<p>Hey guys, I was accepted to Stanford early action, but have recently went to the interview for Case Western's guaranteed medical admission program (PPSP). I know theres no guarantee that I will get into the program, I just wanted to be proactive with the whole decision making process since the results come sort of late.</p>
<p>Some pros about Case PPSP:
- Guaranteed admission into a top 25 medical school (provided you maintain a 3.6 GPA, but in talking with Case students, this does not seem to be a problem)
- Most PPSP students get a significant merit scholarship for undergrad, so it would be much cheaper than going to Stanford for undergrad (mine would be 20k/year vs. 60k/year for Stanford)
- The program only takes 15-20 kids a year, out of the 1600+ that apply, so it certainly is incredibly selective and "prestigious" if that means anything. (Like would I be stupid for giving up a program with a 1% acceptance rate for Stanford?)
- The med school does rotations at the Cleveland Clinic (which imo, is pretty unbeatable) and the undergrad campus is adjacent to some other incredible medical centers and hospitals, so the research and volunteering possibilities are endless.
-It's a 8 year BA/MD program, and many PPSP students graduate early and spend their 4th year of undergrad studying abroad, or gaining clinical experience. </p>
<p>But, Stanford has arguably the best undergraduate programs in the nation, and the name can certainly get you places. i really liked the campus, weather, and everything about Stanford when i visited. I do see myself fitting at both places, but Stanford a little more. I am confident that I want to do pre-med, but is it worth going to Stanford when I most likely will not get into a better medical school than Case Western's following the 4 years of undergrad?</p>
<p>Sorry for the long post, but I'd love to hear your input and advice on which one I should choose if I do get into Case PPSP, because I am pretty stumped as to what I would choose. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>I was going to post something but re-read IWBB’s post and realized everything you need to read is in there. Please take your time to read it, it is VERY valuable.</p>
<p>thanks for the replies, but in reading the thing it seems kinda ambiguous. obviously i should follow my own heart, but at the moment its torn, i’d like to hear other people’s advice if possible</p>
<p>I can say this about CWRU as my son is a freshman there and is having an amazing experience. He is a prospective engineering/comp sci major but I know there’s plenty of pre-med/biomed majors that he hangs with. The academics are rigorous but the kids are extremely friendly and mutually supportive. If you want to have others to study with it’s easy to find a group of smart students who want to collaborate. </p>
<p>good to know! i definitely felt that the community was very supportive when I visited, and I’m personally leaning towards CWRU PPSP (albeit I have to get in) over Stanford currently. </p>
<p>Not an easy choice; I think it boils down to how much you value the Stanford’s name and the aura surrounding it. At the end of the day you would probably have enjoyable experiences at both institutions unless the regret of turning down an elite institution interferes with your experience at CWRU. However, I think this would be a trivial regret compared to when you face the pressures of pre-med at Stanford and regret turning down a guaranteed seat at a top medical school. </p>
<p>Going to Stanford and getting back into med school is not an easy route since it takes lot of effort to maintain a 3.7 or so GPA to get in besides spending 6 months to year working on apps, preparing for MCAT etc. If you are set on medicine you should consider PPSP seriously but if you are unsure, Stanford would offer you all kinds of other opportunities. </p>
<p>You should also evaluate your financial requirements for the 8 years at PPSP.</p>
<p>Congrats mdills17 on yr achievement. Good job. I concur with texaspg on the probability of geting into MD after passing thru Stanford. I searched AAMC.org for data on “#of students of each colleges that supply to MD schools”. Could not find any. The closest I can see is this link <a href=“https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/86042/table2.html”>https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/86042/table2.html</a> , but that link may include all those who are NOT accepted also, I guess. The reason I insist on this, is because, most likely Top 50% students in Stanford could be in the same skill level. That means any of these students could end up as the 1st percentile or even 50th percentile. What happens to those finish at 50th percentile. Do they have a shot at MD compared to top 10% from in-state-public schools?? I would like to know this answer myself. Hope some experts can post those details. </p>
<p>Stanford encourages students to explore themselves and many who go there planning a career in medicine end up in many other fields. </p>
<p>@newgalaxy - you got to the right charts. I picked the one saying white applicants and you can see the total who made it med school with a Stanford affiliation as 316. Not sure how many actually applied based on these charts but I have seen another section of AAMC providing those numbers in the past.</p>
<p>Stanford University, Stanford, CA 159 316 0.6</p>
<p>hey guys, i just wanted to update you guys… thanks for all the feedback, i ultimately committed to case ppsp, as i think i can pursue alot more opportunities without the worry of getting into a medical school. </p>
<p>@mdills17‌ congrats on getting in to PPSP!! I’m a junior right now and was wondering if you had any advice for how to get into that program at CWRU. I’m really interested in going there and would love to know what I can do to have the best chance of getting accepted next year! thanks!</p>
<p>Congrats! Case PPSP is a great program! @sarah10929 I hope someone can answer your questions and help you out! My D is a student as Case but not in that program…good luck!</p>
<p>thanks everyone! and sure @sarah10929‌ , I’ll do my best to help you out with some advice:
first off, just make sure your grades and standardized test scores are where they need to be, but dont stress too much, because mine were far from perfect, but I was still invited for the interview. I think something that the stress highly might be the 2nd essay dealing with an experience you’ve had that doesn’t show in your resume. While the “Why Medicine” essay is obviously important, it’s the same one used for every medical program, and they probably know that, so make sure you put time and effort into the second essay as well. It seems that CWRU does value high school research, and fittingly so, so if you have the opportunity to work in a lab, do research, and maybe win some science awards, I think that will go a long way to getting you to the interview step.
After you’ve made the interview, I think wether you get into the program or not is based solely on the interview, and for this, just follow the basic tips: prepare for the predictable questions, be friendly and humble, and just appear genuinely interested in the school and the program.
Overall, if you are truly interested in medicine, I’d suggest applying to multiple medical programs, as I applied to 8, and got rejected from those easier to get into than case ppsp, so no one can know what your chances really are. It’s all about finding that right fit for you, and if you apply widely, it’ll happen for sure.
Good luck in the process next year, and message me if you have any more questions! </p>
sorry to revisit an old chat! but i have applied to the ppsp program and i have been invited to interview. i was wondering if someone could give me more information about how the interview works or how to best prepare? i heard there was possibly a group interview? any information would be helpful! and then also if you are currently in the program id love to hear about your experience in it! thanks so much in advance!