuition and fees:

Table: Comparison of Drexel University versus Harvard University. Total assumed a 1.025% increase in tuition and fees per year.

The difference between the two programs is $43,427 just for tuition and fees. This is a large difference, especially if one is taking loans for this amount. Furthermore, there are additional charges for room and board for the extra year of college. Also, BS/MD programs offer large scholarships for attendance since they know many colleges are fighting for the same competitive applicants. For example, Drexel University has offered up to 50% off tuition for its top applicants. Adding scholarships to our previous calculation, the total cost for Drexel would be $81,509 over three years, which is a savings of $123,293 over Harvard. However, do keep in mind that scholarships stay fixed while tuition continues to rise yearly. Also, some universities offer scholarship matching, and this is an option that should be explored thoroughly before a decision is made. Lastly, with a guaranteed seat in medical school, the costs of applying to and interviewing at medical schools is saved. On average, these could cost another $7,500. These savings could add up, especially if one is taking loans for the remaining amount.

The BS/MD program offers multiple financial advantages over the traditional prestigious undergraduate experience – but only for those who are sure they want to go to medical school and are okay with sacrificing a year or two of college!

Con: Six Reasons Why I Recommend Against Accelerated BS/MD Programs

[Vagabond MD is well-known in the physician personal finance online community, being an active participant on the White Coat Investor forums and a frequent guest poster on blogs such as Physician on FIRE. He attended the University of Miami combined BS/MD program and is currently an interventional radiologist practicing in the Midwest. -WSP]

I am a graduate of an accelerated BS/MD program, the formerly six-year program offered at the University of Miami. I live in a state with a popular six-year BS/MD program, and I am often asked by parents whether I would recommend their high school students to pursue this path. I generally respond that I do not, and here are some reasons why …

1. The programs are highly selective for students with beyond perfect GPAs and outsized standardized scores, less so for well-rounded applicants with a variety of experiences and talents. The geeks like me who needed to have a well-rounded college experience, to grow personally as well as academically, were placed in an academic crucible with heavy course loads, hard sciences during the summer breaks, and little opportunity for downtime, a real job, an internship, or backpacking in Europe, experiences that allow one to grow and become not only a better physician, but a better citizen of the world.

2. In my program, less than half of the initial 17 enrollees finished college and med school in six years. One never even showed up for the first day of college. One decided that he did not want to be a doctor in his first year of college. Another struggled and dropped out in college. Another struggled and dropped out of med school. Another switched to law school. A couple transferred out. I and another took off for two-year research fellowships and graduated in 8 years, instead of six. A 50% attrition rate does not speak well of the application pool, the enrollees, or the program, itself.

3. Everyone loves to talk about the “guarantee”. Yes, there usually is a guaranteed enrollment to medical school, from high school, provided that you maintain a reasonable GPA and complete the required coursework. Most of us had 4.0’s or nearly 4.0’s, even without the stick or carrot to motivate us. The kind of student that will be accepted into the accelerated BS/MD program is exactly the self-motivated young adult that will be accepted into med school four years later.

4. A great advantage to matriculating in a four-year college is the varied relationships that attending college brings. My college friends were mostly in my program, we took most of our classes together, we lived together, we dined together, etc.  Everyone majored in biology or chemistry. We played Dungeons and Dragons and similar fantasy games on weekends. Then, we all went to med school together. There was little variety and little motivation to develop a network of friends with other interests.

5. You often don’t get to pick your med school or your college when you pick the BS/MD route. Had I not been admitted to the University of Miami program, I would not have attended the University of Miami for college, and I would not have attended UM for med school. Neither would have been on my list. I was accepted into excellent university programs (Duke, Northwestern, Honors Program at Michigan, etc.). Perhaps I would have been accepted to a better or less expensive medical school. Perhaps that would have resulted in a better residency/job or more money in my pocket when med school was all over. We will never know.

6. The Match! I matched at a competitive residency whose program director told me later that he would have never ranked me, coming from a six-year program, had I not done the research fellowship and grown up, a bit. My first choice was a similarly competitive program on the west coast that had a reputation and history of never taking a student from the University of Miami (and they obviously did not rank me). Hearsay and anecdotes, I know, but the accelerated BS/MD might be closing some doors for residency and beyond. My stance is, and has always been, that the BS/MD-eligible young adult is the kind of person who needs the most education outside of the rigorous pre-med track. He/she needs to have a friend group with diverse backgrounds and interests, needs to have time and space to try some things outside school (and occasionally fail), needs some time to mature as a person, and will not be harmed by turning down the accelerated BS/MD route.

The major potential advantage (depending on the program), is that it could be less costly, by cutting out a couple years of college. This is not always the case, especially if you are accepted into a program with an out-of-state and or private college or medical school. You just have to do the math for each program. As a graduating high school student, neither I nor my parents (my father was an orthodontist) were exclusively fixated on the cost, and this is probably also the case for the physician readers of this blog.

Did it work out well for me? I guess so, mostly I credit taking the two-year break for the research fellowship. This allowed me to mature as a person and as a physician/scientist, to travel, to learn public speaking skills, to develop some outside interests that have lasted throughout my life (including competitive running and art history), and to buff up my CV. In retrospect, I believe that something inside me was telling me that it was too soon to move on.

It’s the same something that warns others against taking this route.

[What do you think? Would you recommend your child (or a friend’s child) go to a combined, accelerated BS/MD program? Vote in the poll and explain your reasons in the comments below! – WSP]

[socialpoll id=”2516966″]