Prestige of Ugrad school in MD admissions

[Neuronette]

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I'm an undergraduate student at a decent public school in NY. It's a reputable school but let's just say the avg admin SAT score wasn't exactly a 2200+ haha
I graduated from a top high school and was accepted to Ivies but chose not to attend to avoid taking out exorbitant loans :\ since I'll be spending a fortune for med school anyway.
I would like to believe that what admin officers from top med schools like Sinai, Columbia, Cornell say is true: "The prestige of your school does not weigh nearly as much as your GPA, MCAT, research etc." One told me that "a 3.9 from a state school is Much better than... say a 3.0 from Harvard."
*Scoff* As much as I would like to believe in this.. I CANT help but feel like the ugrad school weighs HEAVILY in the admissions process.

Is it still possible to get into a top 20 med school with top stats (3.8+ gpa, ~40 mcat) etc (NOT as an URM)?
Thought? Any success stories out there of students from avg schools getting into top med schools?

 

[tantacles]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/search.php?searchid=18449322

 

[Finches]

OP:

1) Joins SDN / creates account
2) Adds profoundly deep quote as signature
3) Makes font purple
4) Rubs hands together in prep for new thread
5) Types out thread
6) Makes the words "still possible" bold
7) Reviews post, nods to self
8) Clicks submit
9) Pwned 2 minutes later by revelation of search function

 

[poshdoctor]

I'm an undergraduate student at a decent public school in NY. It's a reputable school but let's just say the avg admin SAT score wasn't exactly a 2200+ haha
I graduated from a top high school and was accepted to Ivies but chose not to attend to avoid taking out exorbitant loans :\ since I'll be spending a fortune for med school anyway.
I would like to believe that what admin officers from top med schools like Sinai, Columbia, Cornell say is true: "The prestige of your school does not weigh nearly as much as your GPA, MCAT, research etc." One told me that "a 3.9 from a state school is Much better than... say a 3.0 from Harvard."
*Scoff* As much as I would like to believe in this.. I CANT help but feel like the ugrad school weighs HEAVILY in the admissions process.

Is it still possible to get into a top 20 med school with top stats (3.8+ gpa, ~40 mcat) etc (NOT as an URM)?
Thought? Any success stories out there of students from avg schools getting into top med schools?

Why wouldn't it be possible? You can accomplish anything if you stay super focused.

I transferred from a lower ranked University of California Campus to a higher ranked one, not because I wanted to look good for medical schools, I just wanted to go to a school with more research and class offerings. IMO I don't think leaving my old school for my new one is going to give me a 1 up in med school admissions. Actually, I probably could make better grades at my old school because they didn't use curves and sometimes majority of the class had A's and B's.

 

[flatearth22]

As long as you're in the Honors College you should be good to go

 

[Neuronette]

Thanks! Purple is a GREAT color btw. ;]

 

[Neuronette]

As long as you're in the Honors College you should be good to go

... is it really that simple? 😕

 

[Nymphicus]

... is it really that simple? 😕

Ha

 

[Stumpyman]

... is it really that simple? 😕

Spend a good 1-2 hours playing with the search function, and all your questions will be answered.

 

[Thego2guy]

PM sent about a similar situation. You'll learn much more from the links that I sent you than from the replies you get on this thread.

Good luck.

 

[StoicJosher]

Sorry. Not possible for people who don't know how to use the search function. It is a rule of SDN. Everyone knows it. Time to take the up coal mining.

 

[Thego2guy]

Sorry. Not possible for people who don't know how to use the search function. It is a rule of SDN. Everyone knows it. Time to take the up coal mining.

 

[coyotelime]

Hold on... are you saying that the reputation of your undergraduate school can be a factor in medical school admissions?

😕😕😕

Nice catch. 👍

 

[kpcrew]

Your feelings weigh HEAVILY in the admissions process but if there's anything I learned here, it's that it's best to have as much debt as possible.

 

[tantacles]

Your feelings weigh HEAVILY in the admissions process but if there's anything I learned here, it's that it's best to have as much debt as possible.

Like, a bajillion. Yeah.

 

[235788]

Hold on... are you saying that the reputation of your undergraduate school can be a factor in medical school admissions?

😕😕😕

Nice catch. 👍

no crap.

But its not the end all break all.

The same reason that an employer would hire someone from an ivy over someone from a state school (all else equal).

 

[coyotelime]

no crap.

But its not the end all break all.

The same reason that an employer would hire someone from an ivy over someone from a state school (all else equal).

I was being sarcastic 😳

 

[tantacles]

I was being sarcastic 😳

I got it.

Janet got it.

Brad got it.

Rocky got it but doesn't care.

 

[ppfizenm]

I got it.

Janet got it.

Brad got it.

Rocky got it but doesn't care.

timewarp anyone?

 

[1032]

If you read most medical school websites they do say that your institution is considered, but more specifically the rigor of your academic history is taken into account. Going to a top school and doing basket weaving is not going to look better vs engineering at a state school.

With that said, the prestige/rigor is not a huge factor as some would like. Doing engineering at a top school does not mean you can get a 3.0 and expect to get in above a 3.6 psychology student from a state school. A tough undergrad curriculum helps in the following scenarios:

1). You already have stats that are at or above that of the accepted applicants of the medical school of choice, thus a good undergrad school with a tough major will be favored over their counterpart from another school

2). It can give you some leeway if you are a borderline candidate. For example: The average accepted GPA is 3.68, but almost all of my BME classmates (from a very good engineering school know for grade deflation) with 3.5 got in to MD schools, and a fair amount with 3.45+ also go in. But they all had around 30+ MCATs. But the thing is that most of my classmates bellow 3.45 did not get in or went DO. So as you can see, it only helps if you are already a decent candidate that stats that are reasonably close, because (I assume) they figure you are more likely to slip up once or twice with a harder course load.

So I HATE when people say that under grad course/university does not matter, and I HATE when people say that it does matter. The things is that both answers are correct/wrong. The truth is that It does not help excuse poor or marginal grades ( GPA<3.4), but it can help if you have "close to average grades" (3.45-3.59).

I feel that a good student should be able to get above a 3.4 even with the hardest of undergraduate major/school, they may slip up a few times due to the rigor, but they should never have poor grades.