I have heard conflicting opinions and one person told me that they know of someone who went to the indiana university bloomington, had a 3.9 GPA in biochemistry, and got a 38 on the MCAT yet didn't get into medical school. Is this bull**** or something i should take to heart? For instance would it make much of a difference if i went to a Notre Dame instead of indiana university bloomington or IUPUI.
Does attending a private university instead of a public one really matter?
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No it doesn't matter where you go to college your friend was either lying about the stats or there is some other red flag in his/her application or they must have only applied to top 10 schools.
When you look back in 10 years at your time in college the main things you will remember is the fun you had and the debt you racked up. Go someplace you like but remember money is an issue whether you end up in medicine or not.
When you look back in 10 years at your time in college the main things you will remember is the fun you had and the debt you racked up. Go someplace you like but remember money is an issue whether you end up in medicine or not.
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Use the search feature, this has been contested many times before...
BTW: NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BTW: NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Yes and no. No in the sense it doesn't matter for medical school.
Yes because generally private universities have more opportunities for students overall as there's more resources/students (esp w/ states cutting back everything).
If you're aggressive and ambitious, you'll be fine at either. If you're more passive, you'll get more opportunities at a private one.
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That only applies if you're talking about a large and wealthy private school vs. a small state institution. if anything, I think the bigger state schools will have more going on. They might not have the absurd endowment that Harvard can throw out, but chances are pretty good they'll have a lot more classes and student organizations to choose from.
To answer the original question, the funding source of your college is completely irrelevant. Similarly, the perceived quality of your school is a very minor factor in the admissions process.
It is true that people with outrageously good stats sometimes go without med school acceptances, but i can promise you that is 100% their fault. The school they went to had nothing to do with it. Chances are they had a bad rec letter or interview worse than Tom Cruise or something.
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Maybe. My large public university definitely had a lot more opportunities than all but one of the private schools within the region, and that one private school had comparable opportunities (but a better D1 basketball team). The other difference was that the public school is $7000/year and the private school is $28,000/year.
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50% of my class is from the Ivy League. I've never heard them doing something there that wasn't available in an equivalent form at my large public state university.
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TBH I'd go public.
I regret choosing private just because of the insane cost. After scholarships and receiving no financial aid I'll be in about 78k debt total for all 4 years. Because of this, I'm almost certainly joining the military for medical school.
ONE year at my private school could have paid the tuition for all four years at my state uni and then some.
I wouldn't say that it'd be pushing it to do your first two years of college in a cc. It's very important to consider the financial aspect. Look at the financial aid section - it's full of DOCTORS having trouble paying back their loans 🙁
TL;DR - It does matter, financially (unless you're getting a full ride or something, then go where you wanna 🙂 ).
I regret choosing private just because of the insane cost. After scholarships and receiving no financial aid I'll be in about 78k debt total for all 4 years. Because of this, I'm almost certainly joining the military for medical school.
ONE year at my private school could have paid the tuition for all four years at my state uni and then some.
I wouldn't say that it'd be pushing it to do your first two years of college in a cc. It's very important to consider the financial aspect. Look at the financial aid section - it's full of DOCTORS having trouble paying back their loans 🙁
TL;DR - It does matter, financially (unless you're getting a full ride or something, then go where you wanna 🙂 ).
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Speaking of financial decisions, I think just about everyone will tell you that going into the military solely or mostly for financial reasons is an extraordinarily bad call. You lose big in the long run, where your bank account is concerned. That's a topic for another thread in another forum, though.
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It doesn't matter if it is private or public. It's a combination of things. You need to be strong academically, have a nice resume, and be an overall good person. Then, the name of the school will help. It's just an extra bonus. I know that I have been lucky enough to use the name of my school in things such as jobs and research. I really believe that the name only gives you that extra edge, but doesn't necessarily help you unless you have completed the good grades part. If you just want to get into med school, look for a school that will prepare you. But, you should also look for a school that you know you will succeed in. It is not uncommon to see pre-meds with 2.0s that suffer from grade deflation because their school is so hard. In that case, it doesn't matter how amazing you are or how hard your school is, you will have a problem getting into a medical school period. Don't fall into that trap and you should be fine.
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It's not the only reason.
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Quality > Private/Public
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To answer your question: No, it won't matter for med schools.
However, if you have the option of choosing between private and public, I'd encourage you to pick the latter. I go to a private university (guess which from my screenname. Hint: basketball) and I regret doing so. The tuition is ridiculous, and I believe I could have gotten a similar level of, if not better, education in a public university.
However, if you have the option of choosing between private and public, I'd encourage you to pick the latter. I go to a private university (guess which from my screenname. Hint: basketball) and I regret doing so. The tuition is ridiculous, and I believe I could have gotten a similar level of, if not better, education in a public university.
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I went to a no-name state school undergrad with a lousy pre-med program. I'm now at a big name MD/PhD program. It really is up to you and your performance in school. School prestige doesn't matter much if at all.
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In my opinion, I am going to have to say that on average private universities are much better than public universities.
First, class sizes are much smaller and the teacher-to-student ratio much greater for private universities which is important when it comes time for you to ask for letters of recommendation or become involved with research projects. I couldn't imagine asking for a letter of recommendation from a professor in a class of 100+ students. At my school, I got to know all of my professors on a first name basis.
Second, the education is usually of a much greater quality at private institutions especially in the sciences where teaching comes first and research second whereas I don't think this is the case at public schools.
Third, it is much easier to become involved in extracurricular activities and serve as an officer at a private university where there is far less competition.
Fourth, it is much more difficult to become involved with research projects at a public university due to the sheer number of applicants applying for the same position.
Also, a representative from my state medical school openly admitted that they prefer applicants from my private in-state institution over those from the major in-state public university which is directly affiliated with the medical school simply because on average they perform better in school. I think that if you look at the students attending the top medical schools you will find that the majority of them attended private universities. A private university typically offers lots of extracurricular activities and research opportunities and small class sizes that will maximize a student's chances of becoming involved on campus and receiving great letters of recommendation that will boost his or her application. Although the cost stinks, there is a reason that private institutions cost more.
First, class sizes are much smaller and the teacher-to-student ratio much greater for private universities which is important when it comes time for you to ask for letters of recommendation or become involved with research projects. I couldn't imagine asking for a letter of recommendation from a professor in a class of 100+ students. At my school, I got to know all of my professors on a first name basis.
Second, the education is usually of a much greater quality at private institutions especially in the sciences where teaching comes first and research second whereas I don't think this is the case at public schools.
Third, it is much easier to become involved in extracurricular activities and serve as an officer at a private university where there is far less competition.
Fourth, it is much more difficult to become involved with research projects at a public university due to the sheer number of applicants applying for the same position.
Also, a representative from my state medical school openly admitted that they prefer applicants from my private in-state institution over those from the major in-state public university which is directly affiliated with the medical school simply because on average they perform better in school. I think that if you look at the students attending the top medical schools you will find that the majority of them attended private universities. A private university typically offers lots of extracurricular activities and research opportunities and small class sizes that will maximize a student's chances of becoming involved on campus and receiving great letters of recommendation that will boost his or her application. Although the cost stinks, there is a reason that private institutions cost more.
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I'll just add my .02 in here about the above line. I'm just about to start residency, which means that I now get to confront the reality of paying back loans. Went to private undergrad and private med school, and when I look back now, it totally wasn't worth the cost. Should private institutions cost more? Sure, why not. However, should either cost as much as they do? Absolutely not.
In my med school class, there were people from small private liberal arts colleges, big public schools, and everywhere in between. The amount you paid for your education has so little bearing on your future compared with the effort you put in, that you may as well go the cheapest route (that is still reasonable).
Tuition increases have made it so that "Income Based Repayment", the newest way to let people pay through residency since deferment is dead, doesn't even cover your full interest that you accumulate each month. Think about it, a payment system that is meant to make payments more reasonable still sucks up around 10% of your meager resident pay (and more if you are married and file taxes jointly) and doesn't even cover the interest earned on someone with average debt.
All that to say that you should go where you feel like you can succeed, and will leave you able to live your life with minimal debt.
D
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I agree with the "quality" comment.
I happen to be a big fan of private colleges/universities, as the experience was much more in line with what I wanted (mentorship similar to graduate school, attention to detail, small faculty:student ratio, all classes were taught by professors, etc). With that being said, there were some limitations, mostly access to large-scale research. While I think I was a more competitive med school app (obviously I chose a diff. path in the end), large universities offer a host of opportunities not commonly found at smaller institutions.
I'd recommend checking out a range of colleges/universities, and going where you "fit in" the best. Oh, and try to avoid debt if at all possible. The cost of an undergraduate education can be ridiculous. My alma mater would have been prohibitively expensive ($40k+/yr) if I wasn't on academic scholarship, though some large public universities have priced themselves into private college/university ranges.
Btw....the "prestige" really doesn't matter as much for medical school, though it can open doors, depending where you are looking.
I happen to be a big fan of private colleges/universities, as the experience was much more in line with what I wanted (mentorship similar to graduate school, attention to detail, small faculty:student ratio, all classes were taught by professors, etc). With that being said, there were some limitations, mostly access to large-scale research. While I think I was a more competitive med school app (obviously I chose a diff. path in the end), large universities offer a host of opportunities not commonly found at smaller institutions.
I'd recommend checking out a range of colleges/universities, and going where you "fit in" the best. Oh, and try to avoid debt if at all possible. The cost of an undergraduate education can be ridiculous. My alma mater would have been prohibitively expensive ($40k+/yr) if I wasn't on academic scholarship, though some large public universities have priced themselves into private college/university ranges.
Btw....the "prestige" really doesn't matter as much for medical school, though it can open doors, depending where you are looking.
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At first I thought you were talking about research opportunities, but that goes against your previous statement. What opportunities are you thinking of? I am asking because I go to a large private university and sometimes I'm left wondering if it really is any different from a public university.
Simply put, the type (private versus public) only matters in the quality of the school.
For instance, UCLA is a primier med school (also public) and St George University is a private one. If you are applying for a selective residency, you of course have to do very well in med school...but going to a better ranked med school is much more helpful in that scenario (whether public or private). If you do well in either things should work out, do poorly in either then you will struggle.
Lastly, if you apply for a non-selective residency you should have no trouble matching into a spot regardless.
For instance, UCLA is a primier med school (also public) and St George University is a private one. If you are applying for a selective residency, you of course have to do very well in med school...but going to a better ranked med school is much more helpful in that scenario (whether public or private). If you do well in either things should work out, do poorly in either then you will struggle.
Lastly, if you apply for a non-selective residency you should have no trouble matching into a spot regardless.
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I should have been more clear in how I used the various terminology. Often the question on here is Smaller Private College/University v. Larger Public University/State University. My comments were in support of smaller private colleges/universities because of the greater likelihood of personalized attention, though many times a larger public/state universities will have more research opportunities, larger lab space, etc. It really depends on the college/university, as many have collaborative agreements with hospitals and other universities.
Well i am looking at either Indiana University in bloomington or indiana university-purdue university indianapolis because they are very close to IU's medical school and i have heard have plenty of research opportunities.
Sorry if I semi-hijack your thread, but this is sort of related.
For some reason, all the grad students I've talked to in labs keep on telling me that who you know and get recs from matters a lot...so contacts seems like a huge thing apparently in grad school admissions.
So in this discussion about public vs. private, if what I hear is true, then it'd be better going to the place where you think you can get to know your professors better and a place where there are really kick-***** professors. And it seems like a lot of the big shots end up in private universities (and top private universities)...so going to a top private school might actually help in that sense.
For some reason, all the grad students I've talked to in labs keep on telling me that who you know and get recs from matters a lot...so contacts seems like a huge thing apparently in grad school admissions.
So in this discussion about public vs. private, if what I hear is true, then it'd be better going to the place where you think you can get to know your professors better and a place where there are really kick-***** professors. And it seems like a lot of the big shots end up in private universities (and top private universities)...so going to a top private school might actually help in that sense.
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Having gone through grad school, I can say this isn't really all that important. Grad school in most subjects is about an order of magnitude easier to get into than med school. It still hinges a lot more on lab experience or other PhD appropriate experience, grades, and GRE scores than who writes your letters.
Not really. The big shot researchers and big name professors aren't teaching courses to undergrads. They're spending the vast majority of their time doing research. You might get to know them if you do a lot of research as an undergrad. But it's still not worth 10s of thousands of dollars for the opportunity to MAYBE work in one of these guys labs. Just because you're an undergrad there doesn't mean they're going to let you work in their labs and doesn't mean they're the types of people you want to work for.
