Could I still get into top school?

Applying to Med School? Get In Or Your Money Back
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
zherussianbear said:
Indeed. Top schools are good for getting into high profile research careers. You will live just as happily after graduating from a cheaper, state school with good clinical opportunities.

Freshman year through Junior year of college, people think they need to get into the best school ever; around mid-Senior year, some of the most qualified people aren't hearing back from where they wanted, and at the end, you're just exhausted and happy if you got in anywhere. Pride and expectations don't help you deal with any of the disappointments that undoubtedly lie ahead.

If you want to be a doctor, get into a medical school, and study hard.
Click to expand...

Amen brother!
Members don't see this ad.
 
A 3.5 + high MCAT + interesting ECs + a lot of luck can equal top 20, but it's not a path I recommend.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
no doubt there will be good students at every school...but what happend to the rest of the 130+ students at texas tech.....

Gut Shot said:
Just for giggles, let's have a look at the 2011 match list:

Radiology - Mass General
Anesthesiology - Wash U (x2)
OB/GYN - Johns Hopkins
Ophthalmology - Mayo (with prelim IM year at Mayo)
Neurosurgery - Wash U
ENT - Yale

Not too shabby for a regional public school, in the middle of nowhere, with a strong lean towards primary care.
Click to expand...
 
drizzt3117 said:
None of those places were UCSF or mayo in IM (although idk why the guy said mayo, it's not a top tier IM program). Certainly no tier 1a IM matches.
Click to expand...

Although Mayo is not top for IM (and keep in mind, I am talking about the ever-sought-after Rochester, MN campus,) it has a tremendous research program, it is one of the foremost medical institutions in the world, and it does have an international reputation for its excellence and patient outcomes, for even the most complex conditions/cases. IM training at a place like Mayo leaves one well poised for fellowships in their chosen subspecialty, in my opinion. It would be an honor to do an IM residency at Mayo....
 
JLC said:
no doubt there will be good students at every school...but what happend to the rest of the 130+ students at texas tech.....
Click to expand...

They followed their dreams. Mostly at Texas residency programs.
 
CardiologyJosh said:
Do the two need to be mutually exclusive?
Click to expand...

A true honor generally reflects a significant accomplishment or series of accomplishments, but few individual accomplishments merit such recognition.

You can get all the warm fuzzies you want, but doing well enough in medical school to be invited for an IM interview at Mayo, and then being ranked high enough to match there when the magic algorithm spits out your name, well, that doesn't strike me as honorary. Not when there are about a quadrillion other things that would better fit the definition.
 
music2doc said:
Pretty good cookie-cutter summary. However, this will still only get you a "typical" school. If OP is wanting at least top 40 or so, a "hook" will likely be needed. You need something that makes you shine. Something most students don't have (because, honestly, 60-90+% of applicants have each of things).
Click to expand...


First off, if you get a high GPA and MCAT, you will most certainly get into medical school.

But, music2doc is right on his point. If you don't show something stellar, you likely wont get into a top 40.

Good luck though~!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I looked at Harvard's match list, and I have to say, I can't disagree they get a top heavy match list. Point taken.
 
CardiologyJosh said:
Go look at the match lists; or talk to residency coordinators for these programs - which I have done.
Click to expand...

It's a rather odd standard, saying graduates from one particular medical school do not match into three particular residency programs in one particular specialty.

Could you broaden your assertion a bit?
 
Gut Shot said:
A true honor generally reflects a significant accomplishment or series of accomplishments, but few individual accomplishments merit such recognition.

You can get all the warm fuzzies you want, but doing well enough in medical school to be invited for an IM interview at Mayo, and then being ranked high enough to match there when the magic algorithm spits out your name, well, that doesn't strike me as honorary. Not when there are about a quadrillion other things that would better fit the definition.
Click to expand...

Well, ****. I guess doing well enough to be a test pilot, doing well enough to be an astronaut, doing well enough to be the Apollo 11 mission commander, and having the balls to say "change of plans, I'm stepping on the moon first" isn't an honor either.

I dunno, I've always kinda dreamt of working at Mayo, sucks to find out it's just another grind.
 
Gut Shot said:
It's a rather odd standard, saying graduates from one particular medical school do not match into three particular residency programs in one particular specialty.

Could you broaden your assertion a bit?
Click to expand...

I cited those as examples; would you like a more comprehensive list of IM programs?
 
GreenStyle said:
I am not saying your wrong, or attacking, but where is your evidence?
Click to expand...

This argument always neglects to consider selection bias, which essentially hamstrings it. Regardless, here are all the Texas Tech -> Mayo Rochester matches in the past decade. A few are pretty choice (and note the bold).

2011:
Ophthalmology
Internal medicine

2009:
Pediatrics

2008:
Orthopedic surgery

2006:
Dermatology
Neurosurgery

2005:
OB/GYN
Pathology

2003:
General surgery
Psychiatry
 
scarshapedstar said:
I dunno, I've always kinda dreamt of working at Mayo, sucks to find out it's just another grind.
Click to expand...

No no, it's a magical place, where puppies fart rainbows and time moves sideways. Almost everyone matches*, and the majority get one of their top three choices. Feel free to equate that to being an astronaut, I set my bar a little higher.

Edit: *by this I mean domestic allopathic grads.
 
So what your saying is, one person, out of what, 6? 7? class years, matched to IM at Mayo? Now go look at match lists from the past decade at places like WashU, UPenn, Northwestern, Stanford, Hopkins, Columbia, Baylor - tell me what proportion you see of people matching to IM at places like Mayo, UCSF, MGH, CUMC, Cleveland Clinic, Barnes-Jewish, BIDMC, Ronald Reagan Memorial, Vanderbilt Medical Center - perhaps this is a more comprehensive list which you seek? Sure, you'll have your rosalind franklins and your VCU's and your TTU's and your EVMS sprinkled in here or there, but they are hardly representative of where the students from these schools tend to match.
 
CardiologyJosh said:
So what your saying is, one person, out of what, 6? 7? class years, matched to IM at Mayo?
Click to expand...

Considering your assertion was "you don't see people graduating from Texas Tech Univ and then going to UCSF or MGH or Mayo to do IM", one was all it took.

CardiologyJosh said:
Now go look at match lists from the past decade at places like WashU, UPenn, Northwestern, Stanford, Hopkins, Columbia, Baylor - tell me what proportion you see of people matching to IM at places like Mayo, UCSF, MGH, CUMC, Cleveland Clinic, Barnes-Jewish, BIDMC, Ronald Reagan Memorial, Vanderbilt Medical Center - perhaps this is a more comprehensive list which you seek? Sure, you'll have your rosalind franklins and your VCU's and your TTU's and your EVMS sprinkled in here or there, but they are hardly representative of where the students from these schools tend to match.
Click to expand...

What part of "succinctly state your point" is difficult to grasp?
 
Gut Shot said:
Considering your assertion was "you don't see people graduating from Texas Tech Univ and then going to UCSF or MGH or Mayo to do IM", one was all it took.



What part of "succinctly state your point" is difficult to grasp?
Click to expand...

You don't see people. You see person. ONE person. Matching to IM at Mayo-MN. Oh, and the part where it says 'succinctly'. That part.
 
CardiologyJosh said:
You don't see people. You see person. ONE person. Matching to IM at Mayo-MN.
Click to expand...

So your assertion, now further decoded, is that precisely one person from TTU has matched into Mayo IM since the school was founded in 1979.

A very strange assertion.

CardiologyJosh said:
Oh, and the part where it says 'succinctly'. That part.
Click to expand...

Oh, well I can help you with that.

Succinctly. Adverb of Succinct:
1. expressed in few words; concise; terse.
2. characterized by conciseness or verbal brevity.

In other words, condense your point to one sentence and lay it on me. And then hope that Law2Doc doesn't find it.
 
I feel like this conversation has definitely gotten away from me. The point is, it could have been any school; I said TTU, just as one example. It is one of the lower tier medical schools, is the point I was driving at; seldom do people at lower tier match to IM at the more hallowed of hospitals in this country.

I don't need your dictionary quotes, thank you. Truth be told, I did not see the 'succinctly' comment. I'm on a mobile device. And what is the concern here regarding Law2Doc?
 
CardiologyJosh said:
I feel like this conversation has definitely gotten away from me. The point is, it could have been any school; I said TTU, just as one example. It is one of the lower tier medical schools, is the point I was driving at; seldom do people at lower tier match to IM at the more hallowed of hospitals in this country.

I don't need your dictionary quotes, thank you. Truth be told, I did not see the 'succinctly' comment. I'm on a mobile device. And what is the concern here regarding Law2Doc?
Click to expand...

Josh, you lost. Face it. Yes, "top" schools tend to get "top" students. No ****, Sherlock. Students at any school CAN and DO get into excellent residency programs. The OP should NOT be focusing on "top" med schools because they don't really exist. The OP SHOULD be focusing on getting into A US program. Period.
 
Interesting advice on this thread. At what point do you think your app becomes detrimental in respect to the top 20?

<3.75 GPA
<34 MCAT
>2 C's in your prereqs?

Just food for thought.
 
CardiologyJosh said:
I feel like this conversation has definitely gotten away from me. The point is, it could have been any school; I said TTU, just as one example. It is one of the lower tier medical schools, is the point I was driving at; seldom do people at lower tier match to IM at the more hallowed of hospitals in this country.

I don't need your dictionary quotes, thank you. Truth be told, I did not see the 'succinctly' comment. I'm on a mobile device. And what is the concern here regarding Law2Doc?
Click to expand...

He has a tendency to rip apart match lists analyses, and he's generally not very succinct.

Edit:

Some of his hit parade on the topic (selected threads, only from pre-allo):
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=889618
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=689385
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=582293
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=499933
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=347671
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

D
Need help, can I still get into med school with my situation?
Replies
6
Views
1K
LeaveNoTrace
L
ilikethemapples
  • Locked
MD WAMC for Current Cycle/top-heavy school list
Replies
7
Views
2K
lacrossegirl420
L
neuroticpremed1212
  • Locked
Anywhere I could improve?
Replies
3
Views
469
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
T
Do I still have a shot sGPA 3.11 and cGPA 3.27
Replies
8
Views
440
LindaAccepted
LindaAccepted
skylinechili
Adding to regrettably top-heavy school list: ORM, IN resident 520/3.85+
Replies
16
Views
1K
Psyched*Out
P
Top