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Hey, I left a similar message at the Penn board, but I am also considering Dartmouth. The only thing that concerns me is the competetive atmosphere found at most highly selective schools. Don't get me wrong, I am a well qualified student (straight A's in most difficult classes, 32 ACT, 1430 SAT), but I was wondering how difficult it was to keep a decently high GPA at Penn (like 3.7ish). I want to apply to medical school, and I know how important it is to have a high GPA for admission. Do you think it might be better to go to a less competetive school where I could be a standout student, rather than being an average Dartmouth student? What percentage of Dartmouth students get into med school? I would appreciate any information you could give me.

By Willywonka (Willywonka) on Monday, September 06, 2004 - 05:17 pm: Edit

I don't know much about med school, but people generally describe Dartmouth students as happy, warm (even during blizzards), friendly and relaxed, which would indicate that the competition isn't cutthroat. Of course, there will always be the few who are at every college.

By Kblodge (Kblodge) on Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 11:46 am: Edit

It's better to go to a difficult school than be the best student at a mediocre school. And you have a better chance getting in to a med school from Dartmouth than from somewhere with a less than steller reputation--med schools definitely take into account the rigor of the program and the quality of the education you are receiving. I don't know the percentage accepted to their first-choice med school, but I think it's really high.

By Sdfsd (Sdfsd) on Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 01:09 pm: Edit

I've heard 75%, although I may be wrong.

By Radical347 (Radical347) on Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 02:38 pm: Edit

Even though the workload is intense, Dartmouth students aren't cut-throat.

I've actually heard from multiple sources that it's better to be the top student at a mediocre school because they stick out more, but I certainly hope that's not true.

75% seems way too high (for % of Dartmouth students accepted to their first choice med school), and from what I've gathered from most of my friends I definitely don't believe it; however I have no hard data on it so there's a possibility it could be true.

By 80drofnats (80drofnats) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 09:49 pm: Edit

med schools do care about what school you go to, moreso than law schools, but mainly they just look at grades, research experience, and the mcats which will basically cancel out what school you went to if they're good, but at bigger/easier schools your research opportunities are frequently less and you don't get the grade inflation you get at an ivy, plus med schools just look at your gpa they don't compare "rank", but if you're very confident in your research abilities and your ability to get a 3.8+ at a less respected school (where grades are just as hard to get or harder) and do well on the mcats, it won't matter too much

By Slipper2002 (Slipper2002) on Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 03:15 pm: Edit

Here's what I know about grad schools:

Lets assume an MCAT constant, perhaps a 34 for this analogy.

If you go to Dartmouth, have over a 3.7-3.8, the world is basically yours. You might not get in everywhere but chances are you will end up at a top 10-20 school at worst.

If you have below a 3.5 (for example my friend with a 3.2), you WILL get into med schools, but the big state schools (like Wisconsin in her case), will ding you for GPA. The privates wont.

The larger question is how much do you care how good the med school you go to is? If you just want to go to med school, it might be better to get great grades at a much easier school like Miami, Ohio or Miami, FL. The person who said grades are harder at lesser schools is wrong, for example I have a transfer friend who coasted Miami, FL with a 3.9 but struggled to get a 3.2 at Dartmouth. But if you are shooting for the stars like my friend with a 3.7 at Dartmouth and who is just starting Yale med school, you'll be better off with Dartmouth. The top private schools are heavily biased towards Ivy grads. Another example of this, I had an IN-STATE! friend who applied to Michigan's med school with a 3.7 and got dung, but got into WUSTL, UPENN, Columbia. Go figure. It was pretty much GPA, they gave him ZERO credit for Dartmouth, but alll the top privates did.

I think the biggest assessment of how you'll do in college is honestly high school grades. IF you kicked but and were at the very top in a competitve high school, you'll do fine in college. But if you went to a lesser HS and got reasonably good grades its more iffy.

For example, the kid going to WUSTL med school had a 1340! on his SAT but was valedictorian. He kicked but academically at Dartmouth.

By Rehan (Rehan) on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 09:37 pm: Edit

thanks for the advice, but I have a question about your constant score of 34 on the MCAT. Exctly how hard is it to get a 34? I have heard that the national average is somewhere around 24, and a 30 will definitely get you in somewhere. Is it possible to use SATs and ACTs as a rough prediction for MCAT scores. I got 32 on ACT and 1430 on SAT (740 M, 690 V). I am ranked 3 in a class of 670 (4.0 GPA).

By Rehan (Rehan) on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 09:41 pm: Edit

By the way, I just want to get into med school, that is my main concern. It would be nice to get into a top school, but if I dont its not the end of the world. Maybe I am underestimating my chances, but it seems like med school is ridiculously competetive. WHat do you know about D.O' s compared to M.Ds. Are they considered inferior becuase they are easier to get, and are they able to do the same things as M.D.s?

By Sdfsd (Sdfsd) on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - 12:53 am: Edit

I have heard that a 34 is completely ridiculous. Like, higher than the average MCAT at Harvard and Wash U Med ridiculous.

By Slipper2002 (Slipper2002) on Wednesday, September 15, 2004 - 06:53 pm: Edit

yeah but just like SATs you have to be in the range to be in the range of those schools. I mentioned that score with the assumption that the person was looking at top schools.


As for this person I would say going to a lesser school might be better...

By Kousuke (Kousuke) on Monday, September 20, 2004 - 10:23 pm: Edit

"I have heard that a 34 is completely ridiculous. Like, higher than the average MCAT at Harvard and Wash U Med ridiculous."

so? 1500 is higher than the average of any university in the nation besides Caltech, but people on this website look at it as being nothing more than mediocre. why not look at a 34 on the MCAT the same way?