Undergrad School a BIG Factor at Ivies?

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A note from someone attending at Ivy League school:

The OP has some fabulous acceptances, and any Ivy League "trend" he might be noticing I can assure you has more to do with his personality and particular quirks of the application pool and his interview day than anything else. Admissions committees don't all think the same way, and different schools can have opposite opinions about the same candidate for completely valid reasons.

That being said, I have noticed that interviewers and AdComs seem to like Ivy League applicants. I think this is because they have seen many people from schools like Yale and Harvard that impress them on paper, in person, and during their time at their schools. However, this doesn't mean that: A) Someone from a less brand-name institution is at a disadvantage simply because his or her school is not well known or that B) All Ivy League applicants have a leg up on other applicants. Go through mdapplicants.com and you'll find many Ivy undergrads with decent resumes who don't do nearly as well as they seem to expect from their profiles.
 
Monster013 said:
I have heard from all medical schools now, and I am a little curious about the results. First, I'd just like to preface that I am extremely thankful that I was accepted to the great schools that took me. I am just a little surprised about the results. I went into the process very confident, because my record is objectively pretty good. See my mdapplicants profile here:

http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?myid=3838

Alright, well here is the list of results--

Acceptances:
UMich (20k Scholarship)
Duke
Wash U (invited for Scholarship Interview)
Emory

Rejection:
Harvard

Waitlist:
Cornell
Columbia
UPenn
Yale

Alright...here's my issue. Notice the list of rejections/waitlists ... Every single one is Ivy League.

Notice the list of acceptances ... Non-ivy league, including top 10.

I was thrown aback at my results for Yale. I had the best interviews of all there. in fact, my second interviewer gave me a HUG. And, by the way, the only "bad" interview I had was at Cornell.

Now, I am not saying this to brag, so please don't flame me. I am very thankful for my acceptances. I am just trying to make the point that I think your undergrad insititution is a SIGNIFICANT factor in admission into Ivy League medical school. I went to the State University of New York at Stony Brook, which, while not a bad school, has a relatively unknown name.

I'm just a little thrown aback by the results, and wanted to hear what others thought/experiences regarding this issue.

I had a lower MCAT, lower GPA, and came from a "worse" school: Oregon State. I also had all of zero special awards or recognitions and absolutely no research background/history. I have no family ties or anything to any school.

I got into both Harvard and Cornell, which are the only two Ivies to which I applied.

I think that any school that rejects you post interview probably thinks you are a bad fit. You should be thankful that you didn't end up at a school that thinks you are a bad fit for them.
 
I will graduate from an unknown state school. I was accepted at Harvard and Yale (also Hopkins, Vandy, UVA). I was waitlisted at Cornell. So, I was accepted at two of three Ivies (so grateful). My MCAT is lower than the OP and I have a higher GPA (not significant). I have no sob story, no political connections to any schools, and am not an URM. I do think your undergrad institution is a factor, but not a HUGE factor. I guess it's the whole package? But you never know....
 
I was thrown aback at my results for Yale. I had the best interviews of all there. in fact, my second interviewer gave me a HUG.

WEIRD, 😱 I had the exact same experience at Yale! (also waitlisted too 😕 ) Was your second interview with Dr. Dillard too?
 
something like ~80-90% of the students accepted to top schools went to name-brand undergrads. Coincidence? Maybe.
 
I'll add to the list of anecdotes.... I also am from a state school and got into the only ivy I applied to (Penn).. I had a 30 MCAT, muchhh lower than the OP... I had a similar GPA and some research and other non-outstanding ECs... I am not an URM either... I think in the end it is about a lot more factors than you realize.... for example, I interviewed an amazing kid on paper (didn't know his grades or MCAT but I'm sure they were way up to par).. however, he was the most arrogant SOB I have ever met (and he appeared to be completely oblivious to the fact) and I made a point of reflecting that in his write up.. I also checked the faculty interviewer's write up and he/she had noted his arrogance as well... in the end... he did not get in... Some schools care about things you wouldn't realize and I'm sure the kid was shocked to learn he didn't get in.
 
I dont really think so...I think the students make the school.
But schools like Berea College that no one on here probably never heard of sends there students to Columbia Medical School and other Ivy leagues and so does Barry University. 😀
 
Indryd said:
I had a lower MCAT, lower GPA, and came from a "worse" school: Oregon State. I also had all of zero special awards or recognitions and absolutely no research background/history. I have no family ties or anything to any school.

I got into both Harvard and Cornell, which are the only two Ivies to which I applied.

I think that any school that rejects you post interview probably thinks you are a bad fit. You should be thankful that you didn't end up at a school that thinks you are a bad fit for them.

O.K., O.K., How in the world did you get accepted to Harvard and Cornell with no research?
Can you please show us your mdapplicants profile?
 
gottamakeit said:
I dont really think so...I think the students make the school.
But schools like Berea College that no one on here probably never heard of sends there students to Columbia Medical School and other Ivy leagues and so does Barry University. 😀


Maybe one or two, per year. Looking at Harvard's incoming class and count how many of those are Harvard undergrads--not to mention other Ivies, plus Stanford, MIT, Cal Tech, Duke, Wash U, Northwestern, etc.

Everything is possible, but in this game, it's all about increasing your odds.
 
Also, nobody has noted that the OP withdrew from Brown and Dartmouth... maybe he/she would have been accepted to one or both of these schools.
 
Well duh. They have the option of choosing someone with a 4.0 at a top/ivy school vs at a state school, they'll go with the ivy. 9/10 times they had harder classes and clearly succeeded.
 
9 years ago... Jesus, 9 years ago I was so happy cause I realized I was only about 1/8th of the way through my life (assuming I die at 80). Now I'm nearing 20 and realizing I'm already 1/4th of the way through 🙁... Where do I go to get a time extension?
 
9 years ago... Jesus, 9 years ago I was so happy cause I realized I was only about 1/8th of the way through my life (assuming I die at 80). Now I'm nearing 20 and realizing I'm already 1/4th of the way through 🙁... Where do I go to get a time extension?
Story of my life..
 
Got accepted to an Ivy and several other top 20's coming from a no-name state school that people outside of the state have rarely heard of. I don't think undergrad institution matters too much if your application is strong.
 
I feel like SDN should have a forum to archive threads after they're 5 years old (arbitrary number) or something...
 
I'm going to go ahead and lock this because 1) people are clearly going to keep commenting 2) this is a 10 year necrobump that 3) has another necrobumped thread on the same page with the exact same topic.
 
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