<p>I will be choosing which college to attend within the next couple of weeks and as I make my decision, one very important factor to me is how well X college will prepare me for getting into a top medical school. I am leaning heavily toward Wash U in St. Louis right now and I know it has one of the top medical schools in the country. But it is likely that I will also try to apply to Stanford, Harvard, Yale, etc. Medical School as well. If I got to a pretty good school like Wash U in St. Louis (and assuming I do well over the next four years and on the MCAT) will I have a chance at these Ivy (or the like) med schools or do only those who attended HYPS for undergrad end up at these schools? Thanks!</p>
<p>you can go to any college, do amazingly, and end up at HYPS for med school.</p>
<p>Brown is your best bet bcos it has the highest mean gpa of graduating seniors…</p>
<p>I would not choose Brown because of that.</p>
<p>Also ending up at “HYPS” for medical school is impossible, since P doesn’t … you know, have a medical school. (And because the acronym would probably be more like HJWP.)</p>
<p>Thanks bluedevilmike for the technicality. But I believe regardless the question still remains valid.</p>
<p>your question involves too many ifs…so i dont understand what you really expect from us</p>
<p>i mean if you do well at Washu (high GPa), do well on mcat, have great ecs, have great LORs, have a great interview experience, sure it’s possible you might get into some ivy med school.</p>
<p>BUT We cant tell you your chances if you havent done any of these yet…</p>
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<p>Your choice of undergrad has a negligible effect upon your chances of obtaining admission to top-ranked research medical schools. Things that matter far more are your GPAs, MCAT score, ECs, leadership positions, essays, and interview performance, and these things are independent of the reputation of your school. What they do depend on, however, is you attending a college that is your best “match” - if you don’t like your school, you’re not likely to do well there, and that will negatively impact your future medical school application.</p>
<p>From my experience, if you get a 3.7+ GPA at Washington University in St. Louis, you’re pretty much guaranteed into at least one top medical school. My friends who’ve applied this past cycle have gotten into WashU, UPenn, Harvard (MD/PhD), UCSF, Northwestern, and Case Western. </p>
<p>If your GPA is 3.5+ from WashU, you have a 96% of getting into at least one medical school (may not be a top one, but these numbers are skyhigh compared to the national average)</p>
<p>By these numbers, you might draw the conclusion that the WashU curriculum is very difficult and recognized as such by medical schools. You would be correct. The success rate of WashU premeds is also due to the thorough premed advising available. </p>
<p>More info-- Search “Pre-Health” on the wustl website. You will be directed to the premed page.</p>
<p>I also started a WashU Premeds Q and A in the WUSTL 2014 subforum here on CC.</p>
<p>Its not easy getting a 3.7+ at WashU though. All your big science classes (gen chem, orgo, bio, physics) are curved like most colleges. But what you must realize is that half the school comes in thinking they want to be premed. All those kids did really well in their high schools. So just realize that “doing well” at WashU is far from guaranteed. It is pretty much guaranteed that if you put effort into it, you will get into medschool but whether that medschool is HJWP is far from certain. The WashU numbers are about 600 people start off premed by sophomore year that number is less than 300, by second semester orgo its about 200. By time seniors start applying there’s about 100. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I love WashU. Its a great school, the people are really nice and cooperative none of that cut throat competition here. We have a great premed advising program with advisors who are easily accessible. You’ll have lots of research opportunities here and shadowing opportunities as well. Professors are really available too and are always willing to answer questions no matte how silly they are. </p>
<p>I’m not trying to discourage you, I just want you to realize that there is a lot more to WashU than its name. You might do much better at a different school or you may not. Maybe WashU is the school for you.</p>
<p>Good luck deciding!</p>
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<p>The proportion of entering premeds is probably similar at Hopkins, Emory, and other colleges known to be be “great” for premed. :)</p>
<p>[Wash</a> U’s pre-med mortality rate](<a href=“http://www.studlife.com/archives/Scene/2005/04/18/WashUspremedmortalityrate/]Wash”>Wash U’s pre-med mortality rate - Student Life Archives)</p>
<p>Good job bluebayou! Actual numbers, I think I remember reading this a while ago and being thankful I got through genchem alive.</p>
<p>You’re making a good choice with WashU premed.</p>
<p>I agree with zenith and chemfreak. It’s true WashU premed is not easy at all, and a lot of people “give up” along the way but there’s a reason WashU is very famous for its premed program.</p>
<p>WashU doesn’t “screen” its applicants, unlike Johns Hopkins. Any one is welcome to apply to medical school from WashU. Those who choose to not apply (“drop out of premed”) do so on their own decision. </p>
<p>Someone told me once if you have a 3.0 GPA and a 30 on the MCAT from WashU you still have a 66% chance of getting into at least one med school.</p>
<p>WashU premeds are also very happy in general. Students tend to be supportive of each other/ not cutthroat; the professors are amazing at what they do (teaching and laboratory wise), and most of all the premedical advising can’t be beat. So yes, WashU is one of the best places to do premed.</p>
<p>I agree that WashU is an amazing place for an education!</p>
<p>WashU has a top 3 medical school, which has a program with WashU Undergrad where if you get above a certain gpa and have at least a 36 on your mcats, you are automatically accepted to WashU’s medical school.</p>
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<p>This is one of of those myths that gets repeated ad nauseam in these forums. However, the number ONE recommendation from a top notch medical school admission counseling service is:</p>
<p>1) Attend the BEST college and get the highest grades possible.</p>
<p>At a charge of $ 20, 000 for the preparatory service, I would follow their recommendation over what anyone else here may speculate, and that includes shades_children.</p>
<p>Well TBH, nobody has done a complete controlled study. Wash U’s stats are indeed impressive (I go to Wash U- represent!) but I would like to see if Wash U’s alleged boost still holds up if controlled for ECs, Recs, and research. But again, those are intangibles that are often hard to control for in statistical studies. Another explanation for the boost is that Wash U attracts top pre-meds, and top pre-meds will do well no matter where they go.</p>
<p>I think Shades’ argument is that a boost from a school’s reputation is easily outweighed by how happy one is at a school. I agree with that statement. I know some people who have transferred from Wash U because they did not like the difficulty of the curriculum (A rare minority, most people I have met are very happy here).</p>
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20 Grand?! Jiminy. I can’t get that drunk. ;)</p>
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<p>lol, how many hours did you work in the lab this week, lollybo? The future researcher is strong in you.</p>
<p>Er and yea. 1. WashU premed is hard. 2. But most students including the premeds are very happy. 3. The premed advising from what I know can’t be beat. So think about point #1. Then think about #2 and 3. And weigh them mentally.</p>
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<p>The problem with that recommendation – which is absolutely correct, and doesn’t require $20k to know – is that by definition, at least one-half of the matriculating premeds will end up in the bottom of their BEST college class. And those premeds will NOT be going to med school. Moreover, schools like WashU, Emory, & Hopkins, which are “known” to be great for premed, actually have larger classes of matriculants who are premed. Perhaps 33% of such college Frosh are premed vs. 20% at a LAC. </p>
<p>So the “speculation” such that it is, focuses on the last part: earn the highest grades possible. It may just be that someone who might end up in the bottom half of WashU’s class, might just might be in the top quartile of Podunk State. With a decent MCAT, such student still has a shot for professional school…</p>