Does Ivy League matter for medical school?

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I'm a grade 11 student from Ontario who would like to study biochem in undergrad and go into medicine. I was just wondering, does it matter where you go for undergraduate studies in order to get into med school? And does the med school you go to affect your residency options and job in the future? I'm asking because kids at my school have this huge obsession with the Ivy League. It makes sense for the people who want to go into law and business because without a degree from a tier 1 school, you are at a disadvantage in those fields. But for the people who want to go into medicine, it makes no sense to me why they would pay those hefty international fees for a "brand name university".

If I go to a reputable Canadian university for undergrad and med school (Toronto or McGill), will I be at a disadvantage in med school applications, residency or jobs? And is the Ivy League really worth it for doctors?

Also, should I even consider applying? I'm an international and I would get little, if any, financial aid due to family income. Would that ever pay off? Or should I just work hard to get scholarships for Canadian schools to be better off?

ALSO, when you apply for undergrad, do Canadian schools consider course rigor and AP courses for admissions?

Thanks!

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I e-mailed five medical schools about this, and the most popular answer was that as long as the undergraduate school you are in fits your academic capabilities well enough so that you earn a high GPA, the name of the undergraduate school does not have a huge effect on med school admissions - whether that's an Ivy or a state school.

I'd imagine that the reputation of the university's name plays a bigger role in engineering and business than medicine.
 
Going to an Ivy doesn't really affect admissions that much in and of itself, but it can give you more opportunities to make contacts at big name medical schools. The most important thing is keeping a high GPA and doing well on the MCAT, regardless of where you attend university.
 
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No. You have as much of a shot at med school if you go to a local or state school.
 
Thanks everyone :)

So if you want to get into an Ivy League med school, you just have to do well in undergrad, wherever you are.

But let's say you don't go to an Ivy League med school either. Are you at a disadvantage as opposed to Ivy grads, in terms of residency or jobs? (Suppose you go to UToronto or McGill.) And how does Hopkins compare to the Ivies?
 
Thanks everyone :)

So if you want to get into an Ivy League med school, you just have to do well in undergrad, wherever you are.

But let's say you don't go to an Ivy League med school either. Are you at a disadvantage as opposed to Ivy grads, in terms of residency or jobs? (Suppose you go to UToronto or McGill.) And how does Hopkins compare to the Ivies?

The Ivy League is a football league.

Going to a reputable undergrad and doing well there makes you more competitive for medical school than going to a lesser known undergrad and doing well there.

Going to a reputable medical school and doing well there makes you more competitive for residency than going to a lesser known medical school and doing well there.

But as others mentioned, it is one of many factors. For undergrad - GPA, extracurriculars, test scores, essay. For med school the same. For residency depends on the programs you apply to, the specialty, the location, and they examine clerkship grades, letters of rec, dean's letter, essay, and Step I/II USMLE scores. Don't overestimate the importance of one factor.
 
I personally think it will be easier to get into medical school from a non-ivy school.
 
I e-mailed five medical schools about this, and the most popular answer was that as long as the undergraduate school you are in fits your academic capabilities well enough so that you earn a high GPA, the name of the undergraduate school does not have a huge effect on med school admissions - whether that's an Ivy or a state school.

I'd imagine that the reputation of the university's name plays a bigger role in engineering and business than medicine.
lol, those poor admissions personnel.
 
Those schools you mentioned have a great reputation in the states. It won't be an issue.

There really are only 2 categories: known competitive school vs. perceived noncompetitive school. Assuming they're both solid 4 year colleges, the only time it might play some role is if they have 2 applications in front of them that are identical in every way, and interviewed exactly the same, but one went to harvard and the other went to a perceived noncompetitive school.
 
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it matters very little. it helps if you are going against someone with similar stats who are from let's say a state school. one of my interviewers told me he's on the admissions committee and how good your unversity is actually looked at and does matter a little.
 
Undergraduate institution name doesn't matter TO A DEGREE. I go to UCSD, a very big, fairly well-known public school. I don't think I'm much worse off than someone at an Ivy League university. My school is pretty tough academically, so a high GPA from it would mean something to medical school admissions committees. I would not have gone to a second-tier state school (smaller campus of the CSU system in my case). So... in my opinion, you don't have to shoot for the most prestigious school possible, as long as you go to a school that is known to be academically rigorous.
 
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