<p>i heard somewhere that u could be rejected at some med schools where they think u are too over-qualified? how does that work?</p>
<p>and even if u go to the crappiest med school in the US, you'll still get into a residency right?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How does it work? Well, if you're GPA and MCAT are too far above a school's averages, then they reject you because the assumption is that you will get into and matriculate at a "better" school. There's no school that has such an official policy. It's just speculation on the part of premeds.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, provided your grades, USMLE scores, and clinical clerkship evaluations are in order.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>no wonder, b/c from what i got on CC not many ppl are looking at the lower-level med schools</p>
<p>my goal is just to get into a med school, i don't really see how i could pick and choose u know?</p>
<p>that's simply not true. everyone, regardless of stats, needs to apply to a full range of schools, and since applications are so expensive, it behooves one to do a fair amount of research into the programs to which one is applying.</p>
<p>furthermore, the schools that have the reps for occasionally rejecting overqualified applicants tend to be more mid-range schools than so-called 'lower-level' ones (incidently, the absolute last thing you need to be worrying about right now is being overqualified for anywhere when you have yet to record a single grade of college work). For example, NCG and I, who I feel are similarly qualified applicants (his GPA is better, my MCAT is higher), were both accepted to schools where we significantly exceed the average statistics and that are seen as 'lower-level' schools, but were both rejected by BU, which is a more mid-range school for which our statistics are also significantly above the mean.</p>
<p>Lower level schools do not tend to get a lot of applications because a) they're lower level schools and b) they tend to be state schools (obviously there are exceptions to this) that cater to a limited applicant pool.</p>
<p>The ones that receive enormous amounts of applications are your BU's, George Washington, Georgetown, and those types of mid-tier schools. They are in desirable urban locations and generally are reach schools for applicants with lower numbers, match schools for mid-tier applicants, and so-called "backup" schools for upper-tier applicants. Thus, everyone and their grandma applies to BU or GW. </p>
<p>The basic idea to keep in mind when applying is to APPLY BROADLY. Apply to all of your state schools of course. Then apply to out of state schools with MCAT/GPA averages at, below, and above your own MCAT/GPA. The application process at a BU or GW is pretty much a crapshoot so it may behoove you to apply to less popular mid-tier schools (like a Case Western or an Emory). Obviously, these schools will be tough to get into as well but their admissions process is less arbitrary than Boston University's or Georgetown's.</p>
<p>it's just that when i see that 40%ish rate of getting into at least 1 med school and the others none, then it would prompt me to feel happy if i get into even 1, let alone the one i want</p>
<p>do the lower-level schools' students tend to get lower USMLE (idk if the abbrev's right) scores? are these the things that factor into a good residency?</p>