Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 00:41     Subject: Medical School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Highest med school placements
1. Harvard
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Duke
4. UPenn
5. Stanford
6. WashU
7. Rice
8. Northwestern
9. Brown
10. UNC Chapel Hill



So many of these schools weed out all but 10% of the "pre meds."

It'd not like you matriculate there and go to medical school 4 yrs later.


False. I do not know about Rice and UNC, but all of the rest do not have weed-outs or barriers to med-admissions committee letters. Truly banning one from applying did not even happen at most of these 30 years ago, today it happens at almost none.
The committees advise to take a gap year or two and spread out courses if the GPA is under a certain level, but there are no bans.
Read the premed advising sections of these schools. We have premeds at two of the ones in the top 6 and many family and friends at the rest of this list and other schools(CLemson, Emory). None of them have gatekeeping for letters. For all but UNC, the GPAs are inflated to the extent that the median is 3.75-3.9 for overall undergrads as well as premeds. These schools have tables on GPA vs MCAT and acceptance to MD programs. On average at the 1-9 schools, a below-average GPA of 3.5 leads to med school acceptance 60% of the time. 3.7 and above is 90-95% depending on the school. We did our homework and got data from every parent who had a kid there. Weedouts do not happen. Cs are given only rarely, even intro courses have B+ averages. It is not the same as it used to be.


I don’t think you understand weed out correctly. Getting a C in or go is a weed out. Having a science gpa under 3.3 is a weed out. It doesn’t refer to committee letter.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 00:35     Subject: Medical School
Above poster seems to imply that students take gap year if GPA is lower. That is not true for many students. Many with top GPA and MCAT are taking gap years to further strengthen their apps as the process has become ultra competitive.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 00:27     Subject: Medical School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Highest med school placements
1. Harvard
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Duke
4. UPenn
5. Stanford
6. WashU
7. Rice
8. Northwestern
9. Brown
10. UNC Chapel Hill



So many of these schools weed out all but 10% of the "pre meds."

It'd not like you matriculate there and go to medical school 4 yrs later.


I assume all the state schools and all ivies weed out, but how does one know if a liberal arts school weeds out or not?
false. the more elite the less or no weed-out. Top LACs also do not weed out.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 00:25     Subject: Medical School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Highest med school placements
1. Harvard
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Duke
4. UPenn
5. Stanford
6. WashU
7. Rice
8. Northwestern
9. Brown
10. UNC Chapel Hill



So many of these schools weed out all but 10% of the "pre meds."

It'd not like you matriculate there and go to medical school 4 yrs later.


False. I do not know about Rice and UNC, but all of the rest do not have weed-outs or barriers to med-admissions committee letters. Truly banning one from applying did not even happen at most of these 30 years ago, today it happens at almost none.
The committees advise to take a gap year or two and spread out courses if the GPA is under a certain level, but there are no bans.
Read the premed advising sections of these schools. We have premeds at two of the ones in the top 6 and many family and friends at the rest of this list and other schools(CLemson, Emory). None of them have gatekeeping for letters. For all but UNC, the GPAs are inflated to the extent that the median is 3.75-3.9 for overall undergrads as well as premeds. These schools have tables on GPA vs MCAT and acceptance to MD programs. On average at the 1-9 schools, a below-average GPA of 3.5 leads to med school acceptance 60% of the time. 3.7 and above is 90-95% depending on the school. We did our homework and got data from every parent who had a kid there. Weedouts do not happen. Cs are given only rarely, even intro courses have B+ averages. It is not the same as it used to be.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 00:14     Subject: Re:Medical School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:One thing frequently parroted is wherever you can get the highest gpa and costs the least. Solid advice. However, everyone seems to ignore that fact that while gpa is very important, there is a huge disparity between average MCAT at an Ivy/elite and other schools. So, the 4.0 or 3.9 may also coincide with a 522 and a 502.


Students admitted to elite schools are more likely to have a demonstrated ability to score high on standardized tests than those at less elite schools, and the MCAT is a standardized test. If the student admitted to the elite school attended a less elite college, it probably would not alter their MCAT score.


Talk to professors. The course content is taught at a much higher level at elites, at or above difficulty of the MCAT tests. Plus, having a large cohort of similar level peers can push you to study hard and put the work in outside of class on research and clinicals. At many good but not great undergrads, "no one gets into medical school it is so hard" is repeated all the time, sewing seeds of doubt in the fully capable. At ivy+ levels, almost everyone gets in somewhere, it is not considered rare or terribly difficult, and the school cultures center around studying and maximizing the resume. That environment cannot be duplicated and accounts for a portion of the success.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 21:49     Subject: Medical School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Per latest AAMC stats for US MD accepted students:

Breakdown of Gap Year Usage (Recent Data Trends):

Gap Years (One or More): ~74% of matriculants.
No Gap Year (Straight Through): ~26-29% of matriculants.
Common Lengths: Many students take 1–2 years (often for work or research), but others take 3–4 (13.4%) or 5+ years (7.9%).

https://www.emorywheel.com/article/2024/02/medical-school-gap-year-rates-continue-to-rise-at-emory-nationally


One thing people don't talk about is maturity of 22 yr old MS1 (no gap) vs 24 yr old MS1 (one or two gaps).


In most other countries, medical school is an undergraduate course of study entered into after high school. Are you saying doctors
in other countries are less mature because they went straight into their course? The maturing process happens DURING medical school and residency training. Like being forged into a new person by fire. completely different from the sweet, idealistic undergrad that entered.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 21:15     Subject: Medical School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Highest med school placements
1. Harvard
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Duke
4. UPenn
5. Stanford
6. WashU
7. Rice
8. Northwestern
9. Brown
10. UNC Chapel Hill



So many of these schools weed out all but 10% of the "pre meds."

It'd not like you matriculate there and go to medical school 4 yrs later.


I assume all the state schools and all ivies weed out, but how does one know if a liberal arts school weeds out or not?


I think Ivies do comparatively little to weed out. They have among the highest average GPAs.


Good luck attending Cornell with that mindset.


Some folks here don’t accept that Cornell is part of Ivy League.


Cornell has more kids going on to medical school than any other university. No other school is even close.


Not even close to correct. https://www.aamc.org/media/9636/download
It's all about size.


lol
People just make up whatever that fits their narratives.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 21:05     Subject: Medical School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Highest med school placements
1. Harvard
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Duke
4. UPenn
5. Stanford
6. WashU
7. Rice
8. Northwestern
9. Brown
10. UNC Chapel Hill



So many of these schools weed out all but 10% of the "pre meds."

It'd not like you matriculate there and go to medical school 4 yrs later.


I assume all the state schools and all ivies weed out, but how does one know if a liberal arts school weeds out or not?


I think Ivies do comparatively little to weed out. They have among the highest average GPAs.


Good luck attending Cornell with that mindset.


Some folks here don’t accept that Cornell is part of Ivy League.


Cornell has more kids going on to medical school than any other university. No other school is even close.


Not even close to correct. https://www.aamc.org/media/9636/download
It's all about size.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 21:00     Subject: Medical School
Anonymous wrote:Per latest AAMC stats for US MD accepted students:

Breakdown of Gap Year Usage (Recent Data Trends):

Gap Years (One or More): ~74% of matriculants.
No Gap Year (Straight Through): ~26-29% of matriculants.
Common Lengths: Many students take 1–2 years (often for work or research), but others take 3–4 (13.4%) or 5+ years (7.9%).

https://www.emorywheel.com/article/2024/02/medical-school-gap-year-rates-continue-to-rise-at-emory-nationally


One thing people don't talk about is maturity of 22 yr old MS1 (no gap) vs 24 yr old MS1 (one or two gaps).
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 20:59     Subject: Medical School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Highest med school placements
1. Harvard
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Duke
4. UPenn
5. Stanford
6. WashU
7. Rice
8. Northwestern
9. Brown
10. UNC Chapel Hill



So many of these schools weed out all but 10% of the "pre meds."

It'd not like you matriculate there and go to medical school 4 yrs later.


I assume all the state schools and all ivies weed out, but how does one know if a liberal arts school weeds out or not?


I think Ivies do comparatively little to weed out. They have among the highest average GPAs.


Good luck attending Cornell with that mindset.


Some folks here don’t accept that Cornell is part of Ivy League.


Cornell has more kids going on to medical school than any other university. No other school is even close.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 20:50     Subject: Medical School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Highest med school placements
1. Harvard
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Duke
4. UPenn
5. Stanford
6. WashU
7. Rice
8. Northwestern
9. Brown
10. UNC Chapel Hill



Where is this data from? I doubt that UNC is that high if all schools are considered.


https://www.medschoolcoach.com/best-premed-schools/

Sites with soft criteria will vary widely from each other. For example, Bates, Bowdoin, Brown, Duke, Hamilton, JHU, Princeton, Rice, Stanford and Union are this group's top picks:

A Guide to The Best Colleges for Pre-Med Students - InGenius Prep https://share.google/ZeGf5L170ZJC9U0Lj
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 20:50     Subject: Medical School
Per latest AAMC stats for US MD accepted students:

Breakdown of Gap Year Usage (Recent Data Trends):

Gap Years (One or More): ~74% of matriculants.
No Gap Year (Straight Through): ~26-29% of matriculants.
Common Lengths: Many students take 1–2 years (often for work or research), but others take 3–4 (13.4%) or 5+ years (7.9%).

https://www.emorywheel.com/article/2024/02/medical-school-gap-year-rates-continue-to-rise-at-emory-nationally
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 20:38     Subject: Medical School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Highest med school placements
1. Harvard
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Duke
4. UPenn
5. Stanford
6. WashU
7. Rice
8. Northwestern
9. Brown
10. UNC Chapel Hill



Where is this data from? I doubt that UNC is that high if all schools are considered.


https://www.medschoolcoach.com/best-premed-schools/
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 20:35     Subject: Medical School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Highest med school placements
1. Harvard
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Duke
4. UPenn
5. Stanford
6. WashU
7. Rice
8. Northwestern
9. Brown
10. UNC Chapel Hill



So many of these schools weed out all but 10% of the "pre meds."

It'd not like you matriculate there and go to medical school 4 yrs later.


I assume all the state schools and all ivies weed out, but how does one know if a liberal arts school weeds out or not?


I think Ivies do comparatively little to weed out. They have among the highest average GPAs.


Good luck attending Cornell with that mindset.


Some folks here don’t accept that Cornell is part of Ivy League.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 20:30     Subject: Medical School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Highest med school placements
1. Harvard
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Duke
4. UPenn
5. Stanford
6. WashU
7. Rice
8. Northwestern
9. Brown
10. UNC Chapel Hill



Where is this data from? I doubt that UNC is that high if all schools are considered.

This site, which was posted previously, placed UNC 71st nationally:

From Pre-Med to MD: Understanding the Pathways to Medical School - College Transitions https://share.google/qCKemw4tQwUokA8i4