Does it matter what college i go to?

[amirah]

Hey guys and girls,

do you think it matters which college i choose to go to, or what grades I achieve in A-levels for imperial college??

i really want to know what you guys think... is the college that i go to important (say it's a college with an OK reputation or not very good)?

any help given is highly appreciated.....

THANKS!

From Amirah

[m00ple]

No.

[dragonlance]

OF COURSE!

its not just a straight no im afraid. it doesn't matter so much with the reputation but it does matter in consideration of your reference. if you're in a crappy college, chances are you're gonna have a crappy reference because your colle4ge isn't experienced as much as other colleges. however, if your'e from a reputable college, you will have a better reference because the college will know how to deal with them in the highest quality possible and they know the tricks and they have more experience in medicince applicants. i suppose the only advantage you can get from crappy college is some unis do have a wider participation for lee reputable college i.e. glasgow university with less reputable colleges giving students a lower offer. also, st george's do the same thing with consideration of the average points your college gets per students.

[switchday]

the college makes no diff...what matters are your grades and yourself!

[89laura89]

Some places do take into account how you did compared to everyone else in your school. Like if you got 5A*s at GCSE and other applicants got 10 but you go to a school where the average is for example less than 5Cs and they go to a school where everyone gets A*s then that is sometimes taken into account.

[dragonlance]

Originally Posted by switchday

the college makes no diff...what matters are your grades and yourself!

it tottaly does, application isn't just about yourseld and your grades, let me remind you that your reference plays a HUGE role in the application. in fact, a huge role that some applicants fail to acknowledge. being in a good college who knows the tricks for medicine application is very very very helpful for your reference.

[switchday]

Originally Posted by dragonlance

it tottaly does, application isn't just about yourseld and your grades, let me remind you that your reference plays a HUGE role in the application. in fact, a huge role that some applicants fail to acknowledge. being in a good college who knows the tricks for medicine application is very very very helpful for your reference.

in that respect, yes, but you could also argue that a college would have a big role to play in your education and subsequently your application

the point i was trying to make was that unis won't go.."errrgh..he's from an inner city state school...immediate rejection!"

[dragonlance]

Originally Posted by switchday

in that respect, yes, but you could also argue that a college would have a big role to play in your education and subsequently your application

the point i was trying to make was that unis won't go.."errrgh..he's from an inner city state school...immediate rejection!"

of course not or else the sun will have a field day about it...but the original qustion was does it mattter which college you go to and the answer is clearly yes.

[switchday]

Originally Posted by dragonlance

of course not or else the sun will have a field day about it...but the original qustion was does it mattter which college you go to and the answer is clearly yes.

it's all a matter of interpretation.

at the end of the day, medical schools are doing their best to not discriminate against things like colleges now

the line between the candidate and the college is a substantially fuzzy one, where it's sometimes hard to tell whether one has influenced the other. for me, it still mostly boils down to the candidate because all colleges base predicted grades and references on the candidate

my school doesnt have a great record for sending people into medicine but i've managed to get interviews at GKT and Cambridge...i guess because i'm a strong candidate and my references and grades were based around that

[psyche87]

Plus if you're a bit worried about your reference, you could be totally shameless (like me =P) and pass the Manchester's guide (for referees?) to your referee. =P (For the record, though, my school has an amazingly impressive track record for Medicine applicants, but then again we're not in the UK)

And agree with the posts above that some medical schools take into account your grades relative to your school. I believe Cambridge does that, but I'm not too certain.