<p>In all honesty, will coming from a no name university decrease chances to med school? If not, how about to top med school, such as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale? Lets take this as an example:</p>
<p>Applicant #1
Columbia University- GPA 3.75 MCAT 32</p>
<p>Aplicant #2
Hunter College in NYC- GPA 3.75 MCAT 32</p>
<p>Both have the same volunteer/shadowing/research stuff. (Just for sake of this example.)</p>
<p>Which one would get in? Columbia student, becuase theyre from Columbia.</p>
<p>Who would you choose?</p>
<p>Columbia because it has a higher caliber of difficulty and prestige.</p>
<p>Exactly, so ocming from a small school will hinder my chances, correct?</p>
<p>well the thing is you should strive to have BETTER stats then those of those top prestige colleges. if you wanna have a chance against a columbia app w/ those stats, you should aim for a high 3.8 or a 3.9 w/ a 34 or a 35 and up to stand a chance.</p>
<p>You're ignoring the interview and how much weight that can have in the admissions process. It's very unlikely that will ever be exactly equal. At most interviews they are looking to assess your motivations, judgement and character. At my KU interview they told that one of the criteria they look for is decision making/judgement. How can something like that be equal.</p>
<p>Further, it rarely happens in admissions that it comes down to a head-to-head decision like this. For the last spot, yeah, but what does it say if you are fighting for the last spot at a school and have those sorts of stats (which are very good)?</p>
<p>The other thing is that you are focusing on the admissions decision at ONE school. So yes, your odds may be decreased for that one particular school, but when actually applying to medical school you should be looking at a variety of programs: public/private, instate/out-of-state, geographically diverse. To ONLY apply to schools like WashU, Harvard, Yale, Hopkins, or Mayo is to set yourself up for failure and rejection.</p>
<p>The other thing is that regional differences can play a big role in how well known a school is. Coming from the midwest, going to a highly ranked LAC in the northeast (which many would consider a name school) might actually be a disadvantage compared to someone who went to Florida State. People in Kansas have heard of Florida State, they likely haven't heard of Swarthmore.</p>
<p>I re-read this and realized I need to kindof crystallize what I've put above.</p>
<p>The main thing is that choosing an undergrad school based off of how you think it will appear to med schools is ridiculous, and is pure conjecture on your part of how you will perform. If you could somehow see into your academic future as you progressed through each place, it's nigh impossible that they would be at all the same. Your GPA would be different, your MCAT likely different, and certainly your resume and experiences dissimilar. It's entirely possible that at the "wrong" school you'd cease to be pre-med.</p>
<p>So in short, like I've said many times on this board: look for schools with the best fit for you. Ignore the name you'll be wearing on sweatshirts for years to come, and really find the place that's right for you, whether it's big or small, no-name or internationally recognizable.</p>
<p>The question at stake is usually not an admissions officer coming to me and BRM and asking, "Who should I admit?" In that case, and only that case, is your question as stated relevant.</p>
<p>Your actual inquiry is, "Which school would be better for a given candidate to go to?" or, alternatively, "Will I be hurt by my decision to attend a lower-recognized school?"</p>
<p>The answer to this question is: it's complicated. Some schools give out higher and lower grades; some schools have higher and lower thresholds. For example, MIT tends to be grade deflated AND need higher grades to go to med school; this is a double-whammy. Stanford tends to be grade inflated and need lower grades to go to med school; this is helpful on both counts. Some schools prepare you better for the MCAT; some schools advise you better.</p>
<p>So, two identical candidates coming from different schools? Might be possible, statistically speaking, if the applicant pool is large enough (and it is).</p>
<p>But you wouldn't be identical coming from different schools. Your ability would be controlled for (i.e. wouldn't vary) in this scenario, so the quality of your education really would impact your outgoing traits.</p>
<p>In other words, if you think Hunter is going to prepare you better for the MCAT, create an environment where you can excel academically, and give you better extracurriculars and interviewing skills, then you will absolutely be better off going to Hunter over whatever other school you could have chosen, even if its name-recognition is a little less.</p>
<p>If you think that it's going to harm you on the MCAT, on your grades, and in your advising, then it will harm you - but not because of the name value.</p>
<p>PS: Princeton's med school is not considered to be a top med school.</p>