Matriculating to an unranked school

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Refreshed

Refreshed

Membership Revoked
Removed
10+ Year Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2010
Messages
46
Reaction score
2
How negatively will it affect my chances for a competitive residency (derm)? For a non-competitive residency at a competitive program (IM at MGH)?
Members don't see this ad.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Might as well not go, after all, you'll barely even be a doctor


Common man. I doubt anyone looked at my app and said "he made AOA, crushed his boards, did strong research and got great letters - oooh, went to state school, NOPE!

Go to a school where you'll be happy - that's how you'll learn to be the best doctor. Also, try to keep your debt down.

First of all, as previously said, school is a factor, but not a substantial one. But everyone takes the same boards.... Second, your interests may change. You may end up in another field.
 
Ranks are for impressing your mother-in-law.
 
Refreshed said:
How negatively will it affect my chances for a competitive residency (derm)? For a non-competitive residency at a competitive program (IM at MGH)?
Click to expand...

Do you want to be a physician or what??? Know your limitations and accept where you stand. This doesn't mean don't try hard or be confident in regards to trying to achieve your desires, but be realistic in your endeavors and as for yourself, again is it about prestige or being a physician?

Once medical school is over and you don't get a derm residency - are you going to be unhappy for the rest of your life? Are you going to choose another specialty purely out of last resort? You are doing it all wrong. Know at the end of the day you will be a physician and if anything were to happen you still would've achieved your biggest dream of being a physician. People need to to accept that if one really wanted to become a neurosurgeon, if they didn't have the ability to get it, they should be happy to become a primary doc at the end of day. I know people have desires and goals, but what I'm simply saying isn't even a backup plan it's a wake up call in order for you to come to a realization that the field of medicine is simple and that is you'll be a doc...be happy.


And....honestly derm sucks unless it's not cosmetic bullcrap - don't be a sellout. Be a doc with true intentions to help people. I'm not assuming that would be your choice, but it's a generalization one sees when trying to go into derm and plastics.
 
You must be kidding, lol. You'll be fine. Some US MD schools choose to be unranked, due to not disclosing all of their information, but they get plenty of people into competitive residencies. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this is not law school, rankings don't rule everything here, you'll be fine.
 
What about choosing between an unranked school (previously ranked 85ish) versus a ranked school? (Top 30)
 
torshi said:
Do you want to be a physician or what??? Know your limitations and accept where you stand. This doesn't mean don't try hard or be confident in regards to trying to achieve your desires, but be realistic in your endeavors and as for yourself, again is it about prestige or being a physician?

Once medical school is over and you don't get a derm residency - are you going to be unhappy for the rest of your life? Are you going to choose another specialty purely out of last resort? You are doing it all wrong. Know at the end of the day you will be a physician and if anything were to happen you still would've achieved your biggest dream of being a physician. People need to to accept that if one really wanted to become a neurosurgeon, if they didn't have the ability to get it, they should be happy to become a primary doc at the end of day. I know people have desires and goals, but what I'm simply saying isn't even a backup plan it's a wake up call in order for you to come to a realization that the field of medicine is simple and that is you'll be a doc...be happy.


And....honestly derm sucks unless it's not cosmetic bullcrap - don't be a sellout. Be a doc with true intentions to help people. I'm not assuming that would be your choice, but it's a generalization one sees when trying to go into derm and plastics.
Click to expand...


I would be choosing the unranked school over a much more expensive top 26-30 school. The difference would be ~$125k over four years. I'm not in a position to "accept my limitations" because I only got into an unranked school. Derm was just as an example, but I don't think derm sucks and i don't think derms are "sellouts".

FSU2013 said:
Might as well not go, after all, you'll barely even be a doctor


Common man. I doubt anyone looked at my app and said "he made AOA, crushed his boards, did strong research and got great letters - oooh, went to state school, NOPE!

Go to a school where you'll be happy - that's how you'll learn to be the best doctor. Also, try to keep your debt down.

First of all, as previously said, school is a factor, but not a substantial one. But everyone takes the same boards.... Second, your interests may change. You may end up in another field.
Click to expand...

Cinclus said:
If you do well on the boards, get good clinical grades, and good letters of rec, you will be just fine.
Click to expand...

SoulinNeed said:
You must be kidding, lol. You'll be fine. Some US MD schools choose to be unranked, due to not disclosing all of their information, but they get plenty of people into competitive residencies. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this is not law school, rankings don't rule everything here, you'll be fine.
Click to expand...

Great, thank you for the information. I can see myself being happy at both schools, but one (the unranked one) is soooooooooooooooo much cheaper.
 
torshi said:
Do you want to be a physician or what??? Know your limitations and accept where you stand. This doesn't mean don't try hard or be confident in regards to trying to achieve your desires, but be realistic in your endeavors and as for yourself, again is it about prestige or being a physician?

Once medical school is over and you don't get a derm residency - are you going to be unhappy for the rest of your life? Are you going to choose another specialty purely out of last resort? You are doing it all wrong. Know at the end of the day you will be a physician and if anything were to happen you still would've achieved your biggest dream of being a physician. People need to to accept that if one really wanted to become a neurosurgeon, if they didn't have the ability to get it, they should be happy to become a primary doc at the end of day. I know people have desires and goals, but what I'm simply saying isn't even a backup plan it's a wake up call in order for you to come to a realization that the field of medicine is simple and that is you'll be a doc...be happy.


And....honestly derm sucks unless it's not cosmetic bullcrap - don't be a sellout. Be a doc with true intentions to help people. I'm not assuming that would be your choice, but it's a generalization one sees when trying to go into derm and plastics.
Click to expand...

Dermis don't help people?! Just that one sentence rubs disqualification over your entire response.
 
RastaONELOVE said:
Dermis don't help people?! Just that one sentence rubs disqualification over your entire response.
Click to expand...

Apparently you need to read my post again instead of picking and choosing words to cater to your stance. You're not even acknowledging the whole statement, how about the part where I clearly mentioned cosmetics is a sellout...Why did I have a feeling someone would respond the way you did...maybe because it's such a typical response coming from someone who possibly takes an argumentative stance against everything they couldn't fully comprehend.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Refreshed said:
I would be choosing the unranked school over a much more expensive top 26-30 school. The difference would be ~$125k over four years. I'm not in a position to "accept my limitations" because I only got into an unranked school. Derm was just as an example, but I don't think derm sucks and i don't think derms are "sellouts".







Great, thank you for the information. I can see myself being happy at both schools, but one (the unranked one) is soooooooooooooooo much cheaper.
Click to expand...
Same with you. Instead of taking an offensive or argumentative stance against something you disapprove. Sit back and reread what I just said. Cosmetics is indeed a sellout (generalization). Why can't people stop mixing emotion with irrational thinking. Y'all need to comprehend the real message. Where did I say clearly that dermatology sucks? Didn't I mentioned a specific sub-specialization? Stop picking and choosing words, rather read slowly for your own good. It also seems like you are only agreeing to statements that cater to your interest and your views. Step out of your bubble and acknowledge other things to think about it then decide.
 
BigBlueBear said:
Talk about becoming argumentative...
Click to expand...

You see it as being argumentative that's the problem it's not. Everyone in this country is use to hostility, and once one differs or tries to correct one another it's deemed as being an "argument." No one can accept acknowledgment. It's sad.
 
torshi said:
You see it as being argumentative that's the problem it's not. Everyone in this country is use to hostility, and once one differs or tries to correct one another it's deemed as being an "argument." No one can accept acknowledgment. It's sad.
Click to expand...

Woooo sah. Someone needs a massage or a beer... or both.
 
IM at MGH is a top tier program. Better bring the 250's and AOA when you head there!
 
One of my family members is a radiology resident who states his program gives applicants more points based on what institution they attended.

Prestigious medical schools - +2
Solid School - +1
No name - +0

Obviously there are other factors that are more important, but school does matter to some degree.
 
Just an FYI IM is not noncompetitive. Sure, it's noncompetitive at a random community program. You basically just a need a pulse to match to one of those as a US grad. But IM at a highly ranked university program is just as much of a blood bath as any other competitive specialty. IM has more AOA students than any other specialty. Do the math. Even IM at a "mid tier" university program is plenty competitive.
 
Dires said:
Why? It's cited as a factor for 53% of programs. Mean importance is 3.6/5.0...

It's a little more influential than I would have guessed.
Click to expand...

A better way to discern how important a role it plays is to look at the residency classes of programs you are interested in. R1-R3 all from UCSF/Harvard/Hopkins? What school you go to probably matters. A good mix of state schools? Then probably not.
 
Textbookversion said:
A better way to discern how important a role it plays is to look at the residency classes of programs you are interested in. R1-R3 all from UCSF/Harvard/Hopkins? What school you go to probably matters. A good mix of state schools? Then probably not.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I imagine a program like that would also distort the mean.
 
Refreshed said:
How negatively will it affect my chances for a competitive residency (derm)? For a non-competitive residency at a competitive program (IM at MGH)?
Click to expand...

A few quick points:
IM at the top programs is just as compeitive as derm. IM at a mid-tier university program is still modestly competitive.

School name DOES matter. That said a strong student from an unranked school can still match exceptionally well.

$125,000 turns into $200,000 after interest. It depends on the year but the USnews rankings go to ~50. I am not sure 200 grand extra is worth it unless you hated the other school.

The difference between the 50th ranked med school and the 30th ranked med school is basically very little.
 
Last edited:
Refreshed said:
I would be choosing the unranked school over a much more expensive top 26-30 school. The difference would be ~$125k over four years. I'm not in a position to "accept my limitations" because I only got into an unranked school. Derm was just as an example, but I don't think derm sucks and i don't think derms are "sellouts".
Click to expand...

Derm is selling out. There is no other way to slice it.

No one goes to medical school and says, "Wow, I really want to treat acne all day long and do botox." I understand that you want to make a boat load of money, have great hours and be able to be a cash practice. I don't disagree with wanting that.

Personally I want that but realized I want to actually be a doctor as well. When someone stands up on an airplane and says, this guy is having chest pain do we have a doctor on board, I don't want my only real skills to be waxing poetic about his sunburn.

People can feed you all sorts of bull**** about how great derm is and how they are helping people but the reality is, people don't choose derm for derm. If it paid what primary care does, no one would go into it. They do it for the hours, the money and the lack of hastles. It is the quitesential example of selling out.
 
Instatewaiter said:
Derm is selling out. There is no other way to slice it.

No one goes to medical school and says, "Wow, I really want to treat acne all day long and do botox." I understand that you want to make a boat load of money, have great hours and be able to be a cash practice. I don't disagree with wanting that.

Personally I want that but realized I want to actually be a doctor as well. When someone stands up on an airplane and says, this guy is having chest pain do we have a doctor on board, I don't want my only real skills to be waxing poetic about his sunburn.

People can feed you all sorts of bull**** about how great derm is and how they are helping people but the reality is, people don't choose derm for derm. If it paid what primary care does, no one would go into it. They do it for the hours, the money and the lack of hastles. It is the quitesential example of selling out.
Click to expand...

Glad someone had the guts to say it. Similar to plastics - and it sucks, because I thought plastics would be awesome specialty for me if I could do a bunch or reconstructive or burn surgery, but that stuff doesn't pay.
 
FSU2013 said:
Glad someone had the guts to say it. Similar to plastics - and it sucks, because I thought plastics would be awesome specialty for me if I could do a bunch or reconstructive or burn surgery, but that stuff doesn't pay.
Click to expand...

except the road to plastics is a challenging and long one.. where the road to derm is cushy and well fed.
 
Instatewaiter said:
A few quick points:
IM at the top programs is just as compeitive as derm. IM at a mid-tier university program is still modestly competitive.

School name DOES matter. That said a strong student from an unranked school can still match exceptionally well.

$125,000 turns into $200,000 after interest. It depends on the year but the USnews rankings go to ~50. I am not sure 200 grand extra is worth it unless you hated the other school.

The difference between the 50th ranked med school and the 30th ranked med school is basically very little.
Click to expand...

I know and that's why I asked about it in the OP. It wasn't meant to be "contrast my competitiveness in Derm with competitiveness in IM at MGH". It was meant to be "will going to an unranked school hurt me significantly in competitive residencies (derm) and non-competitive residencies at competitive programs (IM at MGH)?"

I also realize that higher ranking doesn't necessarily mean better school, but I don't know how much value PDs put on ranking/name.
 
Refreshed said:
I know and that's why I asked about it in the OP. It wasn't meant to be "contrast my competitiveness in Derm with competitiveness in IM at MGH". It was meant to be "will going to an unranked school hurt me significantly in competitive residencies (derm) and non-competitive residencies at competitive programs (IM at MGH)?"

I also realize that higher ranking doesn't necessarily mean better school, but I don't know how much value PDs put on ranking/name.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind nobody gives a flying rats derriere about whether USNWR ranks something 54th vs 29th vs 35th vs unranked. When people talk about where you go making a difference, they are talking top 10-15 by NIH funding kind of schools.
 
I go to an unranked school and it has matched people in the past to some very competitive programs/specialities. My classmates and I have had invitations to interview at some of the "best" programs in our respective specialties. School name does matter to some programs and might help open a few doors BUT you still have to have the application to back it up. The strength of your application has more to do with you than where you went to med school. School ranking is based on the amount of NIH funding and not the quality of medical education. I am glad I chose a cheaper medical school now that I'm almost done and going to an unranked school hasn't hurt my ability to match where I want to go. Grandma might not be able to brag that you're at Harvard med but at the end of the day, Grandma doesn't know there is very little difference in where you go to school. Personally, I've gotten a fantastic clinical education and perhaps even more hands-on learning and autotomy than some of my friends at name brand schools.
 
Textbookversion said:
Keep in mind nobody gives a flying rats derriere about whether USNWR ranks something 54th vs 29th vs 35th vs unranked. When people talk about where you go making a difference, they are talking top 10-15 by NIH funding kind of schools.
Click to expand...
No, they're not. Harvard Medical School is not in the top 10-15 by NIH funding.

People, please, stop with this nonsense. You're taking this rankings nonsense way too far. Go look at the bottom "ranked" schools, and check out their residency match lists. You may be pleasantly surprised.
 
SoulinNeed said:
No, they're not. Harvard Medical School is not in the top 10-15 by NIH funding. .
Click to expand...

Although technically true, this statement is extremely misleading. Almost all of Harvard med's money is through their big teaching hospitals: MGH, BWH and BIDMC.

Once you include those numbers, they have a ridiculous amount of funding. You're kinda cooking the books with this one...
 
FSU2013 said:
Although technically true, this statement is extremely misleading. Almost all of Harvard med's money is through their big teaching hospitals: MGH, BWH and BIDMC.

Once you include those numbers, they have a ridiculous amount of funding. You're kinda cooking the books with this one...
Click to expand...
Fine include it, but if we're going to use NIH as the criteria, then University of Washington is the third or fourth "best medical school" in the country. My point is that NIH funding is also a misleading ranking system, which can be very surprising (and can be skewed towards state schools). Either way, my point about ranking not being all that important still holds true.
 
SoulinNeed said:
No, they're not. Harvard Medical School is not in the top 10-15 by NIH funding.

People, please, stop with this nonsense. You're taking this rankings nonsense way too far. Go look at the bottom "ranked" schools, and check out their residency match lists. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Click to expand...

Harvard could mail bags of **** to every household in America and they'd still be the most prestigious university in the US.
 
SoulinNeed said:
Fine include it.
Click to expand...

lol - its not a "well, gee, I guess we can consider MGH, BWH and BIDMC part of their program." - they are the backbone of their training and intimately connected.
 
FSU2013 said:
lol - its not a "well, gee, I guess we can consider MGH, BWH and BIDMC part of their program." - they are the backbone of their training and intimately connected.
Click to expand...
You're missing my point. This isn't about Harvard. If we're using top NIH funding to determine quality of a medical school, then University of Washington, which gets about the 3rd or 4th most NIH funding (no offense to them) would be considered the 3rd or 4th best medical school in the country, and Emory would be considered higher than Pritzker. That's not how most people view it. I'm just trying to point out that all of these ranking systems are flawed and aren't generally all that important (especially in the context of the OP). If the OP is worried about whether or not going to a cheaper medical school that's lower ranked will put him at a disadvantage of getting into something like derm, then he shouldn't worry.
 
SoulinNeed said:
You're missing my point. This isn't about Harvard. If we're using top NIH funding to determine quality of a medical school, then University of Washington, which gets about the 3rd or 4th most NIH funding (no offense to them) would be considered the 3rd or 4th best medical school in the country, and Emory would be considered higher than Pritzker. That's not how most people view it. I'm just trying to point out that all of these ranking systems are flawed and aren't generally all that important (especially in the context of the OP). If the OP is worried about whether or not going to a cheaper medical school that's lower ranked will put him at a disadvantage of getting into something like derm, then he shouldn't worry.
Click to expand...
Emory and UW are great. Harvard is great. Who the hell cares. Harvard >>> new medical school when talking about residency opportunties. That said, if the OP gets a 260/260 and a 4.0 at any US institution he will have a great chance of interviewing wherever he wants and getting into wherever he wants.

What should be discussed is the likelihood of that happening, considering most medical students come in thinking they are going to and they leave with a 3.0/225/235
 
SoulinNeed said:
No, they're not. Harvard Medical School is not in the top 10-15 by NIH funding.

People, please, stop with this nonsense. You're taking this rankings nonsense way too far. Go look at the bottom "ranked" schools, and check out their residency match lists. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Click to expand...

BID claims to be in the top for EM NIH funding. BWH is top tier for NIH funding in IM, Rads, etc.

While medical school NIH funding may sound sexy, it's a lot sexier when you're a resident and you actually benefit from that said funding.
 
fahimaz7 said:
Emory and UW are great. Harvard is great. Who the hell cares. Harvard >>> new medical school when talking about residency opportunties. That said, if the OP gets a 260/260 and a 4.0 at any US institution he will have a great chance of interviewing wherever he wants and getting into wherever he wants.

What should be discussed is the likelihood of that happening, considering most medical students come in thinking they are going to and they leave with a 3.0/225/235
Click to expand...
Well, the OP is discussing derm, and you're going to need a high step score for that, no matter where you go. My point is simple, if you want to get into a competitive residency (like derm), you're going to need a high step score (even at a top school), even if you go to a low ranked school. Do that, have great recs, and you'll likely match derm somewhere. The match lists of these schools support me on that.

I think we agree on that point.
 
Last edited:
Instatewaiter said:
A few quick points:
IM at the top programs is just as compeitive as derm. IM at a mid-tier university program is still modestly competitive.

School name DOES matter. That said a strong student from an unranked school can still match exceptionally well.

$125,000 turns into $200,000 after interest. It depends on the year but the USnews rankings go to ~50. I am not sure 200 grand extra is worth it unless you hated the other school.

The difference between the 50th ranked med school and the 30th ranked med school is basically very little.
Click to expand...

Boards, letters, and a well rounded applicant get you in the door for a residency interview. That said, you could be sporting a 270 with stellar letter and be an *****hole to anyone during interviews and I would DNR your application in a New York minute...

Remember, the "numbers" get your foot in the door, but the interview day can set you apart from the rest of the people who have similar numbers and letters 😉
 
SoulinNeed said:
No, they're not. Harvard Medical School is not in the top 10-15 by NIH funding.

People, please, stop with this nonsense. You're taking this rankings nonsense way too far. Go look at the bottom "ranked" schools, and check out their residency match lists. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Click to expand...

You are really missing the point. Harvard is sitting on the Mount Everest of NIH money, they just don't count it towards their medical school for that silly magazine.

Again, nobody cares about USNWR I'm talking about the top 10 to 15 schools as perceived by residency directors, based on their research efforts and funding. And again the order isn't going to matter a ton.

Next thing I know someone is going to point out Mayo is prestigious and ranked X where X is not a high number compared to Y and QQQQQ again totally missing the point.

If your option is a school ranked 34th vs. unranked pick the cheaper one. If it's a top tier school (again top 10-15 NOT USNWR) then I'd go to the high ranked school regardless of the financial situation if your goal is academic medicine or a competitive specialty.
 
Going to a "top tier" med school is not going to increase your chances of derm or IM at MGH. Chances are, you don't have much of a shot at those to begin with (statistically speaking). Wait till you start school to see where you really stand.

Everybody thinks they're the bestest and the brightest -- well you're about to enter a class full of the bestest and the brightest. Get used to being average.
 
SoulinNeed said:
Well, the OP is discussing derm, and you're going to need a high step score for that, no matter where you go. My point is simple, if you want to get into a competitive residency (like derm), you're going to need a high step score (even at a top school), even if you go to a low ranked school. Do that, have great recs, and you'll likely match derm somewhere. The match lists of these schools support me on that.

I think we agree on that point.
Click to expand...

Where did you learn so much about medical school and the match? Do they teach this in the pre-med curriculum these days?

lol.

It's easier to get looked at in almost any field when you come from a great medical school. Not to mention the fact that Harvard is pass/fail and the average board score is good enough to get a serious look at most derm programs.
 
Kaputt said:
Going to a "top tier" med school is not going to increase your chances of derm or IM at MGH. Chances are, you don't have much of a shot at those to begin with (statistically speaking). Wait till you start school to see where you really stand.

Everybody thinks they're the bestest and the brightest -- well you're about to enter a class full of the bestest and the brightest. Get used to being average.
Click to expand...

Umm yes it is. Again the best advice is to look at the programs you are interested in.

http://medicine.ucsf.edu/education/residency/current/

You'll notice most, but not all, residents are from "brand name" schools. I couldn't find MGH's residency class so I picked a similarly competitive program.
 
Textbookversion said:
Umm yes it is. Again the best advice is to look at the programs you are interested in.

http://medicine.ucsf.edu/education/residency/current/

You'll notice most, but not all, residents are from "brand name" schools. I couldn't find MGH's residency class so I picked a similarly competitive program.
Click to expand...

Don't forget that top-tier schools also attract top-tier students (typically), so it's not unusual that a vast majority come from ranked schools.
 
Textbookversion said:
Umm yes it is. Again the best advice is to look at the programs you are interested in.

http://medicine.ucsf.edu/education/residency/current/

You'll notice most, but not all, residents are from "brand name" schools. I couldn't find MGH's residency class so I picked a similarly competitive program.
Click to expand...

There's also a lot of selection bias. People who go to a brand name school for med school and undergrad are likely the same people who will put a lot of weight on name in their residency.

I can tell you that from my personal experience of n=1, do well in med school and doors open up. State school + strong boards + AOA = interviews wherever you want. As previously stated, if you're a jerk on interviews, it's game over.

This will (hopefully) be my last bit of advice: You will get a great medical education wherever you go (in the states). Medical education is entirely dependent on how much you put in. Believe it or not, we get the same textbooks at my school as they do at Yale. Beyond that, I would even go so far as to say I think I got a better education than most. I have never scrubbed in on a whipple (nor do I have the desire to do so), but I was first assist on every surgery for my surgery rotation; I delivered a ton of babies on ob/gyn; I tubed and lined a ton of patients on EM and ICU; oh psych, well, I basically just sat around, but the point still stands. You need to figure out where you will be happy. For me, I would be happy if I stayed in-state so I could keep my loans down and be close to family. A lot of people feel like they need to go to a name school to be happy, I didn't. My MCAT wouldn't have been high enough to get me a merit scholarship at anywhere fancy and I don't come from money, so it didn't make sense. What made sense to me was being somewhere that was close enough to home, where I liked the people and (with some savings and a little help from my family) I could keep my student loans below the 6 figure mark.

Good luck.
 
Last edited:
FSU2013 said:
There's also a lot of selection bias. People who go to a brand name school for med school and undergrad are likely the same people who will put a lot of weight on name in their residency.

I can tell you that from my personal experience of n=1, do well in med school and doors open up. State school + strong boards + AOA = interviews wherever you want. As previously stated, if you're a jerk on interviews, it's game over.

This will (hopefully) be my last bit of advice: You will get a great medical education wherever you go (in the states). Medical education is entirely dependent on how much you put in. Believe it or not, we get the same textbooks at my school as they do at Yale. Beyond that, I would even go so far as to say I think I got a better education than most. I have never scrubbed in on a whipped (nor do I have th desire to do so), but I was first assist on every surgery for my surgery rotation; I delivered a ton of babies on ob/gyn; I tubed and lined a ton of patients on EM and ICU; oh psych, well, I basically just sat around, but the point still stands. You need to figure out where you will be happy. For me, I would be happy if I stayed in-state so I could keep my loans down and be close to family. A lot of people feel like they need to go to a name school to be happy, I didn't. My MCAT wouldn't have been high enough to get me a merit scholarship at anywhere fancy and I don't come from money, so it didn't make sense. What made sense to me was being somewhere that was close enough to home, where I liked the people and (with some savings and a little help from my family) I could keep my student loans below the 6 figure mark.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Someone that's actually reasonable, wise, and well-grounded. That's rare to find on here. But, I couldn't agree with you more. I have friends who went to brand-name schools over state-schools and they are currently 6 figures in debt (300000+). Keeping your loans down is a definite plus because it will open doors for your future. If you want to work with DWB, you can do so with little loans...that door maybe closed if you have quarter of a million dollars in debt...
 
FSU2013 said:
There's also a lot of selection bias. People who go to a brand name school for med school and undergrad are likely the same people who will put a lot of weight on name in their residency.

I can tell you that from my personal experience of n=1, do well in med school and doors open up. State school + strong boards + AOA = interviews wherever you want. As previously stated, if you're a jerk on interviews, it's game over.

This will (hopefully) be my last bit of advice: You will get a great medical education wherever you go (in the states). Medical education is entirely dependent on how much you put in. Believe it or not, we get the same textbooks at my school as they do at Yale. Beyond that, I would even go so far as to say I think I got a better education than most. I have never scrubbed in on a whipple (nor do I have the desire to do so), but I was first assist on every surgery for my surgery rotation; I delivered a ton of babies on ob/gyn; I tubed and lined a ton of patients on EM and ICU; oh psych, well, I basically just sat around, but the point still stands. You need to figure out where you will be happy. For me, I would be happy if I stayed in-state so I could keep my loans down and be close to family. A lot of people feel like they need to go to a name school to be happy, I didn't. My MCAT wouldn't have been high enough to get me a merit scholarship at anywhere fancy and I don't come from money, so it didn't make sense. What made sense to me was being somewhere that was close enough to home, where I liked the people and (with some savings and a little help from my family) I could keep my student loans below the 6 figure mark.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

This is exactly the point I was trying to make but stated much more eloquently. Where you go for residency or what specialties you are competitive for have more to do with you than where you went to med school.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
Worth trying to negotiate aid from an unranked school to a T30?
Replies
3
Views
434
Brownies_15
B
The Deep
Is it worth sending an update letter to a school I have an interview with?
Replies
4
Views
998
The Deep
The Deep
dodoo123
Matching into California from an MD school out of state
Replies
7
Views
641
Dral
Dral
Choсolate
Accepted to both an MD and DO school. Completely lost
Replies
21
Views
3K
RunnerDad
R
C
How do I send an update to a school about a publication?
Replies
2
Views
869
Coolguy23
C
Top