<p>I'm planning on majoring in Biology and maybe going to medical school, but I'm still not sure. If I don't take that path, I'd go into business or engineering...something in the math/science area. These three schools are all strong in math/science, so I'm having a real problem choosing. The west coast/east coast thing doesn't really bother me because I've lived in California my whole life so I wouldn't mind staying or seeing something new. I am concerned about GPA/grade deflation for Princeton and MIT though...I heard that those aren't good schools if I'm considering med school? </p>
<p>Also, what do you guys think of the student atmosphere in those schools? Are the people generally down to earth/cooperative or more on the competitive side? Thanks :)</p>
It’s depressing that 95% of students with above a 3.3 GPA get into medical school (about 0.3-0.4 below the applicant average)? And that in the PDF you linked, MIT had 12 students get into Harvard Medical?</p>
<p>OP, you’re deciding between three great schools. Your decision should come down to where you feel happiest and fit best. Are you planning to visit any of the schools before making a decision?</p>
<p>I can only speak to the MIT side of things, but MIT is just about the least cutthroat place on the planet. Freshmen mostly take the same set of classes, so everybody starts doing problem sets in big groups freshman year and continues to do it during their upperclass years. MIT is an incredibly collaborative place. With that being said, it’s not the best place for someone with a typical premed attitude – most students are worried about learning, not about getting perfect grades, and stereotypical competitive, grade-obsessed, perfectionist premeds don’t fit in well with the culture at MIT. I had several friends at MIT who were premed, and all are currently med school students, but none were stereotypical premeds as undergrads.</p>
<p>The chart cited about MIT and medical school success rates is astonishing. I never realized that MIT has such success with medical school applications!</p>
<p>MIT gives you a significant legs up on med admissions rate to top 25 med schools It’s still depressing given how “elite” MIT is… how few students ultimately get accept into a top 25 med school out of those who apply.</p>
<p>You still have to be among the top 10% of premeds at MIT to get into a top 25 med school…</p>
<p>You think 10% admissions rate is impressive… It’s impressive compared to the 1-2% overall acceptance rate…</p>
<p>I do not think 10% admissions into Harvard med is THAT great… You would understand if you were a premed. It’s super depressing how HARD getting into med school really is… It’s ridiculously hard.</p>
<p>"I do not think 10% admissions into Harvard med is THAT great… You would understand if you were a premed. It’s super depressing how HARD getting into med school really is… It’s ridiculously hard. " </p>
<p>You’re contradicting yourself. I fully understand how hard - that’s why 9% is so astonishing including someone with a 29 on the MCAT or somebody with a 3.2 gpa?? I can’t imagine anybody from another school getting into HMS with a 29 MCAT score. 9% is 3 times what the acceptance rate is for HMS. I doubt even Harvard undergraduates have such a high acceptance rate.</p>
<p>Which is sad. Not even Harvard undergraduates can match MIT’s 9% acceptance rate into their own school.</p>
<p>Do you honestly think 10% is “remarkable.” I don’t. lol Even compared to HMS’s 1-2% national acceptance rate… 10% is still very very very very very very very low. MIT doesn’t give you a “sizeable” advantage in the whole scheme of things really.</p>
<p>I guess if you compare the MIT representation at HMS… 10% could be very impressive. 10% admissions rate is just sad. I would have thought it be higher… like atleast 45-50%. Imagine admissions rate elsewhere. If MIT’s HMS admissions rate is 10%… imagine…anywhere else!!</p>
<p>You keep contradicting yourself. How is it not remarkable when even Harvard’s own undergrads, according to you (I don’t have that data), don’t manage it?</p>
<p>Perhaps by your standards, <em>all</em> schools have pathetic med school admissions results. In that case, you should perhaps consider that your standards are unrealistic. Since you are a premed, you might as well accept that getting into a top med school is <em>hard</em>, no matter where you come from - you aren’t doing yourself any favors otherwise.</p>
<p>Re: The MIT environment: It is absolutely cooperative rather than competitive.</p>
<p>those MIT admissions stats are truly impressive! Don’t know what Phead128 was thinking, but they may be the best in the country… must be sarcasm at work.</p>
<p>mid – how is the data from applicant pools from other elite schools any different on the face of it? You’d need more parsed data to see what’s really going on.</p>
I would have thought it be higher… like atleast 45-50%. Imagine admissions rate elsewhere. If MIT’s HMS admissions rate is 10%… imagine…anywhere else!!</p>