<p>Because more prestigious colleges can help you get into more prestigious med schools and in turn help you get into more prestigious residencies. Because top colleges have more resources, smaller classes, better academic environments, better professional advising, more research opportunities, better networking. Because many times a private college can cost less than your state school (for example, it only cost me around a few thousand dollars extra over 4 years to attend Cornell instead of Berkeley).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I don’t know about law schools but med schools do care. I’m actually amazed at the myths of medicine that are thrown about on these boards.</p>
<p>Because many people don’t know how med or law school admissions are handled. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Actually, you will find that there are plenty of people out in real world who would advise you to go to the school you most enjoy at the cheapest price possible, if you are really sure that you will pursue med or law school. Some people change their minds about potential career prospects. For management consulting or top finance jobs - going to a top UG is worth it. For pre law or med - I would agree that going to a top UG is far from necessary.</p>
<p>A state U grad with same stats as Cornell grad - either they both make it in at a med school, or they both get rejected. Correct me if I am wrong.</p>
<p>The above is MIT med/law school placement. MIT is known for rigor, toughness, and arguably the most prestigious school on the planet along with HYP. Yet, the accepted stats of MIT applicants to med school is 3.73 GPA with 35 MCAT. 23% of MIT undergrads who apply to med schools get rejected from every single med school they applied to. It’s how the system works. Med schools and top law schools don’t care about UG. It is all GPA and test scores. (especially law school)</p>
<p>I don’t tell applicants this on their interview days but frankly anything can be used to reject them. We get 50-100 applicants for every seat. Most of them look the same. You know all those “What are my chances” threads you see on here with those 2100 SAT, 3.8 GPA, NHS, FBLA, hospital volunteering clones? You have the same with med school admissions. Except there are even more clones for every seat. Thus, we are looking for a reason to reject each applicant. Sometimes it comes down to an applicant having gone to Harvard rather than a state school. </p>
<p>MIT actually is pretty grade inflated itself if you control for majors. The grading for bio majors isn’t any different from the grading for bio majors at other top universities. The only diff is that MIT has a higher proportion of engineers. The high accepted MCAT reflects the high average MCAT of its applicants. Med schools are not requiring high MCAT from MIT applicants lol Use some common sense. If the accepted MCAT score from a state uni is 29. It’s because the majority of its applicants are only scoring that and going to the local unranked med school.</p>
<p>umm, a significant chunk of MIT undergrads who apply to Med schools get rejected by every single med school they apply to. Not only the elite med schools, but all med schools.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>MIT is as tough as it can be - at undergrad level. If you are really trying to argue that MIT ain’t any harder than any other UG, I really don’t know what to say to ya.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not all premeds at MIT apply to med schools, some choose not to. (pre-screening) Since people with crap GPAs know they will get rejected. The bottom line is you don’t get much break for having gone to a ‘tough’ or ‘prestigious’ undergrad. You are expected to have high GPA and MCAT to get into a med school, even if you come from the toughest UG program in the nation.</p>
<p>I was going to make a suggestion to the OP.
But this thread has been hijacked to the point that it isn’t worth it anymore.</p>
<p>FYI, CC has law school and medical school sub-forums, where theories about law school and med school admissions practices are no doubt on-topic.</p>
<p>Also, FYI it is possible to commence a discussion on a completely separate issue by initiating a new thread- in the appropriate sub-forum- rather than hijacking somebody else’s totally different thread.</p>
<p>This thread isn’t. Threads have topics.
IMO, It is very rude to hijack somebody’s thread. They took the trouble to initiate and post to that thread for a reason, and then somebody goes and diverts it. If they were concerned with others they would start a new thread- on the appropriate sub-forum- to address their pet topics, rather than hijack and divert some other poster’s thread.
IMO.</p>
<p>Yeah, that is your opinion. besides, the topic is very relevant to med school admissions. the op is considering possibility of transferring to an ‘easier’ state school in order to boost chances of med school admission. I suspect that is why this thread was created in the beginning.</p>
<p>This board exists for people who talk about, and want to discuss, college admissions, concerns, strategies, law school/med school admissions, etc. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to participate.</p>
<p>Monydad-
Oy, I knew I kind of set my self up for it when I typed “med school”, for
all this “is undergrad really all that important” “residency v. grad school”,
med school myth busting hilarity </p>
<p>Anyways, but yeah, I did look at your advice.
I’m not liking it too much in nonacademic aspects either, but maybe it’s because
I’m hanging around with too many premeds?
Nice, but stressful people to be around with. :P</p>
<p>I think at this point, I need to go with your advice a). Redouble efforts, and figure
out ways to work better. </p>
<p>Transfer or not, I’m pretty much stuck here for this and next semester, so really, might
as well as try to achieve as much as possible in the interim, wherever I choose to go…</p>
<p>This is the dog days of winter, you just had a bad exam result. etc.
In my opinion, transfer later or not, at this particular time you need to have some fun.</p>
<p>Throw a party, with some other people.
Go skiing at Greek Peak.
Corral some people into a road trip. Montreal anyone? Boston? New York?
Visit somebody at another school.
Yale-Cornell hockey game in New Haven on the 26th, be there.
Go bowling with some people.
Go out to hear some live music.
There are things going on, I know D2 just told me about some of the stuff she did recently, she is having a great time, right there. (maybe not right after she bombs an exam, but…). Go get out the paper, or whatever you guys use these days, find something different to do, with people, and go do it. Or if nothing appeals, figure out something for yourself.</p>
<p>Don’t be “pretty much stuck here”, figure out what you can best do, where you are, to have a better time, outside of the classroom, and do it. I bet it will help your academics too. But I think it will help you right now, particularly. You need to blow off a bit and re-energize right now, I think.</p>
<p>MD-thank you for such kind words of encouragement to someone else’s son. I’ve given this sermon many times over. Hopefully a post will come next year from him and you can say again -‘oh, you’re still here’!.</p>
<p>Agree entirely with monydad, but as a mom, I will add “get a good night’s sleep tonight–at least 9 hours.” You are exhausted and stressed.
Also, my 2 cents: Key to happiness at any big school is finding your people. It sounds as though your pre med compatriots are not so simpatico, so dust off a HS EC you loved or think of something you always wanted to be involved in and try to make some new friends. It might seem too difficult at the moment, but after 9 hours of sleep all things are possible!
Also, Cornell gives lots of skills for real life. You will probably end up as more resilient and resourceful person after going through this. Good luck!</p>
<p>The other thing to remember is that you are a second semester freshman. GPA’s only go up as you progress through your 4 years of college, quite significantly (the average person graduates with a GPA that is 0.3 higher than their freshman year GPA). </p>
<p>As for lazykid, I don’t know what to tell ya. MIT’s own internal documents show that beyond the first of college (for which MIT has p/f), MIT passes out ~45% A’s. No different than Cornell or Yale or any grade-inflated school. I highly suggest PMing molliebatmit who is a prominent poster who is an alumnus of MIT for the links to these documents.</p>
<p>The whole theme of my posts over the last few days is to look at data. Don’t trust the myths. Don’t believe the garbage that come out of people’s mouths. Look at the data. Cornell is not grade-deflated. Neither is MIT. Again, common sense has to come into play here. If the average GPA of MIT applicants accepted to med school is high, does not mean med schools don’t know about the rigor of MIT? Or is it because MIT is not as grade-deflated as we all thought?</p>
<p>As Cornellians, we always tell people to look at the actual data instead of buying the “Cornell is a suicide school” myth. Surely any Cornellian should understand the importance of looking at objective data.</p>
<p>LazyKid - every thread you get on, you divert it to med and law school admission. I have never seen anyone so obsess with it, especially since you are finished with the process. Let it go.</p>
<p>"The other thing to remember is that you are a second semester freshman. GPA’s only go up as you progress through your 4 years of college, quite significantly "</p>
<p>Unless of course you decide to major in something you simply can’t do very well in.
What moron would do that, you say? No comment…</p>
<p>I started the graduate school discussion, which I think was perfectly relevant considering the OP’s question about transferring to an easier state school.</p>
<p>this degree wasn’t worth the $$ i spent on it in my opinion. im a bio major and right now im jobless, most companies that come to hire dont even want bio majors without at least masters degree. and i have a 3.9 and i failed to get into medical school… and i applied to 21 schools most of which were midteir to lower tier. and it probably will only get harder unless that health reform really scared pre meds away =</p>