Don’t you think going to a state school such as UT, A&M, or Baylor (i live in Texas) gives you more advantages than going to a prestigious ivy league and having a lower ranking and lower GPA. I would think for example if you were applying to a really competitive med school such as Duke or Baylor College of Medicine you’d have a better chance of getting in if you were the top of a mediocre college than a mediocre person at a great college.
Is this at all true?
<p>also, at a school where you're going to be one of the top students, you can count on the professors to notice you more, leading to better recommendations and more research opportunities.</p>
<p>yes, and i heard Harvard has a board that picks the students they want to send to med school</p>
<p>it also depends on the grading scale at the college. For example, Harvard gives out "gentlemen's b's", but Cornell does not; which school do you think easier to earn a 3.5?</p>
<p>btw: I wouldn't say UT, Baylor or A&M were "mediocre" lol, maybe Podunk State, in which case you'd be better off anywhere else....</p>
<p>Well Baylor practically admits any relatively smart student..at least in Texas and UT and A&M aren't exactly known for their science programs, and are not even close to ivy league material. Maybe I degrade these schools because I live in Texas and it's alot easier to get in when you are in state.</p>
<p>If you are going to go any of those places go to UT...and yes....if you are a standout at a large state school (good GPA, 35+ MCAT) then you will have a better chance at admission at Ivy League schools.</p>
<p>That being said, I'm sure there are many Harvard undergrad. students who have decent GPAs and decent MCATs that will also go to other Ivy League schools to pursue medicine, because they came from whichever Ivy.</p>
<p>go to UT, my brother got into UNC and doesn't have a great GPA so that will hurt his med school app</p>
<p>if you could please give me some advice at my thread "chances at uc for out of state"</p>
<p>iF YOU WANT TO BE A DOCTOR, YOU CAN BE A DOCTOR. nO MATTER WHERE YOU GO. jUST DO WELL AND BE CONFIDENT.</p>
<p>Pdarach31 omg unc is one my dream schools, they have a really good bio program right. Thanks africanprincess, I really am very confident and most of the time optimistic..I'm sure I'll do my job well..I don't want to become a doctor because of the money, but because I really have a passion for research and curing diseases.</p>
<p>
[quote]
yes, and i heard Harvard has a board that picks the students they want to send to med school
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is false. There is no such board. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Don't you think going to a state school such as UT, A&M, or Baylor (i live in Texas) gives you more advantages than going to a prestigious ivy league and having a lower ranking and lower GPA. I would think for example if you were applying to a really competitive med school such as Duke or Baylor College of Medicine you'd have a better chance of getting in if you were the top of a mediocre college than a mediocre person at a great college.</p>
<p>Is this at all true?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'll put it to you this way. I'll give you an analysis that I've done in other threads. I will compare the premeds at a public school like Berkeley vs. the premeds at an Ivy like Princeton.</p>
<p>First, let's look at the average grades given out at Berkeley and at Princeton. Notice how the average GPA at Berkeley in 1996 was a 3.1, whereas the average GPA at Princeton in 1996 was a 3.31. I'm sure they are both higher today, because grade inflation has been creeping up nationwide, but the point is that Princeton gives out higher average grades than does Berkeley.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/berkeley.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.gradeinflation.com/berkeley.html</a>
<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/princeton.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.gradeinflation.com/princeton.html</a></p>
<p>I'm going to stack the deck in favor of Berkeley by first looking at the UC Medical schools. Why does this stack the deck in favor of Berkeley? Because the UC Medical schools, by law, must provide preference to California state residents, and I think we can agree that a higher percentage of Berkeley premeds than Princeton premeds are California state residents.</p>
<p>So let's look at the average GPA and MCAT scores of Berkeley premeds who got into a particular UC medical school, followed by the average GPA and MCAT scores of Princeton premeds who got into that schooo.</p>
<p>UCSF Medical - 3.84-3.91, 34 3.73, 34.4
UCLA Medical - 3.77-3.92, 33-36 3.62, 34.9
UCSD Medical - 3.83-3.9, 34-35 3.67, 35.3
UCIrvine Medical - 3.82-3.91, 34-37 3.58, 34.8
UCDavis Medical - 3.71-3.85, 34-35 3.62, 35</p>
<p>So notice how, even at the UC Medical schools, Princeton premeds are getting in with noticeably ** lower ** average GPA's than are Berkeley premeds. That's right, ** lower **. And not just by a little bit lower, but often times by a full 0.15-0.25 of GPA. Nor can you attribute this to the notion that those Princeton premeds have higher MCAT scores. As you can see, the admitted Princeton and Berkeley premeds had roughly the same MCAT scores. What is striking is that the Princeton premeds are getting in with lower grades. Again, keep in mind that these are UC medical schools, which are contractually obligated to give preference to California state residents. </p>
<p>Now let's take a look at some prominent private medical schools.</p>
<p>Harvard Medical - 3.96, 36 3.79, 35.6
Johns Hopkins Medical - 3.86-3.91, 33-37 3.81, 36.25
UPenn Medical - 3.95-3.99, 40 3.77,35.4
Yale Medical - 3.78-4.0, 35-37 3.71, 35.5
Duke Medical - 3.89, 39 3.81, 37.7</p>
<p>The data is consistent. Once again, Princeton premeds, on average are getting in with ** lower ** grades than are Berkeley premeds. Yep, ** lower **. </p>
<p>Hence, that tends to throw cold water on the notion that it is better to excel at a state school than to be mediocre at an elite private school.</p>
<p>Consider this. Again, notice the average Princeton grades of today. In 2001, the average gpa at Princeton was a 3.4</p>
<p>Now look at page 2 of this document, and you will notice that the average Princeton premed who got admitted to a medical school (any medical school) had a GPA of around 3.4-3.5. That's about the same gpa as what the average Princeton student gets! </p>
<p><a href="http://web.princeton.edu/sites/hpa/2004.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://web.princeton.edu/sites/hpa/2004.pdf</a></p>
<p>Contrast that with the average GPA of the admitted Berkeley premed. I don't know what the number is exactly, because Berkeley won't publish it. But from the following graph, you can see that it's probably going to be somewhere around the 3.6-3.79 range. That's where the datapoints tend to congregate.</p>
<p>Hence, it seems to me that you are indeed better off being mediocre at a private school than to excel at a public school, unless you REALLY excel. To be mediocre at Princeton is to get the average gpa, which is a 3.4, which is roughly what the average admitted Princeton premed had. To excel at Berkeley is to get a GPA that is above-average for Berkeley, but that still might not be enough for a med-school to admit you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the insightful analysis!</p>
<p>what is a "gentleman's B?"</p>
<p>it's grade inflation; you get a b even though you deserve something lower</p>