If I want to become a doctor, does it matter what college I go for premed in terms of getting into med school. For example, would my chances of getting into a med school increase if I went to Notre Dame versus Indiana University?
Schools normally publish their med school acceptance rates (i.e., what percent of their students that apply to med school get in). This should be a good first step when comparing schools for pre-med.
No. There might be a small bump if you attend HYP or AWS, but that’s about it.
Oh gosh no. Such data is almost worthless since you have no idea what is in the numerator (US allopathic schools? osteopathic? Guadalajara?), and denominator (we only count students for whom we give a Committee Letter…in other words, we don’t support/count low chance applicants…)
OP, there are schools that do take the undergraduate institution you attended into consideration.
Example: https://www.jefferson.edu/university/skmc/admissions/selection-factors.html
Also, I find it highly unlikely that medical schools will give you a bump for attending Amherst or Swarthmore but not STANFORD or Columbia or Duke or Penn or Hopkins or Chicago…
Its all about GPA, MCAT, Volunteering, Shadowing, Leadership and research.
If you want to go pre-med then think about:
- The cheapest reasonable college so you/your parents can use the money for med school
- The college needs to prepare you for MCATs but still allow you to get a good GPA
- Access to volunteering opportunities (e.g., near a hospital)
- Success in graduates getting into med school
- Options if you don’t go to med school. You think you are going to med school, but less than 20% of pre-med freshman actually do.
But @albertsax
But make sure you know what that “percentages who get into medical schools” means.
is it the %:
of freshman who say they are pre-med? no
the ones who get through Bio and Chem?
The ones who get through Organic Chem?
The ones who finish all the pre-med courses?
The ones who have a good GPA and good sGPA?
The ones who showed leadership in their ECs?
The ones who still want to go to medical school?
The ones who volunteer and shadow?
The ones who take the MCAT?
The ones who get a good score on the MCAT?
Of the ones who get that far…
The ones then who got a recommendation letter from the Health committee (if that is a thing at your college)?
Then 70% them get into medical school. But you have to get that far.
The school matters, but the pool is a lot larger than most people think. It is at least 300-400 schools before they even start questioning the school. The biggest difference is in the recommendation letters. For a lower ranking school you need to be in the one of the best ever category. For tip top schools, better than average may suffice.
What may increase your chances at getting into med school is to submit a competitive application in all respects. Med schools will first look to see if you can cut it academically by looking at your GPAs/MCAT. If you make it past this first hurdle, med schools will then look for evidence in your application (eg ECs, PS, LoRs, secondary essays) to see if you possess traits they expect MDs to have (eg compassion, altruism, leadership, communication skills, fit with school’s mission statement, maturity, etc). If you get past this hurdle, you may be offered an interview. Assuming you don’t get rejected post interview, you may be offered admission, or waitlisted. Both Notre Dame and Indiana and most other colleges will offer you the resources and opportunities you need to develop a competitive application. Whether you do so is mostly on your efforts, not the name of the school on your diploma.
As med school is very expensive, what’s the cost of attending these schools for you.
I havent applied yet, I am a junior. I think Ill be financially fine for IU but Notre Dame will probally be pretty expensive, so IU definetly a better choice. But that helps clear up things. Thanks