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Pre-med Frequently Asked Questions


tooty

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  • 4 months later...

APOLOGIES if this is the wrong thread, please direct me to the right one if so, I just had trouble deciding which was the right one.

 

but which schools look at your highest test score and NOT JUST your most recent? I wrote a test i should have voided and now have to ask this question as a result - although I do plan another rewrite

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  • 6 months later...

I don't wanna start a new thread on this so I figured I should try asking here first:

 

Recently my teacher told me that if you were to go to a low-tier school (brock, laurier, etc) then the med school admission committee might expect applicants from these schools to have a higher GPA than someone from a high-tier school---ie. 3.8GPA from Brock would not equal a 3.8GPA from McMaster.

 

He says that's what he thinks the people making the decisions most likely do. Is this is true? I keep getting new and conflicting info each day..

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I don't wanna start a new thread on this so I figured I should try asking here first:

 

Recently my teacher told me that if you were to go to a low-tier school (brock, laurier, etc) then the med school admission committee might expect applicants from these schools to have a higher GPA than someone from a high-tier school---ie. 3.8GPA from Brock would not equal a 3.8GPA from McMaster.

 

He says that's what he thinks the people making the decisions most likely do. Is this is true? I keep getting new and conflicting info each day..

 

Well..its all subjective but I highly doubt that they would do such a thing. Where you go to does not necessarily equate to a better education, that is completely up to the student and his/her teacher.

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I don't wanna start a new thread on this so I figured I should try asking here first:

 

Recently my teacher told me that if you were to go to a low-tier school (brock, laurier, etc) then the med school admission committee might expect applicants from these schools to have a higher GPA than someone from a high-tier school---ie. 3.8GPA from Brock would not equal a 3.8GPA from McMaster.

 

He says that's what he thinks the people making the decisions most likely do. Is this is true? I keep getting new and conflicting info each day..

 

Officially, almost every med school has said that your undergraduate school does not matter. Best to take them at their word - admissions boards are often vague, and deliberately so, but they tend not to deceive.

 

That said, be aware of a few things... The vast majority of people who get into med school will have undergraduate degrees from the universities with a med school, or one with a focus on science (Guelph or Waterloo, for example). People DO get in from other schools as well, including those "low-tier" schools, though there are fewer of them.

 

It could be inferred that despite official statements, med schools do prefer some schools over others. I think the more likely explanation is the people who will make good med students prefer some undergrad schools over others - universities with med schools often have the best biosci or medical programs, and most competitive entrance requirements. They don't make people into good med school applicants; mostly, they just pick the ones who were already likely to be good applicants when they're in high school.

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I don't wanna start a new thread on this so I figured I should try asking here first:

 

Recently my teacher told me that if you were to go to a low-tier school (brock, laurier, etc) then the med school admission committee might expect applicants from these schools to have a higher GPA than someone from a high-tier school---ie. 3.8GPA from Brock would not equal a 3.8GPA from McMaster.

 

He says that's what he thinks the people making the decisions most likely do. Is this is true? I keep getting new and conflicting info each day..

 

Med schools in Canada don't care about which school you attend (well in general). However, those in the US do care it seems.

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Med schools in Canada don't care about which school you attend (well in general).

 

they don't care at all.

 

Officially, almost every med school has said that your undergraduate school does not matter.

 

what do you mean by almost? Which school says the ug school matters? show me the link.

 

It could be inferred that despite official statements, med schools do prefer some schools over others.

 

obviously anyone who makes this inference dead wrong because they'd be inferring that med schools are flat out lying/deceiving the public.

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I mean why would they lie? Besides, it is absolutely not fair to discriminate applicants from low-tier schools. What if applicant A attended low-tier school B simply because it was closer to where he/she lives and so he/she wanted to save money? There are also other factors that might have made applicant A choose low-tier school B.

 

But of course I could be dead wrong as you guys know more than me.

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I mean why would they lie? Besides, it is absolutely not fair to discriminate applicants from low-tier schools. What if applicant A attended low-tier school B simply because it was closer to where he/she lives and so he/she wanted to save money? There are also other factors that might have made applicant A choose low-tier school B.

 

But of course I could be dead wrong as you guys know more than me.

 

I think the whole "putting a school on a pedestal" is horse manure tbh.

 

An Ivy League school?? Really?? What makes a school like McMaster or UoT better than a school like Carleton or Ottawa U? MINDSET, that is what.

 

Everything else is subjective and silliness.

 

If I applied to a school like UoT with a Degree in Bio-Chem w/ specialization in Neuroscience but it was a "low tier school" and somebody with the same degree got in because they went to a "better" school. Well **** it, i wouldn't want to go to a school like that anyways.

 

People are always so concerned about where they get their degree, WHY?? You are getting a quality education no matter where you go.

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I think the whole "putting a school on a pedestal" is horse manure tbh.

 

An Ivy League school?? Really?? What makes a school like McMaster or UoT better than a school like Carleton or Ottawa U? MINDSET, that is what.

 

Everything else is subjective and silliness.

 

If I applied to a school like UoT with a Degree in Bio-Chem w/ specialization in Neuroscience but it was a "low tier school" and somebody with the same degree got in because they went to a "better" school. Well **** it, i wouldn't want to go to a school like that anyways.

 

People are always so concerned about where they get their degree, WHY?? You are getting a quality education no matter where you go.

 

If you don't know what actually makes UofT better than Carleton then you should go learn more about how universities operate. If some guy gets his degree from a highly recognized program at a reputable school while you got your same degree from a random university the file reviewers have never heard of then I don't see why they wouldn't pick the first guy over you, assuming you have similar qualifications. The first guy is a known quality whereas you're an unknown. Saying "I wouldnt want to go to a school like that anyways" after getting rejected is just bull****, because you know you'd accept it if they gave you an offer later.

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soul, a lot of other paranoid people on this forum have the same conspiracy theory as yours. call up any medical school and ask about how they eliminate bias in their application process. they will happily explain to you the details.

 

my institution, like every other one in canada, says that we do not discriminate between undergrad schools. to make sure of that, weighted and nonweighted GPA calculations are computerized. Each file is identified by an ID number. The EC evaluators come from faculty and the community. They don't see your name, address, GPA, undergrad school or other identifying info that could bias their judgement when assigning your file a score. Your GPA, MCAT, and EC scores are tallied. Top 500 scores get interviewed.

 

The whole process is very systematic. There is no bias with regard to undergrad school because the evaluators only see an ID number for each file.

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I'm not talking about med schools, I know in Canada it is just put in GPA into a computer. I'm just trying to say why UofT is considered better than Carleton to the guy above because a lot of people seem to think that just because med schools don't care means there is no difference in undergrad programs.

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I mean why would they lie? Besides, it is absolutely not fair to discriminate applicants from low-tier schools. What if applicant A attended low-tier school B simply because it was closer to where he/she lives and so he/she wanted to save money? There are also other factors that might have made applicant A choose low-tier school B.

 

But of course I could be dead wrong as you guys know more than me.

 

They wouldn't lie and I don't believe they do. No school has stated a preference for certain UG schools, and so you shouldn't assume that there is one, at least not explicitly (there's always room for bias in the case of interviewers, etc., of course, but this should hopefully be minor).

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what do you mean by almost? Which school says the ug school matters? show me the link.

 

You misread my statement. I wrote that most schools have said that UG school does not matter. I did not say that there were other schools who said UG school does matter. There is a difference.

 

 

 

obviously anyone who makes this inference dead wrong because they'd be inferring that med schools are flat out lying/deceiving the public.

 

Yes, as I state myself, in my first paragraph, and in the sentence that follows the one you quote...

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You misread my statement. I wrote that most schools have said that UG school does not matter. I did not say that there were other schools who said UG school does matter. There is a difference.

 

I have not come across a med school school in Canada that does not explicitly state that undergrad school is not in the equation. By saying 'most' you're saying there is at least 1 school in Canada that does not explicitly state that undergrad school is not in the equation.

 

Which school is it?

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soul, a lot of other paranoid people on this forum have the same conspiracy theory as yours. call up any medical school and ask about how they eliminate bias in their application process. they will happily explain to you the details.

 

my institution, like every other one in canada, says that we do not discriminate between undergrad schools. to make sure of that, weighted and nonweighted GPA calculations are computerized. Each file is identified by an ID number. The EC evaluators come from faculty and the community. They don't see your name, address, GPA, undergrad school or other identifying info that could bias their judgement when assigning your file a score. Your GPA, MCAT, and EC scores are tallied. Top 500 scores get interviewed.

 

The whole process is very systematic. There is no bias with regard to undergrad school because the evaluators only see an ID number for each file.

 

And by the end of any interview that lasts longer than an MMI station, a candidate will almost certainly have told their interviewers which school they are coming from, one way or another.

 

There is room for bias. Small, largely insignificant room for bias, but it is there. I would never tell someone they are a worse candidate because they graduated from one school rather than another, nor ever tell someone choosing their UG school that they should give any weight to how "prestigious" a school might be, because at the end of the day, there are a host of other factors that matter a whole lot more, and biases can run against the classic premed schools as much as they can run for them. But there is still that room for bias to be present.

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If you don't know what actually makes UofT better than Carleton then you should go learn more about how universities operate. If some guy gets his degree from a highly recognized program at a reputable school while you got your same degree from a random university the file reviewers have never heard of then I don't see why they wouldn't pick the first guy over you, assuming you have similar qualifications. The first guy is a known quality whereas you're an unknown. Saying "I wouldnt want to go to a school like that anyways" after getting rejected is just bull****, because you know you'd accept it if they gave you an offer later.

 

Its funny cause I actually turned UoT down for Carleton.

 

Anywho..there is more to life than going to a popular school. If you honestly are willing to travel out of your way and pay res at a University because it has a popular name..well good for you. I think it is more of a ego stroke than anything.

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Its funny cause I actually turned UoT down for Carleton.

 

Anywho..there is more to life than going to a popular school. If you honestly are willing to travel out of your way and pay res at a University because it has a popular name..well good for you. I think it is more of a ego stroke than anything.

 

Some people may just want to go for the experience of having gone there. It's like buying a first class ticket once just to see what it's like, except you'll only have the chance to buy one plane ticket ever.

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Some people may just want to go for the experience of having gone there. It's like buying a first class ticket once just to see what it's like, except you'll only have the chance to buy one plane ticket ever.

 

Oh, of course. I get that, its just..(for instance) UoT is going to cost 5-15,000/yr in just residence to live at. Thats not including tuition, books and other supplies/fee's. That is an expensive experience!!

 

The chances of you getting into the Medical School of your choice in your city..is not so common. To get into the medical school of your choice for your residency..is even more rare. That could be when you spend the big bucks, your undergrad is not as relevant as your professional degree is.

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I have not come across a med school school in Canada that does not explicitly state that undergrad school is not in the equation. By saying 'most' you're saying there is at least 1 school in Canada that does not explicitly state that undergrad school is not in the equation.

 

Which school is it?

 

On a quick check - Western. It does not say so in their Admissions page, FAQ, or OMSAS booklet information. They state that undergrad PROGRAM is not given any preference, but never that there is no consideration for undergrad school.

 

Before you jump down my throat, I don't believe for a second that Western does care about undergrad school, and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if there were other, more obscure ways in which Western has indicated that they have no preference for undergrad school. But it's not in their primary methods of communication to potential applicants. It was for exactly that reason that I said "almost all", to give myself a little room for equivocation, nothing more - forgive me for not speaking in firm absolutes.

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I think as long as one can manage to tell the interviewers that you chose (insert low-tier school) and turned down other 'big' names then then you're fine.....but I'm not even sure if its a good idea to tell what universities you turned down during an interview, however its managed to be told :confused:

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And by the end of any interview that lasts longer than an MMI station, a candidate will almost certainly have told their interviewers which school they are coming from, one way or another

 

You're probably right for traditional interviews, which is why MMIs have gained favouritism in Canada. In either case, I would argue that even when undergrad school or program is mentioned in an interview it is negligible, not just insignificant at that point.

 

sorry for being direct. Given how often ridiculous threads like this pop up, the point needs to be strong.

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You're probably right for traditional interviews, which is why MMIs have gained favouritism in Canada. In either case, I would argue that even when undergrad school or program is mentioned in an interview it is negligible, not just insignificant at that point.

 

sorry for being direct. Given how often ridiculous threads like this pop up, the point needs to be strong.

 

I fully agree, especially about MMIs. McMaster especially seems to leave no room for things like UG school to pop up, even accidentally. Even without MMIs, I definitely agree that the effect of UG school on med school admissions is negligible, even if it is theoretically possible for it to have an impact.

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I think as long as one can manage to tell the interviewers that you chose (insert low-tier school) and turned down other 'big' names then then you're fine.....

 

They don't care what school you're from period. Get it in your head. If you make an excuse to mention that you turned down U of T for brock, you're going to look stupid. That's one of the worst things you can do at an interview short of punching an interviewer in the face. At the interview stage, they already know you're smart enough. They're focused on evaluating qualities like communication, problem solving, interpersonal skills etc. These are qualities that actually matter when you're involved in the care of a patient.

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