<p>I need some help on this. If I know I want to go to medical school, how important is going to a highly respected undergrad school? I am asking this mainly because of the financial aspect. Also, will applying to the medical school affiliated with the school you went to for undergrad give you any advantage?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>Define "highly respected"</p>
<p>but in general no. The important thing is going to a school that fits you. Realize that you are going to be taking out huge amounts of loans for medical school. So if the costs of a private school are a concern, you are better off not going there. </p>
<p>The thing is that admissions committees care only about what you did, and not that much about where you did that. Some "prestigious" schools may be able to provide opportunities that arent' available at other places - this is debatable though. Research opportunities, pre-med advising, grade inflation, and various other experiences vary from school to school but are hard to quantify in any accurate sense. Prestigiousness cannot be assumed to mean excellence in these areas.</p>
<p>Applying to the medical school of your undergrad institution does not usually imply advantage. There are a few places (like Creighton) that "look out for there own" but how much that actually means is questionable. Public, state med schools do give advantages to in-state residents but that should not be construed as an advantage for attending their affiliated university.</p>
<p>Yes, I guess "highly respected" is ambiguous. I suppose I am using it in the same manner as you are using "prestigious". I also want to go to the college that "best fits me" (pretty ambiguous as well), but the college search is turning out to be a difficult task. Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>(By the way, are you a med school student?)</p>
<p>Yes, I am a med student. My last free summer (and the beginning of second year) ends/starts tommorow at 8am.</p>
<p>best fit is necessarily ambigious - b/c everyone is different and their needs/preferences are all over the place.</p>
<p>For example: a lot of the schools that many people on this website fall over themselves for wouldn't have fit me at all. I wanted big time sports where the entire school is crazy for the team, I wanted a big/involved/vibrant Greek community (fraternities and sororities). I wanted a big campus, someplace in a large, but not huge city, and I wanted to be away from home a little bit, but not so far I couldnt' pop home for a weekend or make it to friends campuses. I knew from talking with a lot of MD's that it didn't really matter where I went for undergrad, and that a place where you "fit" and could achieve academically, socially, emotionally, etc was the most important thing.</p>
<p>I hope that helps: in the end, see if you can imagine how you will feel about the place after graduation? Will you love it, or will you think you could have gone someplace more "you"?</p>