Medical School question-dr's or those that know?

[Boston Tea Party]

I don't think that the choice of any college would automatically exclude someone from getting into med school. But having undergrad credentials from a school known for well preparing students for med school can help.

The last thing a med school wants is to admit someone who does not make it thru. Unfortunately this happened to one of my relatives who decided to go to med school in his mid 30s. He passed 2 years but just couldn't make it thru the last part although he really tried.

I'll give an example that is not med school related. I took accounting at a local college one summer. It was pretty much bookkeeping. Very, very elementary. When I went to the business school at Stanford the introductory accounting course (only a quarter not a semester) covered about 10 times the material - including how to analyze financial statements. Both classes were introductory classes with no pre-reqs, but the amount of material covered was vastly different.

The same sort of thing happens with biology, chemistry, etc. The tougher schools are just going to cover so much more.

Thanks for the perspective. I do appreciate it!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

You already know that my friend's dd is in a freshman in a 6yr med program and does not have to apply to med school at all, at UMKC. She is done.

How good it is remains to be seen as I don't know much about the program. So far she is loving it.

 

[booger73]

Bigger institution usually helps some, but is not even a major part of the full package.. it's just as important as mcats and grades (usually the first and quickest 'pre-screen' of whether or not they'll look at your application), research, or extracurricular activities...

Think of it this way.. If they take n=100 people in a class, they usually don't want 100 people from one specific university (say A) - that's a very unbalanced, undiversified class (plus they can't charge $$$ for the out-of-state people).. They might want 50 people from A, 10 people from B, and so on. It is likely that there are more people from university A fighting for the 50 spots than the number of people from university B fighting for the 10, for example..

Better look more so at 1) is this a thriving environment, 2) size, distance, 3) cost, 4) in-state/out-state, 5) "connections" - i.e. pre-med/MD or med-masters/MD programs, nearby hospital or med school..

You can read more stuff here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/

 

[golfgal]

Bigger institution usually helps some, but is not even a major part of the full package.. it's just as important as mcats and grades (usually the first and quickest 'pre-screen' of whether or not they'll look at your application), research, or extracurricular activities...

Think of it this way.. If they take n=100 people in a class, they usually don't want 100 people from one specific university (say A) - that's a very unbalanced, undiversified class (plus they can't charge $$$ for the out-of-state people).. They might want 50 people from A, 10 people from B, and so on. It is likely that there are more people from university A fighting for the 50 spots than the number of people from university B fighting for the 10, for example..

Better look more so at 1) is this a thriving environment, 2) size, distance, 3) cost, 4) in-state/out-state, 5) "connections" - i.e. pre-med/MD or med-masters/MD programs, nearby hospital or med school..

You can read more stuff here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/

Thanks, that form is very educational--they all pretty much say that it doesn't matter where you do your undergrad as long as you do well there and get some research under your belt .

 

[Snowysmom]

I believe it is what you do at the university you are at that matters most. Also, the university should be good fit for the student. My older DS went to our state university and majored in Biochemistry. He got involved in a research lab in his sophomore year and helped out as a lab assistant in science labs. He also became an EMT and worked events on campus. He graduated with a 4.0. He studied for the MCAT the entire summer between junior and senior year and had a fantastic score. Everything he did got him interviews at 8 out of the 10 schools he applied to including some Ivy League schools. He ended up at Tufts where he did extremely well. He is now in his residency at a great hospital. This is why I say that it is what you do with your undergrad education. There will always be those students who have connections and some interviewers who are looking for the ivy leaguer. But, if you are a top student, have the right activities, and do well on the MCAT and the interviews, then you will succeed.

 

[collegejunkie]

There will always be those students who have connections and some interviewers who are looking for the ivy leaguer. But, if you are a top student, have the right activities, and do well on the MCAT and the interviews, then you will succeed.

it sounds like he could have succeeded anywhere, though. for most people, it does indeed matter where you go.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Radiology is a competitive residency program to match into as well. The med school she's coming out of will make more of a difference than if she was interested in something like internal medicine.

 

[Pinkpony]

I suppose she is in a good spot, she has 4 schools she would be just fine attending--and that is without having various schools contact her for golf yet (can't until the end of her junior season this spring). We are trying to get in these visits before the snow flies and saving this summer for her "recruiting" visits (they can have up to 5 of those). She wants a place where she can golf, have fun with golf, but not have it consume all of her time and so far the schools she has as her top 3 have all of that for her.

DS is a little easier as he won't be going on to grad school most likely-won't need to with his intended major/field, actuarial science. They have a smaller program at this school but well connected for jobs after school-95% of the grads from that program get hired before graduation . If he doesn't get big bucks for Notre Dame, he will probably go to this school.

Just want to at our similarities. I have twins in college right now, one in pre-med and one in actuarial science.

Honestly, I'd be a little concerned about the 50% success rate. My DS's school averages 90%, and just this past year was 95%. That played a big role in his decision of where to attend, which is a small private university.

We're new to this pre-med (biology major) road too, so I can't offer much advice. It does seem as though he is getting a lot of good advice from his professors, which of course includes applying for summer internships/shadowing, research and volunteer service. I also know that he's taking his major courses up front and leaving his basic/core courses for the end. Kind of makes sense, I guess, since the MCATs are taken before your senior year.

Good luck to your kiddos and their school decisions! I thought we'd have two at two different schools this year, but at the last minute our other twin decided to also attend the small private school.

 

[Saphire]

The availability of research is big. Some small liberal arts schools just don't have the research going on for undergrads to get involved in. Getting published and doing some good research as an undergrad can really set you apart.

My son was advised that doing research and getting published would be a huge factor in getting accepted to Med School. So he found (with the help of his professors) a great research project in Boston, took a year off after graduating college, and did indeed get published. He thinks that it made a huge difference in highlighting his application among all the other qualified candidates. Good Luck!

 

[golfgal]

Radiology is a competitive residency program to match into as well. The med school she's coming out of will make more of a difference than if she was interested in something like internal medicine.

I can't see her actually being a radiologist--not enough people contact for her. My guess for her at age 16 right now would be more like an OB or peditrician in a rural or small town hospital. I think she may also find that something in genetics to be up her alley too. Who knows??

Just want to at our similarities. I have twins in college right now, one in pre-med and one in actuarial science.

Honestly, I'd be a little concerned about the 50% success rate. My DS's school averages 90%, and just this past year was 95%. That played a big role in his decision of where to attend, which is a small private university.

We're new to this pre-med (biology major) road too, so I can't offer much advice. It does seem as though he is getting a lot of good advice from his professors, which of course includes applying for summer internships/shadowing, research and volunteer service. I also know that he's taking his major courses up front and leaving his basic/core courses for the end. Kind of makes sense, I guess, since the MCATs are taken before your senior year.

Good luck to your kiddos and their school decisions! I thought we'd have two at two different schools this year, but at the last minute our other twin decided to also attend the small private school.

The other other schools on her list are small, private schools with 90+ % acceptance rates. We will see how things change over the next year.