Undergrad. cum laude vs. magna cum laude?

[Dancer20]

Does graduating cum laude vs. magna cum laude from undergrad make a difference for later on in medical school?

I am currently an undergrad student and have recently been accepted to NSUCOM... I am borderline gpa for magna cum laude and would need to write a thesis on my research, which would require a lot of extra hours in the lab, since my research experiment did not turn out as planned... I was wondering whether or not i should put in the effort to graduate magna cum laude... would this benefit me for applying for summer positions during med school or for my rotations? or does it really make no difference??
any advice would be appreciated!!

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[Pansit]

Does graduating cum laude vs. magna cum laude from undergrad make a difference for later on in medical school?

I am currently an undergrad student and have recently been accepted to NSUCOM... I am borderline gpa for magna cum laude and would need to write a thesis on my research, which would require a lot of extra hours in the lab, since my research experiment did not turn out as planned... I was wondering whether or not i should put in the effort to graduate magna cum laude... would this benefit me for applying for summer positions during med school or for my rotations? or does it really make no difference??
any advice would be appreciated!!

I dont think it really matters what the you get. If you have a 3.69 and a 3.7 is needed for magna cum laude they will see that in your gpa. Your gpa is more important than the title you get for it.

 

[VALSALVA]

I'll go out on a small limb and say it doesn't matter a lick. First of all...there are different standards for what constitutes magna cum laude. The above poster's school at a 3.7 cut-off. My undergrad had a 3.65 cutoff. Second, it won't get you anything more in med. school. Since you're ready to go off to NSU, I see no benefit there. Once you're in med. school, your academic past sort of disappears when it comes to getting into a residency - with the exception of undergraduate publishing you might have done.

Sooooo, I would say don't do the thesis, if you don't really want to, as long as your name is still going to be on the paper. If your inclusion in the citation requires the thesis, then forget everything above and do the thesis for God's sake...but not for the magna cum laude thing.

 

[Blue Rover]

I disagree with the other posters. A shining academic past does indeed help when you're applying for residency. Now, it's not going to overcome real weakness in medical school, but if you have a pattern of excellence that extends back to college, that will be noted.

 

[Dr JPH]

I disagree with the other posters. A shining academic past does indeed help when you're applying for residency. Now, it's not going to overcome real weakness in medical school, but if you have a pattern of excellence that extends back to college, that will be noted.

Not one program director, resident or other interviewer even asked where I went to college.

Strong performance in medical school gets you the interviews, not your college GPA. If you dont have the med school grades then youre out.

 

[Blue Rover]

Remember that on every CV you ever write from now until you retire, the fact that you graduated magna cum laude will be right next to your undergrad school.

It matters. The dean at my medical school mentioned this explicitly when he reviewed my residency application.

Now, as I said before, it won't make up for crummy performance in medical school, but it will add polish to your future applications.

Take a look at this thread. Note the response by oldbearprofessor. Your undergrad is the FIRST line on your CV.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=374911

 

[VALSALVA]

I disagree with the other posters. A shining academic past does indeed help when you're applying for residency. Now, it's not going to overcome real weakness in medical school, but if you have a pattern of excellence that extends back to college, that will be noted.

As I pointed out earlier, I think this is absolutely wrong with the exception of published research in undergrad. When you take into account variable amounts of grade inflation from one school to another, combined with discrepancies in curriculum rigor from one institution to another, to the fact that different schools have different cutoffs for magna cum laude, plus the fact that a 3.7 gpa as a chemistry major is WAY more impressive than the same GPA in a psychology...you have 4 solid reasons why this doesn't mean crap.

 

[San_Juan_Sun]

Remember that on every CV you ever write from now until you retire, the fact that you graduated magna cum laude will be right next to your undergrad school.

It matters. The dean at my medical school mentioned this explicitly when he reviewed my residency application.

Now, as I said before, it won't make up for crummy performance in medical school, but it will add polish to your future applications.

Take a look at this thread. Note the response by oldbearprofessor. Your undergrad is the FIRST line on your CV.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=374911

If you don't have competitive grades, board scores, and letters there's no way undergrad stuff will make you more attractive. Is it a nice honor to have? Sure. But it's got to be waaaaayyyyyyy down the list of residency selection factors.

 

[Dancer20]

thanks. I appreciate the feedback. It does seem that my gpa is the more critical factor...Although it would be nice to list a publication, I'm not sure if it's worth killing myself during my last 2 semesters of undergrad...

 

[Dr JPH]

Sure. But it's got to be waaaaayyyyyyy down the list of residency selection factors.

It is