Student Personalities at State Schools

[Pinki]

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I'm working on a theory about personalities in my class next year. I chose a state school and in the last few weeks have run across several types of students who'll be starting with me.

A) Disgruntled Mayo Rejects- These are the 35 MCAT/3.99 Biochem majors who were really hanging on to a Stanford or Harvard or Hopkins accceptance, didn't get it and are now sulking because they have to go their backup school. One guy I know who was rejected from Hopkins told me "I was hoping for a little bit of a challenge for medical school, but I guess I'll just close my eyes for the next 4 years." Whoa! I'm thinking he'll be rudely awakened!

B)OMIGOD I'll do anything to go medical school - have I sent you an LOI today? students - Borderline OCD, extremely anxious, just thankful to get in with a sub-30 MCAT. From talking to these students, I get the feel they may be the most competetive in the class next year, feeling like they've got something to prove, as in, "I really do belong in medical school, really I do. See, I studied all weekend and massaged the dean's feet! Look at me!"

Any other observations?

(BTW, I don't fit in either category. I just took the cheapest, warmest (weather and atmosphere at the school) and most all-around school on my list of acceptances.)

 

[MichiMO]

Yeah Pinky, I definitly think I'll be in that second category if I ever get off the UofA waitlist Minus the sub30 MCAT (my GPA and non-science major give me enough insecurity) and, most likely, the Dean's feet...that could get ugly!

Something about waitlists turn you into that loony obsessive person you are describing.

Well, I hope I get to drive you crazy next year!!!! All I need is 21 more people to decide that Tucson really is an armpit 😛
(an armpit I will be quite happy in)

 

[Pinki]

Hope you get in, too, MichiMo. From your posts, I definetely think you'd be a cool addition to the class. I know of several peeps who are choosing to leave AZ, so don't dispair.

I couldn't believe the audacity of that first guy. But I've also talked to a few other students who think that just because it's state school, it's going to be romper room 24/7. All fun and games and no work.

I think the greatest drawback for the U of A is Tucson - it's just not a sexy place, especially for the PHX folks who just don't get it why anyone would live outside the valley.

I'm doing the summer bridge program so I'll be in the armpit starting classes on July 7th! I figure they pay you to get a leg up on school? Cool! Plus you get to meet all the faculty and make some friends before school starts. Helps those first day jitters.

Good luck - I'm rootin for ya!

 

[Iron Horse]

Another category: happy state schoolers who turned down acceptances at other schools because the debt differential was not worth it, i.e. the state school provides an excellent education.

 

[Adcadet]

-happy state schoolers whose state school was their #1 choice because their research was there.

-happy state schoolers whose state school was their #1 choice because their family was there.

Personally, I'm a combination of the above two.


Ya know, successful med school applicants are all pretty complex people - any sortof categorization will lose so many important details that I think it may not be worth it.

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

I know a guy just like the 2nd one you are talking about. He is so anal...he studies 24/7 and feels the need to know every tiny minute detail. At he beginning of our classes, he'll go up to our new professors and introduce himself--"Hi, I'm so and so, I'm going to kiss your ass for the rest of this class." If only the rest of the class knew he was rejected last year, hahahahahaha. I only know because my boyfriend knew him before we started school. Talk about a complex...I guess he feels he has to prove something. He has said he wants to graduate number one in our class.

 

[meanderson]

I don't think those two assumptions are very accurate.

1) Lots of state schools are very competitive to get into and have high stats/prestige. UCSD, UCLA, Michigan, UVA, etc
2) Even at state schools with moderate averages(3.6/30), I believe that state school was a first choice for most of the students. I know that a lot of applicants from my state only apply to the 3-4 schools, all of which are in state(mostly private).

I think your two assumptions would be much more valid at private schools that are almost never a first choice. Drexel, Rush, Finch, SLU, Jefferson, Tufts, Creighton, NYMC, etc......Most of these students would love to go to their state school over one of these.

In general, it looks like there are 6 different categories of schools:

1) Top private schools that give no preference for in state residency- the top 10 or so every year(Harvard, JH, Washu, duke, penn, columbia, etc)
2) Top-ranked schools(PUBLIC AND PRIVATE) that give preference to state residents but usually have 30-50% of the class come from elsewhere. These schools are usually ranked 10-30 or so in the rankings. UVA, Michigan, Emory, Baylor, etc
3) Top 50 private schools that give no preference to state residents. Vanderbilt. A pretty large group.
4) Public schools which give HEAVY preference to in state residents and whose avg stats are in the 3.4-3.6/28-31 range. This is a pretty big group. And this is the group that most decent students who are in state and not of unbelievable quality seem to target.
5) Private schools which are not highly ranked and do not give preference to state residents.
6) Private/Public schools who give HEAVY preference to state residents and often have a mission statement specific to meeting the primary care needs of a particular region. These schools typically have stats below those of category 4.

Of course there are a few schools across the country which wouldn't fit into any of the above categories(UCSF), but for the most part it works pretty well. In order of preference, I would want to attend Duke(1), MCG(4), UVA(2), Vanderbilt(3), Mercer(6). I'm not sure if I would reapply or go to a school in category 6.
But I know everyone is different and has different aspirations....I'm sure there are a few people out there who would prefer going to a non-elite private school than there in-state public.....

 

[VCMM414]

Originally posted by meanderson
I don't think those two assumptions are very accurate.
1) Top private schools that give no preference for in state residency- the top 10 or so every year(Harvard, JH, Washu, duke, penn, columbia, etc)

I can't speak for the others, but I am very certain that Duke does give some degree of preference for in-state applicants. Looking at USNews for last year's stats, Duke's acceptance rate for NC residents was 12.9% but 3.2% for everyone else. Also, Penn accepted 10.2% in-state applicants last year but only 5.9% all other applicants, while JHU accepted 9.0% in-state applicants vs. 5.4% all other applicants.

2) Top-ranked schools(PUBLIC AND PRIVATE) that give preference to state residents but usually have 30-50% of the class come from elsewhere. These schools are usually ranked 10-30 or so in the rankings. UVA, Michigan, Emory, Baylor, etc

Shouldn't UCSF be in this category? Granted, it is not ranked 10-30, but neither is UMich. Plus, UCSF fits all the other descriptions. Last year, UCSF accepted 7.1% Cali applicants versus 4.0% all other applicants. In addition, of the 141 total M1 students, 113 of them are from California.

 

[cracker69]

this is the worst thread in history. yeah there will be big tools at all schools u go to. there will be gunners, there will be the people who just got in by the skin of their teeth. there will be everyone. its 125 person class. who cares. just do your own thing.

69 <- resents your comment about people going to Drexel, Rush, Finch, SLU, Jefferson, Tufts, Creighton, NYMC even though state school was there first choice because i really didnt want to attend my state school.

 

[maoeris]

Shouldn't a person do their best no matter what. "The gunners", are the people who are really passionate about what they are doing. (Excluding anyone willing to cheat etc. to get to the top).

Categorizing people is useless, everybody is different and has different experiences. I should hope that people want to help each other in medical school so that everyone can leave school with a positive experience and serve their communities with the knowledge that they have other commendable colleagues.

 

[MichiMO]

Thanks for the good wishes Pinky!

As for the other posts on this thread, I think some of you might have taken this all a bit too seriously 😉
I think we all have noticed some trends at the schools we attend or want to attend and sometimes it is funny to point them out. No harm intended I am sure.

To add my own little trend that I have noticed...students who are not so concearned about getting into one of those top 50 and are quite happy to go to a state school or one of those schools that somebody put in the 5 or 6 category seem to be a little more relaxed. I also think they are the type of people I would be more likely to want to hang out with on a Friday night. They just appear to have a different attitude about the whole process. Maybe it is what someone said before, they just want to be a physician.

Now don't freak out people...I am sure all of you who are applying to all the big namers are really nice too 🙂

 

[meanderson]

>>I can't speak for the others, but I am very certain that Duke >>does give some degree of preference for in-state applicants. >>Looking at USNews for last year's stats, Duke's acceptance >>rate for NC residents was 12.9% but 3.2% for everyone else. >>Also, Penn accepted 10.2% in-state applicants last year but >>only 5.9% all other applicants, while JHU accepted 9.0% in->>state applicants vs. 5.4% all other applicants.

All good points that I was not aware of. Still, most of Duke's class is composed of out of state students. I feel this is an important distinction from a school like emory where almost half(40-50% depending on the year) are georgia residents.

>>Shouldn't UCSF be in this category? Granted, it is not ranked >>10-30, but neither is UMich. Plus, UCSF fits all the other >>descriptions. Last year, UCSF accepted 7.1% Cali applicants >>versus 4.0% all other applicants. In addition, of the 141 total >>M1 students, 113 of them are from California.

I wouldn't put UCSF in this category because it would be in EVERY top 10. Michigan might make some top 10's, but I think it has more in common with schools like UVA than UCSF.

 

[painres]

Originally posted by maoeris
Shouldn't a person do their best no matter what. "The gunners", are the people who are really passionate about what they are doing. (Excluding anyone willing to cheat etc. to get to the top).

Categorically WRONG. You are not in med school, interesting how you describe the traits of people in med school. Gunner is a derogatory term. There are people who are really passionate and get good grades and they are not gunners. When you get into med school you will wake up from your fairly tale.

 

[Pinki]

Originally posted by MichiMO
Thanks for the good wishes Pinky!

As for the other posts on this thread, I think some of you might have taken this all a bit too seriously 😉

Jeezus - No kidding. I was just trying to have a little fun and look what happened! Everyone is so uptight these days! Guess I'll stick to posting only "Official thread of blahblahblah" in the future! Again, hope to see you at school in July!

 

[png-girl]

heh, i've seen some of the trends you guys have mentioned. it's kind of funny looking at premeds and then going to interviews. before i interviewed i was scared i was gonna be spending the next four years (and the rest of my life) with kids like the premeds at my undergrad. but happily it turned out, at all the places i interviewed at just about all of them were "normal" not the freaky, scary premeds i was used it. it was certainly refreshing.

yeah, gunners suck. dude, don't be that person, if you think they are great people and everyone is their friend, think again.

and pinki, i think this is a fun thread😀 😀

oh, and i'm going to a state school and i am a happy-go-lucky-still-know-i-have-to-work-my-ass-off kid, heh.

 

[maoeris]

painres ,
"You are not in med school, interesting how you describe the traits of people in med school"
I also never claimed to be in medical school and was using the term from my point of reference.
sorry I thought the original poster was referring to premeds at state schools. since the poster mentioned people in the process of applying.

 

[Ramoray]

you sure have alot of nerve pinki for constantly bashing the students at u of a, yet you end up choosing to go there. Constantly calling them immature.. i am still curious as to why you thought you were levels above the students at U of A as far as maturity goes? I am pretty sure i know alot more of the entering class or the potential entering class than you and i can tell you that they are not here whining on an internet board about a crappy city and how hard it is to choose between acceptance and settling for your state school etc etc. Then going on to label the types of students in your class.
Correct me if im wrong but didnt we all label kids back in HS.. when immaturity probably peaks, yet here you are the mature seroius students labeling eveyrone else. Really grow up and stop your whining on here, the poeple i do know that are going to U of A are a hell of alot more mature then you are and you have many years on them.. time for someone to grow up..

 

[Pinki]

Originally posted by Ramoray
you sure have alot of nerve pinki for constantly bashing the students at u of a, yet you end up choosing to go there. Constantly calling them immature.. i am still curious as to why you thought you were levels above the students at U of A as far as maturity goes? I am pretty sure i know alot more of the entering class or the potential entering class than you and i can tell you that they are not here whining on an internet board about a crappy city and how hard it is to choose between acceptance and settling for your state school etc etc. Then going on to label the types of students in your class.
Correct me if im wrong but didnt we all label kids back in HS.. when immaturity probably peaks, yet here you are the mature seroius students labeling eveyrone else. Really grow up and stop your whining on here, the poeple i do know that are going to U of A are a hell of alot more mature then you are and you have many years on them.. time for someone to grow up..

1. I've never bashed the students at the U of A, nor have I constantly called anyone immature, you are taking one post, as usual Ramoray, and twisting it out of proportion. In that post, it was only the candidate pool with whom I interviewed that I expressed concern about. Fortunately, the group with whom I met at the preview/dean's day was by far more mature, and I'm not talking about age.

2. I am by no means levels above anyone matriculating at any medical school this fall and have never promoted myself as such. Feel free to search posts. The U of A is not a settlement in my mind; I turned down a half-tuition scholarship and CHOSE to go there. Look up what the definition of "settling" is before loosely applying it.

3. Tucson is not a world-class city. That being true, it has no bearing on my medical education. One does not equal the other, it's not that simple Ramoray.

4. THIS IS JUST A FUN THREAD!!! CHILL!

And by the way, shouldn't you stop your "internet whining" and go study for yet another MCAT Ramoray? (<---said with extreme sarcasm!)

Again, CHILL, I've been around nearly two years on SDN and it seems folks are getting a little too tightly wound as of late! A little more drinking would benefit us all! How's that for maturity!