undergrad choices...

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>well I live near cincinnati, and I'm going to be a senior next year. ranked 7 out of 617 (i think i can realistically expect to be 3rd by the end), 2260 on the new SAT, 800-math, 740- verbal, 720- writing, essay-10/12. i've taken the ACT twice, received a 34 both times and the second time, all 4 categories were in the 99%. 221 on the PSAT, merit semifinalist if not finalist. (just trying to give u guys an idea of where i'm at =P). i've always wanted to be a professor and just recently became set on becoming a pediatrician too so i'm thinking of practicing for 30 or so years and then becoming a faculty somwhere which would require me to attend a prestigious med school. i'm saying all this cause i'm a bit torn right now over college. I guess I have two questions.</p>

<p>first is, after surfing around this forums a bit (i just started coming to this site today), it seems like getting into any med school let alone a top one is much harder than i thought it would be. From the statistics you guys are throwing around, even graduates from MIT get rejected from every med school they apply to. If that is the case... am I better off going to OSU's continuous med program which guarantees me a spot in their med school by just maintaining a GPA (no MCAT's anyone? ^^) or trying my chances and shooting for a top med school? I'm not sure how good my chances will be in becoming a professor though if i don't go to say harvard/wash u./john hopkins med school...</p>

<p>next question is if i do decide to go the 2nd route, which universities would u guys suggest for undergrad? i'm planning on applying to these schools, harvard, stanford, northwestern, john hopkins, washington university in saint loius, duke, and osu. how would u rank them? i've asked a few of my friends and the general consensus seems to be harvard>stanford>northwestern>john hopkins>washington university>duke. is this correct? i've always thought john hopkins would be higher than northwestern and stanford but i'm not sure. </p>

<p>thanks for all the help guys =)</p>

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<p>In answer to your first question, my opinion is that any of those BS/MD programs are better than almost any other regular undergraduate program. Guaranteed admission to med-school (provided that you stay eligible) is priceless. I would, however, inquire as to how hard it is to stay eligible. If most people who enter the program are unable to stay eligible, then the guarantee is not particularly valuable. </p>

<p>I would also further inquire as to whether you are awarded your bachelor's degree while you are in the program. If you are, then you can then apply to other med-schools, and if you don't get in to any, you can simply stay in the program and obtain your MD that way. Few if any of these programs lock their students in. If you find that you are admitted to Harvard Medical, then you can just quit the OSU program. </p>

<p>It is not a requirement to attend a top medical school in order to become a prof. It can help, but it is certainly not required. </p>

<p>I would also point out that it's not just MIT graduates who sometimes find they can't get into med-school. Graduates from all schools, including HYPS, are sometimes rejected by every med-school they apply to. And of course that's only talking about those who apply. A lot of people don't even bother to apply, because they know they can't get in. For example, if you go to MIT and get straight C's (which is certainly quite possible at MIT, especially if you choose a difficult major like EECS or physics) , you're probably not going to apply to any med-school, because you know you're not going to get in.</p>