<p>So i live in maryland and get good grades so im almost guaranteed to get into University of Maryland assuming i dont bomb out on the SAT/ACT.</p>
<p>My question is, would i be better off going to the University of maryland (college park btw), or a mid-level private school (not like hopkins or harvard, something more in the middle) in order to get accepted to medical school. Obviously i would apply to University of Marylands medical school</p>
<p>btw, i want to stay in the north east area</p>
<p>Either option will be fine.</p>
<p>I spoke to a scientist here at Brookhaven National Lab, where I’m interning for the Fall. He went to med school for a year before deciding to get a phD instead, and both his siblings are doctors. His advice to me has always been to apply to a college/university with a medical school and to become familiar with the school and it may potentially increase your chances of acceptance. See, the thing is, half of a med school’s applicants are pretty much the same, so it’s the things outside of the 30 MCAT, honors student, award-winning profile that helps you get in. Knowing someone, perhaps a doctor, at the medical school could be huge towards getting you in because the more interest you show, the more the med school will notice. Hope that helps!</p>
<p>Many schools frown upon academic inbreeding. But some have a preference from their own undergrad. Dartmouth for example. I went to an info session for Dartmouth undergrad, and the admissions officer said blatantly that the percentage of Dartmouth students admitted is considerably higher than from outside the school.</p>
<p>Yes, we know, the self selection factor of coming from a school like Dartmouth plays a role, but I think it was like 1/3 to 1/2 of Dartmouth students got accepted, so there was a preference for sure.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies, do you all think that i would get a good response if i were to email the university of maryland medical school and ask them this question</p>
<p>If you do, just phrase it as though you’re not trying to find the easy way in. Ask if there’s a downside to either one or something like that. Not that they’d be likely to use the email ever again, but you never know with all this facebook stalking some schools do.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t recommend it. The chances of them coming out and saying that they have preferred preference for their undergrads is low, so you are probably just going to get some vague answer. The benefit of going to U of Maryland is that you will be able to MAKE an application advantage over the years, not because they automatically add points just because you went there.</p>
<p>I’d like to offer an alternative suggestion: go to a school that will be a good fit for you so you will be happy there. Get solid MCATs and take your best shot at the schools you want. My daughter didn’t even want to apply to UMCP as a "safety’ because she just plain didn’t want to go to a school that big. </p>
<p>And about that near guaranteed acceptance to UMCP – I know several well qualified students who were rejected from UMCP – not waitlisted – rejected. Once upon a time, you could get into UMCP if you had a heartbeat. It’s just not like that any more.</p>
<p>If going to a university with its own med school is an advantage, then probably all Harvard graduates must go to HMS!</p>
<p>There are 300 harvard pre-med applicants each year.</p>