<p>Hey CC! I just had a quick question. Do you think it is better to attend a second tier school and be at the top of the class, or attend a first tier school (not necessarily Ivy... I'm including Johns Hopkins, UChicago, UND, etc) and being in the middle?
I'm planning to go on to medical school after undergrad. </p>
<p>the former</p>
<p>Whichever is cheaper. 
Save money for med school.</p>
<p>Med school acceptance depends on high grades from your undergrad and your MCAT score. Where will you get the best grades and complete the pre-med requirements?</p>
<p>It’s a false dichotomy. And this has also been discussed over and over here. </p>
<p>By 2nd tier school, are you referring to US News 101+ or 201+ or what?</p>
<p>Depends on the school (quality of advising, research opportunities, etc.) Also available in honors colleges. But don’t automatically assume that you’ll be at the top at a “2nd-tier” school even if you are in the middle of a top-tier school. Without actual school names, it’s hard to compare. There’s no general rule.</p>
<p>Agreed that this is indeed a false dichotomy. “Top tier”, “2nd tier”, and so on and so forth say nothing as to how you will do at the institution. As someone who chose between Ivies and schools such as UChicago and JHU, I think your foremost consideration needs to be your “fit”. Apply to wherever you want, but consider that you will be going there for four years. Look for interesting programs and people you like, and worry less about the medical school stuff. I’ve been there, trust me, if you are intent on medical school, you’ll get there regardless of your undergraduate institution.</p>
<p>Perhaps more to the point, medical schools generally don’t care as long as you show strong performance (>3.7 GPA); the rest of your application will have to speak for you at that point.</p>
<p>Depends on grade inflation and reputation; Harvard for example has rampant grade inflation and this person I know only managed a 3.45 despite that and still got into case western (and university of Rochester) medical
School. Look for how well the college places people in Med school vs how good it’s students already are.</p>
<p>Harvard College does very well in med school admissions. Most schools (including other elite privates; including some other HYPSM schools) do not do as well.</p>
<p>Also, it’s idiosyncratic in that some schools that people may not think of as being very good also do very well, making me think that advising plays a key role. @MiamiDAP mentioned that all the honors kids at Miami(OH) the year his D graduates who applied to med school all got in.</p>
<p>I think advising can be crucial, and from Day One. They can advise you one what classes to take, what sequence, course load, etc. to maximize your chances. Some schools are better at that than others and one reason D picked her LAC was the pre-health advisor system they have. She’s going to start in a few weeks and interestingly enough, after she signed up for courses this summer, she got a note from a chem professor even before arriving on campus advising her to take a different chem course. That sort of thing won’t happen if you’re in Chem 101 with 500 of your closest friends.</p>
<p>You’ll also find some schools will work with all people who wish to apply to med schools while others will withhold rec letters, so be sure you know which one you’re at or you may be shut out before you even apply.</p>
<p>Finally, there is some advantage to going to “better” schools in that not all pre-med educations are treated the same by the med schools. Contrary to what some would have you believe, they don’t look at your undergrad in a vacuum - a 3.3 from Harvard will be viewed far differently than a 3.3 from Directional State, with the Harvard candidate getting far better/more offers, all other things considered equal.</p>
<p>I mean 2nd tier as Rose Hulman, Valparaiso, etc. I realize I’m making extreeeemeeee generalizations. I wanted to get my point across without telling u my whole college admissions story (which trust me, is a long one). Your comments have given me enough confidence in my future college applications. Thank you!</p>