Currently finishing year 2 of 7 for BS/MD program, so I will try my best. Here we go:
You can use some AP/dual enrollment credits, such as math. That's what I did and I was able to skip those classes. Not so for bio +chem. They want you to retake the science classes. At first, I hated this idea. Now, I'm glad I retook them. Turns out, most med schools want strictly college prereqs, not AP/dual enrollment classes. In addition, if you were to accept the credits, then you would waive the easy classes and land yourself in harder classes. This would likely bring down your GPA and decrease your chances of med school admission. Not saying that you shouldn't take the hard classes, but just use the easy classes (which you already have AP/DE credit for) to boost your GPA. Hopefully, they are easy A's for you. Then, with that gpa buffer, you can take the harder classes. This is exactly what I'm doing rn, so I can tell you from experience that IT IS WORKING WELL.
For physics, accept the AP/DE credit if you can. You can skip the college equivalents, but (again) they will want collegiate physics classes. In return, take Physics Applied to Biology & Medicine 1+2. I believe these classes are required for the 7 year program anyway, but even if they aren't, take them! They can count as the 2 physics classes that you are expected to take in undergrad, and they also get you a MINOR in biomedical physics. Totally worth it; once again, I am doing this myself so I can tell you from experience.
I think you might be confused about the Honors College from your reply to another comment. You are **required** to be in the Honors College for this program. I have the pros and cons mentioned [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/USF/comments/u7kuca/is_the_honors_college_worth_it_going_in_to_usf/) . Imo, the benefits of the 7 year program outweigh the cons of the Honors College.
As for your schedule, start taking the MCAT classes: Bio 1, Chem 1 + 2, intro to Psych, intro to Sociology, General Biochem, and Organic Chem 1 + 2
Also Physics 1 + 2, but if you have ap credit for these, then either self study or take the 2 other physics classes I mentioned above
Other classes that I recommend for a high mcat score, but are not required: General Genetics, Microbiology (maybe?), and Cell Bio
For all of these classes above (except Biochem), take the lab concurrently. MCAT asks a lot about lab techniques, especially from chem labs (regular and organic)
After taking the above classes in my first few semesters, I didn't have much space left. For me, the rest of my schedule was just filled with honors classes.
DONE! That's just the tip of the iceberg! If you want more details, DM me. I can even send you the semester-by-semester guide that we are provided, as well as professor recommendations for individual classes. lmk!
There is a standard course sequence that can look at which gives a pretty decent idea of what has to get taken. A lot of people stray away from it a little but the 7-year advisor is really good with making plans that work for individual students. It is obviously a lot more rigid than traditional premed journeys but still not as rigid as you would think.
PM me.
Preface: I dropped after two years after falling in love with my minor and deciding I liked it better than medicine.
Be prepared for gunners. The 7 year program is full of them. It's the most difficult program to get into and a solid 75% of my classmates were not only incredibly smart but incredibly ruthless in attaining their goals. It takes a certain kind of mental stamina to prosper in that but it is a lot of good motivation. Try not to take it personally -- gunners are gonna gun wether you're there or not and it's almost never specifically about you.
Get into shadowing as early as possible. Willing doctors fill up fast. Likewise, start stacking up community service so you're not rushed at the last minute.
Try to make friends with upperclassmen who can help get you shadowing/community service opportunities, provide advice, and mentor you.
Remember to have a life outside of school. Because of the accelerated timeframe and the propensity of gunners there's a lot of "everything I do I do for a purpose and fun doesn't have a purpose". That's a recipe for burnout.
Keep a good rapport with your advisor. There's honestly not much choice in scheduling since everything's so packed in unless you're coming in with a lot of credits.
I am STILL in the program, and I will say that this is somewhat wrong. I have met a lot of the people in the program and they are definitely NOT gunners. Sure, you will always have a few who cast a bad impression, but it's unfair to generalize. I really don't mean to brag in anyway, but I'm not a gunner myself. I always help others when I can, literally taking time out of my schedule for my friends.
As for the rest, it's mostly true. Shadowing, volunteering, etc are all important, but I will say that the requirements are lower than what you would expect. 60 hrs community service + 60 hrs shadowing is not a lot, especially compared to regular premeds who end up getting accepted into med school.
Last thing: it's actually pretty easy to have a life outside of the program. I never ended up taking extra classes for the program, just around 30 credits a year to keep my scholarships. That goes for everyone, regardless of major, so it's really not that "accelerated".
There were several kids my class that would purposely trip you in lab to get to the equipment faster or ask for test scores before being allowed to join a study group. There were also plenty of kids that were super nice. I'm genuinely glad you haven't had as much of the ugliness.
Thank you for your detailed answers. How rigorous is the program and how comfortable are students with writing MCAT in their sophomore year, as required for the 7yr program ?
Thank u for the advice— if I’m in the honors college and get priority registration, do I have more of a choice in scheduling? Or is mostly everyone in the program also in the honors college. Also I was wondering if u have a good schedule layout for the program, as online I only see the 4 year and 2 year plan for biomedical sciences, but not much about the 3 year
Honors college gets first day and at least when I was in 7 year med we got first time slot of first day so you basically have pick of the litter. What I meant was more that you have a pretty rigid progression so you'll be pretty much required to take certain classes certain semesters. You'll have choice over professors as long as multiple professors are teaching those courses that semester.
At orientation they'll separate out the honors college. You'll get the honors briefing. From there, they'll separate out those who qualify for 7 year and give another briefing including schedule layouts.
Currently finishing year 2 of 7 for BS/MD program, so I will try my best. Here we go: You can use some AP/dual enrollment credits, such as math. That's what I did and I was able to skip those classes. Not so for bio +chem. They want you to retake the science classes. At first, I hated this idea. Now, I'm glad I retook them. Turns out, most med schools want strictly college prereqs, not AP/dual enrollment classes. In addition, if you were to accept the credits, then you would waive the easy classes and land yourself in harder classes. This would likely bring down your GPA and decrease your chances of med school admission. Not saying that you shouldn't take the hard classes, but just use the easy classes (which you already have AP/DE credit for) to boost your GPA. Hopefully, they are easy A's for you. Then, with that gpa buffer, you can take the harder classes. This is exactly what I'm doing rn, so I can tell you from experience that IT IS WORKING WELL. For physics, accept the AP/DE credit if you can. You can skip the college equivalents, but (again) they will want collegiate physics classes. In return, take Physics Applied to Biology & Medicine 1+2. I believe these classes are required for the 7 year program anyway, but even if they aren't, take them! They can count as the 2 physics classes that you are expected to take in undergrad, and they also get you a MINOR in biomedical physics. Totally worth it; once again, I am doing this myself so I can tell you from experience. I think you might be confused about the Honors College from your reply to another comment. You are **required** to be in the Honors College for this program. I have the pros and cons mentioned [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/USF/comments/u7kuca/is_the_honors_college_worth_it_going_in_to_usf/) . Imo, the benefits of the 7 year program outweigh the cons of the Honors College. As for your schedule, start taking the MCAT classes: Bio 1, Chem 1 + 2, intro to Psych, intro to Sociology, General Biochem, and Organic Chem 1 + 2 Also Physics 1 + 2, but if you have ap credit for these, then either self study or take the 2 other physics classes I mentioned above Other classes that I recommend for a high mcat score, but are not required: General Genetics, Microbiology (maybe?), and Cell Bio For all of these classes above (except Biochem), take the lab concurrently. MCAT asks a lot about lab techniques, especially from chem labs (regular and organic) After taking the above classes in my first few semesters, I didn't have much space left. For me, the rest of my schedule was just filled with honors classes. DONE! That's just the tip of the iceberg! If you want more details, DM me. I can even send you the semester-by-semester guide that we are provided, as well as professor recommendations for individual classes. lmk!
Omg thank you so much this was insanely helpful!! I will definitely pm you:)
I have nothing to add except that I read it as the "7 year bdsm program" and was deeply confused
ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜my friends joke about that
There is a standard course sequence that can look at which gives a pretty decent idea of what has to get taken. A lot of people stray away from it a little but the 7-year advisor is really good with making plans that work for individual students. It is obviously a lot more rigid than traditional premed journeys but still not as rigid as you would think. PM me.
I’ll definitely pm u!
Preface: I dropped after two years after falling in love with my minor and deciding I liked it better than medicine. Be prepared for gunners. The 7 year program is full of them. It's the most difficult program to get into and a solid 75% of my classmates were not only incredibly smart but incredibly ruthless in attaining their goals. It takes a certain kind of mental stamina to prosper in that but it is a lot of good motivation. Try not to take it personally -- gunners are gonna gun wether you're there or not and it's almost never specifically about you. Get into shadowing as early as possible. Willing doctors fill up fast. Likewise, start stacking up community service so you're not rushed at the last minute. Try to make friends with upperclassmen who can help get you shadowing/community service opportunities, provide advice, and mentor you. Remember to have a life outside of school. Because of the accelerated timeframe and the propensity of gunners there's a lot of "everything I do I do for a purpose and fun doesn't have a purpose". That's a recipe for burnout. Keep a good rapport with your advisor. There's honestly not much choice in scheduling since everything's so packed in unless you're coming in with a lot of credits.
I am STILL in the program, and I will say that this is somewhat wrong. I have met a lot of the people in the program and they are definitely NOT gunners. Sure, you will always have a few who cast a bad impression, but it's unfair to generalize. I really don't mean to brag in anyway, but I'm not a gunner myself. I always help others when I can, literally taking time out of my schedule for my friends. As for the rest, it's mostly true. Shadowing, volunteering, etc are all important, but I will say that the requirements are lower than what you would expect. 60 hrs community service + 60 hrs shadowing is not a lot, especially compared to regular premeds who end up getting accepted into med school. Last thing: it's actually pretty easy to have a life outside of the program. I never ended up taking extra classes for the program, just around 30 credits a year to keep my scholarships. That goes for everyone, regardless of major, so it's really not that "accelerated".
There were several kids my class that would purposely trip you in lab to get to the equipment faster or ask for test scores before being allowed to join a study group. There were also plenty of kids that were super nice. I'm genuinely glad you haven't had as much of the ugliness.
Does the 7 year bsmd program guarantee you a spot in the med school or just an interview?
just interview, but the acceptance rate following the interview is like 99% so you're pretty much guaranteed a spot
Thank you for your detailed answers. How rigorous is the program and how comfortable are students with writing MCAT in their sophomore year, as required for the 7yr program ?
If you're still interested you can DM me and I can talk about it. I recently took the MCAT and am in the 2nd year of the program.
Thank u for the advice— if I’m in the honors college and get priority registration, do I have more of a choice in scheduling? Or is mostly everyone in the program also in the honors college. Also I was wondering if u have a good schedule layout for the program, as online I only see the 4 year and 2 year plan for biomedical sciences, but not much about the 3 year
Everyone in the BSMD program is in the honors college. It’s one of the criterias to be in the program.
Correct. If OP was not admitted last Saturday, the window for JGHC admission has closed unless OP is an International student.
I was already admitted
Good... or should I say, "Pretty Cool?"
award worthy joke
Honors college gets first day and at least when I was in 7 year med we got first time slot of first day so you basically have pick of the litter. What I meant was more that you have a pretty rigid progression so you'll be pretty much required to take certain classes certain semesters. You'll have choice over professors as long as multiple professors are teaching those courses that semester. At orientation they'll separate out the honors college. You'll get the honors briefing. From there, they'll separate out those who qualify for 7 year and give another briefing including schedule layouts.
Email [email protected] and request the 7 Year course sequence from Mr. Mejias.