<p>Sevmom ???</p>
<p>you are stuck on GPA and that is not how to analyze schools.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What is the profession you want to go to after undergrad.</p></li>
<li><p>How many people from the school chose that profession and made it?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the percentage of applicants from that school and conversion rate?</p></li>
<li><p>what professional schools did they get to?</p></li>
<li><p>is the professional school you want to get to covered?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The support mechanism to achieve your goals at some of the top schools is such that you cant fail in getting into whatever you want to do as long as you put in the work. Concentrating on a single number does not help you with the big picture.</p>
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<p>I’ve seen various estimates ranging from 40-74% here on CC the last few years, often with links. Here’s one quick example from Google:</p>
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<p>[The</a> Northerner : Stem Majors switch gears](<a href=“http://www.thenortherner.com/news/2012/02/01/stem-majors-switch-gears/]The”>Stem Majors switch gears – The Northerner)</p>
<p>So please tell me if I’m right or wrong.
To get into med school(or any other graduate school) your gpa and test scores are the most important (key word most)
You can get a higher gpa at a state school than at any Ivy league.
Therefore, to maximize your chances to get into med school, you should go to a state school to get a high gpa, and therefore a higher chance of acceptance</p>
<p>Again you are stuck on GPA. Not all 4.0s from a state school are able to get into medical schools. It is not that simple. If you are in California, it is almost impossible to get into a medical school despite your 4.0.</p>
<p>But they do have a higher shot than a 3.3 from harvard, correct?</p>
<p>3.3 from Harvard has a much higher shot at getting into med school in california than a 4.0 from a state school in cal.</p>
<p>Well, that has not been the case here Lorem-2 for 2 despite no pressure to go in the STEM direction.</p>
<p>sevmom - did your kids attend state schools in california and go to medical school?</p>
<p>I meant in general not just cali. Could you post a link with that information please?
Also, thanks to everyone who’s taking this question seriously. I’m getting much better responses than the first page of this post with a couple of exceptions (sevmom)</p>
<p>It is in general. There are medical schools that value where someone went to school as opposed to saying 4.0+35 gets admitted. Some schools might blindly do it for particular programs in their own state schools (In texas one gets 4.0+35 from UT or A&M honors programs in science or engineering, they can usually get into a state school but 4.0 from a regular program - no way). The value of a 4.0 GPA is not just taken at face value but also in context.</p>
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<p>Yes. Old joke about what you call the lowest-ranked graduate of the med school class applies here (answer: “Doctor” :))</p>
<p>Lemme tell you an old College Confidential story involving a longtime poster named curmudgeon. Years ago, his daughter was accepted at Yale. This was before Yale started offering super-generous aid, so the family would’ve been full pay. The daughter decided to take a full-ride scholarship at Rhodes College, with the understanding that her parents would pay for med school. Have you heard of Rhodes? I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t, though it’s well-known-enough here on CC, a beautiful gothic-style small LAC in the south. Anyway, the daughter did VERY well. Was challenged academically, made great friends, won a Goldwater Scholarship. She’s now attending med school…at Yale. 
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<p>Dunno what her college GPA was. Possibly it could’ve been higher if she’d gone to a state school. Would her college experience have been as academically and personally enriching? No idea–she was from Texas, and UT Austin has the exemplary Plan II honors program. Was she motivated solely by where she could’ve gotten the highest GPA? Not at all. And that’s the thing that you’re missing here. It’s not just about squeezing out the highest GPA. It’s about within the confines of your budget figuring out what is going to be the best fit for you. It’s about seeing what opportunities the school offers you.</p>
<p>Im getting most of my bias from <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1286675-everlasting-question-does-undergrad-school-matter.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1286675-everlasting-question-does-undergrad-school-matter.html</a></p>
<p>texaspg, I was responding to Lorem’s post about STEM, not medical school. My kids went to/go to schools in Virginia. Engineering.
My kids’ greatgrandfather was an MD (Jefferson ) but that was a long time ago.</p>
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<p>And my son won’t turn away from computer science and applied math. But the ones that stick with it are usually the ones that love the material and are willing to work hard to master it. A lot of kids enter college not sure of what they really want to do and figure STEM is a way to make “good money.” Or maybe it’s pressure from the parents – immigrant parents in particular push for STEM careers because of the perceived higher job certainty after graduation.</p>
<p>@slithey i completely understand your point. That is actually my life goal right now: to get into an Ivy med.
However, as you said Rhodes isnt as widely known as the Ivies. I dont want to make too big assumptions here, but isnt it possible that if she went to yale undergrad, she wouldve had a bad GPA, and would therefore be unable to attende medical school at all?</p>
<p>It is the age old question whether it matters where you do undergrad.</p>
<p>It has nothing to do with a GPA from Harvard vs a State U. It has a great deal more to to do with whether a particular school you go to has a track record sending high percentage of students to medical school and what they provide in terms of support.</p>
<p>Curm’s D is so driven she would have gotten into whatever medical school she wanted to whether she went Yale or UT Austin.</p>
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<p>If you get into Harvey Mudd, when you tell people, most will misunderstand you and say “Harvard Med? Congratulations!” :)</p>
<p>Ivies are incestuous. Most of their professional programs are filled with students from other Ivies.</p>
<p>I suppose anything is possible, but I really do not think that this young woman’s GPA would have been much different if she’d gone to Yale instead of Rhodes. And SHE WON A GOLDWATER. I don’t think you’re aware of how big a deal that is!!! The question you should be asking is if she’d have won a Goldwater if she’d been at Yale. </p>
<p>Budget is the most important thing for you. You want to save money for med school, which is sensible. Picking a school just because you think it’s going to give you the best GPA, and thus will give you the best odds of getting accepted to med school, is not sensible. You need to do some research to find out about med school acceptances coming from each college you’re considering. Where are people accepted? What percentage are accepted? Does the college have resources to help you with the application process? Are there internships and research opportunities to help round out your application? Etc etc etc. Not to mention that it’s much harder to get good grades if you’re miserable at the school.</p>
<p>Lorem: LOL!</p>