Harold wrote:The thing I don't get about this discussion is that Harvard Med students are among the smartest people on the planet. Yeah, I know smart at age 20 (or any age) doesn't mean you have full understanding or are immune to allure of prestige. But it's as if we're saying they're all idiots because they don't realize they could get to the exact same place at less cost by going to the University of Nebraska -- I think there's a bit more to this story (and just possibly some folks are unaware of some opportunities given by the elite institutions).
I know nothing about the medical field, so maybe they are really all idiots -- but that just makes so little sense.
Having met a lot of them (nearly 1/4 of my residency program is Harvard Med), I'd disagree that they are the 'smartest' people on the planet.
While compared to the general public, yes, MD candidates are considered "extremely smart", compared to high level scientists and other intellectual professionals, MDs are not particularly noteworthy. Genius-level intellect is absolutely not required nor selected for in any way in the admissions process. Top level mathematicians, physicists, economists, humanities professors are pretty easily arguable smarter than high level MDs, as typical MD work doesn't require the touch of creative genius required in those fields.
What the high-level candidates usually bring is not just the required baseline academic excellence, but also a host of intangible factors that suggest they would be leaders in ways that would advance medicine, whether it be the community, politics, or scientific research. Which is why I stand by my previous comment that getting "top scores" doesn't do much for helping your cause at any stage in the MD process - above a 'high' level of around 85% of national norms, added points don't contribute nearly anything at all. Your scores are really used as a minimal cut-off in the competitive programs - they then use the intangibles to select their candidates without a real emphasis on scores. (Scores count for more in less competitive programs since they won't have across the board stellar numbers in their applicants.)
If you met most of these top-level candidates in person, you'd be surprised - they come across as bright, but fairly typical individuals that you'd meet in the supermarket in your local neighborhood. Then you see their resume and your jaw drops at all the stuff they have done. It's actually pretty impressive that people work so hard and accomplish so much but be completely approachable and accessible.
The typical applicant to Harvard or other elite academic equivalent isn't remotely interested in saving $200k by going elsewhere. To be good enough to apply to these programs, you've already dedicated years of your life to research, community service, or other equivalent activities with great success, and having the big-name degree helps a lot in furthering those causes as well as keeping maximum doors open for future options. (Despite the reality that the vast majority of these folks still go into private practice.)