How hard is it to good into a good med school!

[BeastfromthEast]

I'm just wondering since I am kinda new to all this premed stuff: how hard is it to get into a good med school (lets say top ten for example)? what kind of stats would one need to be competitive for admissions there? thanks a bunch!

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[punkedoutriffs]

You can find a lot of good info in the "What are my chances" thread up at the top of this forum. Just look up the various stats (GPA, MCAT Scores) these people have and what advice they're given about where they have the best chances for admission.

 

[Perrotfish]

1) Buy this book

2) Medical education is very standardized: lots and lots of national level scantron tests. As such, going to a top 10 school opens way fewer doors than going to a top 10 law, business, or engineering school. Your residencies will judge you by your quantity of published reasearch and your test scores rather than your school's name. In other words, don't stress about gettiing into a 'top ten'.

 

[MDtobe31311]

Hmmm well let's see if I can take a stab at this. Below are the stats of a hypothetical person I would think would get into a top ten.

-GPA > 3.8
-MCAT > 35 (though 37+ would be better)
-2+ years of research
-1+ published papers with your name in them
-200 hours shadowing doctors
-300 hours volunteering (includes hospital/ medicine related volunteering and community service - I would join a community service organization and stick with it for all 4 years of college)
-play an instrument for 4+ years (or show dedication to something artsy)
-become a part of a student organization that has a lot of weight on your campus (such as a student council, honor council, diversity council, etc) and stick with it for 3+ years in college. Become President your junior or senior year.
-If you like to write, become a columnist for your school newspaper
-Get an on campus job that allows you to do hw while you are there (library desk, department front desk, etc)
-Form strong relationships with faculty/staff - I ended up on a search committee for a new faculty position because of this.
-Work out regularly and take care of your own health overall. If you're going into the health profession, you have to practice what you preach
-Pick up an interesting hobby

Ok I'm out of ideas. Basically have perfect to near perfect numbers and then along with the solid volunteering/ shadowing/ research have some ECs where you show strong leadership and dedication. Plus other things that could be unique/ make you stand out.

Good luck!

 

[Planet Ocean]

Well, most of the 'top' schools are research oriented so on top of having the usual high gpa and mcat score with ecs and lors they will want to see that you have a strong background in research. I think I can speak for a lot of people here and say that there really isnt such thing as a 'good' medical school. Its really a privaledge to get accepted at any us accredited med school. Plus everyone knows it all about the residency anyways

 

[BeastfromthEast]

whew! thats a long list!
by the way, is UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) considered a good med school? because thats where im going for undergrad (i have a full ride). will i have an easier time getting into UAB med school because i will attend UAB undergrad?

 

[punkedoutriffs]

Hmmm well let's see if I can take a stab at this. Below are the stats of a hypothetical person I would think would get into a top ten.

-GPA > 3.8
-MCAT > 35 (though 37+ would be better)
-2+ years of research
-1+ published papers with your name in them
-200 hours shadowing doctors
-300 hours volunteering (includes hospital/ medicine related volunteering and community service - I would join a community service organization and stick with it for all 4 years of college)
-play an instrument for 4+ years (or show dedication to something artsy)
-become a part of a student organization that has a lot of weight on your campus (such as a student council, honor council, diversity council, etc) and stick with it for 3+ years in college. Become President your junior or senior year.
-If you like to write, become a columnist for your school newspaper
-Get an on campus job that allows you to do hw while you are there (library desk, department front desk, etc)
-Form strong relationships with faculty/staff - I ended up on a search committee for a new faculty position because of this.
-Work out regularly and take care of your own health overall. If you're going into the health profession, you have to practice what you preach
-Pick up an interesting hobby

Ok I'm out of ideas. Basically have perfect to near perfect numbers and then along with the solid volunteering/ shadowing/ research have some ECs where you show strong leadership and dedication. Plus other things that could be unique/ make you stand out.

Good luck!

This is not a man. This is...BIONIC MAN!

 

[searun]

I'm just wondering since I am kinda new to all this premed stuff: how hard is it to get into a good med school (lets say top ten for example)? what kind of stats would one need to be competitive for admissions there? thanks a bunch!

Well, it is competitive trying to get accepted to a Top Ten med school. There are alot of kids that want to go to a one of these schools and some of them are pretty good. So, yeah, you need a good gpa and a good MCAT and some good ECs.

 

[metallica81788]

whew! thats a long list!
by the way, is UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) considered a good med school? because thats where im going for undergrad (i have a full ride). will i have an easier time getting into UAB med school because i will attend UAB undergrad?

You'll have a much easier time if you're an Alabama resident, I think they take about 90% in state.

 

[MDtobe31311]

This is not a man. This is...BIONIC MAN!

HAHAHAAA well if he wants a guarantee into a top 10 this is what he's gotta look like!

He asked

 

[mmmcdowe]

Hmmm well let's see if I can take a stab at this. Below are the stats of a hypothetical person I would think would get into a top ten.

-GPA > 3.8
-MCAT > 35 (though 37+ would be better)
-2+ years of research
-1+ published papers with your name in them
-200 hours shadowing doctors
-300 hours volunteering (includes hospital/ medicine related volunteering and community service - I would join a community service organization and stick with it for all 4 years of college)
-play an instrument for 4+ years (or show dedication to something artsy)
-become a part of a student organization that has a lot of weight on your campus (such as a student council, honor council, diversity council, etc) and stick with it for 3+ years in college. Become President your junior or senior year.
-If you like to write, become a columnist for your school newspaper
-Get an on campus job that allows you to do hw while you are there (library desk, department front desk, etc)
-Form strong relationships with faculty/staff - I ended up on a search committee for a new faculty position because of this.
-Work out regularly and take care of your own health overall. If you're going into the health profession, you have to practice what you preach
-Pick up an interesting hobby

Ok I'm out of ideas. Basically have perfect to near perfect numbers and then along with the solid volunteering/ shadowing/ research have some ECs where you show strong leadership and dedication. Plus other things that could be unique/ make you stand out.

Good luck!

I mostly agree that this person would have a decent chance of getting in. I think the bolded things could be removed or changed for other things. I say the last bolded thing because quite honestly looking physically fit and being healthy is much more important for other reasons than practicing what you preach (and looking good at interviews is nice too). Also, taking time off after college is a great way to have time to boost your resume.

 

[Naijaba]

From my experience interviewing at HMS and Stanford, I think top 10s want great grades + great MCAT + an "uber" experience. The latter can be Goldwater, Rhodes, Marshal, Fulbright, Peace Corps, Teach for America, Nature Publication, Immigrant working his/her way up in the US (aka Soros Scholars), etc. Though these are all hard to get/complete, there are enough applicants that have them to fill top 10 schools.

Edit: Those three things are just the factors that I think are most important. You still have to be an overall good applicant (volunteering, research, etc) to stand a chance.

 

[MDtobe31311]

I mostly agree that this person would have a decent chance of getting in. I think the bolded things could be removed or changed for other things. I say the last bolded thing because quite honestly looking physically fit and being healthy is much more important for other reasons than practicing what you preach (and looking good at interviews is nice too). Also, taking time off after college is a great way to have time to boost your resume.

That's good to hear - I certainly wish I looked like the above described bionic man! I definitely agree that the bolded things can be removed/changed. They were simply examples of unique ECs and the described job would be a way to make easy money while you did hw (because of all the volunteering and shadowing I did I NEVER had time for summer jobs, and I wish I had taken the opportunity to get a cushy on campus job so my AMCAS job section hadn't looked so empty)

 

[ILikeDrugs]

I don't know.

 

[christina30]

There's no such thing as a "bad" U.S. medical school, to answer your question, OP.

 

[petlee1]

Very hard