<p>With the $price tag of schools these days, and also the competition to get into really good undergraduate schools do you have to go broke if your child wants to be a md. My d is a strong student 4.25 GPA 1260 SAT, plays volleyball for school, and also plays club and plays softball for school. I have been looking at schools like Stonehill, Muhlenberg etc. I think she has a good chance to get in, problem is will they give her substantial money. I think most kids going to these schools have higher sats, prob no significant money. Then what do u do? Can you go to a school that is not as super strong in biology, and go to one that is just pretty decent, and if she stands out in that school and does really well would she still have a good chance of getting into med school. Any help would be appreciated. If you know of any schools that have had success in northeast area with getting students into med schools please list them. Thank you</p>
<p>by the way my dtr will be graduating high school in 2007.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Can you go to a school that is not as super strong in biology, and go to one that is just pretty decent, and if she stands out in that school and does really well would she still have a good chance of getting into med school.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>In a word - yes.</p>
<p>Many "lesser" schools do a wonderful job teaching the sciences. Going to a school that is outside of the top 50 will not keep your daughter out of med school. A poor science GPA and/or a low MCAT score might.</p>
<p>Med and pre-med forum here on CC with tons of advice and suggestions.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>Muhlenberg is an SAT optional school. On the other hand, if you really want her to bring up her scores, there is still time for prep work if she/ you want to go that route.</p>
<p>she is working very hard right now for her next sat in Oct.</p>
<p>I'm looking at the same situation and I've done some research with med school admission reps (asking questions via email). Concerning the question about the importance of undergraduate school:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Mercer (medical school in GA) said it didn't matter where you went to school for your undergraduate as long as it was accredited. </p></li>
<li><p>Medical College of GA also said that it didn't matter, but that I was right to realize that admission is "competitive". (however you want to interpret that)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Everyone I've talked to (and things I have read) said that the most important thing is to go where you will be happy so you will do well there. </p>
<p>Bottom line, we can not afford to send our child to a private school - so if they get in, they will have to be offered significant money to go. Otherwise they will attend a local, new college that "promises" decent premed advice and guidance. </p>
<p>I think what really matters is:</p>
<p>GPA (especially in the required premed courses)
MCAT
volunteering experience (anything related to working with the public)
clinical experience (working with patients -either as a partime job, physician shadowing, etc....)
and if you are able, research (your own is great, but helping with a lab is also ok)</p>
<p>It's not so much where you go, as what you do when you are there. Some of the private or larger schools can offer research opportunities, better physican shadowing programs, etc... but really a driven student could find these opportunities on their own and, quite frankly, it might be looked upon as more favorable if the student made the opportunities for themself rather than had them handed to them by a good premed advisement department. That's just one view.</p>
<p>it is quite possible to get into a medical school from a lesser school. You are also talking about muhlenberg vs. a lesser school, not hyps vs. a lesser school. If you're not shooting for a very top medical school (harvard, yale, jhu, etc) then what matters are mcats, gpa, and especially the state in which you live.</p>
<p>Look at Kenyon College. DH said all the bio/chem majors he knew, except two, were offered acceptances to med schools.(He was in class of 1970.)</p>
<p>Wise words from Elleneast.</p>
<p>GPA is probably the most important factor in medical school admissions, along with your domicile. Many state medicals schools maintain severe restrictions on how many, if any, non-residents it will admit in any given year. This includes very good medical schools such as U of C-San Francisco. Others, like U of Minnesota, welcome non-resident applicants. Of course, the privates are free to admit applicants from everywhere.</p>
<p>Finally, the reputation of a particular medical school, and admission for medical school, is very different from the undergraduate situation. Sure a Harvard or Columbia Medical school pedigree is usually a ticket anywhere, but even alumni from those caribbean medical schools get placed in the U.S. I mean, I have never met an unemployed doctor. LOL.</p>
<p>I hope you do not take this post the wrong way but I am merely offering a work of caution to you and your daughter. The gap between your daughter's wonderful gpa and her SAT I(vg BTW) is significant. Unfortunately admission into med school is heavily influenced by the MCAT exam. If your daughter has historically underperformed on standardized tests, admission into a US medical college could be difficult.</p>
<p>So, I believe that she should select a college which matches her abilities and desires irregardless of med college considerations. That will sort itself out four years down the road. She should also be looking at a broad range of "career" options, with medicine being one of several. Finally she needs to make a reassessment after her soph year in college. If she has an excellent gpa and has done well in her core pre-med courses its full steam ahead and time to begin prepping for that MCAT.</p>
<p>Also have her begin considering other professions in the medical field. Physical therapy, osteopathy are great professions which have less competative admissions.</p>
<p>Good luck to your daughter!!!!!</p>
<p>Marion -- and Originaloog
My D is in a similar grade/scores range as yours, with an interest in premed. She chose Northeastern University because its coop programs will give her some real-life experiences likely valued by med schools. But I, like Originaloog, feel that considering the scores, she may not be academically strong enough (or simply dedicated enough) to get into medical school. So Northeastern makes even more sense, since I think the very nature of the school (the coop experience) will expose her to medicine-related careers that do not require the grind of medical school.</p>