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getting into Harvard med school from...UCSB or Tulane?
obnoxious1
87 replies12 threads- Junior Member
hi. im a high school senior. im freaking out because i severely messed up high school. in general.. would i be at a disadvantage for graduate admissions if i went to an unappetizing school like UCSB or Tulane compared to someone who went to Yale or MIT? can i get into harvard for grad school from either of these? (assuming i have a high gpa and MCAT)
43 repliesPost edited by obnoxious1 on
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Replies to: getting into Harvard med school from...UCSB or Tulane?
That thread is realistic and has solid advice for getting into grad school. Also, UCSB and Tulane are fine institutions and I doubt attending either of these schools would hurt your chances down the road.
I am not clear whether you are interested in grad school (Ph.D.) or med school (M.D.). In your original post, you mention Harvard Medical School and the MCAT, things which seem to indicate you are interested in med school. However, in both of your posts you also refer to grad school and places like Princeton and MIT which don't have a medical school. So what precisely are you looking for?
Finally, there is more to higher education than a HYP name. Don't get overly hung up on the prestige issue.
Also, you should go here: [url=http://****/]Student Doctor Network Forums[/url]; it's home to many overachieving pre-meds who think they'll die if they don't get into a top med school (but mostly it's rational people who can give great advice).
ps not sure if i want to go to med school yet- lol.. thats why i kind of left it open to interpretation.
is it a plus that i started research as a high school student?? im an author on two papers with a major research university.
As for the answer to your OP, do a little research to see where current Harvard med students went to college.
What biological sciences grad programs look for generally differs significantly from what medical schools look for. If you haven't even decided what you want to pursue down the road, posting this thread was probably premature.
Medical schools care about ECs and shadowing and volunteering. They will ask open-ended, often philosophical questions to try and determine what kind of person you are. They care about work and life experiences. They care about GPA and MCAT scores a lot. Research also helps, but is less important than clinical experience (unless you're applying to MD/PhD programs).
Biological sciences grad programs couldn't care less about ECs or shadowing or volunteering. As a rule of thumb, they won't ask you to philosophize on open-ended questions. They don't care as much about work and life experiences. They do care about GPA and GRE scores, but not nearly as much as medical schools care about GPA and MCAT scores. They care most about research. After all, research is the most important part by far of graduate study in the biological sciences.
It is easy to see why these differences arise when you consider the differences between graduate school and professional school.
Oh, by the by, you might want to look into ditching that shallow and paranoid attitude. It isn't helpful and is, in fact, rather obnoxious. Besides annoying people, having such an attitude also won't help you get into a 'name brand school'.
But obviously it isn't a 'name brand school' as defined by the OP.
thanks for the advice though. im know i'll be getting an MD/PhD if i go to med school.. so either way im getting a PhD. i started research in high school and i love it.. published papers already.. so i guess i'll continue down that road. THANKS AGAIN. comments welcome in abundance!
Many people would scream for joy if they got into either one of those schools. On CC, though, too many think that it's a failure. The real trick is getting a fantastic GPA at those schools and working with professors at a level high enough to earn their respect.
Some years later, if, I mean if, you can really get into HYPM I wil say"Cong, boy!" honestly..
But please remeber, people who can get into HYPS, MIT, CIT or ?IT etc do not need to ask someone else to give them advice on " how can I get into those universities...
I couldn't agree more. CC'ers unfortunately do often view those schools as 'not good enough'. The truth is, as you say, getting a fantastic GPA and doing fantastic research is much more important than obsessing over the difference in prestige between, for example, Tulane and MIT.
Hey, don't generalize. I don't think I have such an attitude, and neither do any of my friends.
I too, "screwed up" during high school, which put me out of the running for the Ivies. I still went to a great school and will be graduating with honors next month. I got into good graduate programs. Education is what you make of it, not a name.
You can clearly see that with Harvard, they truly want diversity of thought and background. Someone got into their law school from Mississippi College, which is not that much different from a community college with an attached med school and law school.
Harvard may actually be harder to get into coming from an extremely prestigious school simply because there will be more applications from those schools. How many Yalies do they really want on Harvard Yard anyway. Tulane and UCSB are both fine schools. Do well in college, volunteer a lot, do well on the MCAT and maybe even do a one year Masters program and you'll be in the running.
benetode- one year masters?? what? i've never heard of doing that? is it actually necessary??