<p>I already posted this in the Pre-med forums, but I was hoping I could get some more responses here, I'm having a really hard time deciding ...</p>
<p>I am trying to decide between Caltech/UCSD medical scholars, MIT, Cambridge University, and Stanford. I would really appreciate any advice you have for a senior aiming at MD/PHD programs in four years. I know the obvious choice would be the BS/MD program, but my hope is that I would be able to get into a better med school than UCSD (like Harvard or Stanford MD/PhD) in 4 years coming out of the other schools (Stanford or MIT). I like MIT the most (campus, social life, athletics, research), especially because I've lived on the West Coast my entire life, but I fear that I would be putting my hopes of getting into a top MD school at risk should I go there (many posters have said MIT premeds have a difficult time getting into med school). I don't like Stanford for it's premed competition/weeding and large student body, but I'm convinced it's the best place for a premed (in terms of statistics). What is your opinion?</p>
<p>The following data provided by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) represents MIT applicants for fall 2010 matriculation to medical school.</p>
<p>MED SCHOOL ACCEPTANCE RATE</p>
<p>National Rate 46%
MIT Undergraduate (UG) Rate 84.8%</p>
<p>I have seen those data before, but there are two problems (at least in my situation) with it.</p>
<p>One, it doesn’t say which med schools. In my situation, I’m only looking for med schools higher ranked than UCSD.</p>
<p>Two, that rate is probably similar or even better at Stanford. In my situation, I’m only comparing MIT, Stanford, and Caltech, not the “national rate”</p>
<p>^^^^^Ok, so if that rate is similar or better than Stanford, then one might be able to assume that it is also similar or better than Stanford for Med Schools that are better than UCSD…</p>
<p>The number of Princeton students applying to Top 10 medical schools is just as strong as it ever was (in 2005, for example, there were 410 applications submitted to Top 10 schools; since then, the number of applications has ranged between 373 and 443). In 2008 and 2009, Princeton students who applied to a Top 10 medical school were offered admission at a rate more than three times the overall admit rates at those schools. Moreover, both before and after the institution of the grading policy, between one-quarter and one-third of the Princetonians going to medical school in any given year have elected to enroll at one of the Top 10 schools. Put simply, the number of Princeton students attending Top 10 medical schools has not changed since the institution of the grading policy.</p>
<p>^Probably not drastically different, but I think Stanford does have a higher acceptance rate into top med schools than MIT (dunno about Princeton)</p>
<p>Anyways, back to my question, which school should I choose? Should I give up the guaranteed spot at UCSD med for the chance/hope of getting someplace better out of Stanford? By the way, in the Caltech BS/MD program, I can still apply to other med schools, I just don’t think I would have much success coming from Caltech.</p>
<p>I think you’d be best off going to the school where you’re going to get the highest GPA. That’s also highly related to the school where you’re happiest. FWIW, I’ve never heard of any “premed competition” at Stanford. The intro classes, which are the hardest, like Chem 31, necessitate that students work together or else they won’t do well. I can’t imagine doing those problem sets on your own. I also don’t think Stanford weeds out premeds; if it did, its premed acceptance rate would be much higher. The only “weeding out” that occurs is probably from a lack of conviction of students (premed students are a dime a dozen) who wouldn’t be able to take the difficulty of being premed, period. Being premed isn’t easy anywhere you go. I’ll add that humbio majors tend to do really well in med school applications, probably because humbio inflates your GPA (probably why it’s the most popular premed major).</p>
<p>I see that you’re from Palo Alto. I have quite a few friends who are local and decided to stay to go to Stanford (despite having gotten into schools like Yale, Harvard, etc.), not because they just “love” the area, but because they found Stanford was best for their goals. My local friends all say that being at Stanford is like being in a completely different world–“you might as well be across the country.” So I don’t think you’d have to worry about it being “more of the same.” </p>
<p>You’re right that med school acceptance rate is largely useless–they could get into a random unknown medical school that they don’t even want to attend and still be counted among the “successful” premed applicants.</p>
<p>Just as a warning, if you weren’t aware: MD/PhD programs are notoriously the most difficult to get into. Even if you have perfect everything, you run a high risk of being rejected, esp. at the very top schools. So you need *every *little bit of help you can get (meaning, higher GPA, research opportunities, etc.). IMO Stanford would probably be the best of your options.</p>
<p>by the way, the latest USNWR Med School rankings have UCSD ranked at #15. It is my understanding that this is pretty good in the Med School world, unlike, for instance Business School rankings - where there is a big difference between the top two (Stanford and Harvard) and the 15th-20th ranked schools.</p>
<p>thanks for the info phanta. It’s good to hear that I was wrong in assuming there was weeding out and competition at Stanford. Also, I do know MD/PHD is really competitive, that’s why I want to go wherever I have the best shot, regardless of the MD guarantee at Caltech.</p>
<p>japnoko, yea, UCSD is a great med school, that is why I am reluctant to give up the Caltech BS/MD. What would be really helpful is knowing how many Stanford premeds get into UCSD. If that number is over 50%, I think I would definitely choose Stanford. But if it is less, I just don’t know…</p>
<p>corpus, since you don’t exactly have to worry about getty the 3.7-3.8 GPA at Caltech, due to guaranteed UCSD Med school admission, it is my understanding that Caltech is no slacker of a school to go to is it?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Princeton’s acceptance to top 10 med schools is about 3x the average acceptance to each school.</p></li>
<li><p>Assume that to a med school in the 10-15 ranking range, the acceptance rate would be 4x-5x the averagefrom Princeton.</p></li>
<li><p>Assume that Stanford accpetance rate to top schools is about the same as Princeton’s.</p></li>
<li><p>UCSD Med School’s acceptance rate is 5.4%.</p></li>
<li><p>4 x 5.4 = 22%</p></li>
<li><p>5 x 5.4 = 27%</p></li>
<li><p>Chances are that Stanford’s acceptance rate to UCSD Med School is in the range of 22%-27%, based on the above assumptions.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>At Caltech, I would have to maintain a 3.5. I have no intentions of slacking off, and should I choose to go to Caltech I will definitely do all the things I would have done w/o the guarantee b/c I will still apply to other med schools. However, my understanding is that even if I do well at Caltech, I will have a higher chance to get into top med schools coming from Stanford b/c my GPA will inevitably be higher at Stanford (Caltech is known for grade deflation and Stanford for grade inflation)</p>
<p>^^ that’s probably a fairly accurate estimate of the Stanford to UCSD rate. Since it’s less than 30%, that makes me wonder if I would be able to even get into UCSD from Stanford. Where would you choose? Should I just stick with my UCSD guarantee, or take a gamble and try to go somewhere better w/ Stanford?</p>
<p>Yes, but I’ve spoken with several current Caltech students and the general consensus is that as long as I don’t slack off, a 3.5 should be possible (it is the median GPA). So, where would you choose? (this thread has mostly been arguments for both sides, the decision’s only getting harder)</p>
<p>Lets narrow things down a bit. Assume that you are going to get a good enough MCAT to get into UCSD from both Stanford or Caltech. The average GPA for UCSD Med is 3.76, so everything boils down to:</p>
<p>What is the probability of getting a 3.76 GPA at Stanford</p>
<p>compared</p>
<p>to the probability of getting a 3.5 GPA at Caltech</p>
<p>^That’s a good question. But, honestly, I have no way of predicting how well I would do at Stanford. If it helps, my SAT is 2370, ACT36, GPA4.0, but I don’t think those correlate strongly with college success. Do you have any experience w/ Stanford or med school admissions? Would you by chance know from experience what it takes to get a 3.76 at Stanford? Or what type of EC involvement it involves to get into a place like UCSD?</p>