Names for BS/MD Programs? Confusing at Best.

BS/MD. BA/MD. Early Acceptance Medical Programs. Guaranteed Medical Acceptance Program. These are some of the names that are used to describe programs where high school students are admitted to medical schools.What’s up with all the names?

I am in the process of updating my book on BS/MD Programs which includes updating the information on each of the programs. As part of that process I have been talking to the various programs for recent information about their programs.

When I told one program director that I was looking for information on their BS/MD program, he made it clear that their program was not a BS/MD program.  Instead they admitted students from high school who met certain academic requirements and those students had a guaranteed spot in the medical school if they met certain GPA requirements in college.

Part of the confusion is that some people think that BS/MD programs are only those that are accelerated. This is not true. In fact, approximately 50% of the BS/MD programs are full 8 year programs. But many of the earliest programs were accelerated and this myth that all are accelerated has continued.

There are some programs called BS/MD that are really early assurance programs. To refresh your memories, early assurance programs allow students to apply to medical school as college freshman or sophomores, but not from high school.  However, there are some programs called early assurance programs that are really BS/MD programs.

And sometimes, it is hard to tell. The University of Kentucky is a good example. The undergraduate college describes it as a BS/MD Program but the medical school makes it clear that there is no guaranteed admission to medical school but they will look at these applicants favorably. What does that mean? According to the medical school, approximately 90% of the applicants from the program are ultimately admitted to the medical school.

I use the term BS/MD program to describe each of these programs to try and bring some level of continuity to the field. Generally, don’t worry about the name of the program. Worry about whether it is really a guaranteed acceptance from high school or whether you need to wait until sophomore year of college to get your acceptance into medical school.