Public School Vs. Private - Does it matter??

[premed2]

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Just wondering what you guys are thinking about attending a cheap, public med school as opposed to a private (well-known) school thats three times the price! Does it really matter in getting residencies??

 

[doepug]

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: By virtue of being a graduate of a well-known med school, you've already been "screened" from a pool of a gajillion other applicants. At "top" schools, you can be at the bottom of your class and still land a competitive residency. On the other hand, unless the public school is UCSF or Michigan, you'll have to stand out among your classmates to land a competitive residency. You can still get a competitive spot, but you'd have much more of an uphill battle to fight than if you were from the well-known private school. Fair? Maybe not, but it's true... just look at match lists.

Hope this helps,
doepug

 

[kmnfive]

what about controversy over ranks?

like in this thread here

 

[WatchingWaiting]

Re: Just wondering what you guys are thinking about attending a cheap, public med school as opposed to a private (well-known) school

I wouldn't break it down to Public School Vs. Private School. UCSF, UMich, UWash are examples of elite public schools and Finch or Temple or George Washington or fifteen others are examples of not-elite private schools. The prestige of your med school (whether public or private) is important in securing a residency, quite a bit more so than the prestige of your undergrad in securing a med school, in fact. But, in the same way as med school admissions go, if you attend a second tier med school school and are at the top of your class, you will still be able to land competitive residencies or go to a top school for residency. However, if you look at match lists, you can see that the top 60+% of top-10 program grads get into what could be termed "power" residencies, whether meaning at an elite school or in a competitive specialty or both, whereas for a #40 med school, it's more the like top 5-10%.

 

[Naphtali]

FYI, Temple is a public school. PA residents get preference, and pay less in tuition.

 

[Mylaina]

Pitt is also a public school, and well known.