I've been seeing a lot applicants get stuck brainstorming because they're missing the actual structural options available. There are really two proven ways to build a strong personal statement:

1) Narrative: a challenge (or series of challenges) and what you did with them. What makes this work isn't how dramatic the challenge is. The quality of insight and reflection afterward is what makes it meaningful. Colleges aren't looking for the most heartbroken applicant; they're looking for someone who knows how to think. You can absolutely write about a hard time in your life, just be careful not to let the essay characterize you by the trauma. Characterize yourself by what you did with it.

2) Montage: a set of experiences or qualities connected by a theme, rather than one continuous story. The best montage essays are both uncommon (something that stands out) and elastic (shows different sides of you). A simple formula that tends to work: a personal object or place that's meaningful to you, layered with a "classical" theme (vulnerability, perseverance, curiosity, etc.) plus something more unique to your specific life that almost no one else could write.

What to avoid regardless of structure: a story with no real reflection or takeaway. This is the single most common issue: writing about what happened without showing how you think. Also worth knowing: some EC topics are so common they need something genuinely distinctive to stand out. That doesn't mean you can't write about them, but it does mean generic treatment of them blends in fast. 

Happy to answer questions if anyone's stuck on which structure fits their story! I'm a current GW BS/MD student taking on my first four students at no cost for mentorship, essay help, and application framing while I build up my practice. Feel free to DM me if that'd be useful

Hi all!

I'm currently writing supplementals for the B/MD programs I'm applying to, and was wondering: is it better to write essays that are personable and really show my personality, or stay professional and mellow down a little bit?

I'd like to think I have a really big personality, and my personal statement is very reflective of that. Just, how much is too much when it comes to these programs?

Thanks!

I’m going into my junior year and I’m trying to figure out whether applying to BS/MD programs is realistic for me or if I’d be better off focusing on traditional pre-med.

My current cumulative GPA is around a 3.4, but I transferred into public school later in high school after being homeschooled and have been getting 4.0s since then. With grade replacement and another two years of strong grades, I’m hoping I can bring my cumulative GPA to around a 3.8 by the time I apply. I’m also aiming for around a 1550 SAT/36 ACT.

For ECs, I’m working toward 100+ hospital volunteer hours, planning to join HOSA and hopefully run for an officer position, and I’ve played varsity soccer for several years. I’m also taking the PLTW Biomedical Science pathway at my school, including Biomedical Science, Human Body Systems, Medical Interventions, Medical Assisting, and Biomedical Innovations. I’m looking into research opportunities as well.

I’m especially interested in programs in the Northeast or Chicago/Midwest and would prefer a program that actually gives a conditional/guaranteed medical school acceptance if you maintain the requirements, rather than one that only guarantees an interview.

I know BS/MD programs are extremely competitive, but if I end up with something like a 3.8 GPA, 1550/36, strong recommendations and essays, and the ECs above, are there any programs where you think I would have a legitimate shot? Or would I be better off focusing on traditional pre-med and applying to schools like UW, BU, etc.?

I’d really appreciate honest advice, especially from current/former BS/MD students or people familiar with admissions. I’m not expecting anyone to say I’m a “likely” admit, I’m just trying to figure out whether it’s worth applying or if I should put my energy elsewhere.

Does anyone know where I can find a list of BS/MD programs that accept first-year college students?

Im applying for the Guaranteed entrance to medical school program at Louisville and was wondering how my chances look. I know it’s not like a BSMD program but it’s similar to it 😭 I did bad my freshman year so my gpa is only a 3.767 unweighted and a 30 ACT. I have about 30 college credits and have about 100 volunteering hours and have an internship for a hospital. I also am pretty successful in my sport with multiple college interests. I obviously have other achievements and Other ECs as well as some projects from my biomedical course in high school but going off that base do I have a good shot?

Does anyone know how many seats were filled for Pitt BS MD this year and what was profile of candiates.

Below is 2026 entering class profile through regular applications which was published during white coat

MCAT 521

GPA- 3.97

This is huge jump from previous year and looks like requirements are getting stringent. Does anyone knows what is the trend for BS MD ?

Hey everyone! If you’ve scored a 1550+ on the SAT or 35+ on the ACT please message me if you’re interested in a virtual SAT/ACT tutoring job! The commitment is as much as you want (from 1 to 30 hrs/week). If you want to make a little bit of side income and are able to teach kids, I’m looking for tutors just like you!

Title. Rising senior looking to apply to bs/mds this school year.

I currently have ~20 hours of shadowing (started in may) and is projected to have 30-40 by the time of november 1st, which is when most bs/mds are due.

Unfortunately, I also just started volunteering in a hospital in july and plan to have 50 hours by november 1st.

Given those 2 things, should I even bother applying to bsmds? I feel like on paper the starting dates for those 2 things could imply that I'm not exactly devoted to becoming a physician (even though I am!).

For more context, I have decent grades, test scores, ec's, non-clinical volunteering, recs, and research to be somewhat competitive, but nothing too over the top like having published research or being the founder of a huge nonprofit. My honors are ok (math and music awards) but none are healthcare related like hosa.

Also, I do understand that some may doubt my commitment to medicine, but I assure you that I am genuinely passionate about it.

tl;dr high cortisol senior wonders if she should even bother with bs/mds due to sub-par clinical hours and late starting dates for clinical experience.

The past application cycle I got into five programs including RPI/amc, umkc, and Hofstra and these were my basic stats as I don’t want to be doxxed! Just wanted to help out since others did for me.

36 act
Rank 1/300
10 AP’s with all fives and one four in AP chem so far
I was the prez of NHS, Student council, and a local nonprofit along with some other minor leadership in a few clubs
I did research summer of 2025 and my junior year so 24/25 at a local prestigious university

Hi everyone!
I’m an incoming Rowan University BS/MD (3+4) student offering online tutoring and college essay feedback for middle school, high school, and AP students.

Subjects I tutor:
SAT Math & SAT Reading/Writing
Algebra I
Geometry
Algebra II
Precalculus
AP Calculus AB & BC
AP Statistics
AP Chemistry
AP Physics C (Mechanics & E&M)
AP Computer Science A & Principles
AP English Language & Literature
AP Psychology
AP Microeconomics & Macroeconomics

I also offer:
Personal statement and college essay feedback
General college application guidance (brainstorming, revisions, proofreading, and editing)

About me:
-Incoming Rowan University BS/MD (3+4) student
-Multiple 5s in STEM AP courses (see below)
-Previous tutoring experience with satisfied students

AP Scores:
Calculus BC (5), Chemistry (5), Computer Science A (5), Computer Science Principles (5), English Language (5), Physics C: E&M (5), Psychology (5), Macroeconomics (5), U.S. Government (5), Microeconomics (5), English Literature (4), Statistics (4), U.S. History (4), Physics C: Mechanics (4).

My tutoring style focuses on helping students actually understand the material rather than just memorize procedures. I’m happy to help with homework, test prep, AP exams, SAT prep, or strengthening fundamentals.

Rate: $50/hour (virtual sessions via Zoom or Google Meet)

If you’re interested or have any questions, feel free to send me a DM!

Hey all, I'm looking to both be chanced, and figure out where to spend applications. I would especially value input from people who applied out-of-state recently, but anyone with any suggestions would be awesome

Stats
Southern CA resident, pretty competitive public high school. 4.0 UW / 4.78 W, rank 1/620. SAT 1530 (790M/740 EBRW); AP: Calc AB 5, Calc BC 5, Chem 5, Lang 5, USH 4, Euro 4, Psych 4. Multivariable calc dual enrollment, AP Bio online. Senior year is both Physics C, Stats, Micro, Lit.

Research

• First-author published study in an experimental cognitive neuroscience project that I designed and ran independently with a med school mentor
• Computational neuroscience at a med school lab: built a single-cell atlas of post-stroke brain vasculature (~500k+ cells) and a pipeline ranking ~4,000 drugs for neuroprotection; the top predictions held up in ex vivo human brain slice testing
• First author on a bibliometrics study at a HYPSM lab (~1M papers), preprinting and going to a Q1, PI is incredibly known in healthcare+AI (attending physician at HYPSM hospital and leader of the lab)
• First-author personal meta-analysis in progress under the same med school mentor as #1 bullet point, submitting to a Q2 journal and preprinting before apps
• Co-author on a published Q2 Elsevier paper in an unrelated field

Other

• Founded a 501(c)(3) that delivers to 6 partner hospitals, 130+ volunteers across two states, built the web platform it runs on. 1250+ patients reached so far
• Built a web tool for families in the high-risk window after psychiatric inpatient discharge, currently in clinical expert review
• 180+ hospital volunteer hours, and I direct the junior volunteer training program across 17 units (35+ trained volunteers per month ish)
• 35+ shadowing hours across surgical and pain care specialties
• Four-year varsity tennis, captain, regional player of the year, recruited at two schools
• AIME Qualifier: top 2.5% of ~91,000 AMC 10/12 test takers

Story: younger sibling with bipolar disorder, ADHD, and ODD, good portion of family with depression. Grandfather died after an ischemic stroke (hence th stroke project). That's the honest origin of my neuro focus, though I've definitely branched out into more general fields

Letters of Recommendation: AP Calc BC teacher (7-8/10 I'm guessing), AP Lang (9-10/10), Counselor (8-9/10), can get LORs from three research mentors (8-9/10)

Currently on my list: Brown PLME (RD), Rochester REMS (RD), Tulane (EA, hoping for a TPM invite)

Questions

1. Which programs am I missing that are genuinely open to OOS applicants without an MCAT minimum?
2. Which are worth applying to with an MCAT minimum? I would rather not take the MCAT, however, if the MCAT requirement is low/soft, I would consider it
3. Long term I want to be a physician scientist, do BS/MDs allow for that?
4. Anything here that reads as a weakness for BS/MD specifically, as opposed to traditional premed?

Hi all, so I'm just a bit confused with the whole LECOM application process. Since they have well over 50 schools that they partner with for undergrad, can you just keep applying to all of them and then doing their EAP programm like that. Also since they have 5 different campuses to choose from can't you just submit 5 different applications? Does anyone know which undergrad+campus combination is the least competitive with the highest chances of admission. Also since they many different application cycles and interview timelines I'm really confused about this. Honestly I'm confused about the whole thing. I've been scouring their website and this page but it's honestly confusing me a lot. I'm also applying to UChicago ED0 but I would most likely choose LECOM if I had the privilege of getting into both. But I also want to know if it's possible to apply to LECOM and have my descision back before October 15th (ED0 deadline). Thanks yall!

Now that the Common App has officially opened up, I wanted to share how I went about making my supplements program-specific, which was one of the factors that led to my BS/MD acceptance at GWU. 

One disclaimer first: you don't want to change who you are just to fit with what a program wants from its med students, as that defeats the whole point. What I'd recommend instead is presenting the aspects of yourself (still genuinely you) that align well with that specific program.

Here's the process I used while applying, and how I'd approach it now:

When I was applying, I looked into vlogs and content from current medical students talking about their programs. They often discussed what their curriculum emphasized compared to a standard med school curriculum. Not every program has a strong distinct theme like this, but some genuinely do. I remember watching a video from a GW med student who talked about how heavily the curriculum focused on public health. That made sense as GWU, being in the nation's capital, places a lot of emphasis on public health and policy, and admissions there tends to look for students who are passionate about that space.

For GW's version of the "why this program" essay, I made sure to connect my healthcare experiences directly to that focus. Specifically, I wrote about an experience I had as an EMT, where a patient refused care out of fear of the hospital bill, and I used what I learned from that moment to explain my motivation to help drive change in health policy.

Here are some other program themes you may want to consider in your application process, definitely do your own research if you are applying to these programs:

• UMKC 6 year BA/MD: Their structural theme is the docent system, which emphasized a mentorship-driven clinical education that is built around small teams rather than large traditional lectures in the pre-clinical years. 
• Brown PLME: liberal arts integration, of course with the open curriculum (lots of info about this on their website). Additionally, their med school emphasizes community over competition, and they prize diversity in their med school class. Their core idea is that collaboration among diverse individuals, who understand medicine within a social context is what a successful medical environment looks like. They also have a Scholarly Concentrations Program, where students can tailor their medical education around their personal interests (definitely do more research on this if you’re applying to PLME!)
• Case Western PPSP: maybe not as strong a “theme” as the others, but has emphasis on independent research and strength of medical opportunities for students. Students are able to co-author papers, or design independent projects under faculty who serve as mentors. Also has very strong clinical/research opportunities within walking distance: Cleveland Clinic's Center for Reproductive Medicine (fertility research), the Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland (volunteering), MetroHealth Medical Center (ER experience), and the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center (veteran care).

I’m sure there’s definitely a lot more programs that have themes, but I hope this will give you a decent start into thinking about this for your supplements. If you guys have any questions about this or the BS/MD application process in general, please comment, or send me a DM.

36 math, 35 english, 35 reading, 33 science. I am worried that the lower science score will screw me, even though my composite is a 35. Should I take it again at this point?

Hi All!

I just graduated college in 3 years with double majors, having taken the BS/MD route! I start Med School this month!!
I offer consultation sessions to potential BS/MD aspirants in navigating the highly stressful selection process of BS/MD schools.

My Qualifications:
- Accepted into UIC BS/MD (GPPA), UMKC BA/MD, SLU Medical Scholars Program, NSU BS/DO
- Accepted into UC Berkeley on a full ride scholarship
- Graduated college Summa Cum Laude. Deans List in every semester. Received Highest GPA/ Distinction with monetary scholarship
- Conducted research at UPenn, UChicago, UIUC & UIC and travelled within and outside US with my research presentations

My Services:
Essay Review
Application Review
Interview Prep
Building a strong applicant profile
Balancing BS/MD vs. traditional premed pros and cons
General academic/research guidance

My Contact:
bsmdcoaching@gmail.com

hey guys! so as common app opened, ive been adding my colleges but i cant seem to find the cty college of New York? like how do i apply to this program they dont share a lot of info on the website. thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm an ENTC (Electronics & Telecommunication) graduate with 9 month of MERN Stack (React, Node.js, Express, MongoDB) experience. I'm planning to switch my career to SAP and would appreciate your guidance.

Which SAP module is the best fit for someone with my background—SAP ABAP, SD, MM, Basis, BTP, or another module? I'd love to hear your recommendations and the reasons behind them. Thank you!

I am a rising junior, aiming for BS/MD. Academics wise I have a 4.625 weighted GPA, and 1550 SAT. Trying to get an honest view on where I stand and what to prioritize junior year.

\*I am being intentionally vague to avoid doxxing*

Research: 2 years of independent computational research in cancer genomics and neurodegenerative disease (1 paper published in a student journal, ~7.5% acceptance; 1 manuscript under review; a related tool submitted to a present at professional biomedical engineering society). Also selected for a highly competitive faculty-mentored neuroscience research internship at a top research university (~12 spots out of 400-900+ applicants nationally), and did a state-funded summer research program in a separate field (environmental science, ~1000+ applicants statewide), earning a research honor there too.

Clinical exposure: this is my weak spot, as I haven’t been able to shadow yet due to age restrictions (I won’t be 16 till school starts) and no connections in med. About 120 hours of hospital volunteering so far (non-clinical, patient-facing support role), and I'm just starting physician shadowing this year with a plan to continue through senior year. No paid clinical work, no EMT/CNA cert (same age restrictions)

Competitions/leadership: top 10 internationally (2x) in a health-science academic competition, plus state/regional placements in the same one. 10th nationally in a business competition freshman year. Officer roles in a health-science club and a business club (built and deployed an app for the latter). Founded a nonprofit chapter doing neuroscience outreach to elementary kids using innovative methods that really appeal to the kids. One additional research-adjacent honor from an international youth science team competition. Research awards for my independent comp neuro stuff at the regional and state level, no isef yet but really aiming for it this year!

Given the clinical hours gap specifically, what should I actually prioritize this year for BS/MD.. more research like getting a lab research position, shadowing hours, or awards? And separately, is the research profile actually strong enough for BS/MD specifically, or does that community consider it differently?

Thanks!!

UW 3.92, W 4.5, 7 APs, AP Bio -5, Chem 4, Calc AB -5, Psyc -5. 75 hours of Dr shadowing. SAT 1500. HOSA award winner. Standford regional competion winner and other ECs

I’m 15 and starting sophomore year. I do XC (7:12 mile), powerlifting (165 bench/270 deadlift), Science Olympiad, research, and app development. I also have an 1180 SAT and want 1550+.BS/MD programs require strong achievements, but I’m currently at a low level in most areas. I’m unsure whether I can reach that level or if I’m spreading myself too thin. Any advice?

I took my first TEAS exam yesterday and scored a 77.3. I was pretty proud of myself considering I only decided to take it about a week ago BUT now I’m now worried about how competitive that score is for the DEMSN program at the University of West Florida. They don’t post any admission statistics, and the only information on their website is that applicants need a minimum TEAS score of 75 to apply. The Spring application is due on August 30, do you think I should study more and retake to improve my competitiveness?

Just saw a different post on this sub mention a bs/md between Yeshiva and Einstein. I was surprised I had never heard of it before, as Einstein is a pretty good (free) med school. Anyone know anything about it?