I wanted to let my readers know about a new BS/MD program that is just starting up. The program is at California Northstate University and its first class of BS/MD students will start in Fall 2016. This is particularly good news for many California students who were disappointed when the program at UC San Diego stopped accepting new students this past year.
According to the recent recount of their pharmaceutical roadmap on https://www.plprx.com/, California Northstate began as a for-profit pharmacy school and has now expanded to include the College of Health Sciences and the College of Medicine. The College of Medicine started its first class this past fall.
There are two options for the BS/MD program, either a 2+4 or a 3+4 program. The 2+4 program requires some summer school work. The minimum high school GPA to be considered for the 2+4 program is a 3.75 and a 1,360 critical reading and math SAT or a 32 composite on the ACT.
For the 3+4 program the summer work is optional. The minimum high school GPA for the 3+4 program is a 3.6 and a 1,290 critical reading and math SAT or a 29 composite ACT.
To advance to the medical school students will need to maintain a 3.5 GPA and score at least a 510 on the new MCAT.
The College of Health Sciences and the College of Medicine are for-profit colleges but they are accredited programs. To my knowledge this is the first for-profit medical school that has been accredited.
This program is open to students from all states and not just California.
Has anyone been through the program? I can’t find any information from actual students in the program.
Taylor,
This is a brand new program and there are no students who have gone through. The undergraduate college opens for the first time this Fall of 2016.
Todd:
There used to be a few programs for people with BA/BS degrees but without the prerequisites for medical programs. These programs would admit people into a post-bac, pre-med program and usually its affiliated medical school. Do any of these programs still exist?
Thanks,
Mark
Mark,
There are a number of Post Bach programs around. Some are loosely affiliated with a medical school but most are not and are just meant to provide the classes needed to take the MCAT. If you Google post bach program you should have a number of hits.