<p>I am a senior in highschool headed to Emory University. Does anyone have advice about what to do to get into a good med school, any advice would be helpful.</p>
<p>reading threads from the past is a good way to go. Then, if there are specific questions not addressed on other threads, starting a new thread is welcomed :)</p>
<p>Apparently I'm not allowed to post in this thread for another five months...</p>
<p>bluedevil if you have any advice I'd love to hear it</p>
<p>There is more advice involved than I can possibly give, but the core principle is this:</p>
<p>Volunteer in hospitals. Learn as many of the relevant courses as you can, and do well in them. Study hard. Pick a college where you will get a good education. Learn what is involved in being a doctor. Exercise your brain by doing research.</p>
<p>Will these help you get in? Usually. Sometimes there are times when they won't, but these are the values you should hold anyway.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, it is not JUST about getting into medical school; it is about doing well there; it is about becoming a good doctor; it is about becoming the kind of person you would want to send your family to.</p>
<p>The core question is always:
"Does doing this make me more worthy of the trust people will someday place in me, or less?"</p>
<p>bluedevilmike,
I have read a lot of good information from you. I'm posting for my high school junior son. Although web information, books or college visiting can help to understand a school, it is still difficult for most kids to tell which school will be best for them to learn and play. And most of the time, they can only try one school. If Duke, and Case Western are equally good schools to learn and play. For the same MCAT score, Does a higher GPA in Case Western than in Duke increase the chance to go to a med school or go to a better med school?</p>
<p>My son ranks top 1%, taking all possible advanced classess, two student club presidents, no sports, 5 hours community service/week, 10 hours job/week, no outside school compititions. Test scores are not available. More likely will get ACT 33+, SAT 2150+, math2c 750+ , Chem 700+. What's chance for him to go to Duke? Does the major in Duke affect the chance in getting into Duke?</p>
<p>Hi liu,</p>
<p>I'm much more qualified to answer your specific questions about Duke than anything else.</p>
<p>First, if I read your handle correctly, your son is an overrepresented minority (Chinese). If that's correct, I would express some concern about his board scores if they turn out as you describe as far as Duke admissions go. Duke does not place a very high emphasis on SAT scores, but a 2150 is an average of 717 (if I did the math correctly), which is pretty low for an Asian student applying to Duke.</p>
<p>Second, your declared major at Duke does not affect your admissions chances. There are some slight exceptions: if you are applying for engineering, then your application is evaluated differently. It is equally difficult on average, but students with B's in English and A's in Math will have a better chance at Pratt (our engineering school).</p>
<p>Third, I would not make any assumptions about test scores and GPA. If research indicates that students at Case find their classes easier and their MCAT scores turn out comparably, I would not be surprised, but I do not think you should assume this. It might well turn out to be that Duke students have higher MCAT scores and grades turn out higher at Duke, too. My point is not that you are wrong, merely that you should research it.</p>
<p>Fourth, let's assume your son will get the same MCAT score and a higher GPA from Case. Duke does have a reputation which medical schools pay attention to. Some argue that this is not the case; I believe numbers prove them wrong. Duke's reputation is not enough to overcome a huge gap in GPA - so it depends on how much higher your son's GPA is. Among students admitted to medical school, Duke students average a 3.54 GPA. You can see that, for example, MIT students average a 3.7 GPA, which implies that medical schools will prefer Duke kids, even if we have slightly worse grades. I do not know Case Western's number, but such a number would be useful to you.</p>
<p>SAT result was out today. He got 750/770/790. His ACT is 34. What's the chance to get in duke for an asian american? Do you suggest a re-take to get math to 800? He does not think that he could get reading/writing higher.</p>
<p>I researched on Case Western.The average accepted GPA for the Case Western senior is 3.75.</p>
<p>His SAT score is very strong. (I don't know anything about ACTs.) You will notice that it is 160 points higher than the number I was working with, more than 50 points higher per section. I can't in good conscience recommend that he retake, especially if he thinks the 750 might go down. If I recall correctly, my brother had the same (or close) overall score. He's here currently.</p>
<p>A 3.75 is probably problematic. That implies either that Case has incredible grade inflation - shocking grade inflation, to be frank - or that its seniors must jump over a very high bar to be admitted to medical school. Again, Duke's average GPA is a 3.54 for people admitted to medical school - .2 points lower. This is the difference between straight A-'s and half-A's-half-B's. It's a big deal that theirs is so much higher, and it's a very bad sign.</p>
<p>I need to make clear that having SAT scores and grades that are good relative to our incoming class do not in any way mean chances are "good", since the process still has a lot of randomness built into it. Your son sounds well-qualified, but applying to any of the top few schools in the country simply are not good odds, no matter who you are.</p>
<p>Still, your son looks to me like his application is fine. Good luck. Make sure to apply soon after apps are released - don't pay attention to so-called "deadlines", go much earlier than they say - and write strong essays. Those consist not just of reasons to accept him but reasons why a specific school ought to want him. These schools are very different, and if he can tell us why he specifically wants to be a part of Duke's community (not just why he wants to go to a good school), those essays will help a lot.</p>
<p>bluedevilmike, you seem to be very well-versed in pre-med issues, so maybe you could help answer my questions:</p>
<p>I'm a high school senior and I will be attending either UCSD or UPenn in the fall (for bioengineering). Both are great schools. At UCSD, bioE is ranked #2 or 3 in the country, I have been labeled as a Regents Scholar, and I will probably have a research position in the medical school in my freshman year (I have already talked to some researchers who have agreed to give me a position). However, Penn has the prestige (#4 in the country, Ivy League distinction, etc) and it seems like they really want to prepare their pre-med students to go to a good medical school.</p>
<p>My questions are: Is the prestige of Penn enough to overshadow the opportunities I would be getting at UCSD? Assuming I stay in BioE, do you know if med school admissions committees will take into consideration the high BioE ranking at UCSD? Also, do you know of any oddities with these schools that might affect my decision (such as the fact that med school adcoms will likely know that a high GPA at Case Western is probably due to grade inflation)?
Thanks!</p>
<p>First, I should clarify. There are two options at Case: one is grade inflation, and one is that it's very hard to be admitted to med school. I believe it's the latter, not the former, but in theory the evidence could point either way.</p>
<p>Second, how do finances play into your decision?</p>
<p>Third, I would argue that the prestige of UCSD's specific program is unlikely to play a huge role in the process, but it probably will matter a little bit, just as Penn's overall ranking is likely to help noticeably (but not huge, either). Don't forget, however, that you may be looking at grad school rankings, in which case they're irrelevant.</p>
<p>Fourth, my belief is that you are unlikely to get "extra" opportunities at UCSD relative to Penn. My best guess, actually, is that these opportunities exist for EVERYBODY at Penn and only some students at San Diego - this is thus a neutral factor for you, while for most students it's a plus for Penn. I believe this is only a slight plus for UCSD, in that you already have the position set up and it might be hard to find one your very first year at Penn. Am I being clear? These research opportunities exist for most if not all premeds at Ivy-League-caliber schools.</p>
<p>I would personally urge you to go to Penn - they are likely to have much stronger advising, talented peers to encourage you to be all you can be, and smaller classes with more faculty attention for education, research, and letters of recommendation. The overall educational experience at an Ivy-League-caliber school is irreplaceable - honestly. Furthermore, if you then decide either not to be premed or BME, then Penn will keep vastly more options open for you.</p>
<p>However, it sounds like you have a very good setup at UCSD as well. Sounds to me like you've got two strong choices.</p>
<p>bluedevilmike, if you don't mind me asking and sharing, which medical school are you headed to next year?</p>
<p>Hi funny,</p>
<p>I'm about to PM you with the details. I don't post this information on the boards.</p>
<p>liumoo,
I'm curious as to where you found that the average GPA of the accepted Case student is 3.75. I researched and found that it was 3.57. Could you please post your source if you still have it? </p>
<p>I'm reluctant to believe that 3.75 could be the correct GPA because Case western is not known for grade inflation at all. In fact, it is supposedly a very difficult school to maintain a high GPA. Also, it has a very good reputation in the science/BME world, so i don't think med schools could possibly look down upon it so much as to only accept students with around a 3.75.</p>
<p>jakem,</p>
<p>If I'm not mistaken, liumoo might have gotten his number from page 13 of the following handbook:</p>
<p>Don't be surprised that 3.75 is the correct number; MIT's number is 3.7, so clearly it's not just a matter of prestige.</p>
<p>bluedevilmike, how do you find the average GPA of students admitted from a college/ University to medical school? Is it just digging in each institution's website, or is there a central source?</p>
<p>i don't think there is a central source, you just have to do some digging.</p>
<p>I guess the source i was reading was outdated or something, because that seems pretty valid. Looks like i'll be studyin my butt off for the next 4 years :-D</p>
<p>Applicants Admission Rates
Nat'l UCSD Nat'l UCSD
2005 40,652 383 46% 47%
2004 38,727 362 47% 50%
2003 38,034 353 49% 49%
2002 36,032 363 52% 51%
2001 32,797 360 50% 52%
2000 35,004 351 47% 50%
1999 37,010 344 46% 43%
1998 38,714 315 42% 45%
1997 40,429 338 40% 43%</p>
<p><a href="http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/gradprof/healthprof/premed/Parents.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/gradprof/healthprof/premed/Parents.htm</a>
Fall 2002 admission to allopathic (MD degree-granting) medical schools were admitted. However, among the 261 Penn applicants (both current students and alumni) for Fall 2002 admission, 198 of them, or 76%, were
Today, a majority of Penns applicants to medical school are alumni, not graduating seniors. Among those who applied for Fall 2002 admission, only 46% were seniors. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/gradprof/healthprof/premed/Premedical_Opportunities.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/gradprof/healthprof/premed/Premedical_Opportunities.htm</a>
For Fall 2001 entering class to medical school, the acceptance rate among Penn graduating seniors was 83% and among all our applicants it is 75%</p>