My Chances of Getting into a Top Med School

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Geonsur

Geonsur
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Hi. Here's my story:

In high school, I was involved in every extracurricular activity known to man, president of NHS, 4.0, 31 on the ACT. I had the credentials to go to a well-regarded, private school, but I chose to go to a tiny, public college near my hometown on a full scholarship because I couldn't afford my dream school - Rice University.

Now, I'm in my second semester of college. I got a 4.0 last semester while taking chemistry and physics, a bright review from my chemistry professor, am applying for a top research slot at a nearby hospital, and am joining tons of honor societies. I am already prepping for the Verbal Reasoning section of the MCAT since I read that it is the toughest.

Let's just say that I do graduate with a 4.0, my MCAT studies pay off, and I score in the high 30's. Will the fact that I chose to attend a small, public university instead of a renowned research college hurt my chances of getting into a top medical school, which has been my dream for a good few years? Regards.
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Geonsur said:
Hi. Here's my story:

In high school, I was involved in every extracurricular activity known to man, president of NHS, 4.0, 31 on the ACT. I had the credentials to go to a well-regarded, private school, but I chose to go to a tiny, public college near my hometown on a full scholarship because I couldn't afford my dream school - Rice University.

Now, I'm in my second semester of college. I got a 4.0 last semester while taking chemistry and physics, a bright review from my chemistry professor, am applying for a top research slot at a nearby hospital, and am joining tons of honor societies. I am already prepping for the Verbal Reasoning section of the MCAT since I read that it is the toughest.

Let's just say that I do graduate with a 4.0, my MCAT studies pay off, and I score in the high 30's. Will the fact that I chose to attend a small, public university instead of a renowned research college hurt my chances of getting into a top medical school, which has been my dream for a good few years? Regards.
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No. Just make sure you have the train of other recommended extracurriculars.
 
Score 36/37+ on the MCAT, keep your GPA at 4.0, get significant research experience and participate in clinical volunteering, then you're all set. School doesn't matter if you have all that.
 
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I attend a VERY small, relatively unknown state school in CA and I will be matriculating at UCSF next fall. Going to a prestigious university likely gives some applicants a small bump (LizzyM has said up to 0.5 on your LizzyM score), but going to a state school won't hurt you. Keep your grades up, get involved in activities you are passionate about, do well on the MCAT and try to have a little fun. Try to spend all of your summers doing something meaningful (I recommend research or health policy internships). You'll be fine. Also, your only prep for the MCAT at this point should be really understanding your pre-req classes and doing a little bit of reading everyday.
 
Another one of these threads? Search bar, OP, search bar.
 
You'll be fine 3.8+, 34+ at any accredited university you attend, if you're well rounded, healthcare experience, leadership experience, volunteer, research etc. etc. etc to go to a "top" medical school.
 
Geonsur said:
In high school, I was involved in every extracurricular activity known to man, president of NHS, 4.0, 31 on the ACT.
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gv0yY.png
 
Hey I got a 31 on the ACT. We must be bros!

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Josh7 said:
Who knew there could be two Einsteins in one threads ;)
Click to expand...

I didn't even study and I finished first.

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OP I also went to a tiny college close to home for personal reasons. I'll be completely honest and say that nobody knows whether this helps or hurts you. But be prepared to get a lot of weird (and snobbish) looks during your interviews when people see your nametag with your college name on it. Ivies also like pedigree, in the real world and in medical school, so don't expect those places to be lining up to interview you regardless of your stats.

Medical students largely come from a very very similar mold. If you don't fit this mold, it's easy to feel isolated and develop a complex about your background. Just do your best with what you have and let the dominoes fall where they may.
 
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Geonsur said:
Hi. Here's my story:

In high school, I was involved in every extracurricular activity known to man, president of NHS, 4.0, 31 on the ACT. I had the credentials to go to a well-regarded, private school, but I chose to go to a tiny, public college near my hometown on a full scholarship because I couldn't afford my dream school - Rice University.

Now, I'm in my second semester of college. I got a 4.0 last semester while taking chemistry and physics, a bright review from my chemistry professor, am applying for a top research slot at a nearby hospital, and am joining tons of honor societies. I am already prepping for the Verbal Reasoning section of the MCAT since I read that it is the toughest.

Let's just say that I do graduate with a 4.0, my MCAT studies pay off, and I score in the high 30's. Will the fact that I chose to attend a small, public university instead of a renowned research college hurt my chances of getting into a top medical school, which has been my dream for a good few years? Regards.
Click to expand...

It's all about prestige. What happened about becoming just a doc is that not good enough? Why are people biting so hard on this manipulated view that just pays off the schools fat pockets. This is med school not law .
 
scored a 37 on the ACT brah, now what.
 
Good lord, dude. Go outside. Relax a bit. With attitudes like these, med school admissions are going to be murder in a few years.

Yes, if everything works out, and you do great at everything, you have a good chance at a "top medical school".
 
torshi said:
It's all about prestige. What happened about becoming just a doc is that not good enough? Why are people biting so hard on this manipulated view that just pays off the schools fat pockets. This is med school not law .
Click to expand...

Everyone has a different preference. Some people like the prestige, not everyone wants to be "just a doctor". Saying you went to a top school turns heads and raises eyebrows and people want that. Its just a fact of life.
 
Why have we had like 50 billion of these high schooler threads?

All I ever read is herp derp herp derp herp derp herp derp herp derp herp derp herp derp herp derp herp derp
 
torshi said:
It's all about prestige. What happened about becoming just a doc is that not good enough? Why are people biting so hard on this manipulated view that just pays off the schools fat pockets. This is med school not law .
Click to expand...
Because it's how this generation has been trained. Everything is a ranking, and everything must be quantified and compared. Magazines like US News have built an industry out of it, and students that were raised on it know nothing different, and thus, thing it's completely normal and natural. Students now don't know how to define anything on their own terms, and must have others do it for them. Instead of finding a place that actually fits them, they look for a ranking system to do it for them. When you tell them that it doesn't matter in medicine, they don't believe you because they don't believe that a world like that can even exist. It's not normal for them.

I remember telling another student at a recent med school interview who was obsessed with rankings that he better not put much stock into these things. Why? Because while he's doing some mid salary specialty at a "top program", he's going to meet a Derm graduate from a mid tier program from a bottom tiered school who shunned prestige for private practice is making double or triple what he's making, and it's going to kill his ego.
 
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Medstart108 said:
Everyone has a different preference. Some people like the prestige, not everyone wants to be "just a doctor". Saying you went to a top school turns heads and raises eyebrows and people want that. Its just a fact of life.
Click to expand...
No one's going to raise any eyebrows or turn any heads. Case Western is a "top school", and I doubt anyone in the general public knows what it is, and if you were ever to meet someone who actually knows what you're talking about, they'll be other doctors who you probably work with, and what's the big deal then if you guys wound up in the same spot?

EDIT: Lol, this reminds me of my freshman year of high school. Our history teacher was a graduate of Georgetown's undergraduate program, and he kept going on and on about how his friends were making more money than him, but the sacrifice was worth it, because he went to such a "prestigious" school. You should have seen the heartbroken look on his face when most of us told him that we had never even heard of Georgetown, lol.
 
SoulinNeed said:
Because it's how this generation has been trained. Everything is a ranking, and everything must be quantified and compared. Magazines like US News have built an industry out of it, and students that were raised on it know nothing different, and thus, thing it's completely normal and natural. Students now don't know how to define anything on their own terms, and must have others do it for them. Instead of finding a place that actually fits them, they look for a ranking system to do it for them. When you tell them that it doesn't matter in medicine, they don't believe you because they don't believe that a world like that can even exist. It's not normal for them.

I remember telling another student at a recent med school interview who was obsessed with rankings that he better not put much stock into these things. Why? Because while he's doing some mid salary specialty at a "top program", he's going to meet a Derm graduate from a mid tier program from a bottom tiered school who is making double or triple what he's making, and it's going to kill his ego.
Click to expand...

Yup, weak-minded individuals who are accustomed to believe in a fabricated social-hierarchical system rather than to mindfully think for their own good. It is this traditional way of life that starts at a prepubescent age led by our guardians and raised to live the same life they had in terms of perspective rather than being taught to think critically on our own and not to live the same manipulated life they have accompanied with the distorted views of reality they had. Only if the adults came to a point of realization for their own well-being, yet they don't and then end up raising their kids to be who they once were. It's an ever-lasting cycle of irrational thought. We have become desensitized to reality in terms of what to really value or to recognize as importance, acknowledgment is key.
 
Medstart108 said:
Everyone has a different preference. Some people like the prestige, not everyone wants to be "just a doctor". Saying you went to a top school turns heads and raises eyebrows and people want that. Its just a fact of life.
Click to expand...

This is what is wrong with society. This idea of social importance based off some hierarchical scheme of bullsh**. Again, this isn't an MBA or law school where it matters in the real world. At the end of the day, patients want a competent physician, that being said, majority of patients don't even know the two types of physicians that exist.

Get this fabricated idea out of your head. This educational idealism has been beaten into you and the majority of people which only results in lining the pockets of the rich.

If going into research then maybe a top program is more beneficial in terms of research money and top faculty etc etc, but in terms of everything else...no difference. We need to start giving value to the idea that getting into medical school in general is a prestigious accomplishment rather than rankings of some rigged educational system that preys off your vulnerability and gullibility.
 
sliceofbread136 said:
Why have we had like 50 billion of these high schooler threads?

All I ever read is herp derp herp derp herp derp herp derp herp derp herp derp herp derp herp derp herp derp
Click to expand...

It's that time of year I guess.

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torshi said:
This is what is wrong with society. This idea of social importance based off some hierarchical scheme of bullsh**. Again, this isn't an MBA or law school where it matters in the real world. At the end of the day, patients want a competent physician, that being said, majority of patients don't even know the two types of physicians that exist.

Get this fabricated idea out of your head. This educational idealism has been beaten into you and the majority of people which only results in lining the pockets of the rich.

If going into research then maybe a top program is more beneficial in terms of research money and top faculty etc etc, but in terms of everything else...no difference. We need to start giving value to the idea that getting into medical school in general is a prestigious accomplishment rather than rankings of some rigged educational system that preys off your vulnerability and gullibility.
Click to expand...

torshi said:
Yup, weak-minded individuals who are accustomed to believe in a fabricated social-hierarchical system rather than to mindfully think for their own good. It is this traditional way of life that starts at a prepubescent age led by our guardians and raised to live the same life they had in terms of perspective rather than being taught to think critically on our own and not to live the same manipulated life they have accompanied with the distorted views of reality they had. Only if the adults came to a point of realization for their own well-being, yet they don't and then end up raising their kids to be who they once were. It's an ever-lasting cycle of irrational thought. We have become desensitized to reality in terms of what to really value or to recognize as importance, acknowledgment is key.
Click to expand...

Face it, you're mad you didn't get into Harvard. Denial isn't good my friend.
 
Bangersandmash said:
Face it, you're mad you didn't get into Harvard. Denial isn't good my friend.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:

Edit: Society doesn't value me as much as someone who is smarter, harder working, and on a better track to success than me? Society is flawed.

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I don't think we should completely bash wanting to go to a top school though. There are legitimate reasons for wanting to do so such as working in academic medicine, research opportunities, moving up in hospital administration and policy and OP didn't mention why exactly they want to go to a top school.

Yes there are a lot of annoying people on SDN who want to go to a top school for dumb reasons but top schools can definitely prove beneficial depending on ones career goals.
 
Lollygag said:
I don't think we should completely bash wanting to go to a top school though. There are legitimate reasons for wanting to do so such as working in academic medicine, research opportunities, moving up in hospital administration and policy and OP didn't mention why exactly they want to go to a top school.

Yes there are a lot of annoying people on SDN who want to go to a top school for dumb reasons but top schools can definitely prove beneficial depending on ones career goals.
Click to expand...

yea yea but we all know the reasons behind these neurotic fellows on these forums...and it's not about any of the listed, and if it was it is probably after they came to a point of realization. At first, the thought about top programs are simply about prestige and social status to boost their ego
 
torshi said:
This is what is wrong with society. This idea of social importance based off some hierarchical scheme of bullsh**. Again, this isn't an MBA or law school where it matters in the real world. At the end of the day, patients want a competent physician, that being said, majority of patients don't even know the two types of physicians that exist.

Get this fabricated idea out of your head. This educational idealism has been beaten into you and the majority of people which only results in lining the pockets of the rich.

If going into research then maybe a top program is more beneficial in terms of research money and top faculty etc etc, but in terms of everything else...no difference. We need to start giving value to the idea that getting into medical school in general is a prestigious accomplishment rather than rankings of some rigged educational system that preys off your vulnerability and gullibility.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:
 
Just build an impressive application and interview well, that should put your in a good position for top. Although people here have said that top schools look for something specials, leaders of medicine, etc.
 
A 31 ACT isn't competitive for Rice University.
 
TheFool said:
A 31 ACT isn't competitive for Rice University.
Click to expand...

Rice University also offers a substantial amount of financial aid, need based and merit based. They're an incredibly rich school. Money is usually not a deciding factor for (competitive) people interested in going to the school, so I've heard.

OP might not be telling us the full story, but whatever the case, it's over. What's done is done.
 
torshi said:
Yup, weak-minded individuals who are accustomed to believe in a fabricated social-hierarchical system rather than to mindfully think for their own good. It is this traditional way of life that starts at a prepubescent age led by our guardians and raised to live the same life they had in terms of perspective rather than being taught to think critically on our own and not to live the same manipulated life they have accompanied with the distorted views of reality they had. Only if the adults came to a point of realization for their own well-being, yet they don't and then end up raising their kids to be who they once were. It's an ever-lasting cycle of irrational thought. We have become desensitized to reality in terms of what to really value or to recognize as importance, acknowledgment is key.
Click to expand...

torshi said:
This is what is wrong with society. This idea of social importance based off some hierarchical scheme of bullsh**. Again, this isn't an MBA or law school where it matters in the real world. At the end of the day, patients want a competent physician, that being said, majority of patients don't even know the two types of physicians that exist.

Get this fabricated idea out of your head. This educational idealism has been beaten into you and the majority of people which only results in lining the pockets of the rich.

If going into research then maybe a top program is more beneficial in terms of research money and top faculty etc etc, but in terms of everything else...no difference. We need to start giving value to the idea that getting into medical school in general is a prestigious accomplishment rather than rankings of some rigged educational system that preys off your vulnerability and gullibility.
Click to expand...

Despite the sociological jargon and language you are using, thinking that prestige should not be important to some people, both in and out of the medical industry is a naive view to have. I can't even tell if you are being serious honestly. Not every medical student wants to be a primary care physician. Some want to dabble in public health, public policy, medical economics, medical technology, politics, bioethics, global health, the list is really endless. To say that going to a certain institution will not help in EVERYTHING except research is rather silly. It's not even a matter of rank, as I would agree rank is relatively arbitrary and changes from publisher to publisher. However, the more recognized the institution, the more doors it can open. You can't blame those with ambitions to want to seek those opportunities out. To name these individuals "weak-minded" in such a heated manner seems so heavy handed I can't tell if you are trolling or not.
 
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