Recent College Career Outcomes

[JBStillFlying]

The information that BKSquared requests is easily accessible on most college websites and of course via federally-mandated sites such as College Navigator, Scorecard, etc. Wouldn’t call a college education a “product” but like any large decision involving time and treasure you should know what you are getting into. Discussions about federal student loans are well beyond the scope of this thread, but I couldn’t agree more that students and families should be well informed going into the process and that taxpayers should insist upon that.

@Mwfan1921

It is fair and reasonable for prospective students to ask for transparency around medical school admission numbers when they are making their ug college decision. Some important factors include:

-What proportion (and absolute number) of students who want to apply to med school receive an institutional letter of endorsement?
-What are the absolute numbers of applicants (not just percentages) who apply and are accepted to med school (DO and allopathic)? Separated out by UG direct, post-bacc, SMP and re-applicants. (Successful med school applicants coming directly out of undergrad are the minority)
-Proportion of accepted applicants that are URM
-Proportion of acceptances by GPA and MCAT score (see WashU for a good example, mirroring the AMCAS report): https://prehealth.wustl.edu/matriculation-acceptance-rates

When counseling students thru the college admissions process if schools/prehealth depts are not forthcoming with the answers to the above, it is a red flag. Why would a school not share these numbers?

• Schools might not share those numbers because some of them are potentially invasive for a smaller pre-med program such as exists at UChicago. Careers-In provides the average MCAT (north of 515) and representative GPA numbers for those accepted to med school. What more does someone need at that stage? This process is highly individualized beyond that and it starts early on (usually prior to beginning your first year). It would be completely inappropriate, say, for various ethnic populations to be benchmarked against other similar ethnic groups. The value-added of UChicago's pre-med program is that the curriculum is a slam-dunk for adequate preparation and that the pre-professional advising is comprehensive and specific to the needs of the individual student. It's not exactly a "pre-med mill" that they are running over there in Hyde Park.
• The letter of endorsement is SOP for those using Careers-In to apply to med school. You are expected to have one and you are expected to complete the needed application preparation satisfactorily in order to receive one. No one's rolling the dice here, and the support is comprehensive. Students will begin their undergraduate with sorts of priors; some will be determined and knowledgable about the process, others won't have a clue (yet). So it's irrelevant for someone to consider such up front "chances" as a criterion for doing pre-med at UChicago - or anywhere. Look at the curriculum; look at the details of the advising program. Those should be your criteria.