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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>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>
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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>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>