Going To A Small Private College Hurt My Chances?

[heathadawn23]

Since I will be attending a small, women's, private college, will that hurt my chances to getting into a med school? After all, many outstanding women in today's society went to private, women's colleges, i.e; Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright. I dunno, What do you guys think?!

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[benelswick]

Yeah it'll hurt your chances.....of gettin some.

 

[riceman04]

Since I will be attending a small, women's, private college, will that hurt my chances to getting into a med school? After all, many outstanding women in today's society went to private, women's colleges, i.e; Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright. I dunno, What do you guys think?!

YES IT WILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU NOW WILL HAVE NO CHANCE IN HELL IN GETTING INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL. ASK HILLARY CLINTON TO WRITE YOU A LETTER OF REC. FOR YOU OR SOMETHING.

Honestly, you have no reason to be worried. Just worry about your grades and have fun!

 

[heathadawn23]

Yeah it'll hurt your chances.....of gettin some.

Well, thanks for the input but comon' was that really necessary??? Just because I am a college girl, doesnt mean that I WANT some anyways. First off, girls that want it and get it, most of them regret it because guys cant fulfill their promises they make girls of how good it will be. HAHAHA. Im not trying to be moody but there was a specific reason I picked a women's college, it was because I was sexually assaulted last September and I just dont feel comfortable around large groups of men. So I just didnt like your reply, sorry, it sort of offended me.

 

[Karim]

I don't see why it should. This resembles the talk about state vs. ivy league schools. The general consensus is that people from state schools get into top tier medical schools "all the time." As long as you score high on your MCATs, procure a relatively high GPA, finish your prereqs, and shine through your EC activities (and all of those other premed nuances), your undergraduate institution is rather unimportant to admission committees. Please correct me if I'm wrong...

 

[hnbui]

actually some liberals arts colleges send a higher proportion of their graduates to grad schools, ie. ginnell,amherst.

So no. Your attendence at a LAC will not be detrimental to your medical school application. In fact, attending a LAC where the professors know you better might help you out on the long run with lors.


hth

 

[FoughtFyr]

Since I will be attending a small, women's, private college, will that hurt my chances to getting into a med school? After all, many outstanding women in today's society went to private, women's colleges, i.e; Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright. I dunno, What do you guys think?!

There should be a rather good alumni office at a "small, women's, private college". Contact them during your freshman year and get the names of some physicians (of various ages - include current medical students) who attended that school. Ask them for advice. It is far easier to walk the path of those who came before you when it comes to medical school admission.

But no, there is no way it hurts you. Many of my classmates and many of those accepted were from small schools. In fact, there was one member of an adcom I served on who always rallied very hard for graduates from his alma mater, a small, co-ed, private school.

- H

 

[sunnyjohn]

No Heathadawn, it won't hurt you.

Enjoy yourself and study hard.

Folks on SDN just like to blow off steam and TRY post a witty response. I call it SDNitis

Don't take it too personally. If you hang out here long enough the condition will rub off on you. lol

 

[stifler]

actually some liberals arts colleges send a higher proportion of their graduates to grad schools, ie. ginnell,amherst.

So no. Your attendence at a LAC will not be detrimental to your medical school application. In fact, attending a LAC where the professors know you better might help you out on the long run with lors.


hth

thats because liberal arts degrees are worthless and i happen to go to one so i can say that. i wouldnt want to rely on my liberal arts degree from my school even though it is prestigious. hah

 

[mshheaddoc]

I went to a small private college my freshman year. It was an all women's college and very prestigious. Smaller schools DO not hurt your chances. Only you can hurt your chances. You need to have confidence in your abilities and you will be fine.

 

[LJDHC05]

I went to a small private college my freshman year. It was an all women's college and very prestigious. Smaller schools DO not hurt your chances. Only you can hurt your chances. You need to have confidence in your abilities and you will be fine.

ditto. From a small liberal arts college graduate, I think that it sets you up to get some really good LOR's because you'll get to know your profs well and you get individual attention from them instead of being one of 600 faces in Chem 101. And ignore the folks that give you crap, their just trying to get a rise out of you.

 

[NRankin]

I went to a small private college my freshman year. It was an all women's college and very prestigious. Smaller schools DO not hurt your chances. Only you can hurt your chances. You need to have confidence in your abilities and you will be fine.

I completely agree. Only you can keep yourself from getting into medical school. Just work hard and have fun in the process and you'll be fine.

 

[benelswick]

I'm Sorry. Didn't mean to make light of your decision.

 

[smsansoucie]

Since I will be attending a small, women's, private college, will that hurt my chances to getting into a med school? After all, many outstanding women in today's society went to private, women's colleges, i.e; Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright. I dunno, What do you guys think?!

As a fellow student from a small college, I can understand your concern. I am not sure about your particular school, but in many ways I am concerned that I am losing out on valuable opportunities that can set me apart as a premed. For example, my college does not have a pre-medical society or exceptional opportunities for research due to the small lab facilities. Further, many ADCOMS will not be aware of my college when I apply to the various med schools.

That said, there are some wonderful things about going to a small, private college. Course sizes are MUCH smaller at a small college and you will get to know your professors very well. Personally, my professors have gotten to know me very well and are acutely aware of my interests and abilities. As a result, they are able to supplement my educational experience with special projects and have on occasion tailored their lectures to include topics of my personal interest as appropriate in class. As long as you perform well as a student, you will get excellent LORS from these professors.

I believe that there are benefits and drawbacks to both environments (that is, small versus large colleges). Some of the drawbacks can be overcome by other opportunities, such as the REU program funded by NSF. When push comes to shove, the ADCOMS care about more about whether you are prepared for med school and less about the size of your undergraduate institution.

Stephanie

 

[heathadawn23]

As a fellow student from a small college, I can understand your concern. I am not sure about your particular school, but in many ways I am concerned that I am losing out on valuable opportunities that can set me apart as a premed. For example, my college does not have a pre-medical society or exceptional opportunities for research due to the small lab facilities. Further, many ADCOMS will not be aware of my college when I apply to the various med schools.

That said, there are some wonderful things about going to a small, private college. Course sizes are MUCH smaller at a small college and you will get to know your professors very well. Personally, my professors have gotten to know me very well and are acutely aware of my interests and abilities. As a result, they are able to supplement my educational experience with special projects and have on occasion tailored their lectures to include topics of my personal interest as appropriate in class. As long as you perform well as a student, you will get excellent LORS from these professors.

I believe that there are benefits and drawbacks to both environments (that is, small versus large colleges). Some of the drawbacks can be overcome by other opportunities, such as the REU program funded by NSF. When push comes to shove, the ADCOMS care about more about whether you are prepared for med school and less about the size of your undergraduate institution.

Stephanie

My college does not have a pre-med society either.... I'm kinda worried, like, I know that pre-med is not a program but a list or pre-req's required before applying to med school but I am worried that not having those opportunities like you said, will hurt me but as one of the other replies said, " you can only hurt your chances". But i'm finding that hard to convince myself.

 

[Centinel]

My college does not have a pre-med society either.... I'm kinda worried, like, I know that pre-med is not a program but a list or pre-req's required before applying to med school but I am worried that not having those opportunities like you said, will hurt me but as one of the other replies said, " you can only hurt your chances". But i'm finding that hard to convince myself.

My school doesn't have a pre-med society either... why would having one help your chances???

 

[TheMightyAngus]

Pre-med societies are basically worthless. If you can walk down to a hospital and sign up to collect wheelchairs from the parking lot and help nurses clean excrement you've completed about 75% of what pre-med societies are organized to do. Don't sweat it. Plus, it looks better if you went on your own initiative versus being a part of a wannabe-doc club.

 

[Thundrstorm]

I just graduated from a small, liberal arts, women's college Loved it. Didn't have to compete w/as many people for research opportunities, got to know my profs really well (ie. great LORs), and really enjoyed the experience of being in a community of women (w/the balance of living in a city). Don't worry about the admissions process in this respect: a strong applicant is a strong applicant, regardless of their college.

 

[DrDarwin]

I just graduated from a small, liberal arts, women's college Loved it. Didn't have to compete w/as many people for research opportunities, got to know my profs really well (ie. great LORs), and really enjoyed the experience of being in a community of women (w/the balance of living in a city). Don't worry about the admissions process in this respect: a strong applicant is a strong applicant, regardless of their college.

I agree with much of what has been written above:

Pre-med societies = worthless (not even remotely presitigous, no one cares)
Small college = great LORs
Liberal arts degree = well-rounded applicant

While small liberal arts colleges do not have the same volume of research opportunities as big research universities, there are always opportunities out there. And you probably won't have to wash **** out of beakers for 2 years before being allowed to do something meaningful in a lab. Research experience is not required for med school anyway, so I wouldn't worry about this too much.

Finally, I bet you would be surprised at the number of people who are aware of your school. I went to a small liberal arts school in the Midwest, and many of my interviewers--at some very good medical schools--commented, much to my surprise, on my school and how much they respect it. At one school, my interviewer actually went to a small, Midwestern liberal arts school himself, so we got on quite well. I am a huge advocate of liberal arts schools, and I sincerely hope that you are enjoying your experience, even though attending a smaller school does come with some drawbacks.

 

[smsansoucie]

And you probably won't have to wash **** out of beakers for 2 years before being allowed to do something meaningful in a lab.

Hah.. wishful thinking. I have been cleaning glassware for a year now. At my school, I even have to clean out test tubes--AND THEY ARE THE DISPOSABLE KIND! Now THAT sucks. The most "meaningful" thing I get to do is prep media for micro labs (which I admit, is quite fun). What is REALLY fun is autoclaving anaerobic bacteria...NOT.... PHHHEEEEWWWWWWWW.

Stephanie