  today we ( and by we,  i mean my classmates and i)  had a meeting with our beloved dean.  many people are intimidated,  afraid almost,
 by him because he's,  well,  the dean and can basically run our lives.  anyways,  we discussed issues with our classes that need to be fixed/ modified and for the most part i agreed.
 but then he changed the discussion to how the UCOP ( univ of calif office of the pres)  the california state legislature,  and the biomed dept were beginning discussions on restructuring this wonderful program that i'm in.  as you know,  this program makes the first year of med school my 4th year of my undergrad curriculum (
even though i pay grad fees)  so after i graduate this june with my BS i'll return in the fall for my second year of med school.  after this 5th year at riverside,  i then transfer to LA for the third and fourth years of med school.  well,  one big problem with the program is that it's a pyramid.
 and a rather steep pyramid at that,  with roughly 10%  ( 24 out of ~ 250)  of the incoming 1st year biomeds eventually making into the med school portion.
 this pyramid is good for a few reasons:  ( 1)  it fosters a competitive atmosphere so students are more likely to study hard to maintain their GPA,  do well on the MCAT,  and do a lot of extracurriculars (
lab research,  clinical volunteerism,  clubs,  etc)  ( 2)
 it provides an out for those students who thought medicine was for them and decided it may not be all that;  ( 3)  the inflexible required- course schedule prompts students to use what available electives they have in areas that truly interest them;  and (
4)  most importantly,  it allows students the opportunity to receive their BS and MD in [ at least]  a year less other students not in this or similar programs.  but there are some inherent problems that come with these "
advantages"  90%  of students who start out as biomeds don't make it into the program;  historically there hasn't been a very diverse group of individuals accepted into the med school portion;  and while the inflexible required- course schedule may prompt students such as myself and some of my friends into using electives as an opportunity to explore other areas of academia,
 biomeds are for the most part unable to fully explore other subjects.  in fact,  minoring while a biomed is difficult and only a handful can pull it off,  whereas double majoring is practically unheard of ( i know of only one guy that did it and he has said he had to take upwards of 30 units some quarters to accomplish this [ note:
 some were research units]  the high dropout rate is due to stringent GPA levels that basically say,  " if you're below this GPA,  drop out or we'll put a hold on your registration and financial aid until you do drop out.  there is bound to be some percentage of individuals who feel that medicine isn't for them and will drop out regardless of how the program is changed.
 so if you remove those people from the dropout rate,  it may drop to 75- 80%  that's still a large number of individuals ( 188- 200)
 that want to become physicians but were denied that opportunity through this program.  now if you compound this dropout rate with the fact that even though ucr is the most ethnically diverse uc ( asian ~ 40%  white ~ 25%
 hispanic and black each ~ 18%  the biomed program still ends up with a disproportionate number of white and asian individuals making the med school portion.  now this most certainly a function of how many underrepresented minorities enter the biomed program their first year,  which itself is a function of the quality of high schools these individuals come from.  this could very well mean that the percentage of ethnicities that enter the biomed program is radically different that the overall ucr population,
 thus making the " disproportionate"  number of whites and asians in the program not so disproportionate.  anyhow,  a lot of people are dissatisfied with the way the biomed program works and the leading idea for change is to basically not kick as many people out.  this would work by basically making three plans that finish in 3,
 4,  or 5 years.  you'd be free to choose the length of your degree plan,  and you'd be able to apply to the med school portion at the end of your plan.  now since currently the program ends up with roughly 40 students applying for 24 spots and the new plan would result in 475 students applying for 24 spots ( 200 from 3 yr.
 plan,  175 from 4 yr.  plan,  and 100 from 5 yr.  plan.  assuming certain number of individuals from each plan would be ineligible to apply (
i. e.  GPA too low)  decided against medicine as a career,  graduated ( mostly seen in 5 yr.
 plan)  or decided to apply to other med schools ( mostly 5 yr.  plan,  some 4 yr.  plan)
 there would be a preselection committee that would screen the available applicants from each plan and choose about 40- 50 from each plan.  so basically you apply to apply.  then from these 120- 150 students,  there would be 8 spots for 3 yr.
 plan biomeds and the remainder for 4 and 5 yr.  plan biomeds.  but if you were not selected into the med school portion,  you'd then either reapply the following year or graduate with a degree in biomedical sciences ( this differs from the current program in that only the 24 students who were selected for the med school portion get a BS in biomedical sciences,  whereas those not selected have to change to another major (
mostly bio or biochem)  with this system,  they keep their dropout rate low and there's a better chance that underrepresented minorities would be selected for the med school portion.  also,  those students who decide ( or are forced due to not making the med school portion earlier)
 to take a 4 or 5 yr.  plan would be able to double major or minor and be more exposed to life outside of biomed.  damn it,  i just realized how late it is ( the ungodly hour of 12am)  and i have an 8:
30 class tomorrow,  so i'll cut it off here.  but tomorrow i'll continue on with this discussion ( mostly on how this proposed program is a horrible,  horrible idea)  anyways,
 i know this was a lot to read but,  eh,  what are you gonna do.
