We’ve written before about various BS/MD programs, those opportunities which allow students to gain early acceptance to medical school. These are, needless to say, incredibly competitive, but are excellent opportunities for students who are certain of their interest in medicine, and who want to get a jump on the process. In this article, we’re going to dive deep into one such program: Baylor2Baylor. This program is a partnership between Baylor University and the Baylor College of Medicine (which are fully separate institutions, despite having the same name and both being located in Texas. Yes, it is confusing). We’re going to explore what this program is, how it works, and the application process. It is a very competitive program, admitting just six students each year, but is incredibly worthwhile for those students. Let’s jump right in!
What is the Baylor2Baylor BS/MD program?
This is an eight-year program, where students complete four years of undergraduate study at Baylor University, and then four years at the Baylor College of Medicine. Students are admitted to Baylor University directly, and are provisionally accepted to the College of Medicine; they may enroll at the end of their time in undergrad if they have fulfilled the program’s requirements.
Students may major in anything they want in undergrad, but they must still complete all of the traditional pre-med coursework. They must also still take the MCAT, and achieve a minimum score of 508. In addition to this, their GPA must remain at 3.5 or above. If they do all of this, then they may proceed directly into the Baylor College of Medicine.
The program offers two main advantages, the first being that you get to avoid the intensive admissions process med schools have. We’ve written about this elsewhere, but applying to medical school is quite difficult, and requires a good amount of work. Getting to avoid this and focus on your studies instead is a major benefit, and one of the primary draws of BS/MD programs generally.
The other major draw, and something which sets Baylor2Baylor apart from other BS/MD programs, are the scholarships it offers. Two students (of six) are awarded a $40,000 scholarship ($10,000 per year) for their time in undergrad. The other four receive a $12,000 scholarship ($3,000 per year). They are additionally eligible for another $20,000 scholarship ($5,000 per year), which stacks with the other.
Beyond this, two students in the program are also given a $40,000 scholarship for their time in medical school ($10,000 per year). These scholarships are not enough to cover the full cost of tuition for these programs, but can defray it, and are far more generous than most BS/MD programs are with scholarships. With the cost of college rising exponentially over the years, these scholarships are another strong draw for students considering this program.
Applying to the Baylor2Baylor Program
If this program is the right fit for you, then we encourage you to apply. The application process is somewhat involved (as is often the case for BS/MD programs), so we’re going to break it down here so you can see what steps you need to take.
The first step is applying to Baylor University. You can do this through the Common App; it’s a relatively simple process. Once this application is submitted, you may then apply to this program through your Baylor University student portal. Specifically, you may find the application for this program under the scholarships tab, since the scholarships are a major component of it.
The program has the following eligibility requirements:
- You must rank in the top 5% of your high school class, or have a GPA of at least 3.7 on a 4.0 scale.
- You must submit standardized test scores; the minimum recommended for applicants is 1430 on the SAT or 32 on the ACT
- Be a US citizen or permanent resident.
The application cares deeply about your academic preparation; medical school is a lot of work, and they only want to let students into the program who they are confident will be able to do that work, and do it well. This isn’t the only thing they consider, or even necessarily the most important, but is key to having your application considered further, the bar that separates out serious candidates.
You must submit your Baylor University application by November 1 at the latest, and the application for this program by November 12. In both cases, we advise getting the applications in as early as possible. You will not have access to the program application until your Baylor University application is submitted and processed.
The Baylor2Baylor Essay
As with many applications of this type, the most important component (Assuming your grades qualify you) is the essay. This application asks only a single essay question:
- Why do you want to pursue your career in medicine at Baylor University and Baylor College of Medicine? (500 words)
This is one of the most common questions asked by BS/MD programs, and is an important one to answer. If you join this program, you are committing to eight straight years of fairly intense academic work. It is reasonable for them to want to know why you are interested in doing this, and to make sure that you have the ability to follow through on this commitment.
Your motivations are your own, and you can cite many things in your answer. You should, however, tie your interests clearly to the program at the Baylors, and show how what they offer lines up with your specific interests and desires. Tying your past experiences in medicine to your future pursuits is the best way to go about this, concretely showing what you have done, and what you hope to accomplish going forward.
The Scholarship Event
Once you have applied to the program, certain students are invited to apply to the scholarship event. If you are invited, you must register; this event is key for determining who gets to join this program. Around 1,000 students apply each year, 100-120 are selected to attend each event.
The events are designed for students to become more familiar with the program, and to meet some of the faculty involved. In addition, it is a chance for those faculty to better evaluate students. Around half of the students who attend the event have their applications forwarded to Baylor College of Medicine for review. 25 of these are then designated finalists and invited to interviews, and from these the six students admitted to the program are chosen.
Once you register for the event, you will be given a full itinerary for the day. It generally begins with refreshments, then presentations from faculty and staff, and finally a case competition, which we will detail below. There are two of these events each year, one in late January and one in early February.
The Case Competition
During the in person event, you will be placed in a team of four to six students and tasked with giving a presentation on a particular issue in medicine. For example, here is the prompt for 2026:
- If you were a Senior Executive of the Texas Medical Association tasked with recommending a multifaceted plan to address healthcare disparities in rural Texas, how would you approach this complex issue based on the factors that affect medically underserved populations?
This prompt is sent out ahead of time, once you have registered for the event. They recommend doing research on the prompt prior to the event, and you should bring a laptop with you. The presentation itself is to be created collaboratively at the event, though the more research you do ahead of time, the easier this will be.
Groups will create and record a five to seven minute presentation using Google Slides. They aren’t looking for perfection in your answers, they understand the limits of what can be accomplished by strangers in a few hours. Instead, they want to see your insight, and how you are able to thoughtfully answer a complex question which doesn’t have a single correct answer.
Groups are assigned randomly, but all students at the event are likely to be highly motivated and intelligent. Your individual performance is judged, and it is possible for only a single member of a group to be selected for the next round of the application process. This is a chance to showcase both your skills at research and insight, and how you are able to collaborate and work as part of a larger whole.
The Interview
Twenty-five finalists are selected from among the students who attend the events; these students are notified on February 27. If you are selected as a finalist, then you are invited to take part in an interview with staff from the Baylor College of Medicine.
These interviews are used to winnow the field to the final six who are then accepted into the program. If you are looking for a more in-depth guide to how to approach college interviews generally, then see our article on the subject here.
Should You Apply to Baylor2Baylor?
All BS/MD programs have pros and cons, most of which are inherent to the nature of the programs themselves. They are an excellent opportunity to get a major jump on your medical school applications, but commit you to a lot of work very early, locking you onto the path of medical school.
Many students want this however, and the Baylor2Baylor program is quite good as far as BS/MD programs go. The Baylor College of Medicine is one of the top medical schools in Texas, and students who go there often quite enjoy the experience. Baylor University isn’t a big-name school like Brown perhaps, but it still offers students an excellent education.
The biggest draw of this program, especially when compared to other BS/MD programs, are the significant scholarships attached to it. These are not full scholarships, true, but scholarships existing at all for these programs are rare, and scholarships for medical school itself rarer still. If you are concerned about the price of medical school or a BS/MD program, then Baylor2Baylor should definitely be something you consider.
Final Thoughts
Many students dream of being doctors, and some colleges offer more than others when it comes to advancing these goals. While pre-medical programs exist at near every college, programs like Baylor2Baylor offer something more, resources and opportunities that would otherwise be inaccessible to students, a leg up on their journey to medical school. This may not be the right program for you, but we hope this article has given you a good sense of it, and how it might support your ambitions.
If you are looking for help applying to this program, or in figuring out which BS/MD programs may be the right fit for you, then Ivy Scholars can help. We’ve worked with many students who are interested in pursuing the medical field, and our mentors are skilled at guiding them to the opportunities and programs that will best support the individual strengths and needs of each. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, we’re always happy to hear from you.
