College Search & Visit
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just my opinion, but a place that best sets you up to make it through the very competitive med school admissions is also very likely the best place for whatever contingency he would pivot to. Whether it be engineering/business/science, you’re talking graduate degree of some manner and increased undergrad cost rarely worth it.
Yes, med school is competitive. I’ve gone through this a couple times and recommend researching that, if you are looking for more decision variables on undergrad. He likely won’t know his target medical schools yet unless he is set on some speciality, but get a feel for what they look for, then think/inquire whether the undergrads are a good fit for that.
From your list, they are all structurally similar imo , but perhaps your son hits it off better with one department/professor/research better than others. Perhaps there’s an extracurricular that he can do well in. Maybe one requires less work and allows for more attention on school.
I assume you’re trying to meet with professors. That can be tough. At least meet with students on the same path. Ideally recant alumni that went to med school.
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Okay, not that is a completely different bird. Major differences. You will need to find which ones align with which med school and other things. My niece is in the last stages and doing the internship things (whatever they are called) at the hospitals. She found that places like Iowa did not take students with a bachelors from an instate school very often. You need HUGE references for that one or fit a key area for them.
I would talk to them about who has the study aboards and dovetails with which med schools.
Great schools. Great name recognition, but that’s more important for those going into other fields imo. Basically a requirement if trying to work at an IB or MBB right after graduation.
If just general workforce, and not going to graduate or professional school right afterwards, there will be mindless HR or hiring manager that sees those names and it helps (less so for Wash U if it’s entry level in a non-competitive company). Those alumni networks love to hire from with in too.
But med school is different. Those working on putting together med school classes are pros. They aren’t going to take a Vandy over an ISU student just because of name. Everything else equal maybe name matters, but if your son were to do notably better at ISU/UW, he should go to one of those. They MUST be able to have strong professor recommendations Imo
I know a family member that went to Vandy and had to do a research year at UChicago to get accepted, yet another family member went to Iowa St, was a standout, and matched with her top choice.
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Thank you - that's another interesting info. You mean "from an instate school", do you mean they don't take students from ISU?
When we went to Madison, we were told that the priority for the med schools at UWM is for the in-state students. IIRC they mention certain percentage they want from WI residents in the program.
Yes, she graduated HS roughly 5-6 years ago, and she looked at places like Wartburg and UofI but was told that Iowa preferred out of state graduates. She also didn’t have the references from large donors or connected people to UofI to get in so she went DM university. Been happy with it.
No, that's not accurate. In the UI Carver College of Medicine's 2021 incoming class 52% came from in-state schools. There were 152 total, 52 were from UI, 13 from ISU, 1 from UNI, 14 from other Iowa colleges.
MD Program | Carver College of Medicine | The University of Iowa
One of my former students is part of that class.No, that's not accurate. In the UI Carver College of Medicine's 2021 incoming class 52% came from in-state schools. There were 152 total, 52 were from UI, 13 from ISU, 1 from UNI, 14 from other Iowa colleges.
MD Program | Carver College of Medicine | The University of Iowa
medicine.uiowa.edu
First-year medical student Joseph McDonell is ready for a challenge | Carver College of Medicine
After more than a decade’s delay, Joseph McDonell is ready to become a doctor.
It depends on the med school, and I think a bigger deal with residency programs
I remember some residency programs liked in-house. Other programs seem to view that as incestuous
One of my former students is part of that class.
First-year medical student Joseph McDonell is ready for a challenge | Carver College of Medicine
After more than a decade’s delay, Joseph McDonell is ready to become a doctor.medicine.uiowa.edu
Wow, that's a motivated guy. Cool story. I grew up about 15 minutes from Coggon and spent several summers at Camp Wapsi right around there. Good for him.
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U of I does have a good med school. As much as we dislike their fans/teams, I will admit their med school is top notch.One of my former students is part of that class.
First-year medical student Joseph McDonell is ready for a challenge | Carver College of Medicine
After more than a decade’s delay, Joseph McDonell is ready to become a doctor.
I do remember the state getting irritated with it a couple years ago. Think about the time that they were looking at where instate kids went to college. Iowa made a big push to get a bigger percent of Iowa students. Don’t know if that crossed over some or not. Like I mentioned my niece graduated HS 5-6 years ago or so. That is the time frame I’m going off. Things can change.
My doctor niece retook organic chemistry cause she got a B+. Got an A on round two but would she really have been rejected for a B+?
Friend on my now imploded dorm floor at ISU could not get into vet school so she went to med school at Iowa.
Friend on my now imploded dorm floor at ISU could not get into vet school so she went to med school at Iowa.
I'd like to throw out my Alma Mater, the College of Wooster. It's a small liberal arts school in Wooster, Ohio (near Cleveland and Akron). I think one thing that makes Wooster really special is its emphasis on undergraduate research, especially its senior capstone. All students at Wooster do a senior capstone (called Independent Study) under the supervision of at least one professor. This is excellent research experience that you can use when applying for jobs, grad school etc., and it means you have an excellent resource for writing letters of recommendation. But all the programs are small enough that you'll have multiple professors who are willing and able to do that. And like what @Entropy said, the benefit to going to a smaller school (whether that school is public or private) is that focus on research because there aren't grad students who are taking those opportunities.
Also, in terms of chemistry, I think Wooster was in the top 5 schools that send their chemistry majors to earn PhDs in chemistry.
And we have a pipe band! How cool is that?
In terms of more generic things, I agree with Carvers about walking around the campus yourself (especially because college campuses are just really pretty). But I do think taking a tour can be really helpful because even though your questions will be answered in a way that will put the college in the best light, it is a good chance to hear from a student.
And if the college offers the chance to let your child sit in on a class I would definitely take that opportunity.
Also, in terms of chemistry, I think Wooster was in the top 5 schools that send their chemistry majors to earn PhDs in chemistry.
And we have a pipe band! How cool is that?
In terms of more generic things, I agree with Carvers about walking around the campus yourself (especially because college campuses are just really pretty). But I do think taking a tour can be really helpful because even though your questions will be answered in a way that will put the college in the best light, it is a good chance to hear from a student.
And if the college offers the chance to let your child sit in on a class I would definitely take that opportunity.
Organic chemistry blows. I would have taken the B+
I'm not that familiar with Carver, but these programs have to be mindful of the match process. Also, if they get a majority of applicants from Iowa, but want a diverse class, the perception is it is harder to get from in-state.
This poster's son will need to standout- good GPA and MCAT are requisite. Recommendations/connections are next, and the most conventional way is through your undergrad professors. Small schools can be advantageous in this regard. Compelling story (nail that personal statement/essay) or extracurricular nice too.
Know a person with a name on a building and that bumps you up a ways.
We haven't really entertained the thoughts of going to liberal arts colleges. I think he wants to go to a bigger school (size-wise) considering his HS now around 3,000 students, so he wants to feel something different. But I don't want to discount anything as I know there are tons of excellent Liberal Arts Colleges.
If his credentials are up there, a Grinnell or Wash U in St. Louis could be really good options.
