Several of the parents who have called me for BS/MD programs, because of the competitive nature of BS/MD program medical school admissions, have been asking me about comparing U.S. BS/MD vs India MBBS degree and whether there is an advantage to a U.S. BS/MD.
First let’s define the degrees: Doctor of Medicine (MD) is a professional (post graduate) degree given in some countries like the USA, Canada etc. Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) is the degree given in the United Kingdom, Ireland and other commonwealth countries like India and is considered equivalent to the MD.
For the Commonwealth countries, MBBS is an undergraduate course of study which is pursued by candidates who wish to make their career in the field of medicine. Whereas, MD is a postgraduate course that can be pursued by candidates who have completed their MBBS.
The US follows a different curriculum for obtaining a medical degree and license to practice Medicine. Unlike India, high school students apply to direct BS/MD programs and earn an M.D. upon completion of the program. Over the course of the program, the students have Pre-Medical courses and earn a Bachelor’s degree (up to four years of Undergraduate program), MD program (Four years) and USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1, 2 & 3). A Residency Program is required to complete the Licensing Exam. After completing all, a student
A student, after completion of MBBS, cannot practice directly since the basic level of study to practice is postgraduate medicine in the US. USMLE has clearly defined the medical courses after MBBS to be completed in the US.
Even with the competitive nature of U.S. BS/MD programs, because of my track record of admissions success, parents of U.S. citizen/permanent resident or H4 visa high school students should contact me!
Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe, founder/managing director and lead admissions advisor of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group, provides comprehensive counseling advice, exclusively for admissions to top private schools; Ivy League and highly-selective colleges/universities; BS/MD programs; graduate and medical schools and top visual and performing arts programs. The admissions affiliate: Ivy League Admissions Advisors specializes in admissions to Ivy League and highly selective colleges. Dr. Lowe also specializes in helping students gain admissions to BS/MD programs:| BS/MD Admissions Guru| BS/MD Admissions Advisors.
High School Juniors: if you are interested in applying to BS/MD programs—it’s time to reevaluate your BS/MD Plans! With such a competitive environment and the immeasurable value and benefits of BS/MD programs, the need for an effective admissions game plan is ESSENTIAL.
Many aspects of the BS/MD admissions environment have changed. At BS/MD Admissions Advisors, Dr. Paul Lowe and his team of advisors discern that many students and parents are clueless about what to do, when to do it, where to do it, who to contact, and why. If you are a high school junior or your son or daughter is a high school junior and you are thinking about applying to direct BS/MD programs, it’s time to reassess your plans.
Most students (even with the help of their parents) read books, look at videos or visit college forum-type websites which they believe may provide personalized answers for them.
Many parents who call us (and whose children are performing the above and have the below profile) then believe that their child is a shoo-in for BS/MD programs and just need “some” advice.
Here is the typical BS/MD applicant-student profile of students when parents contact us:
GPA: 3.9 (UW) 4.6
ACT: 35
SAT: 1580
APs: usually 10 -14 classes
Honors/Awards: several
Teacher/Counselor Recommendations: Excellent
Resume: 2-3 pages
Volunteer: Several organizations
Shadowed Doctors: 2-3
Extracurricular Activities: Several
Published a paper: 1-2
Laboratory Research: Participated and/or possibly published
With all of the above you would believe that this student will definitely be accepted – WRONG! This represents the most common and well-known factors for admissions. However, there are many more things to consider.
Here’s a small list of factors by admissions expert, Dr. Paul Lowe that you should consider if you are a junior seriously thinking about applying to BS/MD programs.
Student CHARACTER – Each institution considers a student’s positive attributes in the light of the goals of the particular institution. BS/MD programs thoroughly evaluate character attributes of a student as a factor for admissions. Among the most important character attributes are honesty, integrity, empathy, curiosity, creativity, teamwork, adaptability, resilience, community, generosity, self-control, adaptability and optimism. Lip-service or just stating that one possesses these attributes will not help.
COLLEGE-SPECIFIC SUPPLEMENTALS – You must complement and synergize your supplementals with your personal statement. All the school-specific essays are important, even the 50 word-count answers! Students have been rejected because of mistakenly using one word or a sentence in 50 word-count essays!
COLLEGE-SPECIFIC-BS/MD ESSAYS – The “Why doctor essay?” “I want to help people”. Everyone in the service industry does that!
WOW FACTOR – What’s your WOW Factor? How and when can you use it to WOW admissions? You want the admissions committee to say “WOW! We want this applicant on our campus.”
ETIQUETTE –Are you mindful of how you present yourself and how people perceive you? Etiquette matters! We provide personalized etiquette strategies for our clients.
MANNERS – When you say something (or write something) what counts is not what you mean but how you are heard and perceived. Are you mindful of your manners? Manners matter! Do you know when or if you sound rude, pretentious, impolite, disrespectful, unrefined or uncultured?
WHO ARE YOU? – What are your values? What do you stand for? Can you define you? Why are you different?
INTERVIEWS – You may be perfect on paper (grades, SATs recommendations, volunteering to save the world, 1000 hours of shadowing), however, one incorrect word or statement in an interview results in a rejection – That’s right, just one!
The KNOW-HOW. Our proprietary-knowledge, unmatched experience, admissions success and years of close working relationships with admissions professionals ensures that you do it right!
If you know how to plan, develop and implement (1-8) and how they are used in BS/MD admissions – that’s wonderful!!! But if you don’t, there is an increased probability that you (and your child) will make irrevocable mistakes that will cause instant rejections to all schools. Would you want this to happen after your years of planning as a parent and your child’s hard work?
By having Admissions Strategy Skype/Zoom sessions directly with Dr. Paul Lowe, brainstorming ideas, developing admissions strategies, essay review, and mock interview sessions to develop amazing student profiles, our clients stand out and are accepted into Ivy League and highly selective colleges/universities and BS/MD programs
Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe, founder/managing director and lead admissions advisor of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group, provides comprehensive counseling advice, exclusively for admissions to top private schools; Ivy League and highly-selective colleges/universities; BS/MD programs; graduate and medical schools and top visual and performing arts programs. The admissions affiliate: Ivy League Admissions Advisors specializes in admissions to Ivy League and highly selective colleges. Dr. Lowe also specializes in helping students gain admissions to BS/MD programs:| BS/MD Admissions Guru| BS/MD Admissions Advisors.
A U.S. Medical Degree, obtained through a Combined BS/MD program, is a definitive path to becoming a medical doctor.
What are the advantages/benefits of being accepted into a BS/MD program?
Accelerated Timeline: Many of BS/MD programs accelerate the process of becoming a medical doctor.
No Medical School Application Process.
Many have no MCAT (or lower requirement).
Lower pressure/stress because of a GUARANTEED route to medical school.
For H4 visa or international students: direct path to becoming a licensed U.S. doctor.
HAPPY parents! Parents are extremely happy when they know that their (high school senior) son or daughter is technically accepted to medical school.
For over 28 years, Dr. Paul Lowe has been helping his clients gain admissions to Combined BS/MD programs. His unique and focused admissions advisory strategies remove the uncertainty of the medical school application process.
Therefore, when Dr. Lowe’s clients are accepted into BS/MD programs they are GUARANTEED becoming medical doctors.
Dr. Lowe and his team ONLY work with parents who understand that the BS/MD admissions process is highly competitive and thus desire help from an admissions expert. They appreciate the value and investment in paying for expert advice consisting of a detailed and ongoing comprehensive admissions advisory service for their child’s dream of becoming a doctor. He also specializes in helping international students in the BS/MD process. Parents who choose to use his services want to call their son or daughter – “Doctor” when they are still seniors in high school.
Unlike other educational consulting firms, where students are assigned to different employees or consultants (and are unaware of their track records), Dr. Lowe, as lead consultant/admissions advisor, personally works with each of his clients so that they directly benefit from his expertise, experience, contacts and the collective knowledge of his educational team.
Dr. Lowe’s exclusivity allows him to provide individualized attention and commitment to ENHANCE the characteristics of each client beyond just grades and SATs.
Fairfax County Public High Schools (Virginia) comprise 28 high schools. Over the past 5 years, MANY parents of high school students have contacted us regarding our college and BS/MD admissions advisory services. Dr. Paul Lowe and his team have worked with students from:
Chantilly High School
Langley High School
Madison High School
Marshall High School
Oakton High School
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
West Springfield High School
W.T. Woodson High School
Despite the fact that they are all excellent high schools, MANY parents contact Dr. Lowe because they mentioned that because of the size of the school, school counselors are either unable to provide continuous weekly or biweekly individualized college and/or BS/MD admissions services to each student. The senior class size for some of these high schools exceed 600 students.
Unlike other educational consulting firms, where clients are assigned to different employees or consultants, Dr. Lowe, as lead consultant/admissions advisor, personally works with each of his clients so that they directly benefit from his expertise, experience, contacts and the collective knowledge of his educational team.
Dr. Lowe’s exclusivity allows him to provide individualized attention, commitment and principal availability to each client. Track record – 28 years of client acceptances to BS/MD programs and Ivy League colleges/universities.
Our BS/MD Admissions practice is specialized: Dr. Lowe and his team ONLY work with parents who understand that the BS/MD admissions process is highly competitive and thus desire help from an admissions expert. They appreciate the value and investment in paying for expert advice consisting of a detailed and ongoing comprehensive admissions advisory service for their child’s dream of becoming a doctor. He also specializes in helping international students in the BS/MD process. Parents who chose to use our services want to call their son or daughter – “Doctor” when they are seniors in high school.
Dr. Paul Lowe - Admissions Expert 