<p>Some one told me that it was easier to get into med schools from a private school than a public school. For example it is easier to make it to a med school from USC than from UCSD. How much truth is in this.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>ive never heard anything like that...i dont see why it would hold up either</p>
<p>UVA is a public school but its better then like most private schools...same with UNC</p>
<p>I think what they're getting it as that it is easier, in general, to get higher grades at a private school because private schools tend to be grade inflated relative to public schools. And the sad fact is, med-schools don't care that much about how hard it is for you to get those high grades, as long as you somehow get them. They may SAY they care, but when push comes to shove, their actions speak for themselves. The truth is, med-schools don't carefully read everybody's application and instead use a bunch of mechanical screens and filters to classify their candidates on the first pass, and so if your grades are just too low, then you are going to be screened out, possibly to the point where you won't even be invited to submit a round2 app (apps are done in 2 rounds, round 1 is numerical, round 2 is comprehensive, but if your numbers are bad, you won't even make it past round 1). It doesn't matter why your grades were too low, it just matters that they were too low. Put another way, it's better to get an easy, do-nothing 'A' than a hard-fought 'B'. </p>
<p>The truth is, it's easier to get higher grades at a private school than at a public school. Now obviously there are exceptions, like certain private schools whose names end in the words "Institute of Technology", but by and large, you want to go to the school that gives out lots of high grades, and those tend to be the private schools. Many public schools have no problem in punishing their students with boatloads of poor grades. </p>
<p>This topic has been discussed before in great detail by myself and others. You can search around to find other posts. That's all part of the 'game' of med-school admissions.</p>
<p>idk i think you are making sum major generalizations which im not sure hold true.</p>
<p>sakky is on the money. Better public state universities buy and large have larger groups of top students than private ones. Some top public universities still bell curve their hard sci courses--unheard of in privates. Also most med schools quota from any individual school making it more competitive from a public u. with an enrollment of say 20-30 thousand.</p>
<p>Look at this example--University of Florida vs. Franklin & Marshall.</p>
<p>U of F has 200-250 merit finalists in each class--Franklin &Marshall has maybe 5.</p>
<p>U of F grades exremely tough. F&M exteremly easy</p>
<p>U of F premeds about 1450-1550 sats. f&M 1300-1400 sats.</p>
<p>20%-30% U of F premeds go to U.S. meds. over 50%-60% from F&M go.</p>
<p>"nuff said</p>
<p>i still think its such a huge generalization with little validity</p>
<p>you are showing me data from 2 schools and proving your point based on that. </p>
<p>What about the comparison of students from UVA or UNC-chapel hill compared to other private schools.</p>
<p>What about them? </p>
<p><a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/virginia.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.gradeinflation.com/virginia.html</a>
<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/carolina.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.gradeinflation.com/carolina.html</a></p>
<p>Compare to the following privates:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/duke.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.gradeinflation.com/duke.html</a>
<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/brown.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.gradeinflation.com/brown.html</a>
<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/northwestern.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.gradeinflation.com/northwestern.html</a></p>
<p>Since you asked specifically for UVA data, you got it. </p>
<p>So the percentage of UVa premed seniors who apply to med-school who get in somewhere is 61%. That means that 39% get rejected from every single med-school they apply to.</p>
<p>Contrast that with Duke - 79% of Dukies (seniors and alumni) who apply to med-school get in somewhere. Do the math yourself if you don't believe me. </p>
<p>what exactly are you trying to prove to me?</p>
<p>that because the percentages are higher (which doesnt necessarily mean MORE people) that its easier or harder??</p>
<p>cause that really doesnt prove a thing.</p>
<p>Based on the figures you showed me anyway, the applicant pool was larger for UVA anyway, so theres a better chance there then at duke.</p>
<p>you have more applicants at UVA getting ACCEPTED into medical school then those that even applied at Duke...so what is it you are trying to tell me.</p>
<p>UVA is hardly a typical public U. It's top students are from the elite of civil servs. (viriginia has the highest nmsqt qual. score in the country) It is almost a "Harvard" for top gov't execs kids</p>
<p>alot of the public schools that are highly regarded arent typical "public schools"</p>
<p>so that is exactly why i cant see how this generalization can be made.</p>
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you have more applicants at UVA getting ACCEPTED into medical school then those that even applied at Duke...so what is it you are trying to tell me.
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<p>Give me a break. Duke has about 6500 undergrads. UVa has about 13,000. So obviously Virginia is going to have more total applicants. It has more total people applying, and therefore more total people admitted. When you just have more people, obviously you are going to have more of everything. That doesn't mean that if YOU go to Virginia, you are going to get anything. That's like saying that if I buy lots and lots of lottery tickets, I stand a greater chance of winning. Sure, of course you do, but that doesn't mean that each individual ticket has a good chance of winning.</p>
<p>The bottom line is if you want to go to med-school, you want to go to the school that gives you the greatest percentage chance of getting in. A lot of Virginia people get in. But a lot of Virginia people also don't get in. So if you go to Virginia, which group are you going to belong to? </p>
<p>But fine, have it your way. If you think that Virginia is easier than Duke, than why is it that Virginia has a lower premed placement rate than does Duke?</p>
<p>BECAUSE UVA HAS MORE PEOPLE! Obviously the percentages will differ with such a vast difference in people...jeeze basic math concepts here</p>
<p>How will the PERCENTAGES differ when there is a vast difference in the number of people? Are you just proving my point? </p>
<p>I'll put it to you this way. Harvard has about 6700 undergrads. Yet Harvard gets about 90% of its premeds into med-school, compared to Duke's 79%. So here's a school that is even bigger than Duke, yet it enjoys a greater premed placement rate. Or contrast that with the premed placement rate at MIT, which is about 77%, despite the fact that MIT has about 4100 undergrads (so it's more than 40% smaller than Harvard). So here's a school that is substantially smaller than Harvard, yet also has a lower admit rate. So how does that jive with what you're saying? </p>
<p>Again, jeez, basic math concepts here...</p>
<p>What i am saying is that these percentages can obviously have major fluctuations as the applicant pool decreases. </p>
<p>But if you want me to show you why these percentages are unreliable i will...</p>
<p>If you knew anything about the process....which you really dont seem to, you are just a net surfer...you would know that the schools you mentioned (harvard, etc) have a very rigorous application process for medical school. What happens is, all the students who want to apply to medical school will sit before a review board for an interview. The review board takes into account mostly your stats, and if they approve they will write you a reccomendation. This reccomendation will give you a major boost coming from a top school. Now as for the students that dont receive this rec...many are usually discouraged from applying to medical school. Why? Because the school does not want their percentage of admittance to drop. </p>
<p>Many other schools do not have this process. This process is common among medical school magnets, because they want to keep their percentages high, so they can appeal to people like you who surf the internet all day looking for these numbers.</p>
<p>If you get the grades in a public school, you will have a very good chance of getting accepted into a medical school. </p>
<p>Ultimately, what it boils down to is your MCAT and GPA. This whole bologna about being from a private/public school goes right out the window. If you have a student from CUNY Queens college, graduating with a chem major, 4.0 GPA, impressive EC's, 35N MCAT, and glowing recomendations essay...do not tell me he will be looked over for sum Harvard grad with so so ec's, a 29N MCAT, and a 3.4 GPA.</p>
<p>It wont happen, i will assure you. Granted Harvard is tough (and a private school)...there are kids from public schools who showed they wanted it more, and have proven themselves.</p>
<p>Again, i will refer back to my cousin who has a chair in the vasc surgery dept. at mt sinai and is on admissions for their medical school...he constantly tells me it makes NO DIFFERENCE where you go to undergrad, just do amazing and score high on your MCATs. They like seeing the applicants that had to work their way up from the bottom, from schools like CUNY queens college (which is where he graduated from...ya he didnt go to any of these $50,000 ivie league schools.)</p>
<p>He has told me they are the ones who are able to prove themselves worthy in med school. Hes often seen these kids from ivies who have been "silver-spooned" all their life and think they have the edge. Which to a certain degree they do, but watch out for those under-dogs.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If you knew anything about the process....which you really dont seem to, you are just a net surfer...you would know that the schools you mentioned (harvard, etc) have a very rigorous application process for medical school. What happens is, all the students who want to apply to medical school will sit before a review board for an interview. The review board takes into account mostly your stats, and if they approve they will write you a reccomendation. This reccomendation will give you a major boost coming from a top school. Now as for the students that dont receive this rec...many are usually discouraged from applying to medical school. Why? Because the school does not want their percentage of admittance to drop.
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</p>
<p>Wrong wrong, absolutely wrong. This I have checked numerous times. Harvard does not have a board that will deny or discourage your ability to apply to med-school. What Harvard will offer you is basically a form-letter. Anybody who wants it gets it. </p>
<p>What you are referring to is a practice that is used by some smaller, usually no-name private schools. This, I would agree, applies to them. BUT NOT TO HARVARD. And not to any of the other schools we are talking about here. </p>
<p>You better be careful, doogie. You may have noticed that I have established a quite strong reputation here on this part of CC, so to think that I don't know what I'm talking about - I will leave it up to the other people here to decide that. Suffice it to say that you don't know who you're talking to. Keep it up with the insults and I promise that I will have you banned. To disagree is fine. But to engage in personal insults? I don't insult you. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Ultimately, what it boils down to is your MCAT and GPA. This whole bologna about being from a private/public school goes right out the window. If you have a student from CUNY Queens college, graduating with a chem major, 4.0 GPA, impressive EC's, 35N MCAT, and glowing recomendations essay...do not tell me he will be looked over for sum Harvard grad with so so ec's, a 29N MCAT, and a 3.4 GPA.</p>
<p>It wont happen, i will assure you. Granted Harvard is tough (and a private school)...there are kids from public schools who showed they wanted it more, and have proven themselves.</p>
<p>Again, i will refer back to my cousin who has a chair in the vasc surgery dept. at mt sinai and is on admissions for their medical school...he constantly tells me it makes NO DIFFERENCE where you go to undergrad, just do amazing and score high on your MCATs. They like seeing the applicants that had to work their way up from the bottom, from schools like CUNY queens college (which is where he graduated from...ya he didnt go to any of these $50,000 ivie league schools.)
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</p>
<p>Now we are having a serious discussion. I agree with you that it is mostly numbers-based. However, the point is that it is EASIER to get better numbers at Harvard. In particular, it is easier to get higher grades at Harvard than at many other schools, particularly at a difficult school like MIT. I agree with you that whoever has the better numbers will be at an advantage. However, you then have to ask where are you more likely to get the better numbers. As shown by the Gradeinflation numbers, it's easier to get higher grades at a private school than at a public school. Ergo, it is better to go to a private school than a public school if you want to maximize your chances of getting to med-school. </p>
<p>Again, I'll put it to you this way. You have a guy with a 3.4 GPA and 30 MCAT coming out of Duke. You have another guy with a 3.2 GPA and a 30 MCAT coming out of UVa. Both have equivalent EC's. Who is in a better position? I think we can all agree that it is the first guy. But if you look at the numbers, you will realize that a 3.4 is the average GPA at Duke, whereas a 3.2 is the average GPA at Virginia. THAT'S THE POINT. </p>
<p>Bottom line. You asked which is better to go to for premed, private or public schools. In general, it is the private schools, because private schools give out higher grades, which make you look better for med-school admission.</p>
<p>Since I have a feeling that the Harvard issue is going to become a point of contention, doogie, let me propose this. Believe me, I know that Harvard does not engage in the shenanigans that you stated. But since you probably don't believe me, fine. Let's go to the Harvard section of CC and make a post there asking whether Harvard engages in those "premed games" of discouraging weaker premeds from applying, thereby boosting Harvard's admit percentage. There you'll be able to get a final answer from numerous Harvard students and alumni. That will resolve the question one way or another.</p>