<p>Just outta curiosity.
I realize that to go to med school, or even any kind of grad school
undergrad GPA is the one of the most important factors.</p>
<p>So, some people say one should go to colleges that one knows that one will
be top of the class.</p>
<p>For instance, instead of going UC Berkeley and be average, going to UCI and being top of the class is better in terms of going to grad schools.</p>
<p>But, some say that a person who gets A in UCI will get A in Ivy schools
b/c they probably attend UCI for financial reasons.</p>
<p>What are your opinions?</p>
<p>If it were just grades, I doubt it would be worth it; lesser ranked schools aren’t necessarily that much easier. The thing is that the lesser ranked school will also be *cheaper<a href=“if%20you%20get%20a%20merit%20scholarship”>/i</a>, so if you’re planning to go to med school you don’t have to add more on to your ridiculous med school loans.</p>
<p>“Normal” grad schools do care a decent amount about prestige; more importantly, they care a lot about research, and there are a lot more research opportunities available at more prestigious schools. So if that’s your plan, you probably should go to the best school you can.</p>
<p>I’m sure medical admissions consider difficulty of school when looking at your GPA. People will tell you that they look strictly at GPA without any consideration for which school you went to. But to me, that doesn’t make sense because there should be a whole lot fewer people from Ivies getting into medical school if admissions looked only at GPA without regard to difficulty of school. An “A” at an Ivy is definitely better than an “A” at a community college (no offense to community colleges as I took classes at one, but classes there are generally easier). </p>
<p>Either way, you should choose a college you like. It’s not worth it to be miserable for four years just for a slightly better shot at med school.</p>
<p>Alot of consideration will be placed on your MCAT scores. I’m always confused when people talk in terms of going to “the best college”. “The best college” according to who. US News? If you like one college more than others, that is the best college. You should be picking a college which will provide you with opportunities to break into the medical field as well as a school which has good programs in science to help prepare you for the MCAT</p>
<p>Note that less selective schools with less competitive students also tend to have less grade inflation. See [National</a> Trends in Grade Inflation, American Colleges and Universities](<a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com%5DNational”>http://www.gradeinflation.com) . There are some exceptions, though. For a pre-med, going to a school with less grade inflation than others of similar student competitiveness is harmful to medical school prospects, while going to a school with more grade inflation than others of similar student competitiveness is helpful, if all other things are equal (which they usually are not).</p>
<p>The “best” school for any kid is where he/she finds the right academic and social fit and will be empowered and thrive, in all ways. </p>
<p>The real scoop on pre-med is that many colleges will weed you out your dreams. Far more imortant than worrying about the college’s status is learning whether the early classes in bio, chem and etc- are purposely ridiculously difficult. Go over to the pre-med forum.</p>
<p>Perhaps the other real scoop is that the number of aspiring pre-meds among college freshmen in the US is far greater than the number of spaces in MD medical schools in the US. Some sort of “weeding out” is inevitable. Indeed, for a student who is “weeded out”, it may be better to be “weeded out” early in introductory general chemistry, so that there is plenty of time to change course into some other non-pre-med course plan for college, rather than later, after having spent a lot of time taking pre-med courses that one would not otherwise have taken.</p>
<p>Another thing to note is that lots of pre-meds major in biology because it overlaps with the pre-med requirements, even though no particular major is required. But those who do not get into medical school face poor job and career prospects at the bachelor’s degree level.</p>