Reply to Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A lot of freshmen think they want pre-med. But ultimately change concentrations for various reasons. These are 18 year old kids. They shouldn't know what they really want to do. They're just listening to their parents at that age.

I personally think you should choose a school that is solid all around. A lot of things change between ages 18-22. And it's good to have a plan B for majors and ambitions and be in an environment where you can make those changes.

So I'd encourage going to the top all around school if the fit is good. You want to maintain optionality in case an 18 year old changes their mind about med school.

And regardless, med schools are very well aware of grading differences at selective schools. They adjust accordingly. [b]Your student at MIT or Rice or Princeton and other difficult schools is going to have an easier time with med school admissions than a 4.0 from Podunk U. [/b]

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If they have the same MCAT, etc. as the MIT, Rice, or Princeton applicant, the 4.0 from Podunk will do just fine.  Med school is significantly stat driven.[/quote]
Correct. The 4.0 from Podunk U with a 520+ and plenty of clinical experience and research will get in to plenty of US med schools. It is exceedingly rare to get that MCAT score coming from a podunkU, but sure, it happens, and they get in to med school easily. However: admission to T10 type places, or even T20 will have a lot of competition from all of the 3.9+ and 520+ from top schools. Will the PodunkU have the same level of research? The Amgen or other funded programs, the Goldwater or other fellowships? Would they even know about all of the things the top-school kids know about because professors, departments, upperclassmen push them there? Are they as likely to have the fancy LOR from the top research professor who knows and regularly collaborates with faculty at T10 med schools? Will they have had the interview prep rounds that students at ivy+ places get, especially those who have competed or are in the process of competing for top fellowships while they are applying? At the TOP med schools, the GPA and MCAT are used to clear a bar, often 520+, and admission is based on all of the other factors. Attending an ivy+ greatly increases the chances that all of those factors will be top notch.[/quote]

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