So, I’m an incoming HS senior, and I’ve been considering the Catholic University of America as my first college choice. Before, I had a list comprised of places like UChicago, Vanderbilt, and Rice, but for money reasons I’ve been thinking it’s better not to stress out my undergrad years so much, as it pertains to where I go to school, that is. CUA is definitely a solid academic experience, but I am a little concerned that its relative obscurity compared to higher-ranked institutions (like Georgetown, which is just on the other side of town) may diminish my chances of getting into a good medical school. CUA is committed to offering pre-med-focused curricula, so if I work hard, get in research, and make the grade, will medical schools I apply to in the future focus A TON on the simple fact of the undergrad school I attend?
No. It is far more important how you actually perform at the school you attend. My niece attended a small regional school that you probably never heard of (certainly less well known than CUA) and she got good grades, had good school involvement, and got into several medical schools. She’s graduated from medical school and is now a resident.
Get good grades, and make sure your MCAT scores are great.
Good luck!
Most colleges have a pre-health advising program/advisors. See if Catholic U has one and contact them to try to get information on how their students have historically fared.
Although where you go to college is not of zero importance, agree with @Trisherella that college performance will be what gets you into med school. I’d be skeptical of a college telling you something like historically 80% of their premeds get accepted into med school. Yes that could mean historically out of every 20 premeds who have actually applied 16 got an acceptance, but it may leave out fact that 200 kids started as premed but dropped out and never got to point of actually applying.
Exactly. Or, perhaps worse, colleges can use their committee letter to control who applies. If they tell you the are not going to recommend you or are going to express reservations then its a waste of money and time to even bother applying. The OP needs to find out if this school has a committee letter and if so if they write as positive letter for all applicants as they can or give everyone a neutral ‘just-the-facts’ letter. Some schools don’t, Holy Cross being a great example. At least they are open about it (if you understand what they are saying)
The OP can learn what it takes to get into med school by reading thru the very informative pages at https://www.rhodes.edu/content/health-professions-advising-hpa on the “PreMed Essentials” link. There is also a good handbook at https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/careers/act/gradstudy/health/guide and no doubt many other websites, as well as books.
The real question to address at this point is not what college, but why an M.D? Have you looked into the medical field and considered the alternatives? From the day you start college it will be 11-15 years before you are a practicing doctor. Its almost a reflex action among HS kids, they think of a career in medicine and its “I’m pre-med!” Doctors are far from the only ones in the health field that help people. Physical therapists, radiology techs, nurses, speech pathologists, physician assistants, to name but just a few. Spend a few hours browsing on http://explorehealthcareers.org Unless you’ve considered the alternatives and have spent time actually working in a health care setting (which is an unofficial requirement to get into med school, BTW, and one the OP didn’t mention so perhaps isn’t aware of) its better to think of yourself as interested in exploring a career as a doctor rather than someone who has already made the decision.
CUA has a rigorous liberal arts program without a lot of spots for easy electives. Medical school admissions counselors will recognize this. If you have high grades, good MCAT scores, and a good committee recommendation, you will probably get in.