what if you go to a top ranked undergrad school?

[fivespd]

if you have a low gpa like around 3.0 do med schools take into consideration the fact that you went to a very competitive and difficult school like yale, hopkins, or harvard? or would it not matter since they cut off most of their applicants by numbers alone as their first cut?

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[Shredder]

3.0 is really low, its different for like 3.5 in which case i hear they do take it into consideration

 

[Doc.Holliday]

most top schools are grade inflated so GPAs that low might hurt even more in some ways (as compared to some lower top tiered schools known for grade deflation). A 3.0 at Harvard is pretty darn bad, but then again if they scored really high on the MCAT who knows. bottom line: a low gpa anywhere is bad news!

 

[kdwuma]

yeah some schools will not even look at an app that does not have a certain minimum gpa, so i guess they will not even see you havard or whatever.

 

[crazy_cavalier]

if you have a low gpa like around 3.0 do med schools take into consideration the fact that you went to a very competitive and difficult school like yale, hopkins, or harvard? or would it not matter since they cut off most of their applicants by numbers alone as their first cut?

at some schools, cut off formula = gpa x mcat x "school selectivity factor".

a top-ranked undergrad school will definitely help. it lets them list the schools their students come from, and for whatever reason it seems more impressive when they get to put large tallies for places like princeton, duke, etc.

regardless, you should still work on the gpa to improve your chances

 

[Babooshka]

real quick question, does CAL count as prestigious for these purposes?

 

[LizzyM]

Harvard has such severe grade inflation that anything less than 3.67 is considered a poor showing. Harvard is full of people who are good on standardized tests (that's how they got in) so they usually have a good MCAT but that gets discounted because they are good test takers. It aint' easy being CRIMSON.

 

[fivespd]

yeah i heard harvard and stanford have severe grade inflation but schools like northwestern, duke, and hopkins do not and hopkins is one of the most competitive, well that's what everyone says and i also saw that on princeton review's website. so would they take that into consideration at all? I know it would have been better to go to a less intense school and get better grades but my parents wouldn't let me transfer. i'm asian and they wanted bragging rights i guess to impress the other parents which sucks for me. man i guess i'm screwed.

 

[tinkerbelle]

if you have a low gpa like around 3.0 do med schools take into consideration the fact that you went to a very competitive and difficult school like yale, hopkins, or harvard? or would it not matter since they cut off most of their applicants by numbers alone as their first cut?

As another poster said, a 3.0 is a bit low. What major are you? If your an engineer, a 3.0 (or maybe it was a 3.3) is about average. I was an engineer at Hopkins, and I always heard that med schools give us a little slack as far as our gpas are concerned. And judging by how I did this application process, I think that's true.

You really should study your butt off for the MCAT though. An awesome MCAT score will help boost your application.

 

[MWillie]

if you have a low gpa like around 3.0 do med schools take into consideration the fact that you went to a very competitive and difficult school like yale, hopkins, or harvard? or would it not matter since they cut off most of their applicants by numbers alone as their first cut?

It means you're fawked cuz you shoulda worked harder at your "top" undergrad.

 

[sdnstud]

Yes, CAL is considered a top-tier school according to SLU and Penn State.

real quick question, does CAL count as prestigious for these purposes?

 

[Stanford_Playah]

yeah i heard harvard and stanford have severe grade inflation but schools like northwestern, duke, and hopkins do not and hopkins is one of the most competitive, well that's what everyone says and i also saw that on princeton review's website. so would they take that into consideration at all? I know it would have been better to go to a less intense school and get better grades but my parents wouldn't let me transfer. i'm asian and they wanted bragging rights i guess to impress the other parents which sucks for me. man i guess i'm screwed.

Try getting into Harvard or Stanford over the non-inflated schools you mention and I'd say that you deserve to reap the benefits of grade inflation for what you have accomplished. The same thing applies for medical schools - if you're smart enough and hard-working enough to get into Yale or Stanford, which have P/F all 4 years, then you deserve it for all the hard work you've put in.

 

[drguy22]

Try getting into Harvard or Stanford over the non-inflated schools you mention and I'd say that you deserve to reap the benefits of grade inflation for what you have accomplished. The same thing applies for medical schools - if you're smart enough and hard-working enough to get into Yale or Stanford, which have P/F all 4 years, then you deserve it for all the hard work you've put in.

some/lots of the people that get into harvard or stanford have MONEY....otherwise they are just dumb f*cks. Im not bashing on anyone who got in with tru merit, cuz they WILL work hard all 4 years despite the fact that the curriculum is P/F. But the people who got in SOLEY because of their connection are gonna be sh*tty docs. Im not saying that using connections is wrong, but u should have other things to back up your canidacy, besides money.

 

[Stanford_Playah]

some/lots of the people that get into harvard or stanford have MONEY....otherwise they are just dumb f*cks. Im not bashing on anyone who got in with tru merit, cuz they WILL work hard all 4 years despite the fact that the curriculum is P/F. But the people who got in SOLEY because of their connection are gonna be sh*tty docs. Im not saying that using connections is wrong, but u should have other things to back up your canidacy, besides money.

x 1,000,000 . . .

 

[Haybrant]

Try getting into Harvard or Stanford over the non-inflated schools you mention and I'd say that you deserve to reap the benefits of grade inflation for what you have accomplished. The same thing applies for medical schools - if you're smart enough and hard-working enough to get into Yale or Stanford, which have P/F all 4 years, then you deserve it for all the hard work you've put in.

its not really a system of reward nor should it be

but hey, is yale 4 years p/f or just 2? i was under the impression that stanford is the only med school that is 4 years p/f.

 

[drguy22]

x 1,000,000 . . .

wats soo confusing...? U said that if you can accompish getting into stanford or harvard you should reap the benefits of P/F and inflation. But is it really an accomplishment if mommy and daddy could buy you into school? Then do you deserve to reap the benefits? The best example is George W. Bush. Cant even say nuclear(he pronouces it nukeular) and peninsula correctly...and he went to yale(i think) . Maybe it doesnt apply as much on the med school level, but it applies a lot to undergrad.

 

[Haybrant]

some/lots of the people that get into harvard or stanford have MONEY....otherwise they are just dumb f*cks. Im not bashing on anyone who got in with tru merit, cuz they WILL work hard all 4 years despite the fact that the curriculum is P/F. But the people who got in SOLEY because of their connection are gonna be sh*tty docs. Im not saying that using connections is wrong, but u should have other things to back up your canidacy, besides money.

this is a pretty useless comment; the process of med entry is done with lots of integrity; I highly doubt many slip through the cracks the way you make it seem; if anything we are talking about less than .5%

 

[drguy22]

this is a pretty useless comment; the process of med entry is done with lots of integrity; I highly doubt many slip through the cracks the way you make it seem; if anything we are talking about less than .5%

im sure medical school is tougher..but it happens there also..but undergrad is worse.

 

[drguy22]

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Polk_Rich_Applicants.htm


http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/archive/03may/EDUC_moneytalks.htm

 

[BOBODR]

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Polk_Rich_Applicants.htm


http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/archive/03may/EDUC_moneytalks.htm

"Many Colleges Admit Sub-Par Students Because They're Rich"... I see this as being no worse than the many colleges who admit sub par students because they are minorities in an attempt at diversity..... That being said there are many smart minorities and many smart rich kids who deserve to be where they are.

 

[drguy22]

"Many Colleges Admit Sub-Par Students Because They're Rich"... I see this as being no worse than the many colleges who admit sub par students because they are minorities in an attempt at diversity..... That being said there are many smart minorities and many smart rich kids who deserve to be where they are.

i agree.