What makes a "more competitive" medical school?

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2BIntegrativeMD

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Hello to all,

I will be applying to medical school soon and I want to know from anyone and everyone who can offer advice, What makes a "more competitive" medical school?

Could it be due to:

A traditional grading system? or grading system similar to it? vs. Pass/Fail grading system?

Accessibility of faculty?

Interaction among students?

Entering GPA and MCAT scores of most students?

Virtually no academic support services?

Or in your opinion what exactly is it?

Thanks in advance!
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Research $.

OHHH you mean like competitiveness amongst the class...

I'd say #1 is entering GPA and MCAT of applicants. Bigger tools leads to more competitiveness, not to say this is a causal effect but you gotta admit there's some correlation. I'm probably gonna get a lotta **** for saying this on SDN.
 
Hello to all,

I will be applying to medical school soon and I want to know from anyone and everyone who can offer advice, What makes a "more competitive" medical school?

Could it be due to:

A traditional grading system? or grading system similar to it? vs. Pass/Fail grading system?

Accessibility of faculty?

Interaction among students?

Entering GPA and MCAT scores of most students?

Virtually no academic support services?

Or in your opinion what exactly is it?

Thanks in advance!
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A more competitive atmosphere among the students you mean? I think the grading system is the most important factor...
 
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Yes, exactly what you said UMP so let me rephrase it...What factors make a competitive atmosphere for medicals students once you are there?

Please do respond!!!
 
Research $.

OHHH you mean like competitiveness amongst the class...

I'd say #1 is entering GPA and MCAT of applicants. Bigger tools leads to more competitiveness, not to say this is a causal effect but you gotta admit there's some correlation. I'm probably gonna get a lotta **** for saying this on SDN.

I don't think this is true...look at Yale for example. The total lack of a grading system and de-emphasis on bettering your already excellent classmates has really lead to a vibrant community focused on learning instead of minutiae.

I think that grading system, size and type of institution play a huge role in competitiveness. Grading system and size are self-explanatory in my opinion, and I've heard of some institutions who overfill their classes making it very difficult for their students in the preclinical years, essentially "weeding" them out. That's just hearsay, but enough to scare me away from said school(s)!
 

Wow!!!

Can I get a little bit of that verbal juice that you have? How did you develop a strong vocabulary?

dont mean to hijack the threat...I am just always looking to improve on my verbal repratoire.
 
I think the faculty has more of an effect on it than anything else. If they foster a sense of competition, it'll be competitive; if not, it won't. Try to see what the school's attitude is it towards student competition. Tools do make it more competitive too, though...
 
Good grief. You cross posted in like 5 forums. Why on Earth would you do that?
 
Wow!!!

Can I get a little bit of that verbal juice that you have? How did you develop a strong vocabulary?

dont mean to hijack the threat...I am just always looking to improve on my verbal repratoire.

well i realize you werent talking to me, and i realize how pretention it seems for me to suggest that i too have a vocabulary (it is ok, nothing too special)

most of what i learned though was from a book in high school called 'word power made easy' it was a very helpful book all about the origins of many different words (including... :eek: curse words)... the book might seem a little easy now, but i think that even at this level it could help build someones vocab provided they have never read it

it was a pretty entertaining book as far as vocab building books go, and it was a cheap paperback...
 
Wow!!!

Can I get a little bit of that verbal juice that you have? How did you develop a strong vocabulary?

dont mean to hijack the threat...I am just always looking to improve on my verbal repratoire.

I just read a lot I guess. I also play Scrabble.
 
Research $.

OHHH you mean like competitiveness amongst the class...

I'd say #1 is entering GPA and MCAT of applicants. Bigger tools leads to more competitiveness, not to say this is a causal effect but you gotta admit there's some correlation. I'm probably gonna get a lotta **** for saying this on SDN.

lol :laugh:

I'm with you 100% dude :thumbup:

edit// although the biggest tool I know at UCLA is probably the stupidest in his class and certainly didn't have a high gpa or mcat score....
 
Research $.

OHHH you mean like competitiveness amongst the class...

I'd say #1 is entering GPA and MCAT of applicants. Bigger tools leads to more competitiveness, not to say this is a causal effect but you gotta admit there's some correlation. I'm probably gonna get a lotta **** for saying this on SDN.

So you are saying higher GPA/MCAT = bigger tools ?
 
So you are saying higher GPA/MCAT = bigger tools ?

it's definitely more complicated than that.

I would say it's higher GPA = bigger tool


wait, that simplifies it... :laugh:
 
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it's definitely more complicated than that.

I would say it's higher GPA = bigger tool


wait, that simplifies it... :laugh:

Yeah, I'd say the formula goes something like this:

(10 x GPA + MCAT) x [1.5 x # of times previous medical experiences are mentioned] = Tool score
 
it's definitely more complicated than that.

I would say it's higher GPA = bigger tool


wait, that simplifies it... :laugh:

:thumbup: Thanks for clarifying ;)
 
I think we may have been separated at birth, for I have a low gpa, high MCAT, and have a healthy appreciation for lesbianism.

can I offer you a tall glass of icy-cold milk?
 
And in the case of women, deeper vaginas.

oh you think he's got a small penis? well you know what he said? He said you have the big vagina.

the big vagina?


Huge.


/Larry David
 
Hello everyone,

So far I have down grading system, class size, MCAT/GPA of students, and faculty as main contributing factors to a competitive atmosphere in medical school. Anything else?

Thanks again!
 
Faculty doesn't matter that much...it's not like some schools have professors who start each lecture with "Today, I will only speak loudly enough for the first two rows to hear me. Whoever wants to learn the material must be at the front. Go!" Faculty at all med schools will teach the same material to everyone in the class and provide help to those who need it. Grading system (and personality type of the student) matters far more.
 
Hello everyone,

So far I have down grading system, class size, MCAT/GPA of students, and faculty as main contributing factors to a competitive atmosphere in medical school. Anything else?

Thanks again!

I think the most important metrics to use are whether there are grades, whether there is an Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) chapter at the school, and whether the students seem laid-back when you visit the school. I don't think any of those other things really matter.
 
I believe the most important thing is the hottness of it's female matriculants.
As more and more men apply GPA rises and so does MCAT. Funding increases and so does Prestiege.
 
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