Worried about Pre-Med at MIT :(

cellardweller
Sat, 05 Feb 2011 11:26:26 +0000

I would not put too much weight into which medical school you will eventually get into. Where you do your residency is much more important for your future medical career, and the competition for the most sought after residencies at top medical school is extremely intense. You are better off doing well at a mid-tier medical school if you are interested in high demand specialties such as radiology.

I any case, it will be extremely difficult to predict whether you you will get into a top medical school,wherever you go to college Acceptance rates are typically less than 5% at most medical schools. Even if you attend Harvard, less than 10% of premeds will get into HMS, so probabilities will always be low. Actually, MIT does really well getting its premeds into HMS and other top schools despite the grade deflation. The better the medical school, the less it uses a strict numbers driven admission process. If you look at the variance in GPA for admitted students at top medical schools it is huge. The top schools especially want a very diverse class.

My D is premed at MIT with a 3.5 GPA. This has not prevented her from getting interviews at top medical schools. Several schools specifically interviewed her BECAUSE of her strong research background which she gained while at MIT which is a big plus. They also did account for the severe grade deflation. She has also had interviews for top MD/PhD programs which are much more selective than regular MD programs. (Only about 400 positions nationwide). So, a decent GPA while important to get an interview is far from the only piece and may not even be the most important for admission. Once you get to the interview stage, GPA becomes irrelevant.

So, getting a 3.5+ GPA is definitely manageable at MIT which should give you several solid choices of medical schools. Admission to a top school will have a lot more to do with intangibles and other activities such as research. Note that it is increasingly common for premeds to wait several years after college before starting medical school. They may do TFA, do some research or work a few years. All of these activities will impact admission decisions. Average admission age at top medical school is now around 23-24.

So, if you really like MIT, go there! It is once in a lifetime opportunity that you may always regret if you don’t take it. If you want to go medical school later, you will get in.