Picking a college (for GPA)

pen99

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For medical school, it looks like you need high GPA and MCAT scores and it does not matter which college you go to.

So if you want a high GPA, what type of colleges should you attend? If you go to college that has high average SAT scores say 2200 vs. other colleges where average SAT scores are 1800. Should this be considered in picking the college you attend? Would you want to attend a college where you are in top 10-20% score wise and not just middle 50%?

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I'd also love to hear advice from anyone who's already went through it all!
I'll be attending a local private college next year (cheaper), so I'll definitely need to be on top of the GPA and ECs. Anyone here go through the same route?
 
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I can't speak from personal experience but I know for a fact (I've shadowed 3 doctors, and multiple residents at the local teaching hospital) that GPA is weighted heavily in a medical school application. But the thing about it is, wherever you go to school, you're going to have to work hard to keep a high GPA. I've taken college classes through multiple schools, and to be honest, I've never had a class harder than another when it comes to college. The short answer is, wherever you go, you'll have to work for your GPA.
 
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I've taken college classes through multiple schools, and to be honest, I've never had a class harder than another when it comes to college

This experience is quite the exception if "multiple schools" encompasses both, say, a college with 99th percentile average SAT vs 60th (or something else more representative of the national average).

Some stats using the MCAT to compare GPA's between school types:

Nationally, the ratio of 3.8+ / 36+ is 3.2 (see aamc table 24)

At a premed-heavy school populated with straight A, 99th percentile students that same ratio is 0.7 (see this pg 21)

You want a strong GPA for med apps, and that's much harder to achieve at some schools than the average.
 
Generally speaking, obviously some schools invest more money into a department, therefore can afford a better a professor, generally making a class harder, generally. So yes, you are correct. But in the end it boils down to how much effort you wish to put in.
 
Generally speaking, obviously some schools invest more money into a department, therefore can afford a better a professor, generally making a class harder, generally. So yes, you are correct. But in the end it boils down to how much effort you wish to put in.

Prereqs are hard because you are curved against a tough student population, not because the profs are good. Beating the majority of your peers for those limited competitive grades is quite hard when the class is full of valedictorians, national merit finalists, etc. Lots of effort is necessary but not sufficient for a competitive GPA, since when everyone has studied 50 hours for that Ochem test you need better critical thinking/insight than your peers to pull off an A.
 
Hi,

I don't think this is a good approach to picking a college. You want to pick a college that is academically challenging, socially compatible with you, will help you grow as a person and that is affordable to you and your family. Generally, I would recommend going to the most challenging college that you can get into, that has good fin aid. There is so much grade inflation and variation among colleges, it makes little sense to think about it in the manner you are thinking about. Most people don't end up going to med school who start off as pre-med. So go somewhere that has options that will make you happy.

I went to a liberal arts college that was extremely hard. I was the only non-chemistry/biology major who went to med school. My GPA sucked (by pre-med standards) but it didn't matter because I learned a lot and could show the accomplishments of my hard work.

Check out: http://www.ctcl.org/colleges/list

Good luck.
 
Some of the top private universities (Ivies) are known to have grade inflation. If you have the money and the grades, you could try applying there.
 
I'm just a premed in undergrad, but a few things I've heard
Undergrad school prestige is said by some to have weight, equal GPAs at all undergrad institutions may not be seen as equal
GPA is very important, but I personally believe you should push yourself (for intellectual development and it may help on MCAT), just enough so you can still be successful.

I think these this thread's arguments are things you should also keep in mind when choosing a major and thinking about your schedule. I know someone who was accepted to top 10 med schools with GPA<3.5, but they took a lot of difficult courses every semester, were heavily involved extracurricularly, and did extremely well on MCAT.
 
Prereqs are hard because you are curved against a tough student population, not because the profs are good. Beating the majority of your peers for those limited competitive grades is quite hard when the class is full of valedictorians, national merit finalists, etc. Lots of effort is necessary but not sufficient for a competitive GPA, since when everyone has studied 50 hours for that Ochem test you need better critical thinking/insight than your peers to pull off an A.
Not all colleges curve grades. In fact, I'd dare say that most do not (judging by my friends' descriptions of their own colleges), though the tests are made difficult enough to have a "natural curve."
 
Undergrad doesn't weigh as much as we would think.

Three rules of thumb: cheapest, where you'll be happiest, where you'll get the most focus

I suggest picking a college where you'll get a lot of focus too. Maybe a Ulysses contract with yourself and you could attend a small private college instead of the big state schools known for parties if you are prone to parties. Biggest thing to avoid is the freshman blunders. Get your studying down early because your med school app starts on day 1. Not trying to get neurotic though. Local state school with low tuition is perfect. Ivies like s5 above said, good option if you've got money to spend.

I chose to go to a small state university (~2000 people) in my area because the price was perfect, I knew I would get study time and I love the campus. Go on tours too.
 
It's really the peer group that matters. For example, when you are taking Linear Algebra at MIT, you are competing against some of the smartest college students in the country (and world).

Sure, effort matters but sometimes raw intelligence is what is needed to get 1 SD above average (which is usually required for an A). For many people, they could study endlessly and still not be able to get above average.
 
Necro maor

Anyways I'll tell you how this is going to go since it just did in the other thread

  • It's harder to be above average for decent grades when your peers are top percentile/straight A/whatever
  • Nuh uh
  • Yes, look here is some data to back it up
  • Still nuh uh. Or even if true too bad not worth the effort to do anything about it
  • Some places are already trying, and look how easy it is
  • Surprise derail! The kids at MIT aren't smart or hardworking just rich
  • That makes no sense, money may help them demonstrate their ability more easily but they're still really smart/etc
  • Stop being such an arrogant ****, I've met dumb people from good schools and smart people from unknown schools therefor common sense and your data are moot
 
Necro maor

Anyways I'll tell you how this is going to go since it just did in the other thread

  • It's harder to be above average for decent grades when your peers are top percentile/straight A/whatever
  • Nuh uh
  • Yes, look here is some data to back it up
  • Still nuh uh. Or even if true too bad not worth the effort to do anything about it
  • Some places are already trying, and look how easy it is
  • Surprise derail! The kids at MIT aren't smart or hardworking just rich
  • That makes no sense, money may help them demonstrate their ability more easily but they're still really smart/etc
  • Stop being such an arrogant ****, I've met dumb people from good schools and smart people from unknown schools therefor common sense and your data are moot

Lol! This is so accurate.
 
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