The SCHOOL is top 1-2%…not the student. In their OP they didn’t at first list their class rank…at all.
Competitive Public School (top 1-2%)
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Until you have done your rotations in medical school and taken your STEP tests, you really shouldn’t be aiming for any specialty.
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Neuroscience? Like what? Neurology?
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Ophthalmology is a competitive specialty.
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IIRC, neither ophthalmology nor neurology is a required rotation in medical school…so you will need to do your own hustling to get elective rotations in these two fields.
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You are way putting the cart before the horse.
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I’m not sure what you mean by you will choose your undergrad accordingly (presumably to get to the specialty you wish to get to). I’m not even sure choosing your medical school (like you will even have a choice) will matter as much as how well you do IN medical school, and on all the tests tests tests.
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Adding…your undergrad school will not impact your residency placement for any specialty…at.all. It’s your med school performance and tests and LOR that will do that.
At this point, find an affordable without loans undergrad, that you like, that you would be happy to attend. Then do very well there. Right now…put med school on the back burner. So many who enter undergrad as premed never actually apply to medical school.
So…look for a great college you can afford that you like where you have a great chance of being accepted. I like your list of schools because there IS a variety there.
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They don’t restrict them. They just don’t have home hospital research programs in those areas because they don’t offer residency programs in those specialties.
BTW, neuroscience isn’t a medical specialty. It’s an academic area of study.
In medicine, neurology or perhaps psychiatry would be the equivalent specialty, depending on the context your interest. Unless, you mean neurosurgery.
Most BSMD programs matriculate their students into their own associated lower ranked med school, schools that have fewer opportunities for people who want to pursue highly competitive specialties.
In general where you go to undergrad does not matter for med school admission that much so long as you make yourself a competitive applicant, not just in terms of stats, but developing the requisite portfolio of other expected ECs and activities. Undergrad prestige is not not considered, but it’s among the least important aspects of an applicants portfolio.
Where you go to med school is more important than where you go undergrad for competitive specialties.
For applicants to competitive specialties, having specialty-specific research is important to critically important. And the reputation of your medical school also plays a role in applicant acceptances for competitive specialties. Not as simplistic as higher ranked = automatically better, but more along the line of having better preparation for specialty–i.e. appropriate research, appropriate clinical rotations, good advising/mentoring for the specialty, and professional networking in the desired specialty.
Can applicants from mid-ranked med schools get into competitive specialties? Of course, they can, but they need to be pro-active about seeking out the necessary opportunities and mentoring. They also need to have all the other qualifications–exceptional board scores, high class rank, all honors on their clinical rotations, excellent didactic grades, specialty specific research and strong LORs from their preceptors in their desired specialty.
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By Neuroscience yeah I meant neurology and neurosurgery as well… but yeah I can’t decide yet.
As for choosing the undergrad/medical school I was referencing the BSMD programs I would be applying to as some of them have lower ranked medical programs which would definitely limit some of the more competitive specialties.
Thank you though!
Ohh ok got it
Thanks again!
Neurology is not a competitive specialties, FWIW.
Neurosurgery, otoh, is extremely competitive.
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@WayOutWestMom would neurosurgery be a fellowship specialty?
300k income is pretty high. However, there are some universities that currently cost $95,000 per year, a lot of universities that are close to this number, and costs typically increase something like 4% or 5% per year. You could very well spend $100,000 per year times four years for a bachelor’s degree, plus another $125,000 per year times four years for an MD. This could mean a total cost of as much as $900,000 by the time that they call you “doctor”. You should make sure with your parents how much of this would require debt, and how much they would be okay paying. Even doctors often take a very long time to pay off their education debt, and this seems to generally get worse for more recent students. If you get get an MD with little or no debt this would be a big help for what comes next (which I suppose would be residency).
It is not however necessary to spend this much.
Is this sufficient to make you auto-admit for UT Austin? I am guessing it might be close one way or another, but only did the math in my head quickly. UT Austin is of course a very good university. Texas A&M would also be a very good choice.
One thing that I am thinking is that you have very good in-state universities (both public and private), you could save a lot of $$ by attending an in-state public university, and that Texas also has some very good in-state medical schools.
You are clearly a very strong student. You are a competitive applicant at any university in the US. I think that you should keep fit in mind, keep your budget in mind, and make sure that you apply to at least two solid safeties.
Also keep in mind that most students who start university thinking “premed” end up doing something else. As one example, you have some medical experience and some research experience. A PhD in a medical-related field could be a possibility. However, the universities that are good for premed (which is a huge number of universities) are also in most cases also good for multiple possible “Plan B’s”.
Once you get to university and start taking premed classes, you will find these classes to be quite competitive and full of very strong students. Of course this is a mixed blessing. You will need to work very hard. You will get to learn a great deal. You will get to meet students who are different from you in superficial ways but a lot like you in ways that matter, such as being strong students, taking their education seriously, and having similar ways to approach tough problems.
I am not personally convinced one way or another whether it is better to start off in a BS/MD program, or just start off getting a bachelor’s degree and then apply to MD programs when the time comes.
And I would also mention the school orchestra.
And to me it sounds like you are doing very well.
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Unfortunately just a few ranks below auto admit, but yes in-state is still a massive pull factor just because of the lowered cost.
But yes definitely I’ll try to keep other plans open thank you for the feedback!
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Top 8%, not automatic for UT Austin which needs top 6%, but automatic for other Texas public universities which need top 10% (but some majors may not be automatic).
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No. Neurosurgery has its own training pathway. Neurosurgery residency lasts a minimum of 7 years. Upon the completion of residency there is the option to sub specialize via fellowships that last another 1-3 years.
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Where do you stand on national merit?
A&M combined program these days is mostly aimed at EnMed which means you need to do engineering and be semifinalist for national merit.
Texas tech is more lenient and you seem to meet all the base requirements.
https://www.ttuhsc.edu/medicine/admissions/undergraduate-to-medical-school-initiative.aspx
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As amazing of an applicant as you are, if you’re not in the top 6% and you’re hoping for the natural sciences college at UT, I suspect that it should be classified as a reach.
How did you select the schools on your list? What kind of college experience are you hoping for?
Additionally, have you talked to your family about what the budget for college is, and if they will help use any unused funds from the amount budgeted for college on med school? Basically, the main way to pay for med school is loans or family gifts, so anything that you can save for med school would be a good idea.
One school that you may want to give some thought to is Trinity in San Antonio. It’s very strong academically but also gives big merit awards which you would likely be competitive for. So it would keep you in-state for any Texas medical school preferences and with a location in a big city, there are lots of clinical opportunities as well.
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Unfortunately I didnt qualify but the Texas Tech one does look more open I’ll check it out
Overall mainly the strength of their pre med programs and academics, and a few texas publics partially cause of their tuition. Prestige was also a factor but it’s not everything either
Yeah we have discussed tuition and payment plans/loans, hopefully getting a full time job over summer
Ok thanks! I’ve heard of trinity but haven’t considered it seriously so i’ll rethink adding it
Strength of pre-med programs isn’t really a thing. Almost all colleges will offer you the prereqs needed for acceptance to medical school. Some colleges may do more in terms of facilitating shadowing/clinical experiences, but that’s something you will need to look up school by school. @sbinaz has a student who is pre-health (PA, I believe) and has made positive comments about Southwestern and Austin Colleges, I believe.
To help you think about this, here are some questions you may want to reflect upon:
- What size classes do you prefer?
- What size school do you prefer?
- How do you feel about schools located in urban/suburban/college town/rural areas?
- Are there area(s) of the country you would prefer (or prefer to avoid)?
- Will religion or politics play a role in your selection?
- How do you feel about Greek life (fraternities/sororities)?
- How do you feel about big enthusiasm for intercollegiate sports?
- What kind of vibe or people are you hoping to find on campus?
- Are there particular opportunities/activities you want to pursue in college (outside of pre-med)?
Just to clarify, I meant has your family figured out a budget like $200k total ($50k/year for college) or $400k total ($100k/year) or $100k total ($25k/year for college). My question was more about…if the budget is $200k total (or whatever the total is) and you end up spending less (like $100k total) for undergrad, is your family willing to let the “extra” $100k (or whatever amount) be used toward medical school?
(Whatever you do, if you’re intending to go to med school, I would vehemently urge you not to take out any loans for college, because there are good schools where you could go for very little outlay of cash.)
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