Does my school's ranking matter?

[ClulessTransfer]

I'm getting ready to transfer from my CC and I'm applying to several highly competetive schools (Duke, Columbia and UM) to complete my B.S. in Chemical Engineering. Even though I have the grades, ECs and essays to get into these schools I'm still leaning towards FIU for financial reasons.

I've heard of students from FIU being accepted into Georgtown and Cornell, but I've also heard that some top tier schools won't even look at these apps.

My questions is: Does ranking matter?

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[anfleisch]

Some people will tell you know. Some people will tell you yes. It is hard to tell since more people from higher ranked schools do better on the MCAT, and often have an all around better app (hence why they are at these schools). But some of the higher ranked schools are also more difficult to keep up the GPA.

Anyways, wait until you get in these schools to even think about this. Having the grades =/= getting in.

 

[mdbound1987]

Some people will tell you know. Some people will tell you yes. It is hard to tell since more people from higher ranked schools do better on the MCAT, and often have an all around better app (hence why they are at these schools). But some of the higher ranked schools are also more difficult to keep up the GPA.

Anyways, wait until you get in these schools to even think about this. Having the grades =/= getting in.

I agree about higher mcat scores, but harder to get good grades? Doubt it. Top schools are notorious for grade inflation.

 

[deleted202457]

In my opinion the people from better ranked schools do better because they have more resources. They have people who know more about medical school and the MCAT and can help them so they do better. At smaller and lower ranked schools there are not as many opportunities. You can easily get in somewhere from FIU but you have to make opportunities for yourself. Push yourself to prepare for the MCAT. Keep your GPA up. Get good LORs. Get good ECs. And make yourself a unique applicant. They key is makinig yourself a good enough applicant that your school won't matter just my $0.02.

 

[Poliscidoc]

Short answer that requires pages of debate

So the short answer is yes up until you hit the breaking point...

 

[nogolfinsnow]

I'm getting ready to transfer from my CC and I'm applying to several highly competetive schools (Duke, Columbia and UM) to complete my B.S. in Chemical Engineering. Even though I have the grades, ECs and essays to get into these schools I'm still leaning towards FIU for financial reasons.

I've heard of students from FIU being accepted into Georgtown and Cornell, but I've also heard that some top tier schools won't even look at these apps.

My questions is: Does ranking matter?

Some schools will give points while they're scoring your application based on your undergrad. If you go to a school deemed difficult by the admission's office then you get more points than someone who went to an "easier" school. I have no clue how this decision is made, seems a bit(a lot??) subjective to me.

 

[Trollol]

My personal opinion is that admissions officers view a 4.0 from someplace like FIU about the same as a 3.7 from Harvard or a 3.8 from Yale, so even if you're smart enough to get a 4.0 at Harvard, you'll never be able to show how truly amazing you are at FIU because the highest GPA you can possibly get is a 4.0.

Looking at mdapps, there's a huge difference between those who get a 4.0 from someplace such as Harvard versus someplace such as FIU.

 

[starxed]

I think you're worrying too much. I take it you'll be applying for Fall 2011? Depending on what CC you go to UM tends to give generous scholarships. I know for a fact that Duke F.A. will probably suck if you've been at your CC more than 5 semesters b/c my friend transferred to Pratt last fall. They limit their F.A. to 8 semesters. Columbia's aid is need-based.

I don't know if rankings matter, I'm still trying to figure that out.
P.S. I know plenty of people who've graduated from FIU and gone to Ivy med schools.

 

[ClulessTransfer]

I think you're worrying too much. I take it you'll be applying for Fall 2011? Depending on what CC you go to UM tends to give generous scholarships. I know for a fact that Duke F.A. will probably suck if you've been at your CC more than 5 semesters b/c my friend transferred to Pratt last fall. They limit their F.A. to 8 semesters. Columbia's aid is need-based.

I don't know if rankings matter, I'm still trying to figure that out.
P.S. I know plenty of people who've graduated from FIU and gone to Ivy med schools.

Thanks, I'll take that into consideratin. I just dun want to end up with alot of loans. med school is expensive.

 

[UofM527]

this question has been asked just about more than anything else on these forums!! haha but the truth is no one really knows. I do think its very smart of you to be thinking about finances and the overall burden that medical school will (hopefully!) eventually put on you

I think some of the above posts have really been pretty solid advice/perspective on this topic though. I think largely the answer is NO, your school rank does not matter a ton - it really comes to down to you doing what you need to do at any school

The only questions I would ask are (and I don't know anything about FIU): does FIU have the resources YOU need to make yourself a complete applicant - are there good volunteer opportunities there, do they have a strong research community, is there a well organized pre-med committee to help you figure things out etc

The rest is just a numbers game - as someone alluded to, a place like UofM (or Duke etc) has a lot of amazing applicants just like you - therefore, it is not a surprise that they have a few hundred students accepted to medical school every year - maybe FIU only has 10 or something - however if you work hard and have the resources you need, you can absolutely be one of those 10 at any school!!

 

[starxed]

Thanks, I'll take that into consideratin. I just dun want to end up with alot of loans. med school is expensive.

I have 19k in loans to pay back from an A.A. in Business that I'll only use during tax season. Luckily, I'll be done paying it back by the time I earn my B.S. in BME.

If you don't give it your all then you'll just wonder if you made the right decision. Things won't come to you in one fell swoop no matter where you go.

I agree with UofM527.

FIU has everything you need. Granted, it's now well known outside of SoFL, but everything you need is here. FIU has a new COM. UM-Miller and Jackson aren't too far away, either!

Georgetown is on your list...
Do you know if the requirements for the Georgetown EMS program apply to you?

 

[chman]

The answer that is debatable and is really just opinion goes here.


The short answer is that it might give you a marginal boost, but things such as GPA, MCAT, and EC's are what you should really worry about. Also, if it were me, go with the school that will give you the least amount of debt coming out of it. You will have enough debt from medical school without extra from undergrad.

 

[somepremedkid]

In my opinion the people from better ranked schools do better because they have more resources. They have people who know more about medical school and the MCAT and can help them so they do better. At smaller and lower ranked schools there are not as many opportunities. You can easily get in somewhere from FIU but you have to make opportunities for yourself. Push yourself to prepare for the MCAT. Keep your GPA up. Get good LORs. Get good ECs. And make yourself a unique applicant. They key is makinig yourself a good enough applicant that your school won't matter just my $0.02.

Going to a high ranked school doesn't necessarily "guarantee" you a better chance into medical school. It could help, but you also have to take the initiative to be a successful candidate.

 

[wanderer]

If you look at admission pages, schools either say, in one form or another: A: Where you go is very important. B: Where you go is somewhat important/Undergrad is taken into account C: It doesn't matter D: They don't comment on it.

From memory it seems that D is most common, followed by B followed by A and then C.
Of the schools that mention something B is by far the most common. My guess is that if your performance is marginal, or you are aiming for particular schools (generally those at the top, but not always), where you go to school is very important.

 

[BrainBuff]

My personal opinion is that admissions officers view a 4.0 from someplace like FIU about the same as a 3.7 from Harvard or a 3.8 from Yale, so even if you're smart enough to get a 4.0 at Harvard, you'll never be able to show how truly amazing you are at FIU because the highest GPA you can possibly get is a 4.0.

Looking at mdapps, there's a huge difference between those who get a 4.0 from someplace such as Harvard versus someplace such as FIU.

This is absolutely ridiculous and not true. FIU is probably one of the worst state schools in the country. There are literally no admission requirements and anyone can pretty much go there. Med school adcoms KNOW THAT. I bet you the % of premeds from FIU getting into med school is dismal.

How anyone would even dare to mention Harvard, Yale and FIU in the same sentence is hysterical.... Only a clueless wonder would do such a thing..

 

[Poliscidoc]

This is absolutely ridiculous and not true. FIU is probably one of the worst state schools in the country. There are literally no admission requirements and anyone can pretty much go there. Med school adcoms KNOW THAT. I bet you the % of premeds from FIU getting into med school is dismal.

How anyone would even dare to mention Harvard, Yale and FIU in the same sentence is hysterical.... Only a clueless wonder would do such a thing..

First- did you even read the post? He said that a 4.0 is viewed about the same as a 3.7 from harvard. Now to say that Harvard is better than FIU is correct but only two an extent. I think once you drop below a certain gpa the Ivy status doesn't help anymore and I would say the cut off is about .3-.4 GPA. IE (a FIU GPA of 4.00= Harvard GPA of 3.6-3.7) a harvard gpa of less than this and the other school wins "stats wise".

Secound- So you mean to tell me that Adcoms look at every college and know the "hardness" of the school? What about the thousands of people that go to smaller DII and DIII schools?

Third- you come off sounding like an ivy league prick; if you don't go to any ivy league school then your just an average prick so it's ok.

 

[ClulessTransfer]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm now even more confused than I was when I posted this thread.

yes/no/maybe
perhaps a first tier school is worth the price tag.

 

[Kaustikos]

I won't say that rankings but I know that certain schools (Indiana, per example) may only accept in-state but they also have strong preference for Michigan/Illinois schools for OOS. It's not rankings based, but it's an example of preferences

 

[starxed]

perhaps a first tier school is worth the price tag.

Have you considered Florida? I may not be a Gators fan, but it's a damn good school.

 

[starxed]

I won't say that rankings but I know that certain schools (Indiana, per example) may only accept in-state but they also have strong preference for Michigan/Illinois schools for OOS. It's not rankings based, but it's an example of preferences

On this note, UM-Miller gives preference to FL residents and it goes on from there.

 

[mdeast]

I just want to say that I know some adcom members at some top schools (UCSF, Penn) and all have told me that your undergrad institution does matter. They have group schools together into different "tiers". Applications received from the top tier will be looked at more closely and in some cases, factored into the "scores" that some schools use to evaluate candidates.

I don't think it's by anyway the most important factor, but it definitely will give you somewhat of an edge...it's something to consider.

 

[NickNaylor]

This is entirely anecdotal and opinion, so take it for what you will.

Your school reputation (not necessarily ranking) absolutely matters. There's a reason that many of the people at interviews for top schools are Ivy-educated. No, going to a top school won't guarantee anything, but it will certainly help. I've had several professors tell me that I will have to apologize (so to speak) for going to Baylor; it's a weakness that I can't do anything about.

From what I've seen, the Ivies seem to inbreed. Once you're in that crowd, things just seem to go easier for you if you want to stay at that level. Again, this is completely anecdotal and not backed up by anything, but that's what I've observed. If you can, I would definitely go to a top institution.

Best of luck.

 

[BrainBuff]

First- did you even read the post? He said that a 4.0 is viewed about the same as a 3.7 from harvard. Now to say that Harvard is better than FIU is correct but only two an extent. I think once you drop below a certain gpa the Ivy status doesn't help anymore and I would say the cut off is about .3-.4 GPA. IE (a FIU GPA of 4.00= Harvard GPA of 3.6-3.7) a harvard gpa of less than this and the other school wins "stats wise".

Secound- So you mean to tell me that Adcoms look at every college and know the "hardness" of the school? What about the thousands of people that go to smaller DII and DIII schools?

Third- you come off sounding like an ivy league prick; if you don't go to any ivy league school then your just an average prick so it's ok.

Relax. I will take the high road by not telling you what you come off sounding like....or what i think you really are.

 

[CoolWhipp]

From what I've seen, the Ivies seem to inbreed. Once you're in that crowd, things just seem to go easier for you if you want to stay at that level. Again, this is completely anecdotal and not backed up by anything, but that's what I've observed. If you can, I would definitely go to a top institution.

Yes, they take care of themselves.

 

[Evergrey]

I agree about higher mcat scores, but harder to get good grades? Doubt it. Top schools are notorious for grade inflation.

I think people make a bigger deal out of grade inflation than they should. If you take a student from a top school, and put them in a less rigorous school, they are gonna rock the **** out of the curve. I've seen this firsthand.

 

[ClulessTransfer]

The gist of it all: FIU closes doors. or keeps them from opening.