Do ADCOMs like Ivy League applicants better than Public Ivy applicants? Does school actually matter?

[GunnerBMS]

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I keep getting conflicting stories. Some people tell me that going to a Public Ivy is seen as the same level as Ivy league schools but that both are seen as above in rigor than every other school out there. Then an advisor told me that undergrad reputation doesn't really matter for admission to a medical school, just that you are able to maintain a high GPA and score well on the MCAT. I also keep reading on here that Ivy League is just viewed as better than everyone else. Lets just settle it here and get the truth!

BTW, I went to a public ivy, Penn State-Altoona, so this really matters to me since I don't want to spend money on Apps to schools that discriminate against my school! thanks a bunch everyone

 

[Lord Osis]

public ivy? 😵😵😵

 

[loldanny913]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Ivy

 

[:))]

I definitely wouldn't consider PSU-Altoona a public ivy. I don't mean to be mean, just being realistic. It has over an 80% acceptance rate. "Public Ivys" are more like Berkley, UCLA, Michigan, Wisconsin, UVA, etc.

 

[WillburCobb]

I like how commonplace and broad the term "public ivy" has become in my ~5 years on SDN. You Gen Y-ers....

 

[Doudline]

 

[Holmwood]

I keep getting conflicting stories. Some people tell me that going to a Public Ivy is seen as the same level as Ivy league schools but that both are seen as above in rigor than every other school out there. Then an advisor told me that undergrad reputation doesn't really matter for admission to a medical school, just that you are able to maintain a high GPA and score well on the MCAT. I also keep reading on here that Ivy League is just viewed as better than everyone else. Lets just settle it here and get the truth!

BTW, I went to a public ivy, Penn State-Altoona, so this really matters to me since I don't want to spend money on Apps to schools that discriminate against my school! thanks a bunch everyone

They like high performing students in academics and extracurricular who can make a strong statement for their desire to pursue medicine.
That's it.

Your school name isn't going to be weighed as heavily as you think.

 

[GunnerBMS]

They like high performing students in academics and extracurricular who can make a strong statement for their desire to pursue medicine.
That's it.

Your school name isn't going to be weighed as heavily as you think.

thank you for the first serious response...but I was wondering, if school isn't weighted much at all then why are people trying to go to Ivy league and schools and Public Ivies? It seems like it is smarter to go to a smaller school where you can kill the curriculum and get a 4.0 with sick letters of rec

 

[ciestar]

lmao, PSU-Altoona wouldn't be designated as a Public Ivy.
PSU's commonwealth campuses were no where near the rigor of Main Campus.

Even so, most people find the term Public Ivy to be laughable, so avoid it.

 

[Holmwood]

thank you for the first serious response...but I was wondering, if school isn't weighted much at all then why are people trying to go to Ivy league and schools and Public Ivies? It seems like it is smarter to go to a smaller school where you can kill the curriculum and get a 4.0 with sick letters of rec

That's the point~ Smaller schools typically have smaller classrooms as well, and that's amazing for LOR opportunities.


People who attend Ivy league schools typically are high-performing individuals. So when you see a lot of ivy league grads going into medical school, many are fooled into thinking that it was the school's image that assured their acceptance. In reality, those same high-performing individuals can get into medical schools at a high rate regardless of the institution they attended. It's a correlation not a causation.

Bigger schools may have more opportunities for research and grant funding.
For instance, my neuroscience lab couldn't even afford equipment for perfusions and immunohistochemistry (state university). This severely limited our ability to produce more comprehensive results. . . In addition, networking through pre-health clubs? That's as far as I know.

 

[WillburCobb]

thank you for the first serious response...but I was wondering, if school isn't weighted much at all then why are people trying to go to Ivy league and schools and Public Ivies? It seems like it is smarter to go to a smaller school where you can kill the curriculum and get a 4.0 with sick letters of rec

This has been debated/discussed ad nauseam on here (particularly within the past year), hence the sarcastic responses. You seem to be aware that such discussions exist on here, so I'm sure you're aware of the search function. Perhaps you should read those threads more carefully.

 

[looncat]

The term "Public Ivy" annoys me to no end, don't use it...and this is coming from someone who goes to ucb; it's not a compliment.
I've been told by adcoms, in person, that school matters when they look at your gpa but not as much as you probably think it does.

 

[Microglia]

School name matters very little to adcoms. Most schools always accept a few people from top top schools like Harvard, Yale, etc to say that they have them (also because they tend to be stellar applicants), but it really doesn't give you a huge boost. Numbers, EC's, and recs. Thats what gets people in.

Tl;dr: you either get a boost or nothing, never discrimination based on school name. This does not hold up for residency with med school name (or at least I hear), however.

 

[road2md]

The term "Public Ivy" annoys me to no end, don't use it...and this is coming from someone who goes to ucb; it's not a compliment.
I've been told by adcoms, in person, that school matters when they look at your gpa but not as much as you probably think it does.

looncat is spot on re: marginal benefit of attending a prestigious university for undergrad. I can't speak for every school, but it appears most adcoms know which colleges are difficult to get high GPAs. They do acknowledge this, but the benefit is really marginal overall.

I also agree with Microglia. No one will really discriminate against you. I would apply to schools based on your numbers, EC's and recs. And yes, unfortunately a different story for residency programs... but even still, at the end of the day, it mostly comes down to numbers and recs

 

[jsquared91]

I keep getting conflicting stories. Some people tell me that going to a Public Ivy is seen as the same level as Ivy league schools but that both are seen as above in rigor than every other school out there. Then an advisor told me that undergrad reputation doesn't really matter for admission to a medical school, just that you are able to maintain a high GPA and score well on the MCAT. I also keep reading on here that Ivy League is just viewed as better than everyone else. Lets just settle it here and get the truth!
BTW, I went to a public ivy, Penn State-Altoona, so this really matters to me since I don't want to spend money on Apps to schools that discriminate against my school! thanks a bunch everyone

My personal experience at a selective small private school was that it prepared for and supported me through the application process. Fairly well known school in the region, but I don't expect the name will help me at all. Some of my friends applying from less selective schools don't have the network (advisors, alums, etc) to strengthen their application. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered if I had another network to rely on, but I don't really have friends/family in medicine. I also had options for great LOR's due to size and it was cheaper (after aid) than my state schools.

This worked for me, but I don't think I would have been a good fit at a larger school. My $0.02 is to pick an undergrad that fits your style in and outside the classroom, likely better for you to find/create LOR/EC opportunities and have a better GPA.

 

[claduva94]

 

[Afford]

I doubt it. There are some undergrads that are feeders to medical school, like harvard undergrad to harvard medical school, but that's probably because they are really accomplished and they got strong letters of rec from Harvard professors. You might be able to get a more detailed committee letter if the undergrad school has more experience with sending people to medical school, but I don't really know what's inside a committee letter. I would say the best things about Ivy Leagues are the people you're around and the networking. It's also better if you decide one day that med school isn't right for you because an Ivy League degree has much stronger networking connections.

 

[altblue]

All I have to point out is that I don't see people from extremely large, good-but-not-prestigious schools like MSU, OSU, and Penn State often on class make-ups of med schools. One would expect that out of 25-40k students, some would have stats worthy of highly-ranked med schools. But this is just from my experience.

IIRC, one of the adcoms here also said that some adcoms like to see top 50 schools, so maybe the difference between Harvard and Michigan is less than, say, Michigan and Arizona State.

 

[Aerus]

Even though I apparently go to one, the term makes me cringe so hard whenever I see it. It's an embarrassment to be labeled as such.

OP, your school isn't even on the list of "public ivy"s.

 

[Dr Turkelton]

lol @ Penn State-Altoona being a public Ivy.

 

[LAtoDavis]

Some "public ivy" schools have a lot less grade inflation than real ivy league schools. Just saying.

 

[forfun135]

I do wish the med schools would fight to give me IIs when they see my school name (top-10). But, I don't have any IIs yet.

It makes more sense to worry about your achievement than the school name. What is your GPA/MCAT/EC?

 

[ciestar]

All I have to point out is that I don't see people from extremely large, good-but-not-prestigious schools like MSU, OSU, and Penn State often on class make-ups of med schools. One would expect that out of 25-40k students, some would have stats worthy of highly-ranked med schools. But this is just from my experience.

IIRC, one of the adcoms here also said that some adcoms like to see top 50 schools, so maybe the difference between Harvard and Michigan is less than, say, Michigan and Arizona State.

Even out of that many students, by the time I graduated the pre-med population was quite small. Business and engineering are the majors overflowing with wonderful students (which is why recruiters love to visit)

 

[GunnerBMS]

I do wish the med schools would fight to give me IIs when they see my school name (top-10). But, I don't have any IIs yet.

It makes more sense to worry about your achievement than the school name. What is your GPA/MCAT/EC?

3.8 cGPA, 3.5 sGPA, 31 MCAT, ECs include research in a a neuroscience lab, volunteering in West Virginia over a summer, shadowing a Nurse in the ER, and some small achievements like Dean's List 6 semesters in a row

 

[demosthenes102]

Good grief. There was a thread just a couple of days ago basically asking the same thing.

Schools do hold a small amount of bias in favor of Ivy Leagues. But having a bad GPA and/or MCAT isn't going to save you even if you came from an Ivy League.

Some of the main benefits of going to an Ivy League are the connections and better networking opportunities, as well as opportunities for research and other extracurriculars. That being said, if you didn't go to an Ivy League and managed to get opportunities for research, letters of recommendations, clinical shadowing and volunteering, and racked up an impressive CV, you should be fine.

You have to understand that luck is a good portion of the medical school application process. Some schools (including great ones) may pick you up for an interview, while many of the others that you apply to won't bite for whatever reason. Trying to divine what exactly goes on in admissions in each school will give you a migraine.

 

[demosthenes102]

3.8 cGPA, 3.5 sGPA, 31 MCAT, ECs include research in a a neuroscience lab, volunteering in West Virginia over a summer, shadowing a Nurse in the ER, and some small achievements like Dean's List 6 semesters in a row

Your stats should be all right, I would try to improve the science GPA a bit, and get some more research, shadowing and volunteering done. You'll be fine as far as your undergrad is concerned.

 

[ciestar]

3.8 cGPA, 3.5 sGPA, 31 MCAT, ECs include research in a a neuroscience lab, volunteering in West Virginia over a summer, shadowing a Nurse in the ER, and some small achievements like Dean's List 6 semesters in a row

You just need to add actual physician shadowing

 

[forfun135]

If it is a balance 31, I don't see how the school name can hurt you. You should worry about your saving account. Well, it will be quite expensive to go for interviews.

 

[tantacles]

I keep getting conflicting stories. Some people tell me that going to a Public Ivy is seen as the same level as Ivy league schools but that both are seen as above in rigor than every other school out there. Then an advisor told me that undergrad reputation doesn't really matter for admission to a medical school, just that you are able to maintain a high GPA and score well on the MCAT. I also keep reading on here that Ivy League is just viewed as better than everyone else. Lets just settle it here and get the truth!

BTW, I went to a public ivy, Penn State-Altoona, so this really matters to me since I don't want to spend money on Apps to schools that discriminate against my school! thanks a bunch everyone

Your adviser gave you sound advice; take it.

 

[mysdnhandle]

.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

LOL, Penn State - Altoona is SO PRESTIGIOUS. The Harvard of west-central Blair County, PA.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

y'all rolling in a toast bread