<p>Are there any undergraduate research competitions for students who perform research? I mean there is Intel STS and Westinghouse for high school students. Is there something similar for undergrad students? I want to do something cool to enhance my resume.</p>
<p>I'm sure there are but I don't recall any right now. Generally, if you want to present/show off your research, you do so to your lab mates or at the foundation/institution you work at or at a conference. It may shock you, but people do research not to enhance their resume or to win a contest but because they want to contribute to the existing body of scientific knowledge.</p>
<p>I know that. I wasn't trying to come-off self-centered or anything like that. I was just curious if something like that existed for undergrads. In my case, I am willing to do anything to get into a an ivy med school so I want to have all my info now so that I can have a clear cut plan of my future.</p>
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In my case, I am willing to do anything to get into a an ivy med school so I want to have all my info now so that I can have a clear cut plan of my future.
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If you don't mind me asking , why do you want that? What future plans do you put at risk by the failure to attend "an ivy med school"? And finally what appealing similarities do the "ivy medical schools" share in your opinion? There must be something I'm missing.</p>
<p>Well I want to do an MD/PhD. This summer I have an internship in Columbia Medical School and I love it. I love everything about the school. The environment and everything. No other school, not my undergrad can compare with this feel. It's so beautiful, peaceful, and mentally stimulating that I don't want to go home at the end of the day. Plus in order for me to secure a good Md/PhD position in the future, my med school actually matters.</p>
<p>Yes, but why Ivy? UCSF is much better regarded that Dartmouth, Stanford is better regarded than Brown, WUSTL is better regarded than Cornell, etc.</p>
<p>bdm, and don't those "ivy" medical schools as the OP puts it have an incredibly wide set of attributes including most importantly differences in curriculum , grading, and research/primary care focus ?</p>
<p>And btw I can't decipher this part at all. Maybe I'm reading it wrong.
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Plus in order for me to secure a good Md/PhD position in the future, my med school actually matters.
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</p>
<p>Op I'm not picking at you. And I am trying to learn a little , too including what a student should look for in a school other than an acceptance , costs, and residency matches. It is difficult so far.</p>
<p>OP obviously hasn't done much research on med schools. The ivys are different from one another, and i'm sure you would like certain non-ivy schools much more than the ivys. </p>
<p>If you love columbia, thats great. But that doesn't mean the other ivys are going to be the same.</p>
<p>Well I know. Sorry and I did not mean to offend anyone, but I want to stay in NY for med school. I mean of course there are good non-ivy schools, but I have always wanted to at least attempt to get into an ivy. I am not trying to be senile or anything, but I feel there is more opportunity available in ivy league schools. I mean I may be wrong. I am open to advice.</p>
<p>... I don't think anybody was going to accuse you of being... senile.</p>
<p>1.) I have been assuming that the OP is going into academic medicine because he has professed interest in an MSTP. If I'm wrong, nothing I've said in this thread makes any sense.</p>
<p>2.) The OP is right that -- again, assuming he's going academic -- that academic prestige matters. Some.</p>
<p>3.) The OP is silly to think that Ivy status correlates well with prestige. For a rough approximation, pick up a US News ranking. They are not perfect, but they're certainly better than making distinctions based off of what conference their football team plays in. Sounds to me like he'd pick Brown over Hopkins, for example. Or Dartmouth over UCLA. This is not sane if he's looking for prestige. (Which is not to say that Hopkins and UCLA are the best programs for everybody, or even that they're better for everyone than Brown or Dartmouth would be, particularly in primary care or rural health. But it's pretty clear that they are less prestigious institutions for high-powered academic research.)</p>
<p>4.) The OP is either exaggerating or insane if he says that he's willing "to do anything". Prestige helps, but not that much.</p>
<p>5.) There is huge variation among Ivy League medical schools. Harvard is very faculty-research oriented; Dartmouth (at least by reputation) focuses very heavily on getting its students into rural health. Harvard and Cornell use heavy doses of PBL; Columbia and Penn do not. Etc.</p>
<p>6.) In other posts, the OP seems to confuse Ivy League status with prestige. In post #10, he seems to confuse it with "being in New York". ... I'll let somebody else deal with this one.</p>
<p>7.) A top-notch MD/PhD program will not give you a "clear cut plan" of your future. And, therefore, a low-ranked one is not going to deprive you of one. I have no idea what you mean by this. Harvard MSTP's are not guaranteed residencies at Beth Israel, if that's the kind of "clear cut plan" you're looking for. In no scenario will you ever know where you'll be for the next stage of your training.</p>
<p>8.) Curmudgeon: we'll certainly be here to help every step of the way. Remind me what age your student is?</p>
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8.) Curmudgeon: we'll certainly be here to help every step of the way. Remind me what age your student is?
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<p>A lowly sophomore at Rhodes College in Memphis. But she does plan on the MCAT next August so, it's closer than you might think. </p>
<p>And thanks. Her history suggests she will be open for advice, and then will do whateverthehell she pleases.</p>
<p>It's very, very good that she's planning on taking it then, provided (of course) that she's prepared. She can bump it back, of course, if she's not.</p>
<p>It'll be time to pick schools in March of 2009. Plenty of time left.</p>
<p>"Well I know. Sorry and I did not mean to offend anyone, but I want to stay in NY for med school. I mean of course there are good non-ivy schools, but I have always wanted to at least attempt to get into an ivy."</p>
<p>So, only Ivy League schools in NY? Good luck with that...</p>
<p>Ok you are correct. I admit I do not know about med schools as much as all of you guys do. I am sorry for my comments. But is it so wrong to want to go to a good medical school. I mean when one applies to medical schools, he or she probably has a preference or a dream school to which one that person wants to attend. Isn't this similar to college admissions. I know that med school and college admissions are not the same thing because very few ppl are accepted into medical school. I used this dream school as a push and inspiration so that I could reach that higher echelon. I know deep down that I will probably never go to an ivy league school, but at least in the end if I pushed myself to be accepted into an ivy league, the non-ivy school that I will gain admission to, will not be that bad. Again, I am sorry for making ppl angry at my insolence.</p>
<p>The problem isn't your insolence any more than it was your senility. A good dictionary might help.</p>
<p>The problem was that you **persist **in failing to understand what it means to be in the Ivy League, or what makes a "good" medical school -- which will vary from person to person, but in any case Ivy status is a horrible way to measure it.</p>
<p>Who cares about undergrad competitions. If you are really into research, the best "competition" you can enter is the competition to get published.</p>