Undergrad School Important?

[FutureDocHopefl]

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hey guys,

i have been faced with a situation where i have to choose between two schools. my first school is somewhat prestigous, but not overly elaborate. and the other school i might end up going to is not really presitgous at all.

the school i am going to now is out of state, which means i just dished out a crap load of money to go there for one year. if i go to this other school, i am guaranteed to save so much money that i could roll around in it (not really, but i thought that was funny!)

the cheaper school has the same undergrad courses required to get into a DO school, so i know that the chance to take the required courses is still out there.

so overall, do D.O. schools care what undergrad school you went to?

thanks!

 

[Hardbody]

hey guys,

i have been faced with a situation where i have to choose between two schools. my first school is somewhat prestigous, but not overly elaborate. and the other school i might end up going to is not really presitgous at all.

the school i am going to now is out of state, which means i just dished out a crap load of money to go there for one year. if i go to this other school, i am guaranteed to save so much money that i could roll around in it (not really, but i thought that was funny!)

the cheaper school has the same undergrad courses required to get into a DO school, so i know that the chance to take the required courses is still out there.

so overall, do D.O. schools care what undergrad school you went to?

thanks!

Not nearly as much as the M.D. schools do.

 

[FutureDocHopefl]

Not nearly as much as the M.D. schools do.

That's bogus if schools care about where you went for your undergrad, I should say to them "sorry I am not rich and that my mom and dad don't hand everything down to me". Flippin ridiculous

 

[NewNick]

Not all prestigous schools are private, a lot of them are public. For education only, I can see that the good schools have different training and requirements. You will appreciate their vigorous training. However, it's all about your work and will, school doesn't matter. School just guides, you must learn.

 

[Hardbody]

That's bogus if schools care about where you went for your undergrad, I should say to them "sorry I am not rich and that my mom and dad don't hand everything down to me". Flippin ridiculous

I agree with you 100%. Like you, I do not have the means to go to a big time school. Unfortunately that is the nature of medical school admissions, sad but true. Fortunately D.O. schools exist and are not as elitist. There have been students that attended CC's and done well on the MCATS and there have been students from Ivy's that have taken their MCATS and bombed them.

Nothing in life is fair. Shaq was is 7'2" and I am only 6'1", did we have the same chance of being drafted into the NBA? Of course not, nothing is every fair. However, if you want something bad enough you will usually get it. Even if that means working 3x as hard as the next person to get there. Good luck, I definitely understand where you are coming from.

P.S. I am applying this year from a school that is anything but prestigous, so you should keep an eye out for my posts starting in late October to see if I get in.

 

[):(]

I am curious... if you do not mind telling us, which school do you attend and which one are you possibly transferring to? I think this important because I have no idea what you consider prestigious and not prestigious. As an example, if you attend Berkeley and are planning on transferring to the University of Hawaii (no offense to any Hawaiians), then I would say that is a mistake. On the other hand, if you attend George Town and transferring to University of Virginia, then I would say go for it. You shouldn't worry about getting a prestigious education, more-so, you should worry about getting a strong education.

 

[LINYKid]

I am curious... if you do not mind telling us, which school do you attend and which one are you possibly transferring to? I think this important because I have no idea what you consider prestigious and not prestigious. As an example, if you attend Berkeley and are planning on transferring to the University of Hawaii (no offense to any Hawaiians), then I would say that is a mistake. On the other hand, if you attend George Town and transferring to University of Virginia, then I would say go for it. You shouldn't worry about getting a prestigious education, more-so, you should worry about getting a strong education.

it seems simple but certain schools fit people better. it may be class size, location etc, find whats fit you best and what school you will excell in and chose that one

 

[Jamers]

hey guys,

i have been faced with a situation where i have to choose between two schools. my first school is somewhat prestigous, but not overly elaborate. and the other school i might end up going to is not really presitgous at all.

the school i am going to now is out of state, which means i just dished out a crap load of money to go there for one year. if i go to this other school, i am guaranteed to save so much money that i could roll around in it (not really, but i thought that was funny!)

the cheaper school has the same undergrad courses required to get into a DO school, so i know that the chance to take the required courses is still out there.

so overall, do D.O. schools care what undergrad school you went to?

thanks!

I went to a school with about 2,500 students in a ****-whole of a city in NEPA. Trust me, most schools don't give a damn about what school you went to. As long as you get a quality education, why would they? Anyways, if YOU think that your school is presitgous, I believe that shows through in your interviews.

 

[shttthttle]

Whatever school you go to public, private, prestigious, or...not prestigious, make sure you have the means to do well. In my opinion, I would go to the less prestigious school only because you don't want to be in a lot of debt before attending medical school. Unless you think that you have a chance of getting into Harvard or Mayo, etc...where some higher up connection will be useful; choose the less expensive.

The other side of the coin is your happiness. If you won't be happy at the less prestigious school then you might have a conflict because your ability to cope and to do well may have a direct relationship with your attitude.

Hope that helps

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

It matters not. I still get cracked up when I hear how much some of my classmates spent on undergrad education.

Suckers.

 

[shttthttle]

Another thing, not nearly as important as cost, is the location of the undergrad. Medical schools (non-public) like to have a diverse class. So if you go to a school in lets say Tennessee and then apply to COMP or Tuoro, I would say you have a better chance then a person applying from CA...assuming you have roughly the same stats. Not that important but something to think about.

 

[mynamewastaken]

That's bogus if schools care about where you went for your undergrad, I should say to them "sorry I am not rich and that my mom and dad don't hand everything down to me". Flippin ridiculous

Ummmmmmmm....not all people who go to "prestigious" schools are rich. First of all, most private schools are within a couple of thousand dollars of tuition cost...in fact, there's a low tier small private school near my hom in NY that no one has ever heard of that is 35K + a year....most private schools are regardless of rank and prestige....secondly, ivy league schools do their best to admit any qualified student. For instance Princeton WILL NEVER not matriculate a student for inability to pay tuition. It's a staple in their admissions policy. I agree with the posts that undergrad school matters very little in admissions to med school, but your post was way off point and simply false. We see this "silver spoon" whine over and over and over on these threads and with just five or ten minutes of effort and research you can disprove every point you made. At least have the objection to see for yourself. Inquisition over bitterness! Good luck.

 

[blondie68]

I think the main concern should be your preparedness for medicine, not the name of your undergrad. Prestige is great if you want that and can balance everthing else with it, but it doesn't always work that way. I think the ideal undergraduate school is going to offer you a solid education, a campus and environment you can be happy in, and a price you can afford.
Many of us have big financial considerations, but don't let money totally influence your decision initially. Look at it only after you get your financial aid packages. I personally have had pricey private schools come in with lower out of pocket costs than state schools. They frequently have merit scholarships, and grants available that for those with financial need that can make up the difference between private and state tuition.
Most schools are going to have the classes you need, but you need to look at the rigor of the school and courses and see if they fit you and your needs. If school A has an average ACT score of 21 for admitted students and you have an ACT of 31 and are studying for premed, I seriously doubt their sciences courses are going to be taught to the level you need. They just aren't going to teach to a much higher level than their average student and flunk 90 percent of the class. If school B has an average ACT of 26 for incoming students they are going to gear their classes to a different level.
Make sure you are satisfied with the quality of education, an environment you are happy with and can pursue the extracurriculars you're interested in, and then choose which of these you can afford to go to. Whether they are public or private, large or small, and how prestigious they are should only match your personal preferences, and not be a concern to the med school ADCOM's.

 

[FutureDocHopefl]

Ummmmmmmm....not all people who go to "prestigious" schools are rich. First of all, most private schools are within a couple of thousand dollars of tuition cost...in fact, there's a low tier small private school near my hom in NY that no one has ever heard of that is 35K + a year....most private schools are regardless of rank and prestige....secondly, ivy league schools do their best to admit any qualified student. For instance Princeton WILL NEVER not matriculate a student for inability to pay tuition. It's a staple in their admissions policy. I agree with the posts that undergrad school matters very little in admissions to med school, but your post was way off point and simply false. We see this "silver spoon" whine over and over and over on these threads and with just five or ten minutes of effort and research you can disprove every point you made. At least have the objection to see for yourself. Inquisition over bitterness! Good luck.

Yeah you are right