Why Are Medical School Acceptances Rates So Low?

[internist88]

Hey I'm a high school junior and I'm wondering why the medical school acceptance rates are so low? Is it just because so many people want to become doctors or what? I'm a person that is pretty unconfident that I'll make it into med school because the ivies as an undergrad which are super hard accept at least 20% of their applicants, and even then I doubt I'd get into one of them. This means that I have no chance of getting into a top med school that accepts 7% of its students on average right? so yeah if anyone can clue me in as to why the acceptance rates are so low, please reply.

btw, how hard is opthal to match into for rescidency cuz if I dont make oncology, I really wanna do surgery or opthal, so if anyone can tell me how hard surg, opthal, and general internal med are to match into as well as why med accep rates are low, please please respond!

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[monkey7247]

Hey I'm a high school junior and I'm wondering why the medical school acceptance rates are so low? Is it just because so many people want to become doctors or what? I'm a person that is pretty unconfident that I'll make it into med school because the ivies as an undergrad which are super hard accept at least 20% of their applicants, and even then I doubt I'd get into one of them. This means that I have no chance of getting into a top med school that accepts 7% of its students on average right? so yeah if anyone can clue me in as to why the acceptance rates are so low, please reply.

btw, how hard is opthal to match into for rescidency cuz if I dont make oncology, I really wanna do surgery or opthal, so if anyone can tell me how hard surg, opthal, and general internal med are to match into as well as why med accep rates are low, please please respond!

Start with college. Then move to the Pre-allo forum. Then the general residency forum. Then the ophthalmology forum.

You're thinking about residency specialty when you should be thinking about a college major, if that.

 

[JA_Perez]

Hey I'm a high school junior and I'm wondering why the medical school acceptance rates are so low? Is it just because so many people want to become doctors or what? I'm a person that is pretty unconfident that I'll make it into med school because the ivies as an undergrad which are super hard accept at least 20% of their applicants, and even then I doubt I'd get into one of them. This means that I have no chance of getting into a top med school that accepts 7% of its students on average right? so yeah if anyone can clue me in as to why the acceptance rates are so low, please reply.

btw, how hard is opthal to match into for rescidency cuz if I dont make oncology, I really wanna do surgery or opthal, so if anyone can tell me how hard surg, opthal, and general internal med are to match into as well as why med accep rates are low, please please respond!

You are too young to be freaking out already. Take it one step at a time. Go to college first...

 

[Paulie]

hold your horses "internist". It's great that you are very motivated and eager but you're thinking way too far in advance. I'm not picking out my adult diaper brand yet (maybe I should?). Concentrate on your SAT's!!! and you never know maybe you will get into a good college, do well, and get into medical school. You are obviously pretty motivated.

But, to help answer your questions since we ranked on you enough: I think med school is hard to get into simply because of supply and demand. A lot of people want to become MD's and there's a limited number of spots - thus, medical schools can be pretty picky and choose the best qualified applicants (in terms of grades, extra-currics, motivation, interview, etc).

Residencies for the most part are the same thing - microeconomics - supply and demand. Internal medicine is one of the less competitive specialties simply because there are so many spots open nationwide. I've heard that surgery is actually getting more competitive (it took a little bit of a dive recently) and ophtho for the most part is still very competitive.

However, there's something else you must consider. Within every field, there are poor, mediocre, good, and great residency programs. For example, although it's pretty easy to get into some internal medicine spot somewhere in the country, you gotta be pretty damn good to get into Mass General or Brigham (Harvard hospitals)

Well, relax, take it one step at a time - and if you want to stress about something, I don't know, start thinking about organic chemistry.

Good luck

 

[yowhassupdude]

here's a little secret--if you want to get into a good med school, don't goto a top 10 ivy college. Don't goto community college either. Goto a respectable college, but crappy enough so that most of your fellow pre-meds are fairly dumb. That way, you look really smart in all the classes you take. That's the trick.

But if you work really hard and aren't a complete idiot, you should be able to get into med school.

 

[Mye Eye]

here's a little secret--if you want to get into a good med school, don't goto a top 10 ivy college. Don't goto community college either. Goto a respectable college, but crappy enough so that most of your fellow pre-meds are fairly dumb. That way, you look really smart in all the classes you take. That's the trick.

But if you work really hard and aren't a complete idiot, you should be able to get into med school.

As silly as this sounds, I would agree 100% with him on this one. I came out of high school as a valedictorian, 1490 SAT, and TONS of national and state honors...got into a top 5 undergraduate with lots of geniuses...which made my GPA only a 3.6 in the end...when it could have been nearly a 4.0 at an easier school...in the end i got 5 interviews for med school and 2 acceptances (of 21 schools applied to)...not what you would call outstanding rates....i have friends who went to easier undergrads and had 3.8-3.9 GPAs that got into many more schools than i did...even though my MCAT was better than theirs

just a thought

you have so much time to figure this all out...go to a school that YOU can get good grades at...you will get into medical school if you try hard enough...i know people who apply 5 times before getting in, but it DOES happen

good luck

 

[PDT4CNV]

My advice to add is to choose your major wisely. Last I looked, music majors had the highest acceptance rate percentage wise although I think biology majors were the largest group overall.

For example, at my undergrad university, in the School of Engineering the average GPA at the time was a C+. Whereas, the average GPA in the School of Music was an A. You would not believe what it took to graduate with an A- GPA in engineering. A really good friend of mine at Northwestern who triple majored in Engineering, Physics, and Mathematics, a real genius, but who had a B GPA did not get accepted into medical school. Another friend of mine who did engineering at Cooper Union in NY where the average GPA was around a C+, ran into the same problem, but ended up with a good MD/PhD spot in the end. So be cognizant of how successful others in a particular major have been at getting into medical school. Think about your major carefully, its not too early for that.

Some schools are notorious for grade inflation (particularly some of the ivies) so be aware of that. I know for a fact that medical school admissions committees are. My sister went to an IVY and the "bell curve" was definitely skewed toward A's. Check out the top 25-30 colleges/univesities in various categories listed in US News ratings. Decide whats important to you regarding college vs univeristy, size, location, presence of graduate students, number of big name faculty, sports teams, reputation, etc..

I would agree with prior posts, shoot for a solid university with a good reputation. You want a place that will create opportunities for you no matter what you eventually decide to go into. Choose a major that is respectable but will not kill you, perhaps one that you can fall back on if you are not accepted into medical school or decide not to apply.

Lastly, I can't recommend Northwestern University near Chicago high enough. The reputation is outstanding in nearly every department, the education is top notch, the campus is beautiful, the location is excellent, the size is perfect, the political environment is middle of the road, and there is Big 10 sports.

Good Luck.