<p>again-im not looking to hear people’s sermons about the actual value of a brand name school- your not going to convert me… thanks for the effort though. i have a goal- to get into an ivy… i really don’t care about anything else.
benetode- one year masters?? what? i’ve never heard of doing that? is it actually necessary??</p>
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<p>No offense but that is really sad. Hopefully you will eventually come to realize that there are (much) better goals in life than “to get into an ivy.” No one is trying to deliver a sermon, we are just trying to help you realize that getting into an Ivy isn’t the be-all and end-all of higher education.</p>
<p>In any case you are worrying about this too early. You haven’t even started college yet. Go to college, decide what type of post-baccalaureate education you want to pursue, and then start thinking about this type of stuff. Lots of people go into college ‘knowing’ what they want to do down the line and end up changing directions due to their college experiences.</p>
<p>its funny- somehow people don’t get that going to an ivy will make my other pursuits easier- thats why i want to go- not for the addition to my self esteem!! I WANT TO DO *<strong><em>! going to harvard will make doing that *</em></strong> easier! its like running a marathon with tons of EPO in your system.</p>
<p>Well, I suppose going to an Ivy does make two things easier: going to Wall Street and going into consulting (e.g., McKinsey). I think none of us quite realized you were planning on going in such a direction, though, seeing as you were talking about grad school and med school and not investment banking or consulting.</p>
<p>not true… it is WAY easier to get a grant for research if you go somewhere like harvard… plus you have more support- more resources for research… sigh… more inspiration…more everything to make you a happy camper.</p>
<p>Again, the “ivy” classification slapped onto a graduate program means absolutely nothing. I had hoped that this same sentence echoed hundreds of times on this forum by people who actually know what they’re talking about would have hit home by now. </p>
<p>“Ivy” for undergrad can only help you if you work hard and use your resources well- two things that also spell success for students at non-ivies.</p>
<p>Regarding the claim about research grants- again, not true. The nature and content of your research proposal, the validity and promise of your previous research, the productivity of your laboratory, the reputation of your professor- these things matter infinitely more than the name of the school.</p>
<p>the reality is most people who are trying to get into those ivy league med schools have to take a break from school for a year before they’re qualified to get into a school like that. that has been the case for my friends, and i attend an ivy league school. the med school game is so difficult nowadays that if you don’t have an MCAT score in the range of 41-45 and stunning extracurriculars, you probably won’t even get looked at top notch med schools.</p>
<p>i won’t try to sugarcoat your situation, but the truth is just because you go to a UCSB or tulane, your shot at a brand name med school IS NOT gone. if you can pull out a 41-45 MCAT score (keep in mind, i think 38 gets you in the top two percentile), you’ll turn some heads. if you have some quality relationships with professors, that won’t hurt you. if you do some legit social service work, preferrably in a third world country, something along the lines of teaching blinds kids to read braille, that would be helpful. but i’m telling you, you have to be absolutely stellar to get into a school like that right out of undergrad. if you dont qualify for the above, then i would highly recommend thinking about what you will do in that filler year – and i highly recommend you do something you feel passionate about pursuing, because med schools eat that up.</p>
<p>i could tell you about how other med schools that are not ivy (ucla, washU, baylor, ucsf) are absolutely AMAZING and would set you up FOR LIFE, but you’re not here for that. i’ll just tell you this – if you dont pull off some of the things that i’ve listed, dont even think you’ll have a chance at getting into ohio state med school, which is a top 40 program perennially. </p>
<p>bobby jindal got into yale law and harvard med school – do you know what he chose? neither. he went on to be a rhodes scholar at oxford. and now he’s one of the youngest, if not, THE youngest, governor in the united states. are you rhodes scholar material? i can’t judge, i dont know you. but if there’s a good time to start, it’s right NOW.</p>
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<p>Not true? It isn’t easier to get into consulting if you attend an Ivy?</p>
<p>Seriously, though, of course you will have more support and resources if you attend a top-notch grad program. The thing though is that not all the top-notch grad programs are at Ivy League universities. That is why your Ivy ambitions seem, as you have acknowledged, shallow.</p>
<p>The undergrad institution only matters as far as helping you get into a top-notch grad program. A university like Tulane is more than up to this task, IMHO.</p>
<p>Obnoxious is right about one thing: where you go to grad school is much more important than where you went to undergrad. A PhD from the top university in your field is indeed worth more than one from halfway down the list; however, not all graduates programs at all “brand name” universities are created equal. If you want to study at the best place for computer science, for example, you would not dream of going to Harvard. Conversely, some universities that seem second-rate for undergraduate are among the best for certain fields.</p>
<p>lol- rhodes was actually one of the things i wanted to do… i have been to oxford- spent a month there taking classes. so… is this redic situation mainly because i go to UCSB? or is it true for everyone? i was also already planning on trying for a fulbright scholarship so i can help people foreign countries…and whatnot…
but getting a high MCAT and volunteering doesn’t seem unreasonable… am i leaving anything out?? lots of awards i guess? research?</p>
<p>Well, first you would need to decide whether you want an MD or a PhD in a science field, or something else altogether. I don’t recommend deciding now, and the med school forum really is better for learning about med school applications. (And, BTW, med school applications are so incredibly competitive these days that getting into any medical school these days is a real accomplishment, never mind Harvard.) Since the link Benetode posted shows that you can get into Harvard Law School from Tulane or UCSB (and quite a few places which aren’t nearly as well-regarded as either), I don’t see why it would be impossible to get into Harvard Med. School from one of those places. Same for getting Fulbrights, etc. One of the most important things is to find mentors who can help you through the process, provide research opportunities (hopefully), and write strong letters of recommendation. I recommend not adapting the HYPS or bust mentality, but there’s no reason at all you can’t become a top medical researcher with an undergraduate degree from Tulane or UCSB.</p>
<p>sorry buddy, but rhodes isn’t typically something you “want” to do, nor is fulbright. you get chosen for those things, and sheer will is only one of the key elements that determines that. have you ever seen good will hunting? the truth is, some people are just born for things. </p>
<p>i graduated a valedictorian from a below-average public school, got perfect SAT scores in math and writing, and was a national AP scholar. i went to an ivy league school, and you know what happened? thrust into the ranks of mediocrity. and what did i learn along with? a proper work ethic. i’ve worked my ass off, there are several nights every semester that i simply don’t go back home and linger from library to library studying. and i’ll go into exams thinking i know everything and out of nowhere, i get blasted. on the other hand, i’ve had friends who studied a normal amount, got a good night’s rest, had a good work ethic but nothing extravagant, and aced tests. something that i have come to grips with is that some people are born with a higher capacity for intelligence and intuition – the geniuses out there, the Erdos’s, the Euler’s, and Terence Tao’s of the world are the ones with the highest capacity of intelligence. and what can you do to be counted amongst those ranks? most of the time, nothing. you’re either born with or you’re not born with it. if someone who is 6 feet tall plays basketball 23 hours a day, 7 days a week, 15 years from the age of 5 until the age of 20, simply to be as dominant as lebron james, does that mean he will become so? nope, sorry. to be one of the greatest in basketball, it’s no secret that you have to be winners of the genetic lottery. and it’s much the same way in academia – hard work and extreme levels of dedication will take you to a certain point, but when you get to that point, only the genetic lottery jackpot winners can go farther.</p>
<p>let’s have a quick little math lesson. a PhD professor at an ivy league university, let’s say he stays at his position for 25 years. let’s say he advise an average of 3 PhD candidates every year. that would mean he would oversee the doctorates of 75 individuals in his career. for every one ivy league professor, there could be 75 Ivy League PhD’s out there. what do these ivy league PhD’s end up doing? i had a TA in one of my classes who was finishing up his 6th year as an Applied Math PhD. i was talking with him, wondering where he was going to end up afterwards. he was deliberating between places like University of Montana and Alaska.</p>
<p>so let’s return to the question whether UCSB has doomed you for your failure. i will answer that it hasn’t. a fast track to getting money for research and being a respected academic is to churn out brilliant ideas faster than anyone else. a professor at my school was recently profiled as one of the most brilliant men under 40. he created an algorithm that played a major role in the growth of the internet… except he did it when he was 24. he’s a macarthur fellow. if you don’t know what that is, it’s called the genius grant. and i’m telling you – you’re not going to get that simply by working hard. because the smartest men in the world are not only plain briliant – they are also working as hard as you. i assure you there are some ridiculously smart people at UCSB. top physicists and materials science engineers teach there, i’m sure ones who teach medicine are of the same caliber.</p>
<p>the truth is, you either have it, or you dont.</p>
<p>sunkist- lol… i’m born with it. and it isn’t just about being well respected… i want an ivy. i want for once to get want i want regardless of how much i need it.</p>
<p>obnoxious1 seems to just want to succeed using his one stubborn way- ivy- regardless of all the comments of us well-wishers and reality check writers. Since I feel like we’re talking to a wall here, I’d like to suggest the book Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell. He gives a well-reasoned exploration of the many unexpected factors comprising a person’s success. [Amazon.com:</a> Outliers: The Story of Success: Malcolm Gladwell: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017922]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017922) Good luck.</p>
<p>obnoxious1 - As a current Tulane student, you certainly sound like a Tulane student ("I want to get what I want, blahblahblah), I think you should come here, you’d fit in real well.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter where you go. Just do well wherever it is. </p>
<p>I’m most likely turning down an Ivy and some other top 10 programs in my field for grad school to go to Ole Miss for my master’s because of family problems. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to work my ass off at Ole Miss to try to get into a good Ph.D. program, though. Horace Mann said “Education is the greatest equalizer of the conditions of man”, which is a quote I totally take to heart. One of the great things about education is that you truly set your own path.</p>
<p>EDIT: Really thinking that obnoxious1 is just a really good ■■■■■.</p>
<p>if it sounds like i’m trying to be condescending… than you’re right. the most important thing that i’ve learned through college is that my vision of reality is longer warped, and i now know where i stand amongst the smartest people in the world. </p>
<p>don’t get this confused with me doubting what you will end up doing. because i have not the slightest clue of your capabilities, and i won’t be the one who says you will fail at everything you aspire to be. it’s my not my place. i’m only saying the most important shift you need to make in college is getting a realistic idea of your place in the world, and hinging your hopes on lofty expectations before you even start college hints at overconfidence.</p>
<p>you will meet some very intelligent people at ucsb. furthermore, you will also meet some very hot chicks. i actually heard aphrodite was born on isla vista. i say have fun, enjoy the ride, and don’t sweat over things you don’t have control over. work hard, but have a realistic snapshot of your capabilities and goals.</p>
<p>It’s impressive how this thread has gone nowhere due to the fact that the OP clearly doesn’t actually want advice or suggestions. Some people have hobbies, join clubs. Personally I watch too much basketball and baseball. And then there are people like obnoxious here that beg for attention on message boards. To each his own I guess.</p>
<p>thanks for addressing my problem, i will make sure to tend to my personal issues, per your diagnosis. </p>
<p>good luck with your aspirations</p>
<p>Wow. I weep for the future of healthcare, and for those professionals who will be joined by the likes of obnoxious here. My only hope for the OP is that she can learn all that she needs to learn about life (which is a lot), most of which is not taught in schools-- not even in ivy’s.</p>
<p>Im guessing you won’t get in anywhere that actually conducts interviews, so your best shot is probably Harvard BBS (for graduate school). Good luck! (you’ll be needing it)</p>