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Realistically.....does a person from a small, perhaps not too well known university stand a chance at getting into a big name med school...or should i transfer to a more well known school?
getting into a top 10 school
- Thread starter Adonis4.0
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You don't have to.
There is no guarntee. If you do great on the MCATs and have a strong GPA then you do stand a chance. Try doing some research for things to do as ECs. Sometimes smaller universities do offer research opportunities but if yours doesn't then there are sollutions to deal with the problem.
Good luck!
There is no guarntee. If you do great on the MCATs and have a strong GPA then you do stand a chance. Try doing some research for things to do as ECs. Sometimes smaller universities do offer research opportunities but if yours doesn't then there are sollutions to deal with the problem.
Good luck!
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Where is the list for the top 10 top 20 med schools
I think that some schools count the color of your blood more than others but if you have strong letters and the numbers it is possible (not a 40 and 4.0). I went to a western state school and was actually asked if they have grad students on one of my interviews. I am now in the MSTP at washU. So you don't need to be from an ivy school to get in to a ranked program (whatever US news knows). (I am also sure that is doesn't hurt to have the fancy school name.)
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My understanding is that one of the primary purposes of the MCAT is to give an opportunity from people from different schools to show their academic merits. If you expect to do well on this test, than you'll be fine. Conversely, if you don't plan to do well on the MCAT, than you will have a hard time getting into a top 10 regardless of undergrad institution.
35+ will draw attention, and is irrespective of the school you attend.
35+ will draw attention, and is irrespective of the school you attend.
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For the record, only Wash U and Columbia have average MCATs above 35+. I never said it would draw attention of one's peers at the school, I merely said that it would get the school's attention. If you have a 35, no one is going to discredit your 3.9 GPA as "well, he was going to a no name school." A 35 is around the 95th percentile. That's a good score, and it will be noticed by top ten schools. I wasn't trying to suggest that they'll be banging or your door over a 35+. Neither will they be banging on your door for a 40+. You still have to work to get in, no matter what.
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You do not need to have a big name school behind you to get into a top ten school. If anything, most med schools are looking to take a certain amount of their class from a variety of schools. While you will see representation from a lot of well-known and well-respected universities, you'll also see a large number of people from lower tier schools.
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Drawing attention and being considered for admission (and interviewed most likely) are two different things. The former makes it sound like you have a good shot, while the later indicates you are in the running.
If you've taken a statistics class, you know that a mathamatical mean is horrible indicator. USNews should really use a median, it is far more indicative of what is going on. However, consider my class where the gpa range is from 3.1-4.0 and the average is around a 3.77. It takes almost two 4.0's to balance the person with a 3.1, which means the median is a 4.0. The same thing occurs with the MCAT (getting over a 42 is pretty rare and can be considered a realistic max), where admitting the person with a 28 (our avg. is around a 11.3 I think) requies a lot of people to be scoring well over the mean. Basically, if you have something outstanding (the rhode scholars, olympians, division I athletes, special expereinces, disadvantaged) then you'll be considered well below the mean and the mathamatical mean will be lowered. If however, you are like most applicants, you should be above the mean if you want to be competitive, you have to be above the mean. I'll bet if you do a statistical analysis of the top 75% of med school classes the stats would shift up noticably. I go to a public school, so our average is impacted by other things, however for most the out of staters that I know, everyone is a 35+.....half a dozen I know are 40+.......and I don't even know many people's scores.
Just remember, everyone with 35+'s are applying to top ten schools, and the top tens are filled with them and there are many other schools with people with high scores also. Top 5% of 33,000 people/year taking the MCAT means that you could fill roughly 11 medical schools with 35+'ers.
Food for thought when looking at USnews to decide where to apply and where you are competitive.
Also, for the record and to the OP, I'm at a top ten school, and there are lots of people in my class from small no name schools who are out of staters.
If you've taken a statistics class, you know that a mathamatical mean is horrible indicator. USNews should really use a median, it is far more indicative of what is going on. However, consider my class where the gpa range is from 3.1-4.0 and the average is around a 3.77. It takes almost two 4.0's to balance the person with a 3.1, which means the median is a 4.0. The same thing occurs with the MCAT (getting over a 42 is pretty rare and can be considered a realistic max), where admitting the person with a 28 (our avg. is around a 11.3 I think) requies a lot of people to be scoring well over the mean. Basically, if you have something outstanding (the rhode scholars, olympians, division I athletes, special expereinces, disadvantaged) then you'll be considered well below the mean and the mathamatical mean will be lowered. If however, you are like most applicants, you should be above the mean if you want to be competitive, you have to be above the mean. I'll bet if you do a statistical analysis of the top 75% of med school classes the stats would shift up noticably. I go to a public school, so our average is impacted by other things, however for most the out of staters that I know, everyone is a 35+.....half a dozen I know are 40+.......and I don't even know many people's scores.
Just remember, everyone with 35+'s are applying to top ten schools, and the top tens are filled with them and there are many other schools with people with high scores also. Top 5% of 33,000 people/year taking the MCAT means that you could fill roughly 11 medical schools with 35+'ers.
Food for thought when looking at USnews to decide where to apply and where you are competitive.
Also, for the record and to the OP, I'm at a top ten school, and there are lots of people in my class from small no name schools who are out of staters.
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What does this have to do with anything? The question was about undergrad schools--not statistics! My whole point was just that if you do well on the MCAT, they will take your GPA seriously. That's it!
God, I'll tap out--you have the biggest statistical c*ck, okay?
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lalalalalala
poop.
poop.
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I haven't got a clue about statistics, but I know there are people in my class from lesser known undergrads who are now and were clearly (during the interview process) taken very seriously. Screw the stats, apply where you wanna go.
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Originally posted by Nutmeg
What does this have to do with anything? The question was about undergrad schools--not statistics! My whole point was just that if you do well on the MCAT, they will take your GPA seriously. That's it!
God, I'll tap out--you have the biggest statistical c*ck, okay?
P.S.: Cal rocked USC in football (in a triple over-time too...wow). This was not only shocking...but it felt good to stick it to that school down south where people pay Ivy league tuition for an education that's CSU-Dominguez Hills quality.
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Wow, I'm sorry this is off topic but I'm seriously offended by this. By going there, not only did I pay less than I would have at a UC (merit based aid, which a lot of people get), but USC is also one of the top schools in the country (definitely the best on the west coast) in my undergraduate major. And you do know USC is ranked above places like UCSD and Penn State?
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