@Irishcali that seems to contradict the general tenor of posters on CC who feel it’s easier to stand out (higher GPA) with a less challenging school and it’s a good idea to save the $ for med school. May I ask what med school your D attended?
Re: #19, #20
More selective colleges have stronger students who are more likely to do well in their grades and MCAT scores.
For example, UCLA presumably has a much larger pool of pre-meds who have the grades and MCAT scores to be possible medical school admits than CSULA does. However, this does not necessarily mean that an individual student’s chance of earning the needed grades and MCAT scores is better or worse at UCLA versus CSULA.
It may seem true for the med school Irishcali’s D attended but that by no means makes it universal. We’ve got plenty of posters familiar with med school admissions who state otherwise. Including the solid post from WayOutWestMom.
Agree with ucb about the CSU example. You still need the grades and MCAT, shouldn’t slack just based on whether you’re better than some fellow students.
" who feel it’s easier to stand out (higher GPA) with a less challenging school and it’s a good idea to save the $ for med school. " - My opinion is a bit different. I do not see any reason to “stand out” and I do not believe that there are “less challenging schools” out there. I do strongly believe that saving the $$ for medical school is a very good idea. Of course, we all have different opinions because of the differences in background. My kid had no problem being accepted to medical schools (including top 20s) after graduating from the in-state public where she was on full tuition Merit award. At the same time, she did not feel that she was not challenged at her college, she was actually shocked by the gap between the HS academics (coming from the most rigorous private HS in our area) and the college academics at in-state public. The MCAT score correlates more to the level of preparation than college classes. This excludes the test taker geniuses who can take any test without prep. Again, the warning is that different posters will have different opinions about all of this, so each family needs to focus on what may work the best in their specific situation.
I respectfully disagree with irishcali.
While the undergrad one attends is not totally unimportant, neither is it of critical importance for a medical school admission. One does not need to attend a state flagship or a brand name U to gain an acceptance to med school–though those type of schools may offer some advantages in the process. Like better advising or a broader selection of professors and course offerings, and more access to research experiences. But in the end gaining a med school admission is about an individual’s achievements, not where they went to college.
When comes to more challenging vs less challenging undergrads–this is where the MCAT comes in. It’s called the “great equalizer” for a reason, since offer adcomms a reasonably objective basis for comparing student achievement.
And adcomm members do take into consideration the ‘road travelled’ when making admission decisions. Students who have demonstrated resilience and persistence in their journey to medical school by overcoming obstacles and less than optimal circumstances to achieve excellence get special attention from the adcomm.
Med school admissions is a black box process–and there’s a different black box at every med school.
I vehemently disagree with @Irishcali and it shows some lack of understanding of the community college concept. It is entirely possible that the community colleges are lacking for this person’s experience, but it is certainly not true for every community and if the “cali” part refers to California not true for many of the California community colleges who have some of the most desirable transfer plans in the nation. Your degree is from the college you graduate…not the college where you begin so unsure how Irishcali would know where all those medschool graduates spent their first year or two.
Okay~calm down everyone. Nowhere did I say that the CC route isn’t a good idea. IN fact, I think it is a good idea. I am only saying that in my experience, and looking at the make up of the largest medical school in the country, there was not ONE student that came from an unknown university. Take that for what it’s worth-maybe it’s an anomaly, but I don’t think so. It was remarkable to me, that the make up was as such-ALL flagship universities, well known private schools and top CC universities. No one else.
Makes me a little sad really-as I attended a very small women’s college and thought I got a fantastic education.
The competition for medical schools today is tough. My daughter actually worked in the admissions office at her medical school, doing interviews and participating, in a small way, in acceptance conferences. She has a lot of insight into the process. That, combined with what I saw on the program, tells me that it matters a LOT where you get your undergrad degree. (By the way, this same story held true in her college roommate’s med school make up at a neighboring school, as well as my cousin who just started this year- no difference) Don’t discount it and say it doesn’t matter. It really seems to.
And, of course, there are exceptions to all of this!
My dh has done med school admissions (but only for MD/PhD program). If he’s looking at grades from a college he hasn’t heard of he looks a little harder at the other stuff - especially MCAT scores.
Broadly, it’d make sense if top 200> non-top 200> unranked.
Beyond that - Agnes Scott or Emory or UGA or Spelman or More house would all get equal consideration as far as I know.
Someone from Kennesaw or Oglethorpe would likely get a bit more scrutiny and their MCAT would have to ‘make sense’ with their GPA.
However, keep in mind some public medical schools take mostly or only state residents, some have 6 or 7 year programs which would affect results as to where students come from.
Finances dictate choices. Of course getting top grades from top U’s makes one more competitive. However, those rare elite students who need to forgo that top U can be stellar students at a lesser school and get into medical school. This student sounds like the least cost options are needed/desired.
OP- check on your instate medical schools admissions standards/procedures- those are the schools most likely to admit you. Go ahead and contact admissions with your questions about where to go for your best chances. Look at profiles of their medical students. Then you can better estimate your odds.
btw- I have known physicians with either a Harvard undergrad or medical school degree who ended up in the same town and working with the physicians who went to much less prestigious schools.
If you choose to wait a year for college have a plan to earn some money plus keep your brain active. Nothing wrong with grunge jobs- plenty of us worked food service et al in college (one classmate had worked his way up to management at a McDonalds by medical school).
Just for conversation sake, my daughter attended our in state medical school, not a private one and this is the one where all the students came from above mentioned undergrad schools. I am not saying that it can’t be done-not at all. I am only remarking on this somewhat disturbing and maybe sad, circumstance that showed how much a high level university matters in med school acceptance. Of course it’s about your story, and great MCATs can make up for a LOT!
As for the OP, look into private undergrad schools too. Sometimes these schools have more merit aid and can end up less expensive in the end! This happened with my son (kid #3). Flagship state school offered nothing, but CC Top 20 offered more than half scholarship making it less expensive!
Sigh…good luck to all though. With my last one a senior this year, we are looking strongly for more financial help, so I understand.
Ordinarily I’d be in favor of a gap year, but the road to an MD is so long, and the original poster has expressed no desire to wait a year to begin their college education. For that reason, doing the first two years at a good community college, then transferring to a good 4-year school, would save a " wasted" year.
My OB graduated from Stanford Medical School. She started at community college.
Unfortunately, my advice is not appropriate for OP, it is just too late for you. However, for anybody else who is reading this thread while thinking about medical school, my advice is to seek the colleges that are known for their Merit awards to the top caliber applicants. Given the fact that the pre-med track draw the kids from the very best of the best, these type of students can easily find several colleges that would offer them free ride / full tuition / or close based on the Merit scholarships. This route will be cheaper than Community College option. Do not underestimate some private colleges that are well known for this type of practices. Ask around and do research on the internet, very worthwhile!