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That is not a good point, since many schools send 80%+ of their premeds into med schools (Ivies and near-ivies). That's a LARGE fraction. In fact, the national average is about 50%.....
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<p>First of all, since when are we talking about only Ivies and near-Ivies? If we want to restrict ourselves to only those kinds of schools, then I should point out that these same schools are also extremely successful at getting their graduates into IB. </p>
<p>Second of all, like I said before, those schools don't get 80% of all their premeds into med-school. Rather, of those premeds WHO APPLY to med-school, 80% will get in. There's a big difference between all the premeds at a school and all the premeds who apply. Generally, only those premeds who actually do well will then go and apply to med-school. If you're a premed, and you get straight C's, you're probably not going to apply to med-school, because you know you're not going to get in. If you're a premed and get a 15 (total) on your MCAT, you're probably not going to apply to med-school, again, because you know you're not going to get in. Go to any school and you will find people who 'were' premeds, but aren't any longer, because they realized along the way that they weren't going to be able to get the grades or scores necessary to get in. The simple act of applying to med-school is extremely time-consuming and expensive, and you will do it only if you think you have a reasonable chance of getting in. Hence, that is a highly self-selective group of students. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, looking at only those premeds who apply, a significant fraction of them get rejected at every single med-school they apply to. Yep, every single one. For example, I think we can all agree that MIT is an elite school. Yet of those MIT premeds who apply to med-school, 77% get in somewhere, which means that 23% of them get rejected by every single med-school they apply to. Similarly, at Berkeley, in the last 5 years, about 60% of premeds who apply get in somewhere, which means that 40% of them got rejected by every single med-school they applied to. </p>
<p>And again, that's only talking about those premeds who actually apply. Plenty don't apply. Plenty leave the premed track somewhere along the way because they see they don't have a chance. Of that group of MIT or Berkeley premeds who didn't get in anywhere, I would imagine that all of them would have rather not wasted their time and money applying in the first place. </p>
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If you have a good GPA and MCATS, you'll get in somewhere.
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<p>And that's a very big 'if'. It's not like everybody can just get a high GPA and a high MCAT just by wanting it. Go tell the guys at MIT that it's easy for everybody can get a high GPA, see what they say to you. Go tell the guys at Caltech that it's easy for everybody to get a high GPA. </p>
<p>Furthermore, even if you have a high GPA and high MCAT, that STILL doesn't guarantee that you're going to get admitted. It increases the odds, but it's never guaranteed. As you can see from the Berkeley data, just looking at those premeds who applied who had a GPA of 3.9+ and a MCAT score of 35+ (which are amazing stats), still, 8% of them got rejected by every med-school they applied to. Yep, every single one.</p>
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Also, remember that you can apply once a year for as many years as you need. So, if you don't get in the first time around, you can apply a second or third time.
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<p>And what do you think the odds are of getting in the next time around? If you didn't get in the first time around, it probably means that there is something deficient with your application - i.e. your GPA is too low or your MCAT is too low, etc. So when you apply again, whatever happened to be the deficiency the first time around will still be a deficiency. Take the case of your grades. If you got bad grades, you can't just go back in time and change them. Your grades are your grades. So if it's bad grades that prevented you from getting in the first time around, then they will probably prevent you from getting in every time. </p>
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In fact, getting into a medical school is only slightly tougher than getting into engineering grad schools (according to the admit rates), so chances are that if you're choosing between a grad school and a med school, you're already smart enuf to get into a med school.
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<p>What does engineering graduate school have to do with anything? You don't need a graduate degree to become an engineer. People with bachelor's degrees in engineering are fully qualified to work as engineers, and in fact, most do exactly that. However, to become a doctor, you MUST go to medical school. </p>
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A third alternative is to study abroad, which is often cheaper and almost as good of an education. Studying in the Caribbean schools or British schools for 4 years would be cheaper than in US, and then all you have to do is pass the USMLE (easy, since only 10% fail that test) to get a residency.
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<p>Oh really? IIt's that easy, is it? Then explain to me what the following quotes are talking about.</p>
<p>"the bottom line is that less than half of U.S. citizens who attend a foreign medical school eventually practice medicine in the U.S."</p>
<p>"Macknin said that it is much more difficult to get into American residency programs coming from medical schools abroad. He chose to attend Penn because of its faculty, reputation, curriculum and student body.</p>
<p>Fitzpatrick agreed that there are more obstacles for abroad students to overcome when trying to gain acceptance to residency programs in the United States."</p>
<p>"First, and most important, you won't have the same assurance of finding a job in the U.S. once you've finished your studies as is almost always the case if you are accepted into a U.S. medical school. You must pass the USMLE before you can obtain clinical training for the last two years of your medical training. Secondly, you must do well in order to obtain a residency in the U.S. after you obtain your MD degree. So even if you go to medical school in another country, there is no guarantee that you will be able to find a residency back home afterward. The quality of your program and your performance will determine whether you will be able to find a residency program in the U.S and ultimately practice medicine in the U.S."</p>
<p>Bottom line - you should not see foreign medical schools as an 'easy way out'. Do they work for some people? Sure. But the reality is that they are a last resort. You may not be able to get any residency at all, and if you do, you're unlikely to get your top residency choice.</p>