Does it matter for pre-med

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

I have been accepted into York College of PA’s, majoring in “pre-med” (which is essentially a bs in biology). My question is does it matter which school I graduate from? York is by far the cheapest college out of all the schools I have been accepted to, being around 7k. but the school itself has an “average” reputation, as my parents say. Should I be concerned with this? the next cheapest college will be Temple, majoring in bs Bio for 22k

2

Rule of thumb is the best GPA at the cheapest cost since med school is going to be expensive.

3

Does it matter?

Some, but not as much as most people think. Many factors are far more important than the name on your diploma. Your GPA, sGPA, MCAT score, the strength of your ECs, your LORs, your oral & written communication skills, your interpersonal & teamwork skills, your leadership, your reason for pursuing medicine, how well you interview, etc <—these are all more important than where you go to undergrad

4

Agree with the above post. A prestigious school with a low GPA will not help.

5

Ask York where recent pre-meds have gotten accepted into med school and what their stats were. See if you’re comfortable with that list. If so, do as well as they did and you have a good chance for a similar outcome. If you’re not comfortable with their results, do the same with asking elsewhere.

6

@IncognitoCake My son is choosing his school for bio - pre-med, so I saw your post. The money difference you listed between the two schools you’re looking at is $15k. So you need to decide how big of a factor that is. Undergrad in this case is a means to an end. Which school is the better means to the end? Also, I agree with the other posts.
I worked in Philly. Have you spent some time at Temple? Perhaps do an overnight and attend a class if you haven’t already to see how you like it?
Good luck

7

If you want to go pre-med then think about:

  1. The cheapest reasonable college so you/your parents can use the money for med school
  2. The college needs to prepare you for MCATs but still allow you to get a good GPA
  3. Access to volunteering opportunities (e.g., near a hospital)
  4. Success in graduates getting into med school
  5. Options if you don’t go to med school (because you dont’ do well enough in science classes or because you change your mind)