<p>I'd really like to go and get my MD degree in Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. I'd love to do it there. Problem is, I keep wondering which would be best - going to a top liberal school, going to a top "national university" or going to JHU to get my undergraduate degree, if you disregard other stuff like MCAT scores. I'm a junior in a international school in Europe. My school is accredited by the Middle-School Association, so I get an American Diploma, if that matters. I only need definite answers from people who have at least some experience with the "issue", no guessing, please.</p>
<p>I will also use this thread to post my other question. Which major would be most suitable if I were going to med school? I know that there are people going to med school from almost every major and there is only a requirement for the classes you need to take, but which major would be most helpful for MCAT and my future career?</p>
<p>Frankly, I don’t think it matters much at all. I think a much, much bigger consideration should be where you’ll enjoy your four years of undergrad. If you’re at a school that you enjoy, you’ll likely be apt to take advantage of the different opportunities available to you there. While Hopkins undergrads do make up the largest group of students at Hopkins Med, this is not because of any particular preference given to Hopkins undergrads, but rather just because of the number of Hopkins students who apply there and the quality of the Hopkins applicants. I’m currently in med school at another top-10 med school and there are people in my class from all sorts of colleges - large state schools, big research universities, small liberal arts colleges etc - who studied just about everything from biology and neuroscience to engineering, classics and art history. </p>
<p>In terms of an “ideal” major, many people who want to go to med school decide to study biology to “help” them get into medical school, but I really believe that as long as you’ve taken the basic pre-med requirements, your choice of major isn’t going to make a difference. The MCAT covers the material from the basic biology courses (Cell Biology and Biochemistry) and the odds of the material from your upper level courses helping a great deal are slim. I think it’s far better to find a major that you’re interested in - whether that’s science related or not - and pursue that. You’ll get to enjoy your four years of college while still working towards medical school. And who knows… maybe you’ll decide that med school isn’t for you and end up pursuing a passion in something else (not an uncommon occurrence).</p>
<p>JHU will give you a good position because of its strong advising and research opportunities (it’s premed is well respected), not because there is any explicit bias in favor of JHU undergraduates.</p>
<p>JHU Undergrad will offer you the strongest Pre-Med prep in the country - I honestly believe it. If you do well, then many med schools will open their doors for you. As an undergrad, you can spend a lot of time over at the hospital too which can give you some great experience.</p>
<p>On a per capita basis, the top undergraduate “feeder schools” to a cross section of top tier professional schools (Wall Street Journal survey) are: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford and Williams. Other leading LACs including Swarthmore are also in the top ten. I.e., the key is to attend a selective LAC or university and attain excellent grades and MCAT scores, plus display an enthusiastic and grounded interest.</p>
<p>well, I heard if you go to a small liberal art college, you have higher chance to get in to top medical school because your professors will know you and write better recommandations for you. I am sure you know the recommandations are pretty big part in Medical school admission.</p>
<p>ALSO, usually medical schools only accept small number of students (like 200~300?) and med-schools don’t accept all IVY or JHU students. so, top medical school like JHU or Harvard only pick ‘the best’ from those ‘top national school’. Of course, JHU school of medicine accept more students from JHU since they know the JHU pre-med but you have to be ‘one of the best’ at JHU undergraduate to go to JHU medidcal school. </p>
<p>But the most important thing is your choice. go to school you want to go.</p>
<p>I remember hearing at an info session the above, that the most students from one school were from Hopkins (it was like 12 kids or something). Honestly I would imagine that the JHU pool to get in is the most competitive… I assume that most students who are Pre-Med undergrad there are working in hopes of attending its med school.
Pre-med is a track and not a major; this means you can use your undergraduate experience to explore other things while still getting the preparation for med school. A great performance at a solid undergrad college is going to put you in the running. Remember to give yourself some flexibility if you change your mind – if you could go to Hopkins with the intentions of doing med, and end up changing your mind, would you still be happy there and would they have other offerings that interest you? If yes then by all means go there!</p>
<p>You should all understand that where you attend medical school (so long as in the U.S.) has minimal bearing on your future career: top residency programs seek top medical students- better to be AOA at Emory than in the middle of your class at Hopkins. Also, one’s ultimate career (academic and/or clinical) will get an initial boost more from where your most advanced training was (residency, fellowship) than your medical school.</p>