Does difficulty of Undergrad school make any difference in applying?

[zprudowsky]

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I'm a Junior with a 3.3 overall GPA and a 3.6 science GPA. Basically, I'm pretty mediocre as far as med school GPAs go so far. But I go to Furman, which is a very difficult liberal arts school and I plan on going to a state school (either UT Memphis or ETSU probably).

I can kill an interview. I have all the extra-curriculars/volunteering/leadership/clinical experience nailed, so I'm not worried about all that right now. What I am worried about is whether or not my application will even be looked at if I don't have an overwhelmingly awesome MCAT score to overcompensate for average grades in dumb classes like Intro to Music, History, etc.

So here's the question: does the reputation of my school help in terms of my competitiveness towards med school? Especially since I'm not planning on applying to the top schools...

 

[rockaction]

3.3 ain't good, but if you nail the MCAT (>30 is probably what you'd need) UT and ETSU will give you notice I'm sure. It's hard to say whether a "hard" undergrad will make up for a sub-par GPA, but the consensus here is usually "not that much". But in reality, your GPA isn't too bad. Are you done with college or can you take more hours to bump it up a little?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

no
it doesn't matter what undergrad you go to as long as you score high in undergrad and mcat. may it be acme university or harvard, it really doesn't matter.

 

[surftheiop]

I'm a Junior with a 3.3 overall GPA and a 3.6 science GPA. Basically, I'm pretty mediocre as far as med school GPAs go so far. But I go to Furman, which is a very difficult liberal arts school and I plan on going to a state school (either UT Memphis or ETSU probably).

I can kill an interview. I have all the extra-curriculars/volunteering/leadership/clinical experience nailed, so I'm not worried about all that right now. What I am worried about is whether or not my application will even be looked at if I don't have an overwhelmingly awesome MCAT score to overcompensate for average grades in dumb classes like Intro to Music, History, etc.

So here's the question: does the reputation of my school help in terms of my competitiveness towards med school? Especially since I'm not planning on applying to the top schools...

Just apply to all of your instate schools and focus on your strengths, I suspect youll get in somewhere.


Seeing as med schools your appling to are in the South East, Furman will probably give you a little bit of name recognition, but outside of SE nobody has heard of it.

 

[artx2008]

Not that much.

 

[apumic]

I'm a Junior with a 3.3 overall GPA and a 3.6 science GPA. Basically, I'm pretty mediocre as far as med school GPAs go so far. But I go to Furman, which is a very difficult liberal arts school and I plan on going to a state school (either UT Memphis or ETSU probably).

I can kill an interview. I have all the extra-curriculars/volunteering/leadership/clinical experience nailed, so I'm not worried about all that right now. What I am worried about is whether or not my application will even be looked at if I don't have an overwhelmingly awesome MCAT score to overcompensate for average grades in dumb classes like Intro to Music, History, etc.

So here's the question: does the reputation of my school help in terms of my competitiveness towards med school? Especially since I'm not planning on applying to the top schools...

Even if your schools were top tier, it wouldn't matter that much. Being as none of the 3 schools you mentioned are at the very top (tier 1, yes, but nothing extraordinary; and honestly, I've heard the name furman but I'd be more likely to think of a Furby than your school...sorry), you aren't really going to see any enhancement of your record from your schools' name (sorry).

Honestly, your 3.3 is going to hurt you. Your 3.6 sGPA is of some help but is still below average. If you do well on the MCAT and get above the average matriculants' score (31.5) you should do fine (assuming you have good ECs). Basically, you'll probably need to be in the 90th percentile or better (33+) on the MCAT to make up for your weak GPA.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Undergrad doesn't matter at all.

 

[randombetch]

Seriously? This thread has been coming up like twice a week.

And to the OP: everyone who said undergrad doesn't make a difference is wrong.

 

[JJMrK]

It may make a difference, but it probably won't compensate for a bad GPA.

 

[apumic]

Seriously? This thread has been coming up like twice a week.

And to the OP: everyone who said undergrad doesn't make a difference is wrong.

It does matter to some degree but A) it won't make up for a poor GPA and B) none of the schools the OP listed make the "A-list" so to speak. None of them are schools most have ever heard of, much less that are going to hold special weight for an adcom.

 

[randombetch]

It does matter to some degree but A) it won't make up for a poor GPA and B) none of the schools the OP listed make the "A-list" so to speak. None of them are schools most have ever heard of, much less that are going to hold special weight for an adcom.

Agreed...

 

[riverjib]

It does matter to some degree but A) it won't make up for a poor GPA and B) none of the schools the OP listed make the "A-list" so to speak. None of them are schools most have ever heard of, much less that are going to hold special weight for an adcom.

No. Where is Furman, BTW? Never heard of it. No offense. Maybe that name carries some weight where you're applying?

A 3.3 will not exclude you from applying to medical school, but it's not attractive. You'll need a fantastic MCAT to offset this. I had a friend who graduated Hopkins with just under a 3.5 (3.49 or so) who had no support from Hopkins, and had to do a post-bacc program to get the letters and GPA required for medical school without getting a spectacular MCAT. In the end, her 3.7 post-bacc and 32 MCAT got her into a state school.

Maybe your local med schools will think highly of your school and take that into account. But your best bet is to bring yourself up to a 3.5 and do extremely well on the MCAT.

 

[rctriplefresh5]

I'm a Junior with a 3.3 overall GPA and a 3.6 science GPA. Basically, I'm pretty mediocre as far as med school GPAs go so far. But I go to Furman, which is a very difficult liberal arts school and I plan on going to a state school (either UT Memphis or ETSU probably).

I can kill an interview. I have all the extra-curriculars/volunteering/leadership/clinical experience nailed, so I'm not worried about all that right now. What I am worried about is whether or not my application will even be looked at if I don't have an overwhelmingly awesome MCAT score to overcompensate for average grades in dumb classes like Intro to Music, History, etc.

So here's the question: does the reputation of my school help in terms of my competitiveness towards med school? Especially since I'm not planning on applying to the top schools...

liberal arts is easy.......
your competing with chemistry and physics majors, and youre asking about a ''rigorous liberal arts im shocked''

no
it doesn't matter what undergrad you go to as long as you score high in undergrad and mcat. may it be acme university or harvard, it really doesn't matter.

thats good to know. im currently a science major, but im getting sick of it. ill have all my pre reqs pretty much done before i get my associates degree. i was thinking of switching to psych for bachelors. i know you can have any major for med school, but come on now...will adcoms really take a psych major seriously....
im being serious too, id really rather do psych than chemistry and deal with classes like physical chem, or bio and deal with genetics, or physics, and take any physics classes higher than intro to alg based

 

[dr zaius]

thats good to know. im currently a science major, but im getting sick of it. ill have all my pre reqs pretty much done before i get my associates degree. i was thinking of switching to psych for bachelors. i know you can have any major for med school, but come on now...will adcoms really take a psych major seriously....
im being serious too, id really rather do psych than chemistry and deal with classes like physical chem, or bio and deal with genetics, or physics, and take any physics classes higher than intro to alg based

I know a number of people who majored in psych and got into medical and dental school with no problems. I don't think you should major in it for the sake of it being "easy" though. I would switch only if it interests you. I got a lot of "why biomedical engineering" during interviews. It would be a tough question if you were majoring in psych for the sake of easiness.

 

[c5212]

No. Where is Furman, BTW? Never heard of it. No offense. Maybe that name carries some weight where you're applying?

😀FURMAN😀
Pretty much the sickest school in the southeast, IMO. It's in Greenville, SC- amazing campus.
Anyway... Furman is a school that will be recognized more regionally than on a national scale. Seeing that it is the most selective school in SC, the name will carry a minuscule amount of weight more than if you went to a good 'ole state school. In short, the name FURMAN is not going to add a few tenths of a point to your GPA- what you have is final.
Now remember, stats for med school acceptances have so many variables, but take a look at this chart to see where you are at and what you need to be shooting for in terms of the MCAT to garner an acceptance with your GPA---
http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/table24-mcatgpa-grid-3yrs-app-accpt.htm

And to agree with everyone else... UG matters about 1% when applying to medical school👎

EDIT: Furman is a challenging school and all the respect to it, but I don't believe it merits the title of being a "very difficult liberal arts school" which seems to insinuate that it is one of the more difficult schools in the nation-and let's not forget how relative of a term the word difficult is. If anything, schools like Wellesley, Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, etc. are leading that category.

 

[rctriplefresh5]

I know a number of people who majored in psych and got into medical and dental school with no problems. I don't think you should major in it for the sake of it being "easy" though. I would switch only if it interests you. I got a lot of "why biomedical engineering" during interviews. It would be a tough question if you were majoring in psych for the sake of easiness.

well to be honest im only a science major, because i figured that would be what would get me into med school. i know med school is a lot of labs and anything, but right now i msick of it. ive never really wanted to take all these math or science classes. i am very interested in pschy and teaching. i couldnt get my associates in science (my current major)and then when i transfer to a 4 year school just start for a psych bachelors right> im pretty much done with my associates in summer, and the counselor said psych would hold me back a lot. ill have my med school prereqs done by summer with the exception of physics 1 and 2.

 

[surftheiop]

Furman would probably do better name wise if it were in Mississipi or something. As it is Furman is like an hour from Davidson and couple hours from Duke, both of which are way more prestigous.

On the other hand if Furman were in the NE then nobody would have heard of it b/c there are probably 30 similar schools within a couple hours.

 

[halekulani]

liberal arts is easy.......
your competing with chemistry and physics majors, and youre asking about a ''rigorous liberal arts im shocked''

just because you go to a liberal arts college doesn't make your degree worth any less than one from a university.

 

[sumstorm]

It depends. my undergrad was top ranked lib arts with a 98% continuation to PhD/professional programs. For the past 5 yrs, every student that has applied to a PhD or professional program has received at least one acceptance, even with 'subpar' GPA's in the low-mid 3's. Why? because the academics are tough, 4.0's simply don't happen, and the reputation is out there within the realms of research and professional programs. However, if your school has those types of stats, they will be able to tell you that. If they can't tell you that, don't count on the reputation as much. I didn't trust my undergrad when they told me that, and I was accepted to MD program in 2001, recieved a TJ Watson Fellowship same year (whichI opted for over the MD program), and gained admission to vet school this year, all with a shocking 3.39 (top score that year was a 3.6 in my undergrad.)

 

[sumstorm]

liberal arts is easy.......
your competing with chemistry and physics majors, and youre asking about a ''rigorous liberal arts im shocked''

A lib arts school does not mean a lib arts degree. I attended a lib art school, but graduated with a biology degree with research honors. Your comparing apples and potatos. The discussion is differences in schools (or school types), not differences in majors. Plenty of chem and physics and even chem/phys double majors and biochem majors (before that was a common term) came out of my lib arts school. Is clueless the new cute?

 

[Gogogirl]

My parent works in a top tier medical school and she says surprisingly a lot of medical students are coming from liberal arts universities. So I definitely think that liberal arts degrees does not worth any less than a regular university degree. Some of my friends go to liberal arts colleges, they definitely have more opportunities in their colleges researchwise and scholarshipwise. As far as the difficulty of school goes, I was told that it does not make a big difference. It might be a tie-breaking factor when the medical school has two similar applicants. So how difficult your undergrad is does not make up excuses for a poor GPA. But your GPA is not that bad so stop worrying about it and just keep up the good work. Good luck to you!

 

[riverjib]

yes, going to a top-tier undergrad plays a SIGNIFICANT role. a 3.5 at a top tier school is different that a 3.5 at a lower tiered school.

True, but that depends on where you apply. Some schools are more name-hungry than others. They love bragging that their incoming class hails from Princeton, Harvard, Yale, etc. But even that is just a token thing for most schools. Nobody is ignoring the name-brand or the important legacy, but that's only a percentage of the class. They actually DO want diversity, and not for the "purest" reasons. They need the less academic but creative and interesting folks, and those from a variety of backgrounds, because they will bump up the school's reputation for educating a broad spectrum of students who will serve a broad spectrum of communities. They are not filling their classes with applicants who can only offer that they were good enough (or rich or connected enough) to go to Ivies as undergrads.

Medical schools are businesses. In most cases, they'd rather take their chances on the state school applicant who volunteered religiously, maintained a 3.7 GPA, squeezed in a few semesters of independent research, and did work-study over the tepid Ivy applicant who maintained a 3.4 while partying, doing "dishes" in a lab, and occasionally showing up in a soup kitchen.

Of course, those are "extremes" in the pre-med scheme of things, but you get my point. Where you go doesn't matter much.

Though I was concerned about my state school prior to attending. I previously attended Rutgers, which many NJ students take for granted, but has an international name. I hadn't heard of my state school prior to moving here, but evidently its name has grown. Name recognition does matter. It doesn't have to be Yale, Harvard, or Dartmouth, but it certainly makes a difference if the ADCOM has at least HEARD OF your school..