<p>Can I go to any undergraduate school and get into medical school if I get excellent grades, have a good interview and good extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>I'm African-American and I really like the school North Carolina A&T (an hbcu - historically black college/university). I know Xavier (Louisiana) puts the most African-Americans into medical school but I would be happier attending N. C. A&T.</p>
<p>I think you can go to any accredited undergraduate school and have a chance for medical school. The MCAT is the great equalizer–that is how they judge competitiveness of applicants from different schools. If you are in the MCAT range they are looking for, I would suspect you would be fine.</p>
<p>I am a nurse practitioner who is sometimes asked to precept medical students. I am VERY impressed with the students from Xavier! I suspect that Xavier does an outstanding job preparing students for the MCAT, but it also does a great job preparing them for the nitty-gritty of med school.
I don’t know anything about NC A&T; I’ve never had a med student who attended there. Do you know what their placement rate is?</p>
<p>You should ask about Med School placement rates as the other poster mentioned. Some schools, however, will limit the applicants that they will allow to apply to med school to keep their acceptance rates high. </p>
<p>Some schools have better track records, however. University of Michigan I think is one that has a very good record of having students accepted. You want a school, also, that supports their undergrad students who want to be doctors by helping with advisement, encourageing support groups/clubs for premed students, offer study groups for the MCAT , etc… Think of med school as a marathon - something you should prepare for little by little.</p>
<p>I think it does very much matter what undergrad school you attend. I have a friend whose son did excellently at a mediocre LA school, did well on the MCATs, but still did not get accepted anywhere in Med school. He finally wound up going to med school in the Carribean. Be sure to check out their med sch placement rates.</p>
<p>I think you should go where you think you would jump out of bed in the morning (ok, late morning) and say “I am SO GLAD TO BE HERE!”. Because that is where you will be a strong student and where you will embrace all that the campus has to offer. </p>
<p>Welcome to life. There will always be people who will be telling you “the right thing” to do next. They will have numbers, anecdotes, and tones of voice that hold great certainty. And sometimes they will be absolutely correct in their assessment. </p>
<p>It can be great fun to go your own path and make a success out of it. It’s not so fun to go your own path and find out, the hard way, that there were reasons for all those warnings given to you earlier. How do you sort out the difference?</p>
<p>You research like mad – and then realize that there are still some times that your heart is speaking to you for a reason. Hopefully, your abundant research leads you to some modifications so that you can follow your heart but still be shrewd and well prepared. </p>
<p>For instance, in my neighborhood there is a young man in medical school who attended a small, liberal arts college. After college he worked for a year in a hospital emergency room as a dogsbody sort. He didn’t make big money, but he certainly learned his way around an emergency room – and showed himself to be a steady and capable employee. This, undoubtably, gave him a push up in medical school admissions. Whereas other applicants had a letter of reference from a professor, this guy would be able to have letters from physicians who could plainly state that this applicant was up to the task of being an MD (ie, a much smaller chance that this one would be a wash out). </p>
<p>Keep in mind that medical schools are looking for older applicants these days. You might plan your path so that you know what job you will do for a year or two after college that will earn some bucks and make you a strong MD candidate. </p>
<p>If NC A&T seems right for who you are today, then I’d say that’s a strong indication that it should be high on your list to attend (please apply to multiple colleges – money and opportunity may be elsewhere too). Most people change dramatically in college. An outstanding professor or exposure to a new field may open your heart and mind to new directions. </p>
<p>Lastly, I am bothered by the post that seems to sneer a bit a medical school elsewhere. You have to look at the details of each program to evaluate it’s worth.</p>
<p>@olymom thanks for you feedback it means alot! = )</p>
<p>You are welcome! Giving my opinion is my favorite activity! (Sigh, one can tell, too).
Go have a great life!</p>
<p>If Xavier has a good placement rate, I’d go there. That suggests that they have good pre-med advising.</p>