Better Chances?

[wanabedoc19]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Will you have a better chance in getting into Harvard medical school if you go to an IVY League school say Cornell University than regular schools?

 

[riceman04]

Will you have a better chance in getting into Harvard medical school if you go to an IVY League school say Cornell University than regular schools?

what do you call a regular school?

If you are comparing a school like Cornell with Duke, Emory, Vanderbilt, Rice, stanford, and many other competitive non-Ivy schools then the answer is no.

And for the other "regular" schools to which you are also refering, I will say that your chances are not much better. School selectivity is a factor, but it is a very small one.

good luck

 

[eastsidaz]

Will you have a better chance in getting into Harvard medical school if you go to an IVY League school say Cornell University than regular schools?

I think it makes a fairly big difference. If you look at who enrolls in the top med schools each year, an enormous amount (probably the vast majority) come from at least top 25 schools. These med schools could easily fill their classes with state schoolers with 4.0s, but they don't. Going to a good school often means you get a break on grades (in my experience especially).

 

[dbhvt]

I think it makes a fairly big difference. If you look at who enrolls in the top med schools each year, an enormous amount (probably the vast majority) come from at least top 25 schools. These med schools could easily fill their classes with state schoolers with 4.0s, but they don't. Going to a good school often means you get a break on grades (in my experience especially).

I second this. For the elite med schools, you can look at where their currently enrolled students are from, and the majority are from elite undergrad schools. These are the facts.

Speculations and heresay tell me that some schools use an admissions system where your GPA is cranked through some sort of a 'rigor' algorithm based on what they think of your undergrad school.

 

[Wahina]

Before you jump to the conclusion that being from a top undergrad is a great advantage because a majority of students at top med schools come from top 20 undergrads, consider that there are a lot of other factors involved. Primarily, consider that the average student at a top 20 undergrad is stronger than the average student at a state school. This will show itself on the MCAT. The average MCAT at an elite undergrad might be 33 or so, while the average MCAT at a state school is probably 26. So while it's true that med schools could fill their class with state school 4.0's, they probably could not fill their class with state school 4.0/38's because there aren't many. I think it probably does make some difference to be from a top undergrad, but I also think the fact that top med schools fill their classes with Ivy League undergraduates has a lot more to do with top students picking top schools for undergrad and med school than it does Ivy League preference. If you are a great student and you can earn a 3.9+/37+ and get involved with EC's and research at a lesser known school, you will be successful in the process whether you choose Ivy League or not.

 

[Law2Doc]

Will you have a better chance in getting into Harvard medical school if you go to an IVY League school say Cornell University than regular schools?

Most people have a zero chance of getting into harvard no matter where they are coming from. Since 2 times zero is still zero, I would say no.
Sure, if two candidates had totally equal applications (which never occurs), but one had a 4.0 from an ivy and another had a 4.0 from noname u, the ivy person would be more likely to get the nod. But that doesn't really translate into appreciably better odds. Do the best you can at wherever you are, and if Harvard is meant to be, it will happen.

 

[dbhvt]

Before you jump to the conclusion that being from a top undergrad is a great advantage because a majority of students at top med schools come from top 20 undergrads, consider that there are a lot of other factors involved. Primarily, consider that the average student at a top 20 undergrad is stronger than the average student at a state school. This will show itself on the MCAT. The average MCAT at an elite undergrad might be 33 or so, while the average MCAT at a state school is probably 26. So while it's true that med schools could fill their class with state school 4.0's, they probably could not fill their class with state school 4.0/38's because there aren't many. I think it probably does make some difference to be from a top undergrad, but I also think the fact that top med schools fill their classes with Ivy League undergraduates has a lot more to do with top students picking top schools for undergrad and med school than it does Ivy League preference. If you are a great student and you can earn a 3.9+/37+ and get involved with EC's and research at a lesser known school, you will be successful in the process whether you choose Ivy League or not.

To play devils advocate. The average student at an elite school is stronger than the average student at a state school--I'll buy that. But I have consistently heard from profs who have been in both places that the difference washes out at the top of the distribution, i.e. the best students at a state school are every bit as good as the best students at an elite school. So, if we belive that elite medical schools are trying to fill their class with the best students out there, and we believe my last statement, then there is a disconnect with what happens in reality.

To the OP, I don't think you should go to Cornell over, say SUNY Syracuse, just because you think it will make a difference in where you go to medical school. The thing about trying to figure out the numbers here is there is no way to factor in how YOU would do at the different schools. If you don't think you would feel comfortable and happy at Cornell, you probably won't do as well there. If you don't feel you would be challenged enough at whatever state school you may be considering, you probably won't do very well there.

I should really be working on my proposal, but all this crazy waiting for decisions has me glued to SDN. Help. Someone. I'm sinking... sinking...

 

[beponychick]

Most people have a zero chance of getting into harvard no matter where they are coming from. Since 2 times zero is still zero, I would so no.
Sure, if two candidates had totally equal applications (which never occurs), but one had a 4.0 from an ivy and another had a 4.0 from noname u, the ivy person would be more likely to get the nod. But that doesn't really translate into appreciably better odds. Do the best you can at wherever you are, and if Harvard is meant to be, it will happen.

I tend to agree with this. As a reapplicant from an Ivy school, I will say that yours numbers DO matter, MUCH more than the school that you went to. Two years ago, I had a subpar MCAT and GPA and had to retake the MCAT and get a 4.0 in my masters in order to get into medical school this year. So while my school may have helped me land allopathic interviews, even with very low numbers, it didnt give me an acceptance until I improved my scores.

Good luck, and dont stress so much about Harvard.