<p>Ive been reading all the posts so far, but, i still have one pending question. I understand that it is very hard to measure how good a school is at pre-med, even the % of students going to medical school isnt always the best way of seeing. And I also understand that for pre-med, what matter is GPA and MCAT. I read that some schools though are "better" than others, but sometimes because of its name, for example, an IVY student could have a better chance at a good medical school because he came from an IVY, and he has good grade inflation.</p>
<p>My question though is, how important is the undergrad school? I got accepted into Loyola University of Chicago, University of Michigan, Michigan state, and Cornell. From LUC, i recieved a good scholarship (40,000). This is what im thinking. If i go to cornell, il be unhappy, i dont like the place. University of michigan is very nice school, but still, I wont stand out, and from what ive been reading, its tough to get good grades. Would it be a good call to go to loyola, to the pre-med program there, take the money, and be a top student? In Loyola, they have a brand new science center, and since they are a Catholic college, I read they have many gret extracullicular activities. My fear is, even if i got to Loyola in chicago, and do well, (example, 3.8 GPA and 33 MCAT), I wont get accepted into a good medical school. I dont want private medicine, I want to do research, and thats my fear, since most good reseach schools are extreamely competitive (JHU, Harvard). Should I go to Loyola, MSU, or University of michigan?</p>
<p>The name branding of the school matters very little. However, if you want a career in research, I think it's foolish to not attend a very strong research school like Michigan or Cornell. Get started as an undergrad.</p>
<p>If you want all your options open -- including entering the working world -- then go to the most prestigious school you can get into. If your interest is medical school, then the name-branding of the school matters little. If your interest is research, then you need to start researching soon.</p>
<p>What's the cheapest school that will give me a reasonably good chance (assuming I work hard enough) to get into UMDNJ-RWJ and possibly some decent/good med school in NYC (e.g. Mount Sinai, NYU Med, etc)? By the way, I'm only looking to be an MD. I'm guessing my state school (Rutgers - New Brunswick) should suffice? Or not?</p>
<p>"Cornell if you need to impress people from Taiwan. Else, both fine schools."
What do you meant by that?
BTW, since Cornell does not have a med center/hospital on campus, is that a problem for the premeds?</p>
<p>Bluedevil, you stated: "I think it's foolish to not attend a very strong research school like Michigan or Cornell."
Would you say Cornell is more research than clinical-oriented? I.e., prepares you more for research rather than primary care track?</p>
<p>I would think if one wanted to go into primary care, the wiser option would be to take the cheapest route possible, while still taking a path within reason (i.e. a school that is still reasonably good while not necessarily in the top 20). Someone correct me if I'm wrong though.</p>
<p>I was referring to the undergrad programs -- if you want to end up in a research career, it's best to get started in a world-class research university off the bat.</p>
<p>BDM, would you say that research universities like Cornell or Duke provide better research experiences than top LAC's? At the bigger schools there are grad students taking the top projects, and the PI's might not concentrate on the undergrads as much. While at top LACs plenty of professors are doing research, and are employing only undergrads in the lab, so the undergrads get the top projects and all the attention. I am trying to make this decision now and I'm not sure what would be best.</p>