How important is the reputation of you undergrad school

[mense43]

Hi, I have a quick question. How imoportant is the school where you do your undergraduate studies to admissions people at medical schools. Here is my situation, right now I am Georgia Tech, and to get a biochem degeree here i need to take CS courses which are very hard.
I was wondering if it would be worth the work to stay here, or if I should just transfer. The schools I am wishing to transfer to are either Flordia State University, or the University of Wisconsin-Madsion.
another question does engineering help you get into med school, and I mean engineering at Georgia Tech not that great of school. Thank you

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[Trek]

Do a search (click the "search" link at the top of the page)- it's been beaten to death. The long and short answer is "reputation may matter". --Trek

 

[mpp]

Although I think the reputation of your undergraduate school carries some weight in the medical school application process, it is quite minor.

Georgia Tech has a very good reputation for engineering (I think better than FSU or Madison although all three are good schools). Unless there is some more specific reason for leaving Gerogia Tech, I would just stay. Do you think the CS classes at FSU or at Madison would be easier?

 

[SMW]

Hi, mense43, welcome to SDN!! Yes, it does matter some. It's easier to get noticed from a better undergrad institution amongst the tons of applications that medschools get. I'm not sure that the schools you mention are considered elite enough to confer much of an advantage. It doesn't matter what you major in. Just go with what you're interested in, as long as you can get good grades i.e. mostly A's. Good luck!!

 

[Gandalf]

People will tell you that it dosen't matter, but that's a bunch of BS! Of course it matters!

Do you really think that the kids over at Harvard are sooooo much smarter than kids at an good non-ivy school? No, they just did better in high school than the rest of us! So why are the top med schools filled with kids from ivys to the exclusion of more-than-qualified non-ivy applicants? (This is not to say that the ivy candidates are not qualified, only that non-ivy candidates with the same GPA, MCAT, research, etc. are just as qualified.) The answer is in the reputation and prestige that goes hand-in-hand with the ivy name.

So should you play the name game and try to go the the best named school you can? Definitely. It will save you the bitterness when you start getting wait-listed at schools that your ivy friends got into, even though you're more qualified!

 

[johnM]

Go where you think you will do best, that is, get the best GPA. By far that is the most important thing when applying to med school. Go to the school you want and major in the field you want. If you are worried about hard engineering classes, change majors. If you can get better grades as a humanities major or anything else, then by all means, do something else. Don't waste your time studying CS unless you REALLY want to do it for yourself.

 

[SMW]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Gandalf:
•

Do you really think that the kids over at Harvard are sooooo much smarter than kids at an good non-ivy school? No, they just did better in high school than the rest of us! So why are the top med schools filled with kids from ivys to the exclusion of more-than-qualified non-ivy applicants? (This is not to say that the ivy candidates are not qualified, only that non-ivy candidates with the same GPA, MCAT, research, etc. are just as qualified.) The answer is in the reputation and prestige that goes hand-in-hand with the ivy name.

So should you play the name game and try to go the the best named school you can? Definitely. It will save you the bitterness when you start getting wait-listed at schools that your ivy friends got into, even though you're more qualified! •••••Gee, Gandalf, I'm a little afraid to welcome you to SDN. But here goes -- Welcome!!


I think that med school adcoms are so overwhelmed by the sheer volume of applications they get, that anything that makes one stand out in the crowd (like coming from a highly competitive undergrad school) is going to help, and you can't really fault the adcoms for that. Yes, those students did better in high school -- and why was that? They worked really, really hard, and then continued to work really, really hard for another 4 years. So they have a proven track record of working hard and excelling for a long time. Sounds like something that would appeal to just about any adcom member.

And how do you know you're more qualified? Did you read these other students' applications and sit in on the interviews? Maybe they have something that medschools want that's not immediately apparent to you. Try not to be so bitter, and figure out a way to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Good luck getting off those waitlists!

 

[brandonite]

It matters if you go to an outstanding undergrad school. I don't think there are very many people that went to Harvard with 24 MCATs that won't get in somewhere, whereas someone who went to some community college with 24 MCATs might have a very difficult time. That's obviously an extreme case.

If you're trying to choose between two schools that are both middle-of-the-pack, I don't think it really matters.

I have great MCAT scores, great EC's, but went to a very low ranked undergrad school, and have gotten rejected from a pile of schools. Granted they were all top 10, but still.

And, a lot of it might depend on where you want to apply. I think a lot of the Ivy League type schools value undergrad reputation significantly more than your state school might, perhaps.

 

[mense43]

Thanks for the info ya'll, I thought I should also say another reason I am leaving tech is I don't want to pursue engineering.

 

[gizzdogg]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by mense43:
•Hi, I have a quick question. How imoportant is the school where you do your undergraduate studies to admissions people at medical schools. Here is my situation, right now I am Georgia Tech, and to get a biochem degeree here i need to take CS courses which are very hard.
I was wondering if it would be worth the work to stay here, or if I should just transfer. The schools I am wishing to transfer to are either Flordia State University, or the University of Wisconsin-Madsion.
another question does engineering help you get into med school, and I mean engineering at Georgia Tech not that great of school. Thank you•••••Mense,

I'm not sure what program you intend to transfer into: biochemistry or some engineering program. But I was in your position two years ago. I transferred from a southern state school where i was a ChemE major to a school with a great reputation in biochemistry: UW-Madison. And reputation was the biggest factor in my decision to transfer. But in hindsight, I think that the reputation won't matter as much as the more abundant opportunities at my school.

Of course your situation is a little different. G.T. is a great school in my opinion for just about everything in engineering and basic sciences. UW is a comparable institution with a better biochemistry dept. and strong, but not as reputable engineering programs (but that depends on the individual engineering program). FSU is a good school, but not on GT and UW's level in my opinion. But please factor in characteristics other than reputation when you make your decision.

In my case I don't think that the reputation thing will make a difference when i apply to med schools. However, i know that all my LOR's will. And it's been easy to get some great letters from some big names here at UW, even as a junior transfer. Granted, I've worked my ass off, but i'm sure are a good student too. So my LORs are much better for having transfered to UW. Also, there are so many lab jobs here it's crazy. But I'm sure it's like this at a lot of places.

Here's my point. My advice is to transfer if you feel that by doing so you will boost your LORs and the extracurricular section of your application. Those will be much more important to your application. Otherwise, I wouldn't transfer, even if the CS classes are brutal. I'm sure you'd have equally brutal classes to take when you have to make up some classes as a transfer student. Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you want more info about my situation. Best of luck! -GD

 

[gizzdogg]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by mense43:
•Thanks for the info ya'll, I thought I should also say another reason I am leaving tech is I don't want to pursue engineering.•••••Mense,
Just saw this! So you intend to stick with biochem i guess. Sorry i overlooked this in the previous post. Also, from what my friends at GT and FSU have said, GT isn't all that much fun to attend. Do you agree? Madison is a great place to live, even in the winter. Okay, sometimes even in the winter. And Tallahassee is a nice place too. So I'll state the obvious here by advising you to consider happiness as well. This may be the most important factor.

 

[Warren P. Cheswick]

ANd so begins another post by someone who has yet to look at the FAQ on this board

SOMEONE PLEASE PELASE PLEASE bump them...I have to head off to class.

Adios

 

[none]

First off, a FAQ isn't really needed. If you don't like the thread topic, don't read it. Further, this is a very specific question, so unless there's something on the FAQ about Georgia Tech, don't attack the OP. I personally think GT is a fine school and that you should not transfer, based on reputation, to either of the two schools you mentioned.

 

[Gandalf]

•••quote:•••And how do you know you're more qualified? Did you read these other students' applications and sit in on the interviews? Maybe they have something that medschools want that's not immediately apparent to you. ••••One should not meddle in the affairs of a wizard. I simply know!