Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

As everyone knows, Wash U's Med School is extremely top-rated (at least on US News). So I know you're all excited to hear that Wash U Med has a BS/MD program with its undergrad, Washington University in St Louis. The program is called University Scholars Program.

Before you get too excited, you should hear about the requirements for matriculation into the med school. A 36 on the MCAT must be achieved. As if that isn't hard or ridiculous enough, a 3.8 GPA also has to be maintained. On top of that, you have to complete another interview with the med school.

When I saw this for the first time, my first thought was "What the heck?" These requirements are too high to be called a BS/MD program. A 36 MCAT and a 3.8 GPA will get you into a great medical school via the normal route. But apparently there are some benefits with this program. You are invited to special lectures and you have a mentor to guide you through during your undergrad years. Also, you could engage in research.

These benefits don't seem that special to me. I don't know what kind of lecture it is, but they probably won't help you on your MCAT or classes. I have a mentor in my BS/MD program too, and we rarely make contact. You could engage in research in any school, not just Wash U.

So the bottom line is this: Unless you are super highly motivated (which I doubt you are if you are reading this), do not apply to this program. Don't even think about it. Besides, from the picture on the website, they only have five spots.

Admission Requirements:
Washington University in St. Louis

• January 15th

No score cutoff, but I'm sure the average is in the 2300s. If you can get into this program, you can probably get into HPME or PLME. Choose smartly.