Cornell University and Dartmouth College are announcing changes in their financial aid policies according to an article in Inside Higher Education.  Basically, the new policy is that each of these colleges will match the financial aid award offered by some of their competitor colleges including the other colleges of the Ivy League.

Here is how it would work. If a student applies to both Cornell and Harvard and gets a financial aid award from Harvard that is better than the one from Cornell, Cornell will match the award at Harvard. Sounds good since the student can now make a college selection without the issue of which college has the better financial aid package.

But, things aren’t quite that simple.  The student needs to know about this policy and ask Cornell or Dartmouth to match the financial aid award from the competing college.  Don’t ask, don’t get more money. The reality also is that a student admitted to both Cornell and Harvard will in all likelihood choose Harvard if the cost is the same at both.

So why are Cornell and Dartmouth changing their policies?  The real focus of this new policy is recruited athletes.  Recruited athletes will often choose a college based on that particular athletic program or the coach at that college. If a recruited athlete prefers Cornell’s athletic program to Harvard’s they now can get more money to play for Cornell.

This has the consequence that two students applying to Cornell, one who also applied to Harvard and is a recruited athlete, may get a better financial aid package to Cornell than the non athlete. Doesn’t quite seem fair given that the Ivy League rules specifically forbid the granting of merit based scholarships including athletic scholarships.

This also has the additional consequence of potentially increasing even further the applications to the Ivy League colleges with stronger aid (Harvard, Yale and Princeton) since you need to have a financial aid award from one of the those colleges to show to Cornell or Dartmouth.

The only good news from this deceptive practice is that Cornell is being open about what they are doing.  As long as you are an avid follower of Ivy League admissions, you as a recruited athlete can get a good deal. Just remember to apply to Harvard or Yale as well.

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BS/MD combined medical programs are some of the most popular combined degree programs. They are also among the most competitive programs in the world of college admissions.

More than half of the students I work with are interested in BS/MD programs and I have helped hundreds of students find and apply to these combined medical programs.  But, I have seen a great deal of misinformation and lack of understanding about these programs over the years. To address that lack of knowledge, I have decided to create this Guide To BS/MD Programs.

This guide has the links to all of the articles about BS/MD programs that I have written in the past. As I write new posts they will be posted in the regular manner but will also be linked to this Guide so that you can find answers to all of your questions about BS/MD programs in one place.

These posts will help you understand some of the basics related to the BS/MD programs and what is required to be the most competitive applicant.  Of course, each person’s needs are different, and if you would like to discuss working with me on applying to BS/MD programs, give me a call for your free consultation.

Here are all of the articles in the series on BS/MD programs.

BS/MD Combined Programs

BA/MD or BS/MD

Admissions to BS/MD Programs

BS/MD Admission Requirements

Applying to BS/MD Programs

Interviews for BS/MD Programs

BS/MD Programs and Financial Aid

BS/DO Programs

BS/MD Programs for International Students

BS/MD Programs for College Students

Summer Activities for BS/MD Applicants

6 Steps to Make Yourself the Best BS/MD Candidate

College Essays for BS/MD Applicants

Medical School Essays for BS/MD Candidates

How Many BS/MD Programs are There?

Is it Too Late for Help with Admissions to BS/MD Programs?

How Many BS/MD Programs Should You Apply To?

BS/MD Program List

How Many BS/MD Applications is Too Many?

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Last week I talked about what a reasonable number of BS/MD program applications may be.  But what if you really want to attend a BS/MD program and you want to apply to every BS/MD program available? This is what several of my students have wanted to do.  Can you do so? Is it a good idea? The answer to both questions is no.

Although there are approximately 70 BS/MD programs a student can’t apply to all of them because many of the programs have geographic limitations on who can apply. Some programs are only available to students from a particular state while other programs are only open to students from a particular high school. Even if you wanted to, and had the time, there are many BS/MD programs that you just won’t qualify for.

OK, so you are willing to apply to only those programs that you are qualified for geographically. However, even that is not a good idea. Why?

The problem is that certain program have a particular focus. For example, the BS/MD program at Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute/Albany Medical College has a focus on the physician-scientist. The BS/MD program at Union College/Albany Medical College has a focus on leadership for the physician. If you apply to both programs your focus won’t be believable as both a physician/scientist and a physician leader. If you are accepted to both RPI and Union and they pass on your applications to Albany Medical College, Albany will see both applications and most likely not consider either.

There is also the issue of how many applications you can practically complete and do a thorough and complete job of. After a certain point, you just do not have the time to really do a good job on all of the applications. You will have a much better chance of admission doing a good job on a limited number of applications compared to an adequate job on more applications. These applications are so competitive that you must do everything as well as possible to have a chance of admission.

There is no one right answer to the question of how many is too many, but, even the most diligent student has to put a limit on the number of BS/MD programs to which they apply.

Want more information about BS/MD programs? Check out the Guide to BS/MD Programs.

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I mentioned in an earlier post that there are about 70 BS/MD programs.  Since that time I have had numerous requests for the list of programs. So, I decided to provide the list to my faithful readers.

A brief note before the list.  This is a fluid list. Programs are created and programs end on a regular basis. To the best of my knowledge, this list is accurate as of the date of this post. If anyone is aware of another BS/MD program, please let me know and I will add it to the list.

These programs are the true BS/MD programs where you apply as a high school senior. These are not programs where you apply to medical school as a freshman or sophomore in college.

Some medical schools have BS/MD programs with different undergraduate colleges and the list indicates the undergraduate college and the medical school if they differ. If only one school is listed it is both the college and medical school.

Here is the list of 71:

University of Alabama

University of South Alabama

Caltech/University of California San Diego

University of California San Diego

University of Southern California

University of Colorado Denver

University of Connecticut at Storrs

University of Miami

Northwestern University

University of Illinois Chicago

Indiana State University

Grambling State University/Meharry Medical College

Boston University

Boston University/UMDNJ New Jersey Medical School

Michigan Tech University/Wayne State University

Northern Michigan University/Wayne State University

Wayne State University

St. Louis University

University of Missouri Kansas City

Washington University

University of Nevada

College of New Jersey/UMDNJ New Jersey Medical School

Drew University/UMDNJ New Jersey Medical School

Montclair State University/UMDNJ New Jersey Medical School

New Jersey Institute of Technology/UMDNJ New Jersey Medical School

Richard Stockton College/UMDNJ New Jersey Medical School

Rutgers University/UMDNJ New Jersey Medical School

Stevens Institute of Technology/UMDNJ New Jersey Medical School

University of New Mexico

Brooklyn College City University of New York/SUNY Downstate Medical

City College of New York Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education/various colleges

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute/Albany Medical College

Siena College/Albany Medical College

St. Bonaventure University/George Washington University

Stony Brook University

Union College/Albany Medical College

University of Rochester

East Carolina University

Case Western Reserve University

Kent State University/ Northeast Ohio University College of Medicine

Ohio State University

University of Akron/ Northeast Ohio University College of Medicine

University of Cincinnati

University of Toledo

Youngstown State University/Northeast Ohio University College of Medicine

Drexel University

Duquesne University/Temple University

Lehigh University/Drexel University

Penn State University/Thomas Jefferson University

Rosemont College/Drexel University

University of Pittsburgh

Villanova University/Drexel University

Washington and Jefferson College/Temple University

Widener University/Temple University

Brown University

Baylor University

Prairie View A & M University/ University of Texas at Galveston

Rice University/Baylor University

Texas A & M Various colleges

Texas A & M International/University of Texas at Galveston

Texas Southern University/University of Texas at Galveston

University of Houston/Baylor University

University of Texas at Brownsville/University of Texas at Galveston

University of Texas at El Paso/University of Texas at Galveston

University of Texas Pan American/University of Texas at Galveston

University of Texas-Pan American/Baylor University

Virginia Commonwealth University

George Washington University

Howard University

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico/Ponce School of Medicine

Interamerican University of PR/Ponce School of Medicine

Want more information about BS/MD programs? Check out the Guide to BS/MD Programs.

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When I work with BS/MD students, one of the first questions is often “How many BS/MD programs should I apply to?” While there is no one single answer, I generally tell students it depends on your focus.

If your primary focus is on getting into a BS/MD program then I would consider applying to 8 to 10 BS/MD programs and 5 regular college programs. Why this many? Because BS/MD programs are so competitive, you want to apply to a number of colleges where your credentials make you a strong candidate for the program. We may also discuss applying to those programs that have a greater number of positions available or those where the competition is less than it might be at some of the most popular programs. And, the regular colleges will often be more on the safe side since we don’t want to risk having no options in the spring.

If you are only interested in the most competitive BS/MD programs and, if not admitted to one of those, you wish to attend a college that has a strong placement into medical school, the number of applications will be different. For those students, I will typically recommend 3 or 4 BS/MD programs and 6 to 8 regular colleges. This allows the student to apply to the most competitive BS/MD programs and still have a reasonable number of regular colleges to consider reach, match and safety colleges.

Are these magic numbers? No, but they will hopefully give you a realistic idea of the number of colleges and BS/MD programs that may be appropriate for you to apply to.

Want more information about BS/MD programs? Check out the Guide to BS/MD Programs.

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US News has released their latest college rankings and, as usual, there are no surprises in the rankings.  Harvard, Princeton and Yale top the National University rankings. Williams, Amherst and Swarthmore top the the National Liberal Arts College rankings.  Big surprise.

I say this every year and I will say it again; do NOT pay attention to these arbitrary number rankings. While colleges may be able to be lumped into broad categories for quality, there is no possible way to provide a realistic breakdown in a 1, 2, 3 type of list. Moreover, what is an appropriate college for one student is not necessarily appropriate for another student, even if both may be admitted.

US News does provide some helpful information regarding each college. Unfortunately, unlike past years, you need to look at each individual college to see such information. This makes it more difficult to compare colleges on such factors as graduation rates.  Also, much of the information this year is only available to people who choose to pay for the information. Since most of this information is already available at the College Navigator and College Board websites, I would advise saving your money and using those free resources instead.

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“Is it too late?”  That was the question posed to me from a parent who was looking for help with BS/MD admissions for her daughter.  The answer was simple. No, it is not too late.  So, does it matter when you start the process of finding the right BS/MD program? Absolutely.

If the student has the necessary grades and test scores, has some research experience, has done doctor shadowing and been involved with health related volunteer efforts for several years, we can jump right in and work on the process of finding and applying to combined BS/MD programs.  The summer or even early fall is not too late.

Of course, getting an earlier start is better because it allows more time to work on the essays, and make sure that the applicant has the strongest possible credentials to apply to the BS/MD programs.

But, if the student has not done all of the preparation needed to be competitive for the combined BS/MD programs, then starting the process in the summer before senior year will make the application process much more difficult.  Starting to volunteer as a senior or setting up doctor shadowing in October of senior year, make it look as if you have not given serious thought to what is needed to be a serious candidate for a BS/MD program.

The women who called had a daughter who had prepared herself in all of the required ways before senior year to be a competitive candidate. However, if you are not sure what might be beneficial for BS/MD admissions, please give me a call before senior year.

Want more information about BS/MD programs? Check out the Guide to BS/MD Programs.

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Once again, Forbes has released their list of America’s Best Colleges. For those of you who have been following me for some time, you know I am not a fan of college rankings in general and really not a fan of Forbes rankings. But, there is a small bright side to this years rankings.

First, the bad. Forbes continues to use student evaluations from RateMyProfessor.com. In fact, this is the single largest factor in the ratings at 17.5% of the total ratings.  For those of you not familiar with RateMyProfessor, it is a website where anyone, and I mean anyone, can go online and rate a professor at any college. You do not have to be a student in that professor’s class to rate him/her. You don’t even need to be a student at the college where they teach. Hate a particular professor? Help Grandma to go online to give a bad rating to this professor.

The second largest criteria used in the rankings at 15% are the salaries of alumni. Apparently the only reason to go to college in this country is to make as much money as possible.  Since Forbes is a business magazine I assume this is why they have this factor as part of the ratings. Personally, I think ethical behavior is more important than just earning as much as possible.

Finally, 10% of the rating is based on a listing of Who’s Who in America. I have commented on this in the past but let’s just say that I agree with Forbes prior statements that this is a ridiculous listing since anyone who wants to can seem to get into Who’s Who.

Now, all of that being said, I did notice that Forbes has attempted to improve their rankings this year by giving less weight to these ridiculous factors and more weight to some that actually make some sense.  Four year graduation rate? Yup, that is important. Debt load of typical graduate. Yup, that too is an important factor.

While the debt load of a college’s graduate is an important number, the numbers provided by Forbes are totally inconsistent with any numbers I have seen before from the colleges themselves.  I looked through the top 25 colleges on the list and they were all under $5,000 debt for graduates. In reality, almost every one of those schools have an average debt of more than $5,000 after 4 years of college.  Now, they may be saying that the debt they list is for each year but if that is the case, the listing is confusing at best.

Finally, I do want to give Forbes some credit. If you look at any particular college, Forbes has compiled in a handy format a number of important factors regarding the colleges on the list.  This is broken down into academic data, tuition data, financial aid data, admissions data and athletic data.  This information is also available in other places but this is one of the best for a single location.

Ignore the rankings themselves. But, Forbes has finally produced in a single location information on each college that can be helpful to a student trying to find, and pay for, the best college for their needs.

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Last week I talked about why most students do not need a resume for their college application. But, some students do have enough accomplishments that they should use a supplemental resume. Today I will talk about what makes an effective supplemental resume.

What to include- Depending on your accomplishments, there are several things that can be included in a supplemental resume.  You might list academic honors with an explanation of each honor if it is not something that an admissions officer will know about. These should be true honors, however, and not a list of minor accomplishments. Won 2nd place in your school science fair? Not impressive. Won 2nd place in a statewide science fair? More impressive.  Intel Science Fair finalist? Wow. The greater the level of competition the more likely that the honor should be listed.

A supplemental resume may also be appropriate for the student with a number of extracurricular or volunteer activities beyond what the typical student might have.  If you are a budding film maker and have shot 6 films that have been shown at the Sundance film festival, tell me about each of those films.  Made a movie that your Aunt Shirley showed to her friends? Not a big deal.

What not to include-Do not include grades, test scores or other items that are already available on your application.  Also, do not include common activities that are not impressive, such as one year of a sport or other activity. Not sure if it is impressive? If you are not sure it probably shouldn’t be included.

How long should it be- As short as you can make it. Ideally, one page. If you need to, two pages.  But if you have a two page resume you had better have some national type awards on that resume.  I recently spoke with a student that was talking about having a 10 page resume. This would be a very bad idea.

Look at it this way. Admissions counselors spend, on average, 15 to 20 minutes per application. This includes the time to review your grades and courses, test scores, application, all of your essays and then you want them to look at a 10 page resume? It’s not going to happen. If you are lucky, they might scan the resume. They may also just ignore the whole thing and figure you have no ability to write succinctly and prioritize what is important.

Keep in mind the old saying in the admissions world. The thicker the file, the thicker the student.  Enough said.

How should it be formatted- Keep the formatting simple and straight forward. Don’t try to get fancy or cute with the formatting. Include the name of the activity, a description of the activity and the dates you participated in the activity.  You should also include any honors or leadership positions you held related to the activity.

Also include at least your name and social security number on each page of the resume.

Follow these recommendations and you will have the strongest possible resume for your college application.

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A number of highly competitive colleges have recently announced changes to their testing policies.  There is a good comprehensive list of these testing changes at Examiner.com.

Harvard has finally eliminated the need for three SAT subject tests and has joined other colleges to only require two subject tests.  They have also given some guidance to students on what subject tests they would like to see. For example, if a student’s native language is not English, they recommend that the native language be one of the subject tests taken.

A few colleges still recommend three subject tests so students will still need to be aware of each college’s particular requirements.

The other changes that are occurring is that more colleges are now allowing the ACT with writing to be used as a substitute for the SAT plus subject tests.  This potentially has the advantage of reducing the testing requirements for those students that do well on the ACT.

To see more of the changes, take a look at the Examiner article.

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