Help: Med school students, Grad school students, or MDs?

Question

I would like some advice on what college path I should take with the ultimate goal of perhaps going on to med school and becoming a doctor. Also, should I major in pre-med? Because I heard that most med schools don't care what your major is, as long as you have the required courses.

Should I:
1.) Go to a decent state school where I may be offered a good scholarship.
2.) Go to a prestigious school (no scholarship) with a class of intelligent students.

Say someone goes to choice 1, and another person goes to choice 2. Both end up with the same MCAT score, but the first person has a 3.6 GPA because the school isn't as competitive as school 2, whereas person 2 has a 3.2.

In the end, will med school admissions staff choose the person who went to the affluent college with the lower gpa, or the person who went to the less affluent school with the higher gpa?
Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

I am a full-time student at a university in the nation's top 5, but this summer I am taking courses at a state university ranked around #25 in the nation. So, I will give you my insight about schools with such different rankings.

The quality of education I received at the state school is not nearly what the top-ranked university provides. Firstly, the state university takes a much slower pace and does not go in depth into concepts. Secondly, class participation and interaction is great and enriching at the top school, but nearly non-existent in the state school. Thirdly, the people at a top-ranked school come from very diverse backgrounds, from all ethnic and economic groups, and from different countries as well. They all have unique passions and love for learning; at the state university, however, people are mostly local and not as driven to learn. Instead, it's like high school all over again.

While it's partially true that college is what you make of it, I think it DOES matter where you go. You'll still get a good education at a state school, but you'll get a GREAT education at a prestigious school. Thus, it's up to you (and perhaps your parents) to decide what the best course of action is - I don't have an answer for that. I know money is a big issue, so don't fret if you don't think it'll be possible to go to the prestigious school. However, if you can manage it, I think it's definitely worthwhile to take out those loans and go for the prestigious school. When you're making lots of money after you graduate, then you can pay them back =]

To address the pre-med portion, I would not recommend majoring in pre-med (I know that some schools, not all, offer this option). I believe someone else already said it well; just like getting into undergrad, med schools want to see passion and love for learning. Therefore, it would be better to major in something that you really enjoy and do the pre-med requirements. For example, I'm a biology major/neurobiology honors/psychology minor. A lot of biology majors at my school are pre-med, but I am very excited about what I study. Psychology throws in a neat twist, but I'm not doing it to impress the med schools; I truly enjoy it. I have actually heard that med schools like to see different majors, like English, because it offers diversity and different perspectives. However, I believe English majors (and other non-science majors) have a weaker science background (because they only took the required pre-med classes, nothing extra) and have a bit of trouble in med school.

The doctor I work with in my research lab is on the medical school admissions committee. He says that a person who went to a prestigious school but got a lower GPA (as long as it's like 3.3+) is preferred over someone at a state school with a 4.0. It sounds harsh, but my college's medical school is one of the top in the nation. Other medical schools do not have the same standard, so please don't think that you won't be able to get in anywhere.

I hope this was helpful and encouraging rather than discouraging! Good luck!

Answer 2

If med school is the goal you definitely want to go to the decent state school that gives you the best scholarship money. That is advice I'd give to anyone anyway, but especially with a goal of med school in mind. The amount of the award offer is an indication of how near the top of their applicant pool you are, and a good indication of how well you are likely to do there, in terms of your GPA. Med schools do not compare "school difficulty", they only look at your GPA, if MCAT scores are equal. You want the highest GPA possible for a chance at med school. The prestigious school will sink most people's hopes of a GPA good enough for med school unless they have a top scholarship to go there.

Answer 3

i'll give you the most concise answer i can

its true you just need the required courses to go to med school (but make sure you get good marks :P) as long as you have those required courses, (at my school they're about 6 classes) you can double major or minor in something else that is of interests to you.

the school you go to is mostly your choice. if you go to a school where you will be offered a scholarship, you will have less loans to pay off later, but if you go to a prestigious school, your chances of being accepted to medical school are better (it will be an application process all over again)

when you're applying to schools, i say you should make sure to ask what kind of acceptance rate your science department has to med schools...if a tour guide or science department professor didn't know you could ask anywhere the campus's main offices are. they'll at least be able to tell you who to ask.

don't forget about government financial aide, like fafsa...go to www.fafsa.ed.gov to fill it out, and if you qualify, you get money for tuition.

your best bet would be a compromise down the middle (some financial aide and at least decently med-school geared school)

most importantly, you need to be at a school you're happy at. if you don't like the atmosphere or the class size or the location, it can just make your experience a little...off. go where you'll be able to make your best effort at being a good student!

good luck!

Answer 4

I've got two really great pieces of advice for you.

First, when choosing colleges, look at their medical school placement rate. You might be surprised. For example, it's no surprise that Harvard and Yale have superb placement rates, but Miami University in Ohio (which is part of the Ohio state system and has relatively low tuition, especially for Ohio residents) has an unbelievably high med school placement rate. Check for schools like this in your state. Saving on tuition costs now will be helpful later. You might also strongly consider elite liberal arts colleges, because they have superb endowments, and many of them shoot for what's called "full financial support," meaning that most students (especially those from middle and lower-income households) will end up with extremely low family contributions, and may not need to take out much (if anything) in the way of loans.

Second, double major. You cannot major in "pre-med" because it's not a major, its an advising track. That means that at good colleges and universities, there are "pre-med" or "pre-health" advisors who help students take all the courses that medical schools require for admission, like calculus, a couple of years of chemistry (including organic), a couple of years of bio, etc. "Pre-med" advisors also help students get volunteer positions in local hospitals, or summer internships shadowing local physicians. Usually, med school aspirants end up majoring in biology or chemistry. However, in the past decade, I have seen a trend in medical school admissions toward favoring candidates who demonstrate their "well-roundedness" as human beings by double majoring in a science (like bio or chem) AND something very different (like art history, or religious studies, or economics, or engineering). Med schools seem to love this.

Finally, sure, you'll need a great GPA. Sure, you'll need a great MCAT score if you want to go to a good med school. But following the advice above will get end up making you a very competitive candidate in terms of med school admissions.

Best wishes to you.

Answer 5

1. Go to school wherever you will be happy for the next four years. If you like the student body, if you like the academic structure, if you like the environment, you are more likely to be successful in both your personal and academic lives. Med schools take into consideration how strong a school is academically, so no one gets into med school based solely on their alma mater or their GPA. (So with regard to your hypothetical scenario, it is possible that both or neither of those students would get accepted. And remember- there's an interview process, and that counts for alot, too.)
2. DO NOT major in pre-med. Take the core pre-med courses. Major in what really interests you. Med schools like having diverse student bodies, so as long as you do well, you will be able to get into med school regardless of your major. Assuming you do to med school, you'll have 4 years there to learn about medicine. This means you shouldn't feel pressured to learn about medicine in undergraduate school.