What is the best route to medical school for me?

Question

I am going to be enrolling in the fall of 2009. I don't have the best grades, a 3.3 weighted GPA. But my test scores are good, I got a 31 on the ACT and my extracurriculars are outstanding. The only thing I have going against me is my grades. I don't want my parents to pay a lot of money but I still want to go to a really good school. Considering it's only my undergrad, does it really matter? I live in the Chicago area, and would appreciate any advice or schools you could recommend.

Answer 1

For the most part, the only thing that will matter for med school admissions is that the admissions committee typically accepts more students that went to their undergraduate school, if the med school has an undergrad school. Otherwise as long as you are in one of the top 40 or so schools your chances are equal. What really matters is your GPA and MCAT score. You must have a GPA of at least 3.5 at you undergrad school just to be competitive, so looks like you will have to work a bit harder. Check out this site, answers all questions related to medical school, lots of good information.

http://medschoolready.com/app/default.as...

Good luck!

Answer 2

For reliable information about medical schools and standards for admission, check the website of the AAMC - that is the official organization that coordinates info about accredited US med schools.

I was an alumni interviewer for two top-ten schools for many years. Each year they gave us an orientation lecture and explained how they did admissions. The one thing they told us specifically about their policies was -  they never admitted a kid with high test scores and low marks because that is a sign of lack of commitment and to be frank, laziness. They can't afford to give up a precious seat at an elite school to someone who isn't committed to excellence.

You really need to prove something here.... that you can buckle down and do a great job in college. Consistent excellence is more important than brilliance. That's why med schools only require a few courses as prerequisites, but you have to have a high GPA for all your courses. You have to prove that you can work hard day after day with no slacking off.

Earning a degree at an elite college is definitely a boost to a med school application. The obvious choice for a kid who wants to be a premed in Chicago is UChicago - they place almost every one of their premeds into med school. But I doubt whether you could be admitted, or whether you could prosper there. They are notorious for having students do amazing amounts of work.

I think you are headed for UIC - they do not have the facilities, faculty or reputation of a UChi, but there you will get a chance to prove that you can do a good job -essentailly the best in your class for four years. If you do, then you will be among the handful of good UIC kids who are able to get into med school. Otherwise, not.

I wouldn't have written such a long answer, but the thing is... you should be realizing right now that slacking off in HS severely lessened your options for college. THe slightest amount of slacking off in college is going to eliminate any chance of you becoming a physician. It is time to stop s******g around.