So I am considering my state university for a year or two just to get a good GPA and get exposed to college then transferring to Stanford or a “prestigious” school later on. I also plan to go to medical school and heard where u go for undergrad doesn’t really matter; it’s what you do that matters. But, I want to get a degree from a top 20 university for my undergrad year. What do u suggest?
Go to a combined undergrad/med-school program like Brown or Rice. Transferring to any 4 year top 20 university is very difficult.
The undergrad programs at top 20 schools are very special in that the students who will be your peers will be uniformly excellent, whereas at an average state flagship, the top 5-25 percent of students will be of that caliber. But it doesn’t matter very much where you do your undergrad as far as medical school admissions are concerned.
The combined medical programs associated with non top-20 programs are also perfectly fine. UIC GPPA, RPI-Albany Medical School. If you are sure that you want to be a physician, then the guaranteed medical program will relieve a lot of stress from the application process. When you get your MD, your board scores and rotations count much more than the medical school you went to.
@TooOld4School if i focus on my gpa and research, will that make me competitive?
Yes, that will make you competitive ^^^^
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Go to a combined undergrad/med-school program like Brown or Rice
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As if it’s just that easy.
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It is extremely difficult to transfer into a top tier university. You certainly can and should focus on your GPA and research (although it may be difficult to get a research position in your first two years at a large university) but you should recognize upfront that the odds will still not be in your favor.
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If you do find yourself in the enviable position where you are doing super-well in classes, are doing research and thus have a strong relationship with one or more professors and you still want med school then it would not make any sense to transfer to another school where you will have to start all over and could potentially lose your strong positive momentum.
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Personally, I don’t love the idea of going to a university with the intent of transferring out. This attitude will stand in the way of your developing meaningful friendships, getting fully involved in campus life etc. and then if the transfer doesn’t work out, you are kind of stuck. I would go with the idea that you will stay wherever you start off – and you can always throw in a few transfer applications and see what happens.
Consider your costs.
Medical school is extremely expensive, often with little or no financial aid other than loans.
So it’s in your interest to conserve available funds.
Depending on your family’s financial circumstances, for freshman admission either your state flagship or a top private college might have a lower net cost (after aid, if any). For top private schools, not only is transfer admission even harder than freshman admission in some cases, but the available financial aid may be much more limited.
Your grades won’t necessarily be greatly affected by your choice of top private v. state flagship.
It depends on the schools/programs you’re comparing, the courses/professors you get, and your own motivation/efforts.
I agree w/happy1. Make your choice with the intention of staying 4 years.
The transfer acceptance rate to Stanford is 1%. Literally. Last year, 1,300 men applied and 13 were accepted. 700 women applied and 7 were accepted. 1%. Don’t count on transferring. It is more different to transfer into a university than it is to gain admission as a Freshman.
http://ucomm.stanford.edu/cds/2015#transfer
And even if you were accepted, would you want to start all over again? You should seek friendship, connection with faculty and research opportunities from the moment you step on campus. If you have tried hard from the start, you should be very well established come sophomore year. Be happy with your college choice and stick to it. Only transfer if you are miserable at your current university and failed at making the necessary connections to tie you to the institution.
How many kids get into the guaranteed med school programs at Rice?
6?
^^^^^^
From Rice’s website:
- What is the acceptance rate into the Rice/Baylor program?
For the Fall 2016, 2,452 applicants expressed an interest in the Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars Program; 279 applicants were admitted to Rice and given the opportunity to compete for admission to the Medical Scholars Program. Twenty-five of those students were selected as finalists and invited to interview with Baylor College of Medicine. After the interviews, 6 were offered admission to the Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars program.
What would be the cost difference between the two? Like you said, your grades and MCAT (and extracurriculars) will be mostly that matters for Med. School admissions (NOT “prestige”). I would think twice about taking out massive loans for undergrad with the goal of medical school.
No one knows or cares where their doctor went to undergrad.
@WildestDream When I ran an NPC, my family and I would be looking to pay like $13k and my local univ would give me full tuition for my stats.
Top colleges are trying to expand past only accepting their undergrads. I’d much rather have a 3.9-4.0 at a no name university with a good scholarship than a 3.4 at Stanford paying full tuition or even half tuition.
I was talking to by doctor about colleges the other day, and we were talking about med school actually. His son went to a small school in Michigan for a full ride and ended up at Harvard Med school.
Med school admissions are very much a numbers game. High GPA and high MCAT is what matters. A high GPA might actually be easier for you to obtain at a less competitive school.
I wouldn’t count on high GPAs being easier to attain at an elite school or a typical flagship state school (excluding the elites like Berkeley or Michigan). It’s all about the environment you prefer and where you find that you’ll thrive.
Don’t go to college with a plan to transfer. Go to the college that is the best fit and where you will thrive.
thank you all for the advice! If I get in to my choice schools, I’ll go bc I think I’ll succeed there. If not, whatever.