One of only two Florida universities to make it to the top eight, Barry’s Master of Biomedical Sciences Program (BMS) has again ranked as the number one biomedical sciences graduate program in the United States, according to GraduatePrograms.com.
Located at a small facility in Hollywood, Florida, Barry’s BMS program is one of the oldest biomedical sciences programs and gives students a second chance at their dreams by helping them achieve their goals of becoming dentists, doctors and biomedical scientists.
“The chances of getting into medical school compared to other programs in the country are very high,” said Dr. Sathees B. Chandra, director and professor at the biomedical sciences program.
With more than 70 percent of Barry’s BMS graduates being accepted into professional schools for three consecutive years, the program ranks top in the nation for its post-admittance into medical and dental school, which has helped mold the program.
Creating relationships with prestigious medical, dental and even physician’s assistant programs allows the students to have a higher chance of being admitted. Barry’s BMS program has developed a relationship with about 30 medical and dental schools across the country such as Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine, and Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
“I met with all the deans and associate deans and explained [that] our students are fantastic,” said Dr. Chandra.
Some students enrolled in the master’s program instead of going straight to medical school for a variety of reasons. Some of them did not meet the GPA requirement or did not score well on the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) or the DAT (Dental Admissions Test).
“They accepted me because they said, ‘his GPA is fairly good, but he has issues with the MCAT.’ With the master’s program and excelling at it, it’s going to boost my application,” said Ismael Grau, a Barry BMS student.
Enrolling only 180 students a year and graduating 140, the Barry’s BMS program has one of the highest graduation rates for any BMS program (about 90 percent).
“If you take our students, they will definitely be successful in medical and dental school,” said Dr. Chandra.
The program is led by a strong team of medical experts, giving students mentors who have been where they are now.
“The faculty here, they know what’s your end goal. Having that knowledge, they really try to help you and make that realistic,” said Vivian Argueta, a BMS student.
The BMS program is looking to inform students at the main campus about the opportunity that is available through this program. Many previous students share their stories on the program’s Facebook page: Biomedical Sciences Student Page.