Undergraduate Degree (California)

[machupichu]

Hi Everyone!

I was wondering whether the school one graduates from affects the probability of acceptance into med school? I am currently attending a decent local jc. I can go to UCLA to finish off my bachelors but there are no majors that appeal to me aside from Molecular Genetics. Since I am currently attending a college, I am afraid that if I matriculate from a cal-state, this will hurt me in the future. Does anyone have any success stories that might help me decide?

Thanks a million SDNers

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[Maple]

Common misconception.....Cal st. vs. UCs...attending a UC won't guarantee you an acceptance and nor will attending a Cal St. seal your fate with rejections! I went to a Cal. State and had 7 interviews and 5 acceptances. I know several people from school with multiple acceptances..in and out of state (CA).

just remember...school name won't carry you through this application process..your academic performance will!

 

[pbehzad]

i agree with maple that the name wont carry you through the process, but if you have a good gpa at a uc school like ucla i think it definitely looks good. i think going to ucla would give you an advantage since it is a top notch school and has very good academic rep. i think if you went to ucla and someone went to a cal st. school (holding on things equal), and your gpas are about the same, the person from ucla would probably get in just cause of its academic rep.
this is how i see it, i could be wrong. hope it helps.

 

[Biodude]

Hey, man, don't worry about going to Cal State to finish undergrad. I'm going to a Cal State right now. You wanna know why? It's got a fine reputation for sending people off to health professions schools. Over the past 20 years, this school that I'm attending had 85 percent of its students that were recommended by the pre-med advisory committee accepted to medical schools. 85 percent!

Of course, I guess I'm gonna have to work hard just to get their recommendations! But my point is, you will still have a chance of heading off to medical school even if you do go Cal State, particularly Cal State Fullerton (where I go )

But then again, it doesn't have Molecular Genetics, sorry.

By the way, Maple and machupichu, by any chance do either of you live in Orange County?

 

[Scooby Doo]

Was that 85 percent that were recommended and then went on to be accepted???

Or 85% of the total "premed" population.

It seems that your premed committee does the first round of cuts. If they feel someone is not "fit enough" they will cut them before even getting to apply. that kinda sucks...but it does help raise your numbers to 85%

 

[Biodude]

Yeah, I know, Scooby Doo, that's why I plan on working REALLY hard to get past their round of cuts. I hope I do.

 

[pbehzad]

do you think schools actually are giving the right information when they say 85% of their premeds got accepted to a med school? I think they are very misleading cause that is extremely high amount.
My school, Emory, says 85% of students w/3.5 or higher get into med school, and overall 60% get into med school. I know one of my state schools says they have 60% acceptance rate. Now less than 50% of premed students get into med school each year. I just think the numbers the schools are giving are kinda misleading. if anyone knows for sure about this please explain.
also what percent of studnets actually do get accepted, i know its less than 50, but isnt it around 25 or so?

 

[machupichu]

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for all the quick responses. I actually wanted to atleast have a business major/minor because I wanted to open my own practice one day. I was asking this because if the school matters, then I will go to UCLA for the genetics, but if it doesn't, I'll seek out a school with some business courses. If fullerton has a good rep, I could consider going there too since it's about 10 minutes away from my house )

Thanks again -- u guys are awesome!

 

[The Mysterious Stranger]

I'm curious about schools which have committees that determine whether students can apply to med school. How does it work? My university allows anyone and everyone to apply and they claim about a 55% acceptance rate. Now if a student does not recieve a recommendation from their commitee can they still apply? It seems pretty political to me--if a committee member knows and likes you they might recommend you if your scores are a little low....I might be completely off because I don't know anything about how the process works, but I am interested. Do you guys who attend schools which limit the number of applicants like the process, hate it, are indifferent????

 

[Biodude]

What meant to say when I posted was that about 85% of the RECOMMENDED pre-meds make it. Also, just because you don't get recommended by the committee doesn't mean that you can't make it, though the national average is around 30%.

It's also no surprise that they only recommend around 20 people either (MD and DO included, by the way). I wonder how many pre-meds there are gonna be in my class when I start freshmen year.

 

[lola]

there aren't any other majors at ucla that interest you???? i thought they had tons of majors. they don't have a business major? i'd choose a uc over a cal state since you went to a jc to begin with. you can defintely get in if you do well at a cal state, but i do think you will be at a disadvantage.

at my school i was under the impression that you had to be in excellent standing to get a committee letter, but when i asked recently they said they'd be happy to write a letter for me and they didn't have such a policy. i think they really discourage people who didn't do well from applying, but will write the letter for them if they insist. not sure what the stats are for getting into med school. when i first started (9 years ago) i thought it was something like 80% get accepted, but that seems awfully high now -- especially since they will write a letter for anyone who wants one.