Does your undergrad institution REALLY matter?

[amathew]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I went to UPenn for undergrad thinking going to an ivy league will make it easier for me to get into med school. Don't ask me what I was smoking when I thought up that. So now 5 yrs later, I've graduated and currently taking post bac classes because my GPA wasn't stellar (under 3.0) And I just want to know - when Adcoms look at my application, will they only see my less than 3.0 GPA or will they look at it as hmmm less than 3.0, but it is after all from an ivy league.

If this post sounds snobby, believe me, thats my last intention. I'm just kicking myself for making such a stupid decision, and hoping there is some positive outlook on the suffering that is called the pre-med life that i went through at penn. Thanks in advance guys!

 

[brookliner7]

I went to UPenn for undergrad thinking going to an ivy league will make it easier for me to get into med school. Don't ask me what I was smoking when I thought up that. So now 5 yrs later, I've graduated and currently taking post bac classes because my GPA wasn't stellar (under 3.0) And I just want to know - when Adcoms look at my application, will they only see my less than 3.0 GPA or will they look at it as hmmm less than 3.0, but it is after all from an ivy league.

If this post sounds snobby, believe me, thats my last intention. I'm just kicking myself for making such a stupid decision, and hoping there is some positive outlook on the suffering that is called the pre-med life that i went through at penn. Thanks in advance guys!

I am not on an adcom, but here's some things to think about.

One of my professors stated that even ivy league schools can suffer from grade inflation. When producing good grades is a way to measure a schools success (especially with a long standing reputation) it becomes increasingly necessary for schools to produce great students (measured by GPA)
So, GPA alone cannot be a reliable source nor the only way to measure a student's capability of successfully completing medical school.
People with 4.0's can do horribly on the MCAT. People with low GPA's can score well on the MCAT. Some people can do both, regardless of what school they went to.
I would think a low gpa would raise a red flag no matter what school you went to.

adcoms will look for more than one thing...

If you have a low GPA and a low MCAT....doesn't matter what school you went to...it doesn't look good.

just remember that it is your entire application they are looking at, not what school you went to.

good luck! I am also doing some post bac this fall. 😉

 

[medhacker]

I went to UPenn for undergrad thinking going to an ivy league will make it easier for me to get into med school. Don't ask me what I was smoking when I thought up that. So now 5 yrs later, I've graduated and currently taking post bac classes because my GPA wasn't stellar (under 3.0) And I just want to know - when Adcoms look at my application, will they only see my less than 3.0 GPA or will they look at it as hmmm less than 3.0, but it is after all from an ivy league.

If this post sounds snobby, believe me, thats my last intention. I'm just kicking myself for making such a stupid decision, and hoping there is some positive outlook on the suffering that is called the pre-med life that i went through at penn. Thanks in advance guys!

I know of people who got accepted having attended distance programs. So while it may have some significance, I doubt it is substantial. Best wishes!

 

[xTinaBna]

I went to UPenn for undergrad thinking going to an ivy league will make it easier for me to get into med school. Don't ask me what I was smoking when I thought up that. So now 5 yrs later, I've graduated and currently taking post bac classes because my GPA wasn't stellar (under 3.0) And I just want to know - when Adcoms look at my application, will they only see my less than 3.0 GPA or will they look at it as hmmm less than 3.0, but it is after all from an ivy league.

If this post sounds snobby, believe me, thats my last intention. I'm just kicking myself for making such a stupid decision, and hoping there is some positive outlook on the suffering that is called the pre-med life that i went through at penn. Thanks in advance guys!

i think one way that your undergrad might matter is if your undergrad institution is considered a "feeder" school to whichever med school you are applying. if it is, that's a plus for you. for example, tucom has several feeder schools...my undergrad happened to be one of them..i too had a little less than a 3.0 gpa at my undergrad and i got into tucom for next year. i'm not saying this was a determining factor, but i'm sure every little bit helped 🙂

 

[pokeytu]

It can definately help if you do well on the MCAT. I was in the same situation as you and got interviews at schools where my gpa was well below average and I can only assume the difficulty of the school/major got me consideration with a 3.0 gpa, sub 3.0 science gpa

 

[):(]

If you think your below 3.0 GPA is equal to a good state school GPA, then I think you are wrong. Do well on the MCAT and get good grades in a post bac.

 

[Jamers]

I went to UPenn for undergrad thinking going to an ivy league will make it easier for me to get into med school. Don't ask me what I was smoking when I thought up that. So now 5 yrs later, I've graduated and currently taking post bac classes because my GPA wasn't stellar (under 3.0) And I just want to know - when Adcoms look at my application, will they only see my less than 3.0 GPA or will they look at it as hmmm less than 3.0, but it is after all from an ivy league.

If this post sounds snobby, believe me, thats my last intention. I'm just kicking myself for making such a stupid decision, and hoping there is some positive outlook on the suffering that is called the pre-med life that i went through at penn. Thanks in advance guys!

Undergrads don't matter much (unless there is some personal issue in there (professor went there and is interviewing you, blah). I went to a school of about 2000 people but we still managed to put about 6 people in medical school; really good for an institution that no one has heard of. The message here is: the school doesnt matter, the person and his or her performance at said school does.

 

[Krazykritter]

I will disagree w/ Jamers...

Undergrad institutions do have some bearing in the minds of the adcoms. Almost everytime I interview someone, we (the interviewers) unavoidably end up talking about the undergrad institution that someone came from. A lot of times it is a somewhat more impressive for someone who comes from a very large institution to have excellent LOR's.

On the other hand, I went to a small liberal art school that has a very competitive biology/sciece curriculum. Adcoms definitely know about tough in-state programs & keep track of students' performance & this can lead to an undergrad institution giving a person a foot into the door.

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

I went to UPenn for undergrad thinking going to an ivy league will make it easier for me to get into med school. Don't ask me what I was smoking when I thought up that. So now 5 yrs later, I've graduated and currently taking post bac classes because my GPA wasn't stellar (under 3.0) And I just want to know - when Adcoms look at my application, will they only see my less than 3.0 GPA or will they look at it as hmmm less than 3.0, but it is after all from an ivy league.

If this post sounds snobby, believe me, thats my last intention. I'm just kicking myself for making such a stupid decision, and hoping there is some positive outlook on the suffering that is called the pre-med life that i went through at penn. Thanks in advance guys!

You would have been much better off going to Penn State. BUt you obviously know that.....and in the end; it matters not where you went assuming you are of average gpa.


I mean someone with a 4.0 from Harvard - in that situation the school might be factored in - might not though because there tends to be a high degree of grade inflation at "ivy league" schools.


I went to public school BITCH.

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

i think one way that your undergrad might matter is if your undergrad institution is considered a "feeder" school to whichever med school you are applying. if it is, that's a plus for you. for example, tucom has several feeder schools...my undergrad happened to be one of them..i too had a little less than a 3.0 gpa at my undergrad and i got into tucom for next year. i'm not saying this was a determining factor, but i'm sure every little bit helped 🙂

Your undergrad school sucks. Whats it like living in the shadow of the Buckeyes?

 

[xTinaBna]

Your undergrad school sucks. Whats it like living in the shadow of the Buckeyes?

oh gosh.. i dont think i want to start a Big 10 war on SDN 😛 let's just wait til the game on Nov. 18... 😉

 

[Jamers]

I will disagree w/ Jamers...

Undergrad institutions do have some bearing in the minds of the adcoms. Almost everytime I interview someone, we (the interviewers) unavoidably end up talking about the undergrad institution that someone came from. A lot of times it is a somewhat more impressive for someone who comes from a very large institution to have excellent LOR's.

On the other hand, I went to a small liberal art school that has a very competitive biology/sciece curriculum. Adcoms definitely know about tough in-state programs & keep track of students' performance & this can lead to an undergrad institution giving a person a foot into the door.

It doesn't matter, I am right, you are wrong. We all know this

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

oh gosh.. i dont think i want to start a Big 10 war on SDN 😛 let's just wait til the game on Nov. 18... 😉

Ive started countless wars, and why shouldnt I? I am backed by the number one team in the nation per pre-season polls.

 

[Oculus Sinistra]

I went to UPenn for undergrad thinking going to an ivy league will make it easier for me to get into med school. Don't ask me what I was smoking when I thought up that. So now 5 yrs later, I've graduated and currently taking post bac classes because my GPA wasn't stellar (under 3.0) And I just want to know - when Adcoms look at my application, will they only see my less than 3.0 GPA or will they look at it as hmmm less than 3.0, but it is after all from an ivy league.

If this post sounds snobby, believe me, thats my last intention. I'm just kicking myself for making such a stupid decision, and hoping there is some positive outlook on the suffering that is called the pre-med life that i went through at penn. Thanks in advance guys!

I think the UPenn connection will only help you.
But it's not going to carry you into an acceptance without a decent MCAT.

And I didn't think your post sounded snobby at all.

Good luck!

 

[Krazykritter]

You guys can argue about your worthless Big 10 teams & while you are doing that the Hawks are going to slide right into that #1 spot!!! Ferentz rules (although Norm Parker should retire)!!

 

[MahlerROCKS]

I went to UPenn for undergrad thinking going to an ivy league will make it easier for me to get into med school. Don't ask me what I was smoking when I thought up that. So now 5 yrs later, I've graduated and currently taking post bac classes because my GPA wasn't stellar (under 3.0) And I just want to know - when Adcoms look at my application, will they only see my less than 3.0 GPA or will they look at it as hmmm less than 3.0, but it is after all from an ivy league.

If this post sounds snobby, believe me, thats my last intention. I'm just kicking myself for making such a stupid decision, and hoping there is some positive outlook on the suffering that is called the pre-med life that i went through at penn. Thanks in advance guys!

The simplest answer is that the more prestigious and competitive a medical school is, the more heavily they evaluate your application in context of your undergraduate school. Harvard and JHU aren't going to give much consideration to someone from Podunk state university or a pisshead little college no one has heard of, regardless of their stats. However, as you consider less and less competitive schools, your undergraduate school is still important, but it becomes less of a significant factor.

Another thing is that you regret going to Penn, but honestly, you attended one of the best universities in the country with excellent professors, well-funded facilities and a superb intellectual environment. Granted you did not do as well as you would have liked, but you probably learned more and had more academic opportunities then you would have at a place like Penn State. In the end you have to accept that although people at other schools might have earned higher gpa's, your thorough and rigorousness education is worth much more--at least in the long run (BTW if I sound like a pretentious prick I apologize; I'm not intending to come across as such)

In terms of what to do, I would not recommend a postbac b/c you've most likely taken quite a few science classes, and have a very high comprehension of the material, you just had to compete against other intelligent people for grades (unless you partied too much). You might want to take time to do a masters or a service organization (peace corps, teach for America, americorps, etc) to make you a stronger applicant

 

[Vox Animo]

Its not where you go, its what you do where you go.

 

[wook]

The message here is: the school doesnt matter, the person and his or her performance at said school does.

Agreed. The undergrad institution don't mean squat.


Wook

 

[MahlerROCKS]

Agreed. The undergrad institution don't mean squat.


Wook

OK, by this logic then lets evaluate two applicants: one attended Mount Holyoke the other Bridgewater State in MA. The MH girl was a national merit scholar, as were many of her classmates. All of her professors had PhD's from Yale, Stanford and Chicago, and because all of her classes had fewer than 20 people, the professors assigned a considerable amount of reading and writing for every class. Furthermore, all the classes were conducted so that class discussions were encouraged over pure lectures by professors. Also, because Mount Holyoke has a rather large endowment, she had new and state-of-the-art facilities where complicated experiments were performed by the women because MH could afford the reagents and equipment.

Now the individual who attended Bridgewater took classes in large lecture halls where less academic accountability was expected. Only half of the professors hold PhD’s in their fields, and even then the quality isn’t that high. Labs are overcrowded and under funded, and when it comes time for the MCAT, the students score well below their Mount Holyoke counterparts because their education left them less prepared for the exam.

Every single graduate program discriminates on the basis of an applicant's undergraduate school, so why would med schools be any different? Adcoms I’ve talked to at Chicago and Northwestern admit a strong bias in the application process for students for top undergrad institutions because they’re the most qualified and most prepared. Now will someone from a top institution with an extremely low gpa trump someone from a TTT with a high gpa? No, but when gpa’s are similar, and even to an extent when they’re not, the individual from the better college always has an advantage.

 

[Hardbody]

OK, by this logic then lets evaluate two applicants: one attended Mount Holyoke the other Bridgewater State in MA. The MH girl was a national merit scholar, as were many of her classmates. All of her professors had PhD's from Yale, Stanford and Chicago, and because all of her classes had fewer than 20 people, the professors assigned a considerable amount of reading and writing for every class. Furthermore, all the classes were conducted so that class discussions were encouraged over pure lectures by professors. Also, because Mount Holyoke has a rather large endowment, she had new and state-of-the-art facilities where complicated experiments were performed by the women because MH could afford the reagents and equipment.

Now the individual who attended Bridgewater took classes in large lecture halls where less academic accountability was expected. Only half of the professors hold PhD’s in their fields, and even then the quality isn’t that high. Labs are overcrowded and under funded, and when it comes time for the MCAT, the students score well below their Mount Holyoke counterparts because their education left them less prepared for the exam.

Every single graduate program discriminates on the basis of an applicant's undergraduate school, so why would med schools be any different? Adcoms I’ve talked to at Chicago and Northwestern admit a strong bias in the application process for students for top undergrad institutions because they’re the most qualified and most prepared. Now will someone from a top institution with an extremely low gpa trump someone from a TTT with a high gpa? No, but when gpa’s are similar, and even to an extent when they’re not, the individual from the better college always has an advantage.

Yeah, but this is the pre-osteo forum and not the pre-allo forum.

 

[MahlerROCKS]

Yeah, but this is the pre-osteo forum and not the pre-allo forum.

I know, but I'm not aware of how osteopathic schools view undergrad schools. As I stated above, since all graduate programs discriminate on the basis of one's undergrad institution, why would med schools, allopathic or osteopathic, be any different. But then again this is just my two cents

 

[Hardbody]

I know, but I'm not aware of how osteopathic schools view undergrad schools. As I stated above, since all graduate programs discriminate on the basis of one's undergrad institution, why would med schools, allopathic or osteopathic, be any different. But then again this is just my two cents

It is certainly no secret that some allo schools will actually recalculate your GPA based on ranking, but osteo schools are much less picky. If you go to mdapplicants.com you will see that many people get into osteo schools from podunk U with virtually the same stats as people from bigger name schools. Many current osteo students that graduated from podunk U and frequent SDN can verify this.