11 Answers

John Collins, PhD Chemistry, Princeton University
Answered September 17, 2018

In theory, no. But, as Yogi Berra said, “in theory, there’s no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.”

A students can take required pre-med courses at just about any college. They can then take the MCAT like anyone else. However, a fairly small group of colleges sends a very disproportionate number of graduates to med school.

Some numbers: there are about 21,000 openings in US medical schools. About 50,000 students apply including about 30,000 first-time applicants and 20,000 re-applying after additional education or experience. Roughly half of the former group succeeds in obtaining admission and about a third of the latter group...

11 Answers

John Collins, PhD Chemistry, Princeton University
Answered September 17, 2018

In theory, no. But, as Yogi Berra said, “in theory, there’s no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.”

A students can take required pre-med courses at just about any college. They can then take the MCAT like anyone else. However, a fairly small group of colleges sends a very disproportionate number of graduates to med school.

Some numbers: there are about 21,000 openings in US medical schools. About 50,000 students apply including about 30,000 first-time applicants and 20,000 re-applying after additional education or experience. Roughly half of the former group succeeds in obtaining admission and about a third of the latter group...