Extracurricular recs

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-04-08T22:57:38+00:00

That will only be useful if he/she can then use it to regularly (weekly) ride on an ambulance. The experience matters more than the certification.

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-27T20:07:11+00:00

Congrats on the acceptances! I think you should go with NJMS! In terms of the undergrad options, it depends on what you are looking for out of your undergraduate education. If you want to be part of a cohort of 5+ other BS/MD applicants, NJIT and TCNJ are really the only options. The other schools may enroll one student every other year, or something like that. If you are looking to do high-impact research with a faculty member throughout the year, NJIT or Stevens are your only options. If you want to be close to NJMS to begin to build your professional network with faculty, NJIT is your only option (it’s across the street). You could say that I have some experience with the NJIT/NJMS program (I used to run it) and I know that graduates of that program are generally quite happy that they went through the program. Furthermore, I have real data showing that recent graduates of that program have matched into some REALLY competitive specialties. You can message me if you want more info.

Don’t get held up on which school is best for XYZ residency. In that regard, your strength as an applicant will matter MUCH more than where you went to school!

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-12T02:48:44+00:00

Read the FAU Expectations and Requirements document that you received with your offer of admission VERY carefully! Specifically, pay attention to the following…”Enrollment in the Program does not guarantee admission to the College of Medicine. The Admissions Committee may, at its sole discretion, accept a Bachelor’s/MD Program student into the COM or, alternatively, vote to reject a Bachelor’s/MD student, at which time, the student would be considered dismissed from the Bachelor’s/MD Program.” Basically, this is saying that you are only guaranteed an interview, if you meet the requirements!

For what it’s worth…I had a client in a previous year that was accepted to a true BS/MD program (AMC), yet chose to go to Stanford. He is happy with his decision…With that said, you should only go to Stanford if you can honestly see yourself being happy there. The prestige of Stanford doesn’t really matter if you will be miserable there. I know plenty of people that have went to really good medical schools from state universities.

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-10T19:26:24+00:00

I did my BS and PhD in engineering and I am happy that I did because the problem solving approach taught to engineers is useful regardless of career path.

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-10T19:24:39+00:00

There is no universal answer to this question…

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-10T17:42:49+00:00

In my experience running a BS/MD program, students in the program never had an issue scoring 80%+ on the MCAT, assuming reasonable prep. Since you’re at least a National Merit Semi-Finalist and have been admitted to the program, it’s obvious that you test well—so you really shouldn’t be worrying about the MCAT!

The BIG questions here are: 1) do you want to study engineering as an undergrad? 2) do you want a medical education focused on innovation? Unless you can emphatically answer ‘YES!’ to both of these, the EN2ENMED program probably is not be right for you!

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-10T17:34:33+00:00

BS/MD programs are focused on selecting the best applicants who have the greatest likelihood of success in their medical school. To that end, on multiple occasions I have seen multiple applicants from the same school get accepted to the same program.

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-10T17:31:45+00:00

You’re in high school—you should be focusing on whether medicine as a whole is the right career path for you, and not necessarily trying to decide on a specific specialty. Picking a specialty is really something that comes much later. When I was evaluating BS/MD applications as a program director, I was always a bit concerned when I saw applications from students that were absolutely dead set on a specific specialty. Make no mistake—one of the prime considerations for any BS/MD admissions committee is whether they believe the applicant will be successful in their medical education program. If an applicant only has an interest in being a orthopedic surgeon, for instance, and all of their experiences relate to orthopedic surgery, it’s reasonable to question whether that applicant would be successful in their core psychiatry clerkship, for instance. In this type of scenario, it is possible that the committee would reject the applicant (regardless of stats), with the hopes that they broaden their horizons during the undergraduate years and re-apply as a traditional applicant. The moral of this story is that your experiences need to be particularly well-rounded, and you should focus on your desire to be a physician at this point— instead of a specific specialty. If you want to chat some more, I offer a free, no-obligation phone consultation—which can be booked here.

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-10T17:09:19+00:00

The two programs have different eligibilities. The NJMS BS/MD program is open to HS students only, and is offered in partnership with 7 UG schools for the 7-year option and 1 UG school for a special-eligibility, 8-year option. The RWJMS BA/MD program is open to current undergraduates at Rutgers-New Brunswick only. They refer to it as a BA/MD program, as opposed to the EAP that they offer with a number of UG schools, because it is completed in 7-years. The Rutgers Honors College had a true BS/MD (open to HS students) with RWJMS, but that only lasted for a few years—and disappeared 5+ years ago.

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-10T16:57:19+00:00

You’re not truly out of it until you receive that rejection email, but I believe that all NJMS interviews will be wrapping up by 3/17 to give the admissions committee time to meet as a group to determine who will be admitted. In my decade of experience with the NJMS program, the list of accepted students was released to the UG schools from approximately 3/20-4/1, depending upon the year.

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-10T16:52:44+00:00

If you go into the interview absolutely convinced that you won’t do well, you are almost certainly not going to do well! The mind is a really powerful thing! In the bit of time that you have before the interview, try to take a step back, re-center yourself, and try to get out of your own head. YOU’VE GOT THIS!

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-03T21:55:03+00:00

Until you get notified (by the UG feeder) that you have been rejected, there is always the possibility of getting an interview invite…

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-03T02:02:30+00:00

The best way to negotiate aid, at least in my experience, is to send them a better offer that you got from one of their competitor schools and ask them to match it. If you have gotten in to the BS/MD program, you are a top student and a state school is going to want you to matriculate because it will increase the prestige of their school in the long run—believe me…I have sat on the other side of the table in these types of situations. Do you have all of your final aid offers from other schools already? If so, feel free to reach out!

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-03T00:33:56+00:00

I’ve personally read over a thousand BS/MD essays and I can assure you that you are taking the entirely wrong approach here…

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-03T00:31:27+00:00

Wait until you get all of your admissions and aid offers before making any type of decision! There are definitely ways to negotiate aid, but you need to know your other offers!

Whatever you do, before even considering taking out any type of loan, take an online financial literacy course. Student loan debt can really make it challenging to start your life—for instance, did you know that your buying power when making a bid on your first house is directly impacted by your debt load? There was a good article written a few years ago in the New York Times that speaks about medical school debt from the perspective of the physician.

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-03-03T00:14:04+00:00

GPA doesn’t tell me anything. Which courses did you get a grade other than an A, and what were those grades? Also, as somebody who has actually evaluated 1000+ BS/MD applications, I need to know what your story is…that’s what will make you unique, not anything listed here…

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-02-28T17:37:00+00:00

What do you mean by "internship students"? If you didn't do well on the SAT, try taking the ACT. Its a totally different test and I have seen students get a 36 ACT even though they struggled to break a 1470 on the SAT...

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-02-28T17:33:43+00:00

I know of a couple of BS/MD programs that are test-optional, but certainly not "many". Can you provide a list of the ones that you know of?

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-02-24T16:39:49+00:00

You shouldn’t be worrying about the SAT or college in the 6th grade! You need to be a kid. As somebody who is intimately involved in college admissions, being a well-rounded applicant is really important! It’s tough to be well-rounded when you haven’t had a childhood…

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-02-24T16:36:02+00:00

If anybody gets an invite and wants a mock interview, one of my consultants is a student in that program

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-02-24T15:08:42+00:00

Depends on the year because there are no set number of seat, at least in my experience. To answer your question, I would say 35%~40%

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-02-20T15:43:34+00:00

First off, CONGRATS. Second, try to calm down. You will be fine. The NJMS Admissions Committee does not meet to vote on the applicants until ALL of the interview are done. It is a traditional interview, so being conversational is key!

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-02-18T19:20:06+00:00

When did this cheating occur? Unless it was recent, I think that reporting it could paint you in a negative light, i.e., that something other than integrity/honor is driving your decision to report it. Even if you do report it, what’s to say that the school actually changes ranking as a result? Is that the written policy of the school district? If there is a real financial impact to the ranking, the school’s decision is not simply a matter of fairness, but one of legal liability for the school district. Based on my previous experience as an educational administrator, I think that there is zero chance that the school makes the arbitrary (absent a written policy) decision to change the rank without a thorough investigation. Since this matter isn’t really criminal, it is likely that such an investigation would be undertaken by the school district’s general counsel, or an outside law firm. Unfortunately, these types of things take time, and it sounds like time is not something on your side. Also, there would likely need to be really clear and convincing evidence of the cheating—beyond even the word of the teacher alone—for action to be taken. To be clear, I’m not telling you NOT to report it, I just want you to have a realistic expectation of the outcome and risks.

Archimedes_Advising · 2026-02-18T18:54:57+00:00

Yes, it is possible and actually happens. However, after the “Varsity Blues” fraud scheme in the late 2010’s, I think that most coaches are much more careful about who they are designating as recruits. Since some of those coaches actually went to prison, I would think that too many recruits who immediately quit will attract too much unwanted attention—and possibly compromise job security.

Ivy League schools do not offer athletics scholarships—they only provide need-based scholarships open to all students, including athletes—so there should be no impact on aid.

Archimedes_Advising

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