Specific questions about UMich

[ghostlibrary]

Sorry for making two different posts within two days. I have some questions about my situation and how it may affect my path to getting to UMich. I know I will likely change my mind about going there within the next four years, but having it as my main motivation helps me get work done. Anyway:
So I'm going to attend a school in the upper peninsula of Michigan next year. It is not a prestigious school whatsoever (the only requirement for undergrad admission is a 2.25 high school GPA). And nobody from this school has been admitted to UMich med school since 2014. I would like to propose two different routes I could follow and hope that someone could help me discern which will be better, med school admission-wise.

I could go to this upper peninsula university for 2 years, keep my grades up super high and do a great amount of shadowing and community service, and then transfer to UMich for the rest of undergrad. My question: am I less likely to get into UMich med school if I'm coming from UMich, or if I'm coming from a no-name school? Does it matter? Would it help or hurt to apply to the UMich med school from their undergrad school? They both cost the same for me because I'm an in-state resident, so that is not a factor. Would it be better for me to transfer to Michigan State and apply to UMich med school from there? Am I more likely to get in if I don't graduate from the same school that I want to go to for med school? I heard that it is very uncommon to go to the same school for grad school as you went to for undergrad. Is that because universities don't want to accept students that have already graduated from their school? I'm just repeating myself now, sorry.

Other route: I could stay at the UP no-name university for all four years (keep in mind there is very limited shadowing and research opportunities in this area because it is so rural). When I apply to UMich med school, I will inform them that I plan to live in the UP when I become a psychiatrist, because there is a massive shortage of mental health care in these areas. It is well-known that this mental health crisis is going on in the UP. So would that help my application? Would staying at the UP university show UMich med school that I am more dedicated to practicing in the UP than I would seem if I was downstate at UMich for undergrad?

Thank you so much, any advice helps.

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[cytomegalovirus123]

Where you go to school does not matter. Umich does not necessarily have a preference for UMICH students or for michigan residents at all. But a good portion of their class will still come from the state of michigan. It is not very uncommon to go to grad school at the school you did in your undergrad it is actually fairly common in many fields of study. Medicine is a little different because it is more selective than any other graduate level program. You should not fixate on a single specialty when writing your application you should have an open mind schools will not want you to simply show interest in one specific field. Staying at the UP uni will not show umich med that you are more dedicated to practicing. You should continue your education at wherever you are most likely to succeed. Go where you can bolster your gpa and your application in other ways such as your ECs which are very important in application writing. You will need significantly higher stats than normal to likely get into umich med. I think you should just focus on performing well in school firstly. We have 7 medical schools in our state you should not simply look into umich. I once wanted to transfer to UMICH I even got accepted. But I chose to stay at my school and now I will also be attending medical school there. Best of luck to you but your goal should simply be to do what you can to get even a single acceptance.

 

[cytomegalovirus123]

Where you go to school does not matter. Umich does not necessarily have a preference for UMICH students or for michigan residents at all. But a good portion of their class will still come from the state of michigan. It is not very uncommon to go to grad school at the school you did in your undergrad it is actually fairly common in many fields of study. Medicine is a little different because it is more selective than any other graduate level program. You should not fixate on a single specialty when writing your application you should have an open mind schools will not want you to simply show interest in one specific field. Staying at the UP uni will not show umich med that you are more dedicated to practicing. You should continue your education at wherever you are most likely to succeed. Go where you can bolster your gpa and your application in other ways such as your ECs which are very important in application writing. You will need significantly higher stats than normal to likely get into umich med. I think you should just focus on performing well in school firstly. We have 7 medical schools in our state you should not simply look into umich. I once wanted to transfer to UMICH I even got accepted. But I chose to stay at my school and now I will also be attending medical school there. Best of luck to you but your goal should simply be to do what you can to get even a single acceptance.

I would like to add to this and say undergrad prestige is a very small factor and not super significant for medical schools.

 

[C Smith]

The name of the school does not really matter especially the first two years. Taking steps in being well rounded having a great application letter should be among your goals.