<p>Hi,
I'm currently a freshman at Michigan State University planning on going to medical school for primary care.
I dreamed of going to University of Michigan - Ann Arbor but applied late and needless to say, didn't get in. I have planned on transferring for Spring of 2009 but I'm starting to question whether it's the right decision. If we set aside the fact that it's going to suck leaving my friends and all that, I'm trying to decide which school is better for pre-med. Although, I know college rankings are relatively unimportant, Michigan State has the 18th best primary care medical school and U of M has the 45th. I'm wondering if this affects anything. I don't plan on attending either for medical school but was wondering if the rankings were indicative of anything for a pre-med student. Would it look better that I went to Michigan State or U of M? Thanks so much!</p>
<p>The only thing more useless than the research ranking for medical schools is the primary care ranking. You will have no problem getting into a primary care residency from any med school. Go to the undergrad you like the best.</p>
<p>NCG's right that choosing a medical school based on their rankings is not wise.</p>
<p>What's even less wise is choosing an undergrad based on the rankings of their medical schools! This just makes no sense. Don't worry about it.</p>
<p>To be honest, I would really consider if you're being challenged at MSU. I'm a Pre Med at U-M and I have friends that go to MSU who are also doing Pre Med and... well to say the least, it's supposedly a bit easier there. Since Med School depends a lot on GPA, it might be better to stay there. </p>
<p>However, if you think that you can keep up the relatively same GPA at U-M compared to MSU, then by all means, come on over. I think we send a larger class than you guys to med school every year so take that into consideration too.</p>
<p>I am a graduate of both MSU (undergrad) and UM (master's). If you have friends at MSU and you like it there, then don't transfer to UM. I also considered doing that and now (many years later) I am glad I didn't. UM does have more prestige than MSU and more national name recognition, but what you need to focus on now are your GPA, getting to know some professors well, and getting some research, volunteering, and health care experience. Your GPA is hugely important in med school apps, so do very well at MSU and it will pay off for you. MSU might be somewhat easier than UM, but not that much more. Focus on getting great grades and learning as much as you can in your science pre-reqs. You may have an advantage by staying put.</p>
<p>And why rule out applying to UM and MSU for med school? You should apply to all the med schools in your home state b/c you have a significant advantage in admission in-state plus much cheaper tuition. You have to apply to a lot of med schools to get into one these days; 12-15 schools is average now.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all the advice.
I wasn't sure whether their medical school rankings mattered or not so I'm glad I got that straightened out.
I got a 4.0 this semester and still plan on transferring to Michigan. :)</p>
<p>Though it's your choice of course, please think about what your GPA will be when you apply to med school. Will you still have a 4.0 or 3.9 if you transfer to Michigan? Your GPA matters a great deal for med school, and if you have a 3.8-4.0 from MSU, you'll have a lot more choices than with a lesser GPA from Michigan.</p>