Does a good undergraduate school determine the med school you go to?

[minigirly17]

Hey everyone, I was just wondering if it the undergraduate school you attended determined the medical school you go to. I was thinking about going to a small private college called Willamette in Orgeon, but after graduating going to Oregon Health and Science University. Should I be going to a Undergraduate school with it's own medical school, or is it OK to go to a different Undergraduate than the medical school you are aiming for.

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[gsmithers68]

Hey everyone, I was just wondering if it the undergraduate school you attended determined the medical school you go to. I was thinking about going to a small private college called Willamette in Orgeon, but after graduating going to Oregon Health and Science University. Should I be going to a Undergraduate school with it's own medical school, or is it OK to go to a different Undergraduate than the medical school you are aiming for.

No, it does not matter too much where you go to school unless it is a school with high prestige. Everything after that is a wash... I wouldn't think that me (being from UO) would be held in higher esteem than you from Willamette. I wouldn't worry about it. If you have the grades, MCAT, and ECs to be competitive you will be fine.

 

[Doctor~Detroit]

does forcing new members to wait a while before they can start their own threads reduce the amount of cross-posted threads?

THE ANSWER IS YES!!!!!

 

[baylormed]

I think it depends what medical school you are shooting for. For the most part it doesn't matter if you have a great GPA and you kick the MCAT's butt, along with mildly interesting EC's.

However, Top 10 schools tend to have a lot of graduates from Ivy Leagues and well known undergrads. This doesn't mean it's impossible to get in if you attend Hicksville College in The Middle of Nowhere, USA, but it will probably take a VERY interesting and amazing applicant.

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

Large universities with medical schools affiliated offer a great environment for research and impressive LOR contacts. Also state residency plays a big part with some schools, so if you're really looking to go to a school that takes a ridiculous percentage of in-staters then doing your undergrad there and establishing residency in that state will help. This is difficult in many places because simply attending college and living somewhere is not grounds for becoming a resident of that state. Other factors, like getting a job, registering to vote, buying a home, etc. play into it.

In any even I don't recommend picking your undergrad based on where you want to attend med school. And any decent-sized public or private university will offer the ECs like research, clubs, volunteer opportunities, sports etc. you need. Anyway something like 75% of premeds change their mind and end up not even applying to medical school, and in any given cycle a large number of those applying to US allo don't get in.

 

[RinaBe]

I would say that where you go is part of the equation, but so is how well you do academically at your school. Make sure you work hard wherever you end up, because going to a good school and underperforming won't get you the results you want in the med school application process.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

There is a sticky on this, catch it quick before a new subject is posted in the FAQ.

 

[crimsonkid85]

...or is it OK to go to a different Undergraduate than the medical school you are aiming for.

obviously it is OK to go to a different undergraduate than the med school you are aiming for. what kind of a question is that? do you think HMS is populated entirely by harvard college undergraduates???

 

[SeventhSon]

Hey everyone, I was just wondering if it the undergraduate school you attended determined the medical school you go to. I was thinking about going to a small private college called Willamette in Orgeon, but after graduating going to Oregon Health and Science University. Should I be going to a Undergraduate school with it's own medical school, or is it OK to go to a different Undergraduate than the medical school you are aiming for.

....

*shakes head negatively*

 

[MirrorTodd]

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!

 

[jon stewart]

ohhh sdn.....sdnnn...

how it has not changed one bit....

 

[Robizzle]

There is a sticky on this, catch it quick before a new subject is posted in the FAQ.

Good ol' useful stickies

 

[deleted128318]

However, Top 10 schools tend to have a lot of graduates from Ivy Leagues and well known undergrads. This doesn't mean it's impossible to get in if you attend Hicksville College in The Middle of Nowhere, USA, but it will probably take a VERY interesting and amazing applicant.

I hear this argument beaten to death on SDN... I don't think ivy's have a preference for people from ivy's. But the people that are applying to med school from ivy's had to get into the ivy's to begin with. They had strong SATs, grades, EC, LOR's... and they are more likely to have continued to do that in college. It isn't because they got into an ivy that makes them a better applicant, it's that they were capable of getting into an ivy.

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

I hear this argument beaten to death on SDN... I don't think ivy's have a preference for people from ivy's. But the people that are applying to med school from ivy's had to get into the ivy's to begin with. They had strong SATs, grades, EC, LOR's... and they are more likely to have continued to do that in college. It isn't because they got into an ivy that makes them a better applicant, it's that they were capable of getting into an ivy.

That may be so, but I also think the Ivy League has a proven track record for excellence, with world-class professors and the best facilities and equipment a billion dollar endowment can buy. So that applicant's gpa is more of a known quantity than a gpa from a college that half the admissions committee can't find on a map.

 

[searun]

That may be so, but I also think the Ivy League has a proven track record for excellence, with world-class professors and the best facilities and equipment a billion dollar endowment can buy. So that applicant's gpa is more of a known quantity than a gpa from a college that half the admissions committee can't find on a map.

Willamette is a really fine small liberal arts college in Oregon. People in academia are aware of Willamette. So you go to a big name research school and half of your instructors are 24 year old Ph.D grad students with pimples and not a good command of the English language. At Willamette, all of your professors already have their Ph.D and are granted tenure based upon their ability to teach undergraduates and the average age is 45. In most cases, you will get a better education at Willamette and if you do well, you will have no problem getting into a great medical school. Also great letters of recommendation from professors who know you and care about you. And no, I did not go to Willamette but I know it is a great school. So take you elitist crap and flush it down the toilet....or at least buy your 24 year old instructor a beer when you get to be 21, and don't choke on your brewski if a good looking girl walks by in a short skirt, loser.

 

[jerseydoc1980]

No, it does not matter too much where you go to school unless it is a school with high prestige. Everything after that is a wash... I wouldn't think that me (being from UO) would be held in higher esteem than you from Willamette. I wouldn't worry about it. If you have the grades, MCAT, and ECs to be competitive you will be fine.

i went to an undergraduate school where we were overshadowed by the medical center. while it offered an enormous amount of opportunities for research and shadowing, i think that the undergrads were at a clear disadvantage for acceptance into the medical school, for some reason, they just did not take students from the undergrad college. as people have mentioned before, do well in classes and do extracurriculars that interest you. the mcats are the great equalizer, regardless of where you went to school, so just prepare and do well on them. now im in med school with people from schools id never heard of, many of which are not within a country mile of a medical school or academic health center (if even a community hospital). its nice to go to a name school, i think its helped me get in the door in several instances, but its not a guarantee for anything.

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

Willamette is a really fine small liberal arts college in Oregon. People in academia are aware of Willamette. So you go to a big name research school and half of your instructors are 24 year old Ph.D grad students with pimples and not a good command of the English language. At Willamette, all of your professors already have their Ph.D and are granted tenure based upon their ability to teach undergraduates and the average age is 45. In most cases, you will get a better education at Willamette and if you do well, you will have no problem getting into a great medical school. Also great letters of recommendation from professors who know you and care about you. And no, I did not go to Willamette but I know it is a great school. So take you elitist crap and flush it down the toilet....or at least buy your 24 year old instructor a beer when you get to be 21, and don't choke on your brewski if a good looking girl walks by in a short skirt, loser.

This is so over the top I'm having a hard time figuring out of it's sarcasm or not, so well done if it is. I'm actually 25 and married, went to a small Southern school (~14,000 or so), already in med school, and the furthest thing from an elitist you'll ever meet. But I am a loser. You got me nailed there . The statement you quoted is simply my opinion, stupid or not. And we all know what they say about opinions.

 

[merlin17]

obviously it is OK to go to a different undergraduate than the med school you are aiming for. what kind of a question is that? do you think HMS is populated entirely by harvard college undergraduates???

Its actually kind of sickening how many harvard college students there are at HMS.

 

[Robizzle]

Damn Searun just went buckwild!