MIT for premed?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>I am a junior right now, and I am considering applying to MIT because of the many research opportunities, and the intellectual envirionment. I would like to eventually go to medical school, and become a doctor. </p>

<p>well anyway I was wondering if MIT would be a good choice to major in a premedical study, like biology or chemistry. I know about 10% of MIT graduates go on to medical school. Would it be better off to go to a school with very strong premed program, or would MIT work out nicely? I am interested in MIT because I love doing research, and I would like to be in an environment where there are others like me, but I am unsure wether MIT will be a good match since most people there major in engineering.</p>

<p>Thanks, I appreciate your input.</p>

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<p>I'm not an MIT expert, and I gather those will chime in shortly. But, for what it's worth -- at least as a caution: you're probably aware that med schools are very intense about using GPA as a weeding cutoff. 3.5+ is pretty much a necessity to get past the first cut so that med schools can get the flood of applicants down to a reasonable number. MIT is likely to be harder than average on your GPA. I'm at Caltech, and I've seen lots of premeds struggle because it's been hard for them to keep up the GPA especially in math/physics courses, since the top tech schools have less grade inflation than the top non-tech schools. So if you're going to go to MIT, make sure you're convinced you can grind out the hard work to keep the grades above the cutoff.</p>

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<p>There was a thread about this back in April, perhaps it will be helpful to you.</p>

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<p>I'm doing premed at MIT. </p>

<p>MIT is harder than many schools (therefore tougher to get a high GPA), but to be honest, if you aren't willing to work hard, you shouldn't be going into medicine. Research at MIT is tops..and that's why I'm going... :)</p>

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<p>Strictly speaking, "most" of the school is not in engineering. Only about 41.6% of MIT students are declared engineering majors (<a href="http://web.mit.edu/registrar/www/stats/yreportfinal.html)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://web.mit.edu/registrar/www/stats/yreportfinal.html)&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

<p>It is difficult to get straight A's at MIT. Nonetheless, you should go to the undergraduate institution that you get the best "feeling" from -- postgraduate plans have a way of falling together later. The many premeds at MIT (many of them biology or chemical engineering majors, but also many in other fields) are a testament to this.</p>

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<p>ill be going this fall as premed too. research is #1 here. if you cure cancer, what med school won't want you?</p>

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<p>to the original poster. Hi, I was the one that started the thread about premed in april, so I think some of my concerns about MIT and medical school parallel yours. </p>

<p>"Would it be better off to go to a school with very strong premed program, or would MIT work out nicely? I am interested in MIT because I love doing research, and I would like to be in an environment where there are others like me, but I am unsure wether MIT will be a good match since most people there major in engineering."</p>

<p>I would have to say that it depends on you. Whichever school you feel most comfortable at. Whichever school most fits you. Whichever school challenges and appeals to you. Whichever school caters to your intellectual interest and passion. </p>

<p>MIT has smart, sincere, down-to-earth people, world-renown faculty that is also approachable, a plethora of research opportunities, abundance of resources, spanking new facilities, administration that values efficiency and innovation, and excellent post-graduate opportunities. No matter what field you go into, you'll run into people who invented it. Seven of the people who won Nobel Prizes in 2001 studied or instructed at MIT. Stuff happens here, and it happens fast. And it's a pretty exciting place to be. And that's pretty cool. The stuff that's done here isn't done anywhere else in the world. Period. </p>

<p>People always told me that the knowledge was made here, but I didn't realize it until I was there last summer. I can't believe some of the things that go on around me. </p>

<p>Last April, I had to choose between MIT and Stanford. I did extensive research about both school in relation to my interests. In the end, I picked Stanford because it suits me better. It provided what I want out of my college. It wasn't because I would be more happy at Stanford than I would be at MIT because I truly did believe I would be happy at both school for different reasons. It wasn't because one was better than the other because they are both great institution.</p>

<p>Like you, I am looking forward to research in my college years, but I could sense that my goals were also transforming.</p>

<p>Before, I just wanted to be a physician-scientist/clinical scientist, whatever. Get my MD/PhD. My plan was to start up a biotech consultant firm for or work as a director for a pharmaceutical company, partitioning funds for projects. And going to MIT would have been great (Course 15, 7, 9). </p>

<p>But my goals and passions changed. I don't know if yours will or not. But I like the ambivalent ambiguity that comes with college. Now I want to major in Public Health. Work for WHO or some sort of organization like Doctors Without Borders. Get my MD/MPH. I want to establish or financially contribute to free health clinics. I want to promote the awareness of AIDS and other prominent STDS in places where accessible information isn't available.</p>

<p>In my opinion, I just thought Stanford was a better match for me. I could be wrong but I haven't start school yet, so I don't know. Stanford has this interdisciplinary program called Human Biology which is EVERYTHING that I want in a major. It combines the social science and the natural science so perfectly. For example, the Human Biology core is a 3-quarter requirement which covers the basic principles of biology and place it into a social context. There is an A side (natural science) and a B side (social science). One of the classes This quarter focuses on the human organism from the perspectives of biological and behavioral science. 4A is devoted to the study of neurobiology and physiology. 4B explores how genes and environment interact to guide cognitive and social development during childhood as well as how psychosocial factors influence physiological functioning and long-term health outcomes across the lifespan. I really like how the major core is set up. That is just one of the reasons why I thought Stanford was better for me. You have to find your own reasons and preferences. You're early in the game. Good job. But don't let this dominate your life just yet. Wait until april of your Senior year when you hear back from all of your college.</p>

<p>Anyway, I'm sorry for the long post. I just hope whatever it is that I said was helpful or relevant.</p>

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<p>for what it's worth, "none of the GPA killer schools are the best for premed."</p>

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<p>and you can always do research someplace else too :-)</p>

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<p>
[quote]

and you can always do research someplace else too :-)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It seems, based on experience I've had talking to people at various other schools, that it's somewhat problematic to get a biological research job as an undergrad if you don't go to a good undergraduate school. At least, it's hard to get a research job where you'll do something meaningful, rather than clean glassware.</p>

<p>My lab has a summer student this summer from another school. He is the best biology undergrad at his school and still had to apply to external programs to get a research job. He is amazed that there are 3 UROPs in my lab, and that we had no trouble getting research jobs.</p>

<p>Anyway. Going to any top school is a good thing for premedical students; schools with rampant grade inflation are probably better, but if you want to go to MIT, you shouldn't let the difficulty of getting straight A's stop you.</p>

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<p>static -- you inspire me ;) ! I was between Stanford and MIT as well -- but I chose MIT ^ - ^! Go figure!</p>

<p>If you are interested in pre-med, I have two suggestions for you.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Make your college education atypical. Interestingly, medical schools are shooting for the same thing that undergraduate institutions are when it comes to making a class -- diversity. Follow your dreams, even if that does not mean majoring in 7 or 5 [woops -- bio or chem]. I was once told by my dad [a physician] that the best doctors he know were those who majored in religious studies in college [I found that interesting]. My dad btw, majored in economics [who would have guessed?]</p></li>
<li><p>Despite what I said in 1., GPA is still very important. IT is no secret that it is much harder to get a good GPA at MIT than it is at other schools. So take this into account!</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>I agree with SDFried. Although you shouldn't let GPA prevent you from coming to MIT for premed, it's something that nags in the back of your mind while you're here. I just finished my first year, going 6 (EE) & premed. My hopes of straight A's are already dashed, but am i too worried about it? not really. It's constantly in the backof my mind, but sometimes you just have to accept it. There are classes you can take to increase your chances of A's. Ask professors what percentage of A's they give before you take the class to get a feel for how much to work/worry. Some profs give over 50% A's; in which case, it should be pretty easy. Even with 6 & premed, it's still possible to get all A's, though many consider it either stupid or insane to put those 2 together. For the summer, I'm UROPping (@whitehead) like many other of my friends. The opportunities here are amazing; all you have to have is the initiative to want to do something.</p>

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<p>in terms of straight As. you realize that a 3.5 at MIT is still superior? at a certain level, it's tough to make As.</p>

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<p>amnesia -- some how med schools don't take that into account as much as they should.</p>

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<p>It sort of boggles me that this whole thing is a sticking point for every discussion about premedicine on this board.</p>

<p>82% of MIT undergraduate premeds are accepted to medical school (<a href="http://web.mit.edu/career/www/infostats/preprof.html)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://web.mit.edu/career/www/infostats/preprof.html)&lt;/a>. Clearly it is not impossible by any means to be a successful MIT premed; your chances are significantly better than they average (49%).</p>

<p>You just have to work hard. Period.</p>

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<p>I think it's a bit unfair to measure only the MIT undergraduate premed acceptance rate (which only measures graduating MIT seniors and does not account for people who have already graduated from MIT who later try to apply to med-school) vs. the overall nationwide acceptance rate (which includes graduating seniors and people who have already graduated). I think you should compare the overall MIT premed rate (77%) vs. the overall nationwide rate (49%). That would be fair.</p>

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<p>I guess I'm a little hesitant to use the overall rate, just because the people I know who have applied after undergrad were not "typical" pre-meds and were not as well-prepared for medical school applications as people who applied during college. That is, they weren't committed to a pre-medical track until late in their college career, and often hadn't completed their pre-med requirements by the time they graduated.</p>

<p>I'd be happy to compare the 82% to the nationwide applying-while-undergrad figure, if that's available. I just don't like including alums because I don't think it's reflective of the preparedness of the average MIT premed.</p>

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<p>Also, I think you might be cheating yourself if you pick classes based on how many As are in the distribution. (Though I understand it is a practical concern)</p>

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<p>Molliebatmit, I should add that, about those alumni who applied after graduation, it is often times not because they didn't get on the premed track late, or they hadn't completed their premed requirements by graduation, or that kind of thing. Often times, those alumni consist of former MIT seniors who did complete the premed track before graduation and did apply to med-schools when they were seniors, but got rejected by every med-school they applied to. As you can see from the data, last year, 18% of all MIT seniors who applied to med-school got rejected from every single med-school they applied to. So they graduate and then some of them apply again the following year after graduation. However, the fact is, if you got previously rejected by every med-school you applied to, you probably have some academic deficiency (i.e. your grades and/or your MCAT score are too low), and that means that if you apply again, you stand a strong chance of again getting rejected by every med-school. That's an important reason why the placement rate of alumni is lower than that of undergrads. </p>

<p>The other problem is that every other school also reports its overall rate, not just its undergrad rate. Hence, you'd be doing an apples-to-oranges comparison. For example, Princeton's overall rate is something like 91%. If you just looked at Princeton's undergraduate rate, it's something like 93%. </p>

<p>Besides, you can look at it this way. You might say that those MIT alumni who applied after graduation were not committed to the premed track or hadn't completed their requirements or whatever it is. On the other hand, the same thing could be said about those Princeton alumni who applied after graduation. Or the Harvard alumni. Or the Yale alumni. Hence, for the purposes of comparing one school to another, it's a wash. You need to compare apples to apples. </p>

<p>And to asdf123, I can see how you might be cheating yourself if you picked classes on how many A's were in the distribution. On the other hand, what if you don't get into med-school because you picked classes that were too hard? In that situation, I would assert that you REALLY cheated yourself.</p>

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<p>I realize that I'm only speaking anecdotally, but I'm sure sweeping generalizations aren't much better -- but every MIT alum applicant I've ever known was a late comer to the premed game. And in no way am I comparing the MIT premed rate to those at grade-inflated schools. I realize, as I stated above, that "schools with rampant grade inflation are better [for premeds]."</p>

<p>My point is that coming to MIT is not premed suicide, and that MIT premeds have a significantly better acceptance rate to medical school than average premeds (even if you do count alum applicants).</p>

<p>Actually, I think the biggest problem with being a premed at MIT is that the premed mentality is completely at odds with the mentality of MIT as a whole. MIT undergrads abhor the easy way out, and the concept of taking classes for A's rather than for knowledge is very foreign. We pride ourselves on masochism rather than a perfect GPA. Perhaps the kind of person who chooses MIT has a natural tendency to masochism rather than slavish adherence to fluffing their undergraduate record.</p>