Effect of Undergrad School on Med School Chances

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>I was wondering if going to a more competitive undergraduate school for pre-med like BC, NYU, or Tufts will give you a better chance of getting into the Medical School of your choice than a less competitive (but still good) school like BU or Temple or Stony Brook. Or does it just depend on your GPA and MCAT, regardless of where you were?</p>

2

<p>To be honest, when this holds weight (it matters but not that much, GPA/MCAT still rule), you’re not talking about the schools you mentioned. It’s more like the top 20 schools.</p>

3

<p>I agree with this. For regional med schools, they might distinguish b/w a BU and a BC. But, on a national level, there’s not much difference b/w BU, BC, and NYU. Where you’ll see the advantage is if you go to a big-name college like Duke or Penn or Harvard.</p>

4

<p>All great choices with medical schools.</p>

5

<p>" To be honest, when this holds weight (it matters but not that much, GPA/MCAT still rule), you’re not talking about the schools you mentioned. It’s more like the top 20 schools. "</p>

<p>…And even then, the effect is pretty nominal. Basically, go wherever you’re going to be most successful. That will be the place you enjoy most and will give you the best shot at med school anyway. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>certain colleges almost gaurentee (85%+ admit rate into med school) like Ivies down to Columbia and Duke. Keep in mind that Penn, Duke, Columbia does not screen. I might be wrong but the prestige of institution seems to be important. </p>

<p>The california schools like Caltech just… sucks if you want med school admissions.</p>

7

<p>It isn’t the colleges that get their stats so high, it’s the students that they recruit. Also, many top schools push their student to take time of in order to boost their acceptance rates. Most of the applicants that I meet that are out of school went to Ivies and top privates.</p>

8

<p>"certain colleges almost gaurentee (85%+ admit rate into med school) like Ivies down to Columbia and Duke. Keep in mind that Penn, Duke, Columbia does "</p>

<p>It’s all in who you recruit and how you screen out potential premeds (i.e., via weeder classes, via special application-only premed “programs,” etc. …very little has to do w/ “quality of education” as there is more variation between professors at a school than average levels of rigor, etc. across schools)</p>

9

<p>^^ it is to my understanding that Duke, Penn and Columbia do not screen.</p>

10

<p>There are always natural screens, such as hard pre-med classes due to strong competition.</p>

11

<p>^ Precisely. There are both formal and informal types of screening. You will be equally successful regardless of where you go. A big fish a small pond is probably better off than a small fish in an ocean of talent. Just keep that in mind. Go where you’ll succeed.</p>

12

<p>MCAT will become much more important to a Stony Brook grad than a Tufts grad, all other things being equal.</p>

13

<p>Not really. MCAT scores are objective. GPA can vary a lot from school to school depending on the competitiveness and rigor of the grading system, but a 32 is always a 32.</p>

14

<p>ummm, read your third sentence and then think about why I wrote what I wrote…</p>

15

<p>^The GPA still carries the same weight regardless of institution. Someone with a poor MCAT from a “top school” who has a great GPA is going to be “questioned” similarly to someone from a small state school with a poor MCAT and great GPA. The former may be rarer (and that is highly questionable) but the MCAT is more of an equalizer than anything else. Some of those ivies are well-known for their horrendous grade inflation…</p>

16

<p>So a 3.5 from the University of Phoenix carries the same weight as a 3.5 from Caltech or MIT?</p>

17

<p>Absolutely not. Medical schools are looking for evidence of academic ability and achievement. This is why for-profit universities and community colleges are looked down upon - they are not perceived as places where serious academic study goes on.</p>

18

<p>this post has serious flaws.</p>

<p>Can someone please explain to these kids why MIT can send their kids to Med school with an Avg of 3.3 GPA while state schools avg like 3.8?</p>

19

<p>

</p>

<p>No, this post has some serious flaws. The average GPA for MIT applicants accepted to medical school is right around the national average, maybe even slightly higher.</p>

20

<p>

Actually, his post is justified.</p>

<p>The facts, from MIT:</p>

<p><a href=“http://web.mit.edu/career/www/preprof/top25medschools.pdf[/url]”>http://web.mit.edu/career/www/preprof/top25medschools.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;