<p>Does the university you go to for undergrad even matter?</p>
<p>[Since I've been nominated as a National Hispanic Scholar, its highly likely that I'll get a full OOS tuition scholarship (and most likely honors college) at Arizona State University. I'm also interested in Rice, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, etc.]</p>
<p>Would it make more sense for me to go to ASU, get a high GPA & MCAT (easier said than done, I know), etc? How will med schools see someone coming from ASU (Honors College) vs. someone coming from, say, Rice. From what I've read on CC and elsewhere, I can hardly see how paying for a Rice education would be worth it ... ??? </p>
<p>(btw, this is theoretical... I'm not presuming that I'll get in at Rice, ND, Vandy)</p>
<p>No your undergrad university will not affect your ability to get into a medical school. At most it might serve as some sort of tie breaker, or perhaps give you a small benefit of the doubt if your grades are a tad lower (<.1 on the GPA), but even that is likely stretching it.</p>
<p>You should go to the school where you will have the best opportunities to do well in your academics, find opportunities to get involved in organizations, research and volunteering, and have time for a good social life (I know...looking for it all). Go where you'll be happiest, where your heart is telling to you to go (Napolean Dynamite got this one right).</p>
<p>I agree wholeheartedly with BRM's second paragraph.</p>
<p>I do think some schools are better for that sort of thing for most people, and I do think that that means some schools are generally "better" than others. Several factors matter a great deal, and these factors are not equal from school to school. Advising, extracurricular opportunities, involved faculty, high standards, pre-professional courses, etc.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think I should ammend my first paragraph some. </p>
<p>If you are just looking at prestige as a deciding factor - that name recognition, then my first paragraph is clear. But there are plenty of other factors that undergraduate institutions provide that vary from school to school as BDM suggests. These are probably hard to quantify in a really meaningful way. And the schools that really do well in these categories may or may not line up with the prestige rankings...I mean advising can be very hit or miss, just upon who the advisor is and how they relate to an individual.</p>