Medical How much do med schools admissions factor in undergrad school? Do they factor it in through USNWR rank?

[gyngyn]

Hi everyone,

I'm from CA and while I didn't really get into any UC's I liked, I ended up with 3 choices I loved, University of Michigan, Emory, and University of Washington. UW gave me a nice scholarship and OOS tuition was relatively affordable (like 40k), and the others were >70k. I also really preferred to be at Seattle, and they seemed very highly regarded for premed students.

However, the school's USNWR rankings have been on a steady decline, despite them making pretty strong academic reputation rankings. I was wondering how much med school admissions would consider the school's US News rank, which was like 40s a couple years ago, and somehow meteorically dropped to 60.

Did I make a big mistake?

UW is a fine school. Doing well there will put you in position to go anywhere your talents take you.

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[gyngyn]

Thank you for your response! I was wondering whether going to UW for pre-med would hurt me if my goal was to get into an elite top 10-15 MD school like (JHU, Penn, Stanford, UCSF, Yale, UCLA etc.), comparatively. I understand that all MD schools are uber-competetive, and I'd be thankful to get into any, but I don't think it can hurt me to set my sights high! Thank you so much.

You are limited only by your own talent and effort. UW sends folks to all those places, and better.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Your undergrad plays way, way less of a role than premeds think. I know people who came out of state schools which are probably not even ranked and ended up at top 15 medical schools. Your CV and scores are what get you in.

For example, for getting into medical school, a 3.9 GPA at San Diego State University > 3.2 at UCLA

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Yeah, that makes sense, however, a 3.9 at UCLA must be significantly better than a 3.9 at SD State? Or not? What about a 3.9 from UW vs like Michigan? I'm really new to this so thanks for responding to me.

No, I totally agree with that.

I guess my point is that the school itself isn't everything. I am not sure between UW vs Michigan, but I would say it's safe to say the difference in negligible.

 

[tantacles]

Ah ok, so even for the absolute tip top MD schools, doing well at UW is enough, and won't be looked down upon unless conpared to like a Stanford or a Harvard.

Also, in the case of a 3.9 at UCLA vs SDSU, would a 3.9 at UCLA automatically yield a huge edge, even if the MCAT is comparable? Also, how would EC's play into the picture.

I assume when you say negligible for something like UW vs U-M, that would mean that it'd come down to MCAT Scores + EC's and the GPA's would be looked at similarly.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm a freshman who just started taking classes, and is already stressing because I accidentally took all STEM weeders this quarter, and think I'm gonna end up with a 3.5/6ish. Thanks for everything!

A 3.9 anywhere is fantastic. It is hard to say exactly how much school rank plays into things, especially in the case of comparing top tier schools. Either way, if you get a great GPA and MCAT, that matters far more than anything else.

 

[tantacles]

Ah ok, understood. Well, technically, my offer from Emory is still valid (was admitted off the waitlist recently). It, however, costs, 72k, whereas UW costs me 40k approximately. I really love the UW, and I think their research opportunities and premed are great. Since I'm an incoming frosh, I already started applying for/interviewing for a couple of research positions. I also started taking classes at UW (calc, physics, bio), and I'm working on my GPA (as of grade projections this week, a 3.6, but working on it!). Under these circumstances, would you say that it'd be worth it to make the switch to Emory? UW saves me 1 year as well, as I can comfortably graduate in 3 years (even if I have to take a gap year, I still save on tuition lol).

Financially, I'd have to take loans to make Emory work. Like a lot of them. My parents are willing to fully cover UW financially, and they advise me to go to UW as well, just because they don't think anything is really worth that much more than UW for premed. I'm kinda on the fence about this though, if going to UW would hurt my med school app. Please let me know if I should make this a separate post. I really appreciate all the help. Thanks!

I think what everyone is trying to say is that going to UW would not hurt your medical school application. Many applicants from Emory who apply to Harvard with excellent stats STILL don't get in, so it's clear that going to a great undergraduate institution alone isn't enough.

As a corollary to that point, UW is also a GREAT undergraduate school.

 

[lord999]

School rank only matters in two areas. Between the Ivys and even that has been less of an issue. Yale and Penn favor other Ivys but not as much as 20 years ago. MIT has favorable admissions to Harvard. The only area where I've seen school effects be a factor is Texas. Texas is an odd medical school market which conducts itself quite differently and someone from that system can comment about Rice, SFA, and a couple of others being feeders to specific schools. When we get Texan applicants, it is a cultural difference.

UW is fine. It has a strong IM department and a challenging hospital in Harborview that certainly gives Big County LA and Cook a run for its money.

 

[Goro]

Yeah, that makes sense, however, a 3.9 at UCLA must be significantly better than a 3.9 at SD State? Or not? What about a 3.9 from UW vs like Michigan? I'm really new to this so thanks for responding to me.

You have to stop thinking like this. It' doesn't matter. UG schools serve as feeders for many medical schools, because their grads are known products. The only places where UG prestige has any influence are with the Ivies. They like inbreeding.

Getting into med school is on YOU, not your UG school.

Capeesh?

 

[Goro]

Okay, so ivies like ivies, and no one else really cares all that much? That makes sense. If ivies still take a few students from non-ivies, would prestige matter there, or would a great application from UW trump all else?

Thanks! I think I've kinda established that it doesn't matter and even if it does UW is fine.

You get into Harvard/Stanford class schools from UW.

 

[Goro]

Alright! Makes sense. Also, unrelated but as I'm a CA resident, I'm OOS to UW. I was always considering MD+PhD which is typically residency doesn't matter, but if I apply to traditional MD Programs at UCSF, will I still be considered in state? Or will I not get that advantage because I didn't go to the UC's? I kinda chose UW since it was affordable for the location/opportunities it offered, and hearing horror stories from much smarter friends who went to UC's like SD/even Cal and got locked out of opportunities and friends at UW who felt like they had way more opportunities.

when UCSF says 78% of our students are In-State, does that include ppl like me?

For tuition? Check with what the schools say.

Of the CA schools, only UCD and UCR have a major IS bias. UCI, maybe. But the the other UCs? No.

You have to understand that EVERYBODY wants to go to med school in CA, and there is a massive surplus of talented pre-meds in the state. UCLA alone could fill all other CA med schools with their pre-med grads.

Hence, CA is a net exporter of medical students. My own DO school nets some of these people every year, who could have gone to, say, Drexel or Wake, but wanted to stay at least on our side of the Missouri River.

So, by going to college at UW, that will put you at an advantage for UW and MCW, and probably U ILL and U IA as well.

 

[lord999]

Ah I see. That makes sense. Yeah, UW has great undergrad research, and nice opportunities at hospitals as well, which is essentially why I chose it in the first place. I assume you wouldn't recommend spending that much extra to go Emory, when it wouldn't really provide me with much of an advantage. I am still waiting for Brown and Stanford waitlists though, and would go to either.

I don't know what your friends are thinking, I know the CA market, and it doesn't work like that for UC. There is some old prejudice from CSU but that's gone away now that articulation is well-defined. Instate bias is institutionalized due to WICHE in many cases, that's not hidden due to open criteria.

Are you on a medical school admissions committee btw? As a curiosity, if you are, how would you see a 3.9 applicant from UW vs a 3.9 applicant from Emory with comparable MCATs? Also, how much better would a candidate from UW have to be than one from an ivy?

much much appreciated!

Yes, and it only matters for me if they come from Grinnell. That's not because of the school, but their faculty's relentless advocacy for their students who are by reputation and experience to be very productive. In practical terms, I've never seen a situation where a school is decisive unless it's a situation like that. UW is a bit more impersonal.

I don't get your fixation on this topic. If you think UW is easier, you are going to be in for a surprise....

 

[jesuisbacke]

Yes, and it only matters for me if they come from Grinnell. That's not because of the school, but their faculty's relentless advocacy for their students who are by reputation and experience to be very productive. In practical terms, I've never seen a situation where a school is decisive unless it's a situation like that. UW is a bit more impersonal.

I don't get your fixation on this topic. If you think UW is easier, you are going to be in for a surprise....

UW doesn't seem easy by any standards from the classes I started taking there. I was just wondering if med school admissions committees see it as "easier" or "worse" simply becaue of it's falling USNWR rank, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[gutonc]

So, by going to college at UW, that will put you at an advantage for UW and MCW, and probably U ILL and U IA as well.

To clarify, the W is Washington, not Sconnie.

 

[tantacles]

UW doesn't seem easy by any standards from the classes I started taking there. I was just wondering if med school admissions committees see it as "easier" or "worse" simply becaue of it's falling USNWR rank, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

No one is going to assume that UW's academics are "bad", "easy" or "worse" than any other school just because its USNWR has been falling.

If I were you, I would pick the college with a balance of good fit, good academics, and financial fitness. Weigh those metrics based on what's important to you. I don't think anyone here can give you truly concrete answers about how any one school is perceived by any other school. Students from all of the schools you mentioned get into all sorts of medical schools, including ivy league schools.

 

[Goro]

As an aside, OP, there is a reason as to why admissions Deans refer to that rag as US News and Worst Report

 

[Goro]

UW doesn't seem easy by any standards from the classes I started taking there. I was just wondering if med school admissions committees see it as "easier" or "worse" simply becaue of it's falling USNWR rank, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Adcom members do not keep track of how challenging or easy colleges are. There is some 30,000 of them in the United States.

JUST DO WELL.

 

[gyngyn]

As an aside, OP, there is a reason as yo why admissions Deans refer to that rag as US News and Worst Report

US Snooze and World Distort...if you please.

 

[Goro]

Med school admissions deans? Damn i guess it REALLY is irrelevant then lol

I never knew they referred to it like that lol. I am pretty glad if they do since UW seems to be a pretty strong school in most people's minds. I think my fixation on USNWR comes from my HS where all everyone cares abt is the top 20 schools on USNWR.

Thank you for your help.

The criteria in which US Snooze ranks me schools is scientifically known as "bogus".