<p>In the fall I will be a student majoring in engineering, probably biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University. I wish to go to med school and become an ophthamologist. What percentage of Case graduates get accepted into med school? Once in med school, what are the chances that I will be able to get a residency in my chosen field? What GPA would I have to keep in order to have a good shot at getting accepted into med school? I would appreciate anyones advice.</p>
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Once in med school, what are the chances that I will be able to get a residency in my chosen field?
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This is wildly unpredictable at this point. Do know that ophtho is really competitive.</p>
<p>For your other questions, see page 13 here:
<a href="http://www.cwru.edu/provost/ugstudies/AdviceMedFall05.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.cwru.edu/provost/ugstudies/AdviceMedFall05.pdf</a></p>
<p>Yes, ophtho is probably the #2 most difficult to obtain residency. Keep an open mind - you may realize you arent' that interested in the eye - or that something else is way more your style.</p>
<p>As for things you'll need to be competitive for an optho residence: Alpha Omega Alpha (Med school honorary for the top 10%) is important for ophtho, USMLE score of above 225, and killer letters of rec. That may not mean a whole lot to you right now (heck I'm not even really sure of how high a 225 is), but just know it is doing very, very well in comparison to some very, very talented people.</p>
<p>As I'm sure BRM knows - but just for comparison:</p>
<p>The average USMLE score nationally is roughly 216. UCSF, one of the top few schools in the country, has an average of roughly 225.</p>
<p>What if I apply to med school and don't get in? Are there other options such as Law school or Dental schools that are easier to get in then law schools? I know that it is really hard to keep a good GPA at Case, especially as an engineering major.</p>
<p>If you lower your standards enough, you can get into a law school somewhere. </p>
<p>For the other pre-health professional schools (pharm/dent/optometry/PT/OT/Physician Assistant) they typically want you to show some sort of interest in the field. I think they are aware that there are a lot of individuals who don't get into med school and just assume they can waltz into one of the others. They will try to make sure that you are genuinely true to the profession.</p>
<p>There are a lot of people who don't get into medical school, and many will apply again, even twice. Some will go into related grad school programs (and may even apply again during that when they realize they still have a hankering to medicine). During the year in between, they will take more classes if their GPA was low, shadow more, volunteer more, reprep for the MCAT if that was low, or work in a hospital or clinic as a phlebotomist.</p>
<p>Working in a research lab is also very common.</p>