Premed at Mich

<p>I've heard UMich is actually a pretty decent premed school and also good for business, engineering, etc. How would you guys rate the premed program overall compared to the other state schools. Oh, and if JHU was a 10/10 for premeds, where do you guys think UMich would be? Thx.</p>

<p>Each year, an average of 45 Michigan undergrads enroll into Michigan Medical. That's pretty impressive considering Michigan's medical school is one of the top 10 in the nation. Each year, several Michigan students enroll into other top 10 Medical schools, such as Harvard, Johns Hopkins, UCSF, Duke, Penn, WUSTL etc... Anyway, rating "premed" programs is pointless since there isn't such a thing as a premed program. Do well in college (over 3.6 GPA), get a good MCAT score (over 11) and you have a good shot of getting into a decent medical school.</p>

<p>alexandre-Just about every val in my county with a 26-28 is going to study pre-med at UMICH. THere has got to be at least 35 kids going to UMICH on a pre-med route in my county. Do most of these kids get cut out of the program? Or is UMICH pre-med not very competitive on the curving? I just can't imagine this number of kids moving on to medical school. I know one kid who actually made it at UMICH med school, but he scored 31 on his ACT in 8th grade. What happens to the sleuth of mediocre kids wanting to be doctors?</p>

<p>1MX, many of those kids stay on the premed track at Michigan and it is unfortunate because they never stood a chance. Michigan's premed classes (Bio, Chem etc...) are very competitive. Only the best will manage to get the A. Most will settle for a B or a C. But as any state school, Michigan is not in a position to beat sense into those students. That is why only 60% of Michigan "premeds" actually get into medical school. There are many dreamers who really aren't "medical school material" and the university does not discourage them like private universities do. You have a bunch of sub 3.2 students with average MCAT scores applying to medical school. At most private elites, those students would be "advised out" of the premed track. </p>

<p>Each year, roughly 550 or so Michigan students apply to Medical school. Of those, only 400 or so end up enrolling into Medical schools. Typically, over 40 (sometimes over 50) of those students enroll into Michigan's Medical school. Probably another 40 or so enroll into other top 10 medical schools. </p>

<p>Believe it or not, most of the premeds I knew who dropped out of the premed track at Michigan were actually the smart ones. My cousin was one such candidate. She had a 3.4 GPA and knew she didn't stand much of a chance of getting into a choice Medical school, so she transfered into the college of Engineering, graduated with a 3.5 GPA in MechE, worked for Ford for 4 years and then, got into Kellogg (Northwestern) for her MBA. She is now earning close to $200K working for Mercer in the Bay area. She was just wise enough to know that Medical school was not for her.</p>

<p>thanks! There are just so many kids (about 1/3 of my class) that said they wanted to go to UMICH and be a doctor for the yearbook polls despite their average ACTs being around 25.</p>

<p>it really is too bad, but what can you tell them</p>

<p>Well, those students can be guided properly. Medical school is not for everyone. Telling a person that Medical school may not be the best path for them is hard but it isn't a knock on their abilities. Not being "Medical School material" doesn't mean a person isn't able to succeed or isn't intelligent. It just means they have different aptitudes. </p>

<p>Still, Michigan manages to place more students into medical school each year than any other university in the nation, so I guess that they are doing something right.</p>

<p>Stop being ridiculous -- ACT scores do not gauge success in premed, or anything for that matter. Just because you don't have a 32 doesn't mean you will do well. Likewise, just because you have a 26 doesn't mean you can't. Some people aren't good with standardized tests. Some students didn't have equal preparation. Some students didn't take test prep or buy ACT books. There are a variety of reasons for a low or high score, and intelligence is one of the least likely.</p>

<p>Anyone can do well at UMich premed if they work hard enough. The program weeds out how won't not who can't.</p>

<p>ACT is just about the best indicator of academic potential that there is. Every single year in my school, those with the best GPAs score the best on the ACT. It's no coincidence, the ACT follows your high school curriculum extremely well. There is no top university that disagrees with these statements.</p>

<p>I got a low score on my ACT and I have a relatively high GPA :'(</p>

<p>I'm not stupid... :'(</p>

<p>They say you score approx. the same on your MCAT as on your ACT, +/- 2 points to be specific.</p>

<p>"ACT is just about the best indicator of academic potential that there is."</p>

<p>I'm going to have to disagree with this. The val of my high school had a relatively low score (by CC standards), however, she has and knows she has great academic potential. Scores aren't everything.</p>

<p>I agree with MichiganMan. Test scores really make no difference in college. Especially as a premed, the only thing that matters is how hard you work here. Some of my friends with 33+ ACT scores are getting their butts kicked by the academics while some of the other kids who didn't do so well on standardized testing in hs are doing very well b/c they work so hard. This is from the point of view of a premed here who graduated valedictorian of his hs class and is doing decent after first year.</p>

<p>Certainly not everything.
The few kids I know who scored 36 from my school may have the best potential for grades etc, but they lack the skills needed to succeed in the work place. I'm just saying that ACT/SAT is the best indicator there is when taken in context of class rank/grades.</p>

<p>You will meet tons of delusional premeds at U of M. There's always the fresh out of high school premed who already knows he wants to be a pediatric oncologist. It is really, really hard to listen to these people at times, but you just gotta let natural selection happen. The weak and undisciplined are weeded out or they come to some epiphany that "business is cooler."</p>

<p>CCRunner123 is right about tons of premeds. Half the people I met at my orientation were going to be premeds. I'm looking forward to that weeding lol...</p>