Going to Med School After Cal-Tech

<p>I figure I am pretty much sold to Caltech and everything it has to offer. But, I have some misgivings about how going to Caltech may influence my chances at med school. Although i have heard that it only matters what i do where i go for undergrad, does not having an inflated GPA hurt my chances? On another post i read that med school admissions suffer from "grade illusion." Do most top med schools understand the difficulty of making good grades at Caltech? Nevertheless, i dont think its right to not go somewhere just because it is too hard. I just hope that im not shooting myself in the foot by going to Caltech.</p>

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Do most top med schools understand the difficulty of making good grades at Caltech?

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No, they do not. Med schools (and to a smaller degree law schools) view all 3.8's (say) as equal no matter where from. Since your GPA at Caltech is likely to be lower than the GPA you would have had elsewhere, this will hurt your med school chances, maybe a lot. This is especially bad since often the GPA-based sorting happens at the "first round" before a human sees the application, so no amount of amazingness is likely to compensate for a GPA below their cutoff.</p>

<p>Premeds go to Caltech and quite a few of them do really well, but it's a risky strategy. Your "expected" med school destination will be worse than if you had gone to an easier school. But placement isn't everything and maybe the other opportunities at Caltech will compensate for the reduced med school chances. Just know what you're getting into. Also visit during prefrosh weekend if you can and talk to some premeds to see what they think.</p>

<p>I like your attitude, but you should proceed with a bit of caution before coming to Caltech as a premed. </p>

<p>Realize that the largest part of the difficulty will be in the math and physics core, and if you're not pretty qualified in those two areas, it's not unreasonable to expect Cs or even Ds in these courses. </p>

<p>On grades you would have to take: electromagnetism, statistical mechanics/waves, quantum mechanics, multivariable calculus, differential equations, and probability and statistics. </p>

<p>If you're reasonably comfortable with taking those courses, then you'd probably do fine as a premed, and Caltech is a great place. Otherwise, there may be better alternatives.</p>

<p>The extent to which a lack of grade inflation hurts your chances for medical school depends on you. If you are a middle-of-the-road student who would be scraping by with A-'s at most schools, perhaps you'd be getting mostly B's here. This would be a disadvantage in applying to medical schools. If you are a stellar student, you will have good grades regardless of the amount of grade inflation. </p>

<p>I encourage you to contact Angela</a> Wood and ask her about this stuff (I think you can find her contact info. in the FAQ). As far as I know, none of us on these forums are pre-meds. I have heard in the past that the fact that Caltech is a small school of high quality means that since Caltech students are rare, they may get special attention. I believe I heard this at a pre-med panel discussion at prefrosh weekend; there is another such discussion on the Friday of prefrosh weekend this year.</p>

<p>Thanks for responding. I ve actually been told by a med resident at the Caltech admit reception that most TOP med schools can distinguish between cal tech and other schools (although most other med schools cant.) Is it just the physics and math that trips up premeds? So far, I have had no problems with math and physics. Nevertheless, i have no illusions about the difficulty of the path ive chosen. I figure I have the passion for math and science in general and medicine... whether i have what it takes, ill eventually find out.</p>

<p>wtv... Caltech already seems like a great fit.</p>

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Is it just the physics and math that trips up premeds?

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As I've seen, this is by far the biggest problem for pre-meds; once they get into the bio classes, the grades are much more reasonable.</p>

<p>tex45, let me agree that I admire your attitude. I wish more people were brave like you, and it bodes well for your success more generally.</p>

<p>Tex45, our son is in the same boat you are in. He will be attending Harvey Mudd which also lacks grade inflation. I hope both you and he made the right choice and not regret it four years from now. One thing to consider is that medical schools get tired of the same old biology majors....so having an engineering degree or something unique from a unique school is very appealing for them. They do consider where you came from.. as long as you do well on your MCATs. I graduated from UCSF in 1986..and I am telling you they like diversity in their class.
Go to cal tech...but try to stay above a 3.4 if you can.</p>