St. Louis University School of Medicine

 

Introduction

SLU Med has a 8 program with its undergrad St Louis University called the Medical Scholars Program. 

Admission Requirements:

- ACT of 30 or SAT of 1330

- Application deadline is 12/1

Program Requirements:

- Maintain a 3.65 cumulative GPA and 3.65 science GPA at the end of every year.

- Take MCAT and score at least a 500

- Apply again in your sophomore year of college.

Pros

- Easy to get in. Seems like an interview is not even required to get into this program.

Cons

- NO GUARANTEE. This defeats the purpose of a BS/MD program. Seems like the program only mildly boost your chances of admission at SLU's own medical school. 

- No accelerated option

Admission Difficulty

1 out of 10

Admission class of 120 people tells you they let just about everyone in here.

Conclusion

This program is an awful excuse for a BS/MD program. No guarantee to SLU's own medical school despite fulfilling all requirements. I would not even consider going here unless they gave me a fat scholarship and I have no other BS/MD acceptances.

Prestige Rating

1 out of 10

See 40+ other programs better than this one.

Reviews from former Med Scholars:

"The program is particularly tough. If I had to rate the difficulty, I would say that the demands are significantly more than your average state school but slightly less than an Ivy league university. As with most pre-med schools, there is a lot of pressure in the freshman science classes – particularly Gen Chem I. I would say that roughly 10% of students drop out of med scholars after first semester, and probably a little less than a quarter after second semester. In addition, a lot of students find the core curriculum (non-science classes) to be somewhat rigorous too. Out of all the non-science classes I’ve taken so far, I would say hardly any were “blow-off” ones. The year which is toughest is sophomore year. This mainly because two of the hardest courses are coupled with each other: Microcellular Biology and Organic Chemistry. If I recall correctly, more than half of our med scholar class was eliminated by summer time (due to 3.5 math science GPA requirement). This is also the year you have your interview and find out if you have been accepted to the School of Medicine. It is definitely a stressful time.

I’m a Junior now and things have eased up significantly this year. I still have a few hard classes (physics), but it is much more manageable. Senior year looks fairly light as well as I had a bunch of credit coming into the university. 

If I had to do it all over again, I certainly would. Being in the program definitely alleviates the stress of taking the MCAT and what not. Don’t get me wrong, you still have to have an excellent work ethic and struggle sometimes, but I think that this has helped prepare me for the rigors of med school. The SOM is also excellent and few people seem to realize this. A few years ago, we achieved the highest USLME Step 1 score in the nation. I would seriously consider the program for your son."

"I just finished my sophomore year at SLU as a med scholar. My GPA was a 3.7, with 3.65 in the math/sciences (comfortably above the 3.5 requirement). I had over 300 hours of shadowing experience, as well other a few hundred other hours of non-shadowing clinical experience.
After i finished my med school interview a few months ago, i was confident that i would fall into the the 98% of scholars who make it into SLUMED. My interview was a breeze.

However, a few days ago, i received a letter in the mail. It was a letter of declined. I was outright rejected from med school. 

As you can imagine, my family and I are extremely disappointed. I've spoken with the associate dean, Dr. Willmore, two times since then. Both were lengthy conversations about why i didn't get in.

He went on to say that the committee had major concerns about my understanding of the medical field and the lifestyle of a physician. In my essays and interview, i tried to convey my belief that helping others in need, provides a sense of fulfillment and reward. Yet, he abruptly shot this down, telling me that my reasoning was entirely wrong. He stated that "doctors don't feel fulfilled or rewarded, they're tired, over-worked, and depressed." 

I was rejected because apparently I don't understand that. 

He would not specify what portions of my application caused my rejection (essay, interview, etc). 

Anyways, i would advise people to stay away from this program. 5 other students were declined like me, even though they had the GPA.

The 98% stat is far from the truth. It's false advertising at it's finest.
In actuality, only 18-20% of the original pool of medical scholars make it into med school.
Willmore gave me the 18-20% percentage.

Best of luck to you all"

As you can see from the reviews, there are some conflicting views that you need to take into account before going to this program. Do not blindly accept the advertised numbers as is.