how much does undergrad matter in med school admissions

[Protagonistic]

i know threads have been dedicated for them, i googled those threads but they were in an old and crappy format. I want links to threads discussing them in a current format, if not then discuss here.

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[Jsmith34]

You mean undergraduate major? Or the undergraduate years in general?

 

[DrYoda]

i know threads have been dedicated for them, i googled those threads but they were in an old and crappy format. I want links to threads discussing them in a current format, if not then discuss here.

Try going to the top of the screen and click "view full version" above the first post.

If that doesn't fix the format problem, then I have no clue what your post is about.

 

[BiopsychStudent]

I'm guessing the OP maybe means the "name" of whatever university you went to?

Because obviously undergrad performance matters, and people say over and over that your specific major does not.

 

[rafflecopter]

I didn't go to a great undergrad and I have interviews to a few top 20 med schools and an acceptance. So basically not much.

 

[rhesuspieces]

 

[paul411]

how much does undergrad matter in med school admissions

The general consensus on SDN is that it matters exactly 42%.

 

[Mithril]

.

 

[Protagonistic]

I mean the name of your undergrad university.

 

[Barcu]

I mean the name of your undergrad university.

It matters a little, but if you can get into any med school from pretty much any undergrad.

 

[Catalystik]

When assessing your stats, some med school may include an adjustment factor for your GPA depending on whether your undergrad is known for grade inflation or deflation.

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

I mean the name of your undergrad university.

Matters much less than your individual experience. A 3.0/29O, even at Princeton, will probably destroy your chances. Now, a 3.4/35Q from Princeton and upward trend will probably get you many interviews assuming your ECs and LORs are quality. It's a bit of a crap-shoot usually. I saw a couple people on MDapplicants from Dartmouth and Princeton with very underwhelming stats that got into multiple top 20's. There was also a girl from my undergrad with a 4.0/42s that only got into one school (it was top 20 though). Clearly it's a varied experience.

 

[seelee]

Signs your undergrad is crap...

If you're making your tuition check out to the same guy who is teaching your class.

If the college name has ".com" at the end.

If your college has a banner ad on facebook.

If the most popular major is "business office management administration technology".

 

[Protagonistic]

My college is tier 4, located next to a medical school (not in the top 50 but well recognized in the state) and it has a honors program. Many people do transfer to UGA though.

I want to go to Johns Hopkins for med school, I mean that is my goal. How bad does transferring college affect med school chances?

 

[Barcu]

My college is tier 4, located next to a medical school (not in the top 50 but well recognized in the state) and it has a honors program. Many people do transfer to UGA though.

I want to go to Johns Hopkins for med school, I mean that is my goal. How bad does transferring college affect med school chances?

Transferring will only be negative if your grades drop.

 

[Protagonistic]

Transferring will only be negative if your grades drop.

hypothetically speaking, say I maintain a 4.0 my second university but a 3.6 on my first, will that actually help?

 

[Barcu]

hypothetically speaking, say I maintain a 4.0 my second university but a 3.6 on my first, will that actually help?

Yes it would help. Upward trends are good and will help you in pretty much any case (unless you go from a better school to a lower tier school, that may be a wash). If that upward trend occurs at a more reputable institution, I would think that would look even better than an upward trend staying at the same school (which still looks good).

 

[Protagonistic]

Yes it would help. Upward trends are good and will help you in pretty much any case (unless you go from a better school to a lower tier school, that may be a wash). If that upward trend occurs at a more reputable institution, I would think that would look even better than an upward trend staying at the same school (which still looks good).

Thank you. Btw, are any of you familiar with the transfer process?

 

[Barcu]

Thank you. Btw, are any of you familiar with the transfer process?

Nope, it would be a good discussion to have with your advisor.

I would suggest doing it as quickly as you can. The problem with transferring is you have to re-establish everything. So, you need to look for new ECs at your new school. You also need to think about rec letters, so transferring earlier is much more beneficial. Latest should be after your soph year. After that, you should just stick it out.

 

[Protagonistic]

Nope, it would be a good discussion to have with your advisor.

I would suggest doing it as quickly as you can. The problem with transferring is you have to re-establish everything. So, you need to look for new ECs at your new school. You also need to think about rec letters, so transferring earlier is much more beneficial. Latest should be after your soph year. After that, you should just stick it out.

Ya I plan on transferring after my sophomore year, deadlines are in March of next year but I was more so thinking about admissions. Like how hard it would be to get into a university as a transfer student, especially a top 50 uni.

 

[Hah]

My college is tier 4, located next to a medical school (not in the top 50 but well recognized in the state) and it has a honors program. Many people do transfer to UGA though.

I want to go to Johns Hopkins for med school, I mean that is my goal. How bad does transferring college affect med school chances?

Transferring may or may not help. For example, I had a friend transfer from Rutgers after the first year and went to Yale for the next three. He only got into 2 schools - NYU and NJMS with a 4.0 and a 38Q. The application process is always a crap shoot. While Johns Hopkins is a nice goal I wouldn't let it dictate what you do in life. If you have a 4.0 right now and expect to hold on to that 4.0 if you transfer then by all means do it. A more prestigious undergrad may help a little if the rest of your application is gold but it won't help that much in general.

With regards to transferring, its not unheard of that many people transfer. If your grades are up to par and you have great reasons for transferring it shouldn't be to hard.

 

[slowbutsteady]

hypothetically speaking, say I maintain a 4.0 my second university but a 3.6 on my first, will that actually help?

No it will not help. Most med schools prefer lower GPAs.

 

[Revista]

Is it the be all end all in regards to your chances? Of course not. Does it help? Of course.

I have had a few interviews at top 25 schools, and so far the majority of people I was interviewing with (60-70%) were from Ivy's. Was it the fact that they were going to an Ivy that they got the interview? Or simply the fact that to get into an Ivy is difficult, and a lot of the students who get into these schools were gunners since high-school, so they are (should be) more intelligent people and have more extraordinary extracurriculars than most other applicants, and thus steal up all the interview slots at top schools?

 

[gravitywave]

I have had a few interviews at top 25 schools, and so far the majority of people I was interviewing with (60-70%) were from Ivy's. Was it the fact that they were going to an Ivy that they got the interview? Or simply the fact that to get into an Ivy is difficult, and a lot of the students who get into these schools were gunners since high-school, so they are (should be) more intelligent people and have more extraordinary extracurriculars than most other applicants, and thus steal up all the interview slots at top schools?

i had a similar experience, and i think it's much more about the bit i bolded than just the name alone. these folks aren't at Ivies for no good reason - they tend to test better, and so have better MCAT scores. They also have had access to the kind of research/EC support that only top private universities can provide.

Can you get into Columbia from ASU? Of course you can. I do think going to an Ivy helps though, because of the resources and (a little eensy bit) also because of how the school name vouches for you. But if you're mediocre, you're mediocre no matter where you come from.

 

[searun]

Is it the be all end all in regards to your chances? Of course not. Does it help? Of course.

I have had a few interviews at top 25 schools, and so far the majority of people I was interviewing with (60-70%) were from Ivy's. Was it the fact that they were going to an Ivy that they got the interview? Or simply the fact that to get into an Ivy is difficult, and a lot of the students who get into these schools were gunners since high-school, so they are (should be) more intelligent people and have more extraordinary extracurriculars than most other applicants, and thus steal up all the interview slots at top schools?

I am a 4th year med student at an Ivy League med school regarded as being in the top 10. I did not graduate from an Ivy League undergrad but I would estimate that 60-70 percent of my class did graduate from Ivy League undergrads, with Harvard, Yale, and Princeton leading the way, and Dartmouth and Columbia also well represented. I would estimate that an additional 20 percent of my class comes from well known schools like Stanford, Hopkins, UC Berkeley, and liberal arts schools like Williams, Amherst, and Pomona. The remaining 10-15 percent or so come from schools that are not regarded as elite, the University of Oregon, for example.

Make of this what you will but that is the profile of my class.

 

[Protagonistic]

Transferring may or may not help. For example, I had a friend transfer from Rutgers after the first year and went to Yale for the next three. He only got into 2 schools - NYU and NJMS with a 4.0 and a 38Q. The application process is always a crap shoot. While Johns Hopkins is a nice goal I wouldn't let it dictate what you do in life. If you have a 4.0 right now and expect to hold on to that 4.0 if you transfer then by all means do it. A more prestigious undergrad may help a little if the rest of your application is gold but it won't help that much in general.

With regards to transferring, its not unheard of that many people transfer. If your grades are up to par and you have great reasons for transferring it shouldn't be to hard.

If I have a 3.6 at a tier 4 school, where do you think that will get me into as a transfer?

 

[Ursa]

I am a 4th year med student at an Ivy League med school regarded as being in the top 10. I did not graduate from an Ivy League undergrad but I would estimate that 60-70 percent of my class did graduate from Ivy League undergrads, with Harvard, Yale, and Princeton leading the way, and Dartmouth and Columbia also well represented. I would estimate that an additional 20 percent of my class comes from well known schools like Stanford, Hopkins, UC Berkeley, and liberal arts schools like Williams, Amherst, and Pomona. The remaining 10-15 percent or so come from schools that are not regarded as elite, the University of Oregon, for example.

Make of this what you will but that is the profile of my class.

lol but they are good at football!!

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

Ya I plan on transferring after my sophomore year, deadlines are in March of next year but I was more so thinking about admissions. Like how hard it would be to get into a university as a transfer student, especially a top 50 uni.

I transferred into Vanderbilt University after my sophomore year, and only from an unknown state college in FL. I lost 18 credits and had to re-take some prereqs. This caused me to add another year onto my undergrad. Generally they do not care as much about SAT score (still need top 20%) if you have other redeeming factors, and have shown over two years that you are a good college student. Remember, it is still competitive. My transfer class at Vandy had over 2,000 applications and less than 200 got in.

As far as grades go, it depends on where you are now, and where you get in. At my first school I had a 3.66 (Had a 3.3 first sem. that brought it down.) I had other things like great LOR's, multiple academic science scholarships, and I'd been working 30hrs/week. My grades at Vanderbilt were 3.05 first sem, 3.05 second, and around 3.6 this term. The classes here are much harder. People will like to tell you that GPA's are equivalent, but they aren't. I had a hard time adjusting, but I'm doing well now. Unfortunately I will only have a 3.4 by time of application because my first year at Vandy was rough. If you get into a top school and have no trouble adjusting, I don't see why you couldn't get good grades. I have found that I do nearly twice the work for a 3.5GPA here than I would've for a 4.0GPA at the state school. Everyone is different though, and you might not experience such a difference in difficulty. You could keep the 3.6 or even do better if you work hard, as always. If I could go back in time, I would still come here. As far as entering into medical school, your undergrad might help a little, but you can go to University of Nebraska and still get into Columbia. You might be more likely to get in coming from a top 20, but it won't get you in if you have poor stats.

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

If I have a 3.6 at a tier 4 school, where do you think that will get me into as a transfer?

If you have any other questions about transferring feel free to PM me. I applied to Penn, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Tufts, and Boston College. If you are interested in any of those, I could give you particular advice as well.

 

[Protagonistic]

I transferred into Vanderbilt University after my sophomore year, and only from an unknown state college in FL. I lost 18 credits and had to re-take some prereqs. This caused me to add another year onto my undergrad. Generally they do not care as much about SAT score (still need top 20%) if you have other redeeming factors, and have shown over two years that you are a good college student. Remember, it is still competitive. My transfer class at Vandy had over 2,000 applications and less than 200 got in.

As far as grades go, it depends on where you are now, and where you get in. At my first school I had a 3.66 (Had a 3.3 first sem. that brought it down.) I had other things like great LOR's, multiple academic science scholarships, and I'd been working 30hrs/week. My grades at Vanderbilt were 3.05 first sem, 3.05 second, and around 3.6 this term. The classes here are much harder. People will like to tell you that GPA's are equivalent, but they aren't. I had a hard time adjusting, but I'm doing well now. Unfortunately I will only have a 3.4 by time of application because my first year at Vandy was rough. If you get into a top school and have no trouble adjusting, I don't see why you couldn't get good grades. I have found that I do nearly twice the work for a 3.5GPA here than I would've for a 4.0GPA at the state school. Everyone is different though, and you might not experience such a difference in difficulty. You could keep the 3.6 or even do better if you work hard, as always. If I could go back in time, I would still come here. As far as entering into medical school, your undergrad might help a little, but you can go to University of Nebraska and still get into Columbia. You might be more likely to get in coming from a top 20, but it won't get you in if you have poor stats.

Shocking, I read that Vandy had over a 50 percent transfer acceptance rate.

Anyways here is my issue, my college is unheard of outside of my state and I can deal with that but then another issue comes in. I COMMUTE to school and I have not had the college experience yet. I have not had much of a social life and at my college most people already know each other from high school and a high number of people are adults coming in for their degrees.

 

[Protagonistic]

If you have any other questions about transferring feel free to PM me. I applied to Penn, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Tufts, and Boston College. If you are interested in any of those, I could give you particular advice as well.

I will be messaging you right now and hopefully we can stay in touch.

 

[welcometomedsch]

Name of the school does not matter.

For profit universities probably matter. Community college science work may matter for MD, but not for DO.

undergrad GPA may or may not matter.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

Name of the school does not matter.

For profit universities probably matter. Community college science work may matter for MD, but not for DO.

undergrad GPA may or may not matter.

what otherworldly insight.

 

[Dbate]

Transferring may or may not help. For example, I had a friend transfer from Rutgers after the first year and went to Yale for the next three. He only got into 2 schools - NYU and NJMS with a 4.0 and a 38Q. The application process is always a crap shoot. While Johns Hopkins is a nice goal I wouldn't let it dictate what you do in life. If you have a 4.0 right now and expect to hold on to that 4.0 if you transfer then by all means do it. A more prestigious undergrad may help a little if the rest of your application is gold but it won't help that much in general.

With regards to transferring, its not unheard of that many people transfer. If your grades are up to par and you have great reasons for transferring it shouldn't be to hard.

That anecdote seems very questionable. A person with a 4.0 from Yale and a 38Q should have gotten multiple acceptances and with the long list of people we have going to top schools with lower stats that person either had personal issues that arose during interview or had little to no ECs. Either way, that story seems very odd.

 

[WingedOx]

lol but they are overrated at football!!

FTFY

Auburn is going to mop the floor with them. Would have rather seen TCU just for the intrigue.

 

[searun]

FTFY

Auburn is going to mop the floor with them. Would have rather seen TCU just for the intrigue.

I doubt it. And Auburn will return to mediocrity next year after the cheater and their stellar defensive lineman leave for the NFL. Oregon will be better than ever with their quarterback and running back returning. It will be a close game. Auburn will not even be in the top 20 next season. Auburn is a flash in the pan and in three years their coach will be on the hot seat and probably fired. Even Florida has peaked and is declining. Auburn is one and done.

 

[searun]

FTFY

Auburn is going to mop the floor with them. Would have rather seen TCU just for the intrigue.

Oh, and next year Alabama will resume its tradition of kicking Auburn's butt all over the state of Alabama, and when Alabama gets up 24-0 next year, it will just get worse. Get your popcorn and enjoy the show!

 

[Protagonistic]

quick question, is it true that if you go to an Ivy, your future is pretty much set?

 

[NickNaylor]

quick question, is it true that if you go to an Ivy, your future is pretty much set?

lolya

 

[Doubtnichts]

I found out my grades today. I ended up getting a C in my chem class, A in my sociology class, a B in my other three classes and it gave me a 2.9 GPA since Chem was worth more credit hours......

OUCH!

You're hoping to go to Johns Hopkins??
I would say this statement right here is going to do you more harm than the tier 4 school you go to... and from the looks of your other posts, you're not very serious about premed.

 

[Hah]

That anecdote seems very questionable. A person with a 4.0 from Yale and a 38Q should have gotten multiple acceptances and with the long list of people we have going to top schools with lower stats that person either had personal issues that arose during interview or had little to no ECs. Either way, that story seems very odd.

I have no reason to lie... I myself was really surprised when he told me so. This story may seem farfetched but it drives home the point that you can't really predict what happens. That being said he also really only applied to really competitive schools like Upenn/harvard/NYU/MSSM/Cornell etc and his state school. While he interviewed at most of those schools, he got rejected from all of them except for NYU and NJMS. Once again though, he was probably the exception not the rule. (Bad interview style maybe)

 

[Protagonistic]

You're hoping to go to Johns Hopkins??
I would say this statement right here is going to do you more harm than the tier 4 school you go to... and from the looks of your other posts, you're not very serious about premed.

=/

 

[Protagonistic]

Okay try to keep up with the word feeling. I mean when you go to an Ivy for your undergrad you make the life long friends, the contacts, you actually enjoy an active social life, and you are basically a part of a group of people who get to study abroad and do other things.

When you go to med school it seems like you are separated off from the rest of the community and is the graduate experience really the same?

Oh well nvm, right now I really want to ask something but just don't know how to ask it.

 

[Narmerguy]

Okay try to keep up with the word feeling. I mean when you go to an Ivy for your undergrad you make the life long friends, the contacts, you actually enjoy an active social life, and you are basically a part of a group of people who get to study abroad and do other things.

When you go to med school it seems like you are separated off from the rest of the community and is the graduate experience really the same?

Oh well nvm, right now I really want to ask something but just don't know how to ask it.

What you've just described can probably be achieved at almost every university in the country.

 

[Protagonistic]

What you've just described can probably be achieved at almost every university in the country.

Not at mines, most kids usually hang with their high school friends, when others try to come up to them and talk to them they give them weird looks.

I am an extremely outgoing guy IRL and I tend to be more thick skinned (yea yea surprise surprise) so I try to reach out to people more but the ones I have talked to always talk about transferring. Like I met 5 sophomores who are not going to be there next semester, all have transferred (don't know they did that though).

Also it is a commute campus.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Not at mines, most kids usually hang with their high school friends, when others try to come up to them and talk to them they give them weird looks.

I am an extremely outgoing guy IRL and I tend to be more thick skinned (yea yea surprise surprise) so I try to reach out to people more but the ones I have talked to always talk about transferring. Like I met 5 sophomores who are not going to be there next semester, all have transferred (don't know they did that though).

Also it is a commute campus.

so every single person at your university hangout with h/s friends? You don't know that, what's your sample size (n=10)? Ridiculous generalization. Try meeting people with common interests

from what I've read in your previous you seem like someone who is close-minded and has a very narrow thought process (though you might be different in real life). This may hurt you in meeting people.

 

[gettheleadout]

Matters much less than your individual experience. A 3.0/29O, even at Princeton, will probably destroy your chances. Now, a 3.4/35Q from Princeton and upward trend will probably get you many interviews assuming your ECs and LORs are quality. It's a bit of a crap-shoot usually. I saw a couple people on MDapplicants from Dartmouth and Princeton with very underwhelming stats that got into multiple top 20's. There was also a girl from my undergrad with a 4.0/42s that only got into one school (it was top 20 though). Clearly it's a varied experience.

Just wanted to comment on this and say that after looking at her profile, its possible she had some red flag on her application that she didn't reveal, although 1 acceptance isn't totally surprising considering her choice of schools. She should have applied more broadly/numbers aren't everything.

 

[Adamska]

When assessing your stats, some med school may include an adjustment factor for your GPA depending on whether your undergrad is known for grade inflation or deflation.

Honestly, a better control factor would be area of concentration. A science or engineering major will have a deflated GPA relative to a humanities major.

 

[IlDestriero]

Okay try to keep up with the word feeling. I mean when you go to an Ivy for your undergrad you make the life long friends, the contacts, you actually enjoy an active social life, and you are basically a part of a group of people who get to study abroad and do other things.

When you go to med school it seems like you are separated off from the rest of the community and is the graduate experience really the same?

Oh well nvm, right now I really want to ask something but just don't know how to ask it.

It's pretty clear you don't like your environment. Transfer and start over at a regular, non commuter, university. Give yourself a light 1st semester, filled with fluff filler classes to give yourself time to get your bearings. Why stay where you are unhappy? Just leave. You could even quit now and start again in the fall somewhere else. (probably not the best choice though, unless you are so miserable you can't continue)
Most universities can provide the social and academic structure you desire. Figure out if you're serious enough about medicine to do whatever it takes to be at the top of your class, and if you are, do it. No excuses, no whining. (like you see here all the time, every 3rd post)

 

[slowbutsteady]

quick question, is it true that if you go to an Ivy, your future is pretty much set?

Yes.