<p>I went to my state flagship (in the midwest) and currently attend the same university as a med student.</p>
<p>My university is ranked on all that stuff about “party schools” and “great Greek life” and “attractive students” and whatever run-of-the-mill stereotypes go with big state universities. And it is totally fine with me that all of that stuff is true. I’m pretty sure it helped make undergrad a ton of fun! Pretty much anyone who goes to my university can find a way to graduate with a degree. There are tons of people studying stereotypically “easy” things, like business or communications or psychology or education (not trying to offend! Not saying they’re useless! Not saying these really are easy! Just saying that most people, in my experience, perceive them as easy.)</p>
<p>BUT what the average person does at your school doesn’t really matter, because a premed who has a reasonable shot at going to med school has to be far from an average student. They have to be some of the best students out there–they must excel in the most difficult classes on campus, they must do a boat load of other activities, they must manage their time impeccably, etc.</p>
<p>Out of my best friends from undergrad, two of us are in med school and the other two are working on PhDs. The four of us took most of our science classes together. One of them is getting his PhD in organic chemistry and is currently the orgo TA at an elite school. We were talking about the differences between state flagship and elite school, and what we decided is that the range of students/abilities at state schools is pretty huge–which makes sense, since the state flagship’s responsibility is to educate many students with different strengths from around the sate. At his elite school, the range of abilities is narrower–many of the students are very smart. In his experience, the top students from state school and the top students from elite schools are comparable. </p>
<p>Extrapolate that out to med school, and it makes sense; you see students from all types of schools at all med schools. Does that mean all med schools are homogeneous? Well, no. And certainly some schools have preferences for certain students–but none of that really matters, because all US MD schools are as fantastic as they are competitive. So the trick isn’t necessarily going to the elite school (no guarantee you’ll be the top) or going to the state school (because it’s not necessarily easier/you won’t necessarily have a higher GPA). The trick is being among the top students at whatever school you choose, and hopefully you choose your school because it’s the best for you. I promise you, if it were as easy to game the system as always choosing to go to the state school because that means you’ll get the higher GPA, enrollment at state schools would be through the roof!</p>