any success from students comming from No-Name schools?

[jmejia1]

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Just wondering how many of you guys that didnt' attend better-known schools have fared. I go to a Cal State and find myself being one of the few applicants at interviews that didn't attend schools like UCLA, Berkeley, Stanford and so forth.

I've done pretty well, I had to defend my school during an interview most recently, though. The interviewer asked me how much harder a class at a Cal State can me compared to a class at a community college. I was prepared for the question though because a buddy of mine was asked (at this same school last year) how he figured he could handle the rigours of that particular school comming from a Cal State given that a large number of enrollees come from 1st tier schools.

Personally, I think such questions or thinking are narrow-minded. I think that if one works hard enough and take initiative it doens't matter what undergrad one went to.

 

[tonem]

I went to SJSU now I'm at Pitt which is a decent medical school. As a matter of fact there are two of us in my class along with 3 SFSU alumni

 

[jargon124]

According to USNews, I attend a "second tier school" (whatever that means) - the University of Arizona. I have lots of interview invitations (11 total so far) and one acceptance (NYU), but interestingly, I have not heard anything from many "top-ten" sorts of schools (i.e. Harvard, UPenn, Yale, Hopkins) and I was outright rejected without interview from Cornell. I have a perfect GPA and well above average MCATs. I don't know if being from UofA is what is keeping me out of the elite schools, but it sure feels like it.

As far as having to defend your school, that is pretty rediculous and I would be offended if I were asked to do so in an interview. It dies sound strange though, when all the interviewees are sitting aroung the table and the Dean asks us to say where we are from and everyone answers with "Harvard, Yale, etc" and Jargon comes through with "University of Arizona". Lol. Whatever, if they want to be elitist that's fine. Screw them. 😀

 

[Dylann FMD]

Wow, yeah, I totally know what you guys are going through. I go to a smaller state school in Wisconsin, and though I have killer stats, I have had to defend my school everywhere I go. I was able to secure interviews at a bunch of good places (Hopkins, Wash U, Case, Michigan, Mayo), but when going to most of these places, I had to at least explain my school at each of them. When i went to my state school, they even asked why I bothered going to a state school--I feel awkward always having to defend it, since I feel my college did a good job in preparing me for med school. I found out I got into Case within 2 weeks of interviewing, and I really like the school, so I guess it ends well.

The only school I am still, errr, somewhat bitter towards is Hopkins. I felt almost offended by how my interviewer handled the questioning of my school. But after my entire Hopkins experience, I don't think I could stand being there for four years anyways!

Good luck to all the no-name school applicants from one your teammates!

 

[racergirl]

At my Northwestern interview, people were kinda butt-heads about my school. I was the only one there who didn't attend a "big name school" I guess. Well so what? I WAS AT THE INTERVIEW, WASN'T I??? Sheesh. To tell the truth, the whole NW additude kinda turned me off. Even if accepted, I don't think I'll attend (though Chicago's cool). This was the only time my school came up in a bad way in interviews, however...

 

[idiot]

I'm also from a no-name school - or as I like to put it, "where you only need a pulse to get accepted." I interviewed at all seven schools I applied to, and am currently awaiting the TX match and word from Baylor. However, I just recently interviewed at Baylor and believed before I finally got the call that my no-name transcripts would effectively end my file there.

Obviously I was wrong, although I'd say well over half of the other interviewees were ivies, the rest a fair mix of top-tens (you're asked to give a personal introduction to the group the first day).

 

[isa]

Jmejia,

I have an acquaintance at Stanford who went to San Diego State. There's an associate professor from Boston University I spoke with last week who went to Cal State Pomona for undergrad and got into UCSD for med school.

Hope this helps.

 

[sundevil1]

I came from a school that I think is well known, but unfortunately well known for the wrong reasons. I don't think I'm in as bad a shape as jargon though, if you are from UofA, forget about it (j/k). I haven't had to defend my school much but I think it is very akward to say ASU when everyone else says Yale, Princeton, JHU, etc. I am very happy with the education I got at ASU and confident that I can compete with any of the other applicants, whether or not schools give me a chance is up to them, there is only so much we can do. I think about my experiences at ASU and don't regret for one moment having gone there. I don't think we have to defend anything, let your app., gpa, mcat and rec. letters speak for themselves. If a med school has a problem with what school you attended it should be clear what it is they value in a student.

 

[italianlove]

Hey Jmejia,

It's funny that you posted this topic because I was right about to ask the same question. 😛 I was inspired to start a topic about this very thing because of what happened to me this morning.

Here's my story, it's pretty funny actually. So I call up the scheduling office to make an interview appointment at Georgetown. So I choose a date, whatever and then the line of questioning with the interview lady begins...

Lady: "So what undergrad institution are you coming from?"
Me: "Saint Louis University."
Lady: "Uhh, what?" (surprised tone)
Me: "Saint Louis University."
Lady: "Oh, where's that?"
Me: "Saint Louis." (banging my head against my wall, btw, it turns out that she was a geography major in college)
Lady: "Ahh, so in Missouri."
Me: "Yes, that's correct."
Lady: "Ok, well I've never heard of that one. But anyway you are scheduled to interview..."

So I guess we can all see what I will be up against on interview day. It's interesting because there are only 4 Jesuit medical schools in the country and SLU is one of them so I was a bit shocked when she was like "Where?" But anyways, the hell with it. I figure if you're gonna send me an interview invite then you think I'm qualified enough to go there (on paper) so I'll try not to worry about it too much.

I was just wondering if anyone else had these experiences while at their interview? How did you deal with it (without punching the Stanford interviewees in the face; jk 😉 )? If my interviewer asks me the same question that yours did (which I think is totally inappropriate) I hope that I can keep my cool without reaching over the desk and strangling them!

Anyway, take care everyone and let me know if you've had similar experiences to Jmejia, I'd love to hear about them! Ciao, and good luck to all (especially us second-rate university-goers! 😀 ).

 

[Jalby]

A good reply to people who question what school you come from would be to point out your MCAT scores. That's the entire point of standardized testing.

 

[Jalby]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I hate the Georgetown admissions department.

 

[italianlove]

Originally posted by Jalbrekt:
•A good reply to people who question what school you come from would be to point out your MCAT scores. That's the entire point of standardized testing.•••

LOL!

😉 Good point Jalbrekt. I'll have to try that if I am asked this lame-ass question. Ciao.

 

[Mossjoh]

Aquinas College <img src="graemlins/wowie.gif" border="0" alt="[Wowie]" /> and multiple medical school acceptances....yes it can be done

 

[Dr.G]

I attend Rutgers (the state university of NJ)- I thought that I may have to defend my school at interviews but non of my interviewers seemed to have any problems with it. On the other hand, I could not believe the reactions of some of the brats who I interviewed with.
It doesn't really matter though because I have been accepted at 7 schools so far and waitlisted/rejected from none- I'd really like to tell that to some of the kids I interviewed with at UPENN.
😉

 

[lamyers1]

My friend had a similar experience at Baylor. His nametag said "University of Southern Alabama" (instead of South Alabama, no biggie) and several rude people were like, "oh, where is THAT school? And he, being an extremely sarcastic person (already feeling odd as he is Sikh sp? and sometimes feels out of place) always replied "uh, in Southern Alabama?" and gave them that idiot look. He came away feeling like crap. He said they looked at him like he was making plane noises and was staring at their tower or something. Sorry, a little off topic. BTW he got in but is going to UAB. Yay!

 

[buglady]

Originally posted by jargon124:
•According to USNews, I attend a "second tier school" (whatever that means) - the University of Arizona. I have lots of interview invitations (11 total so far) and one acceptance (NYU), but interestingly, I have not heard anything from many "top-ten" sorts of schools (i.e. Harvard, UPenn, Yale, Hopkins) and I was outright rejected without interview from Cornell. I have a perfect GPA and well above average MCATs. I don't know if being from UofA is what is keeping me out of the elite schools, but it sure feels like it.

As far as having to defend your school, that is pretty rediculous and I would be offended if I were asked to do so in an interview. It dies sound strange though, when all the interviewees are sitting aroung the table and the Dean asks us to say where we are from and everyone answers with "Harvard, Yale, etc" and Jargon comes through with "University of Arizona". Lol. Whatever, if they want to be elitist that's fine. Screw them. 😀 •••

hey jargon and sundevil, when the time comes around next year (at least i'm hoping next year) for me to be at interviews, i'll have to tell everyone where I went: Northern Arizona University! At least you guys go/went to one of the big name schools in Arizona. When I tell people where I went to school (I live in CA), they stare at me blankly and reply, "Uh, you mean ASU?" Whatever dude. I actually was recruited there for athletics, so i guess my "choice" of a college can be justified to some people. But, in all honesty, I wanted to get the hell out of California when i graduated high school and Arizona was where I ended up. Arizona is a beautful place and Flagstaff was a great college town (close to the Grand Canyon, Sedona and Snowbowl). I don't regret going there one bit. Let's hear it for the AZ state schools!

 

[Keith]

Cal State School. At this point I have 13 interviews and I received secondaries from every UC and Stanford. Have an interview scheduled at UCSD and still awaiting interview decisions from the others. (August MCATer) U-Michigan is the highest ranked school that has invited me for an interview thus far.
I have been asked about my school at interviews but I think strong MCATs balance it out for those with elitist attitudes. I've had out-of-state interviewers refer to my school as "UC ____" as they were unfamiliar with the dual system in California. If they can't get past name recognition, you probably don't want to be there anyway.

 

[vyc]

my theory is that a lot of private schools care more about name than state schools.

but then on the other hand, UC med schools favor UC undergrads.

so basically everyone looks after their own.
yes, it's bull ****. but that's the way it seems to go.

 

[EpiII]

I went to a small private Christian undergrad school. I have interviewed at all 5 UCs and have heard (request for interviews) from 6 out the 8 schools that I applied to.

Yesterday, I had to answer this question: "Why did you choose your undergrad school?" If they do not ask this question of all the applicants, then I think it is an inappropriate question. First, I made the decision to go there 10-11 years ago. Second, would you not ask this question of a person who went to Stanford (where my interviewer went to undergrad)? What are you getting at? I can't think of a good piece of info that you would glean from that answer. This person did not ask why I went to UCLA School of Public Health later.

Also, I have heard: "Where is that school located? They do not have a good pre med program there do they, because I do not think we have ever had an applicant from there before."

I have to agree with the previous posters. Many interviewers can ask some very rude and offensive questions. (I am not saying these that I have posted are really offensive. I have not posted the ones that are the worst because they go with another topic.)

 

[El Jefe]

Originally posted by Epi:
•"Why did you choose your undergrad school?" •••

Everyone who did the Hopkins secondary got this question.

 

[Original]

I went/go to a no name school and was invited to interview at 5 of the 8 "top-ten schools" I applied to. I applied to 16 schools total. No love from the non-"top-ten" schools. Strange.

The trouble I had at one school was with the students. They assumed I was stupid as soon as I told them where I go to school. They started speaking really slowly and almost started drawing pictures to illustrate what they were talking about. It was funny! I got upset and sarcastic. In my 20/20 hindsight, I regreted that they got a reaction out of me; and I thought they'll speak to the director and I wouldn't get in. I got a call from him yesterday. In like gin!

At another school I was asked why i decided to attend my undergrad school. The question was well-intended. I could tell that he was just genuinely curious, so I didn't take offense for 1 sec. I told him that the price-quality index at my school is near unbeatable. I also told him that I'm not a huge fan of cold weather.

I think one is definitely faced with an uphill climb coming from a less-known school; however, the key is to do something radical that will make you "unignorable" period.

 

[Starflyr]

I came from a VERY unknown wandering-the-tiers womens college. We had 270 or so my freshman year and 450 or so when I graduated (thats total student body, not my class). I applied in Tx and was accepted to my first choice (UTMB). It never came up in interviews. And no, I didnt have stellar stats - ~3.5, and a 30 mcat. I do think that "top tier" schools are more concerned with undergrad names - and some are worse than others. However, I think that coming from an unknown can be at least intriguing. The thing you want to avoid is being the second person to apply from your school - when the first person had a 3.9 and a 15 MCAT or something.

Star

 

[Thewonderer]

I am just wondering what you guys mean by stellar MCAT scores putting you on a more level playing field. Is that MCAT score 35+ or 40+? Is there research experience that does the same as the stellar MCAT score?

 

[Keith]

thewonderer--- i consider my 11V,10P,12B,Q as "strong MCATs". i have a 3.81 cum gpa from a "no name school". if i hadn't done well on the MCAT, i could see the elitists saying, "see, he only got good grades because he attended a soft undergrad school". we all sat for the same exam and had the same time to do it, so whether you attended harvard or "small unk univ X", you can't B.S. your way through the MCAT. that's why i said the MCATs balance it out in the minds of the elitists.

 

[EpiII]

Originally posted by Jefe:
•

Everyone who did the Hopkins secondary got this question.•••

That is exactly my point. If everyone gets the question, then it is a fair, but when the only people that get asked about their reasoning for undergrad school are those from no-name schools, then it is goofy.

Why wasn't I asked why I choose UCLA for grad school as opposed to some other grad school?

 

[Street Philosopher]

maybe they were trying to find out your personality. for example, is this the kind of person that takes the easier path to boost up the resume/stats? or has this person welcomed the challenge of a tougher university? or does this applicant have priorities other than prestige? for example, does this person care more about staying close to family and taking care of grandparents/children at the cost of the prestige of higher ranked schools? I see a wide range of possible motives, and i don't necessarily see it as a something which "no good can come out of".

 

[USeF]

Originally posted by Original:
•I went/go to a no name school and was invited to interview at 5 of the 8 "top-ten schools" I applied to. I applied to 16 schools total. No love from the non-"top-ten" schools. Strange.
...
I think one is definitely faced with an uphill climb coming from a less-known school; however, the key is to do something radical that will make you "unignorable" period.•••

damn crispy, I'd take that reverse-prejudice ANYDAY. 😛 For some reason I'm thinking your undergrad's in NC?

The why USF? question came up at 3 of 5 schools, including in-state UF. Yet in my case, I sorta lead to it by giving my choronological story of a 'medical magnet' high school and my experiences in undergrad. I got in to the three schools I applied to out of H.S. (Boston U, UF, USF) and my choices were in that order until the last month of H.S. when (1) my dad got promoted to head of R&D @ his french-based company, so he was going to start travelling to france and japan monthly. My mom, being an immigrant with my dad, couldn't bear losing both her boys at the same time. (2) So I contact USF's Honors program and let them know I need to know my financial package and that it's my deciding factor between UF [no assistance] and Boston U [university scholarship- 15K]. Two days later I get my letter, and my aid amounts to a full ride [tution, room/board]. Though still tough to let those pipe dreams wash down, it was a no brainer at that point. I have completely immersed myself in the undergrad experience at this booming school (8th largest by pop. now w/ 38,000) and have only good things to say about my decision and what it has offered me.

The thing that keeps putting a smile on my face about this thread is how genuinely satisfied all of us have been with our decisions. a good sign.
keep it real, underdog undergrads! 😀

 

[amonkeybutt]

I went to my state school, U of Oregon. So far I have interviewed at OHSU (accepted) and been invited to interview at Rochester, Iowa, and Cincinnati (not top ten but solid schools). Secondaries from Stanford and UCSF. The question of "why you went to U of O" came up at OHSU but only in terms of why didn't you want to go out of state? I don't take offense to these types of questions since I am confident with my choice and can defend it. If they have a problem, then screw them because I probably won't be happy there anyways.

 

[Jessica]

I also go to a California State University, and SF and LA did not seem to have any issues with that (I was just accepted to SF 😀 .)

However, my ivy experience was another story. The interviewer asked how I could justify being prepared to handle med school curriculum with my undergrad education (I am a biochem major, so I have what I would consider to be a pretty strong science background, and I got a 37Q on my MCAT, so I did not really know what the point of tha ? was...) the interviewer then proceeded to leaf through my entire coursework section for what seemed like ten minutes to hunt for "evidence of advanced science courses" in my record. To top it off, he aked if my meager family income was fake(literally, in those exact words), and then said "Bush would love you guys" 😕 .... gave me a LOVELY impression of the school. Sheez.

 

[SMW]

Originally posted by Jessica:
•However, my ivy experience was another story. The interviewer asked how I could justify being prepared to handle med school curriculum with my undergrad education (I am a biochem major, so I have what I would consider to be a pretty strong science background, and I got a 37Q on my MCAT, so I did not really know what the point of tha ? was...) the interviewer then proceeded to leaf through my entire coursework section for what seemed like ten minutes to hunt for "evidence of advanced science courses" in my record. To top it off, he aked if my meager family income was fake(literally, in those exact words), and then said "Bush would love you guys" 😕 .... gave me a LOVELY impression of the school. Sheez.•••

I take it that was Harvard? 🙄 😉 How exactly did you answer that insulting question?

 

[pre-hawkdoc]

Originally posted by Epi:
[QB]
"Why did you choose your undergrad school?"

Also, I have heard: "Where is that school located? QB]••

I fail to see how this is different that "why did you choose to apply to our school?" It seems to me that they could just be trying to get at what things are important to you and what type of person you are.
As for location, I had an interviewEE ask me where IOWA (the state, not the school) was (I'm an IA res and go to the U of Iowa), so this probably is a question of curiosity and not trying to bash your undergrad school.

 

[Jessica]

Yes SMW, it was the big H. Those insulting (in my opinion) questions aside, the experience there was awesome. The students and other faculty I got to meet were incredible, I would LOVE to go there...

As far as the questions go, I told my interviewer that as a science major, I am confident that I have the aptitude for success in med school. I also said that I felt that my MCAT scores were representative of my ability to handle the rigors of a med school curriculum. And I told this person that my family income was an honest figure (and after I explained that my mom did not go to college and works as a secretary, and is a single parent raising two kids, the interviewer said "well, then I guess that figure makes sense, doesn't it?" 🙄 )

 

[jmejia1]

Hi Jessica, I am now curious as to what Cal State you attend. I attend the Cal State L.A., what about you?

 

[Darwin]

I attend the same school as Jessica - although I did my undergraduate at a UC. Nevertheless, I have had 12 interview offers and have attended 9 of them so far and have yet to be asked anything about the school I attend. Maybe it's because I'm doing my graduate work there and they're only concerned with undergrad., but I certainly expected some questioning as to why, after graduating from a UC with a good gpa, did I decide to do my graduate work at a cal. state.

That said, I can tell you that from my experience the students at the cal. state I attend are getting a much better education in terms of preparation for medical school. The UC was very text oriented while at the cal. state the students really get to get their hands "wet". Two different approaches...I like the hands on.

OH BTW - Jessica, congrats!!!!!!! on SF!!!!! 😀 I've got my Michigan interview coming up so I'll be trying to track you down to ask a couple of questions. If not, I know I can find you here 🙂

 

[Jalby]

Why are you guys at that school? Having grown up in San Bernardino (on Dover street, if you know where that is) and went to Cajon high school, I know how bad that place can be. Check out it's rankings in the kid friendly city (www.zpg.org) My Parents moved to Redlands the day I graduated.

 

[UCLA2000]

Darwin thought you disappeared bro! Congrats on your Michigan interview. Give me an update any new accepts?

 

[brickmanli]

I attended the University at Buffalo and have received three top 20 interviews. However, if I were to pick my undergrad again, I would go to the most prestigious ones (in this case, Yale or Cornell). I went to Buffalo because I was given a scholarship that covers everything and then some. But in retrospect, I regret my decision since it's much harder to get noticed and to collaborate with famous professors. Furthermore, there's this slacker mentality in my school, and being a non-conformist over there is almost taboo.

My friend graduated from Yale with a 3.5 GPA and 33 MCAT, and got interviews from Harvard, Hopkins, and Duke. But I have a 4.0 and a 33 and am still waiting. If you're still in high school and was accepted at an Ivy or MIT, GO THERE! There's a reason people go there, and it's not just for the rich kids.

 

[Keith]

congrats jessica!!!!!!!!!! that school rocks!!!!!

 

[cm7b5]

From my experiences the following seems to be true: Some "top ten" medical schools are certainly willing to interview exceptional students from no-name schools. From the top-tier schools I have been to, Columbia and UPenn fit this profile.....When I was at my Penn interview I met many students from no-name schools......and I was really excited..it was the first interview I saw a fellow SUNY student at!!!...I also had my student interview with a a med student from some small no-name liberal arts school, which was really cool...However, although Columbia may interview many no-name-school students they seem not too accept too many.....flipping through their class book showed me how homogenous their class really was.......it was quite disconcerning....