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What schools are best if you want to go into psychiatry, or does the school not really matter?

I want to become a psychiatrist and am starting to look at different med schools that I could go to. Are certain schools better if I want to go into psychiatry, or does the school not really matter as much? #college #doctor #medicine #psychology #college-major #medical-school #psychiatry

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Rachel’s Answer

Any 4 year university should be able to provide you with all of the premed requirements (1 year biology, 1 year inorganic chemistry, 1 year organic chemistry + labs, physics, calculus, and biochemistry). I would look at each school individually and see which fits your personality and desired major (does not have to be science) best.
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Richard’s Answer

In the US, to apply to medical school, you need a bachelor's degree. Any 4-year university should suffice.

Pick a college that suits your personality and a major that interests you. You will need to get good grades in college in order to apply for medical school. At the medical school I attended, the average GPA is reported to be 3.85, so even one or two B's can hurt your chances of acceptance.
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Alexander’s Answer

I don't know of any medical schools that are better or worse for teaching psychiatry. Every school will have a relatively short psychiatric curriculum in the basic science years, and during the clinical years, every school will have a 4-8 week required rotation in psychiatry. After that, you are free to choose any other psychiatry electives you might want.

I wouldn't recommend choosing a school based on the kind of specialty you want to pursue. 99.9% of your specialty training will come during residency. Instead, choose a school that feels right for you, whether that's based on faculty, location, type of area (rural vs urban vs suburban), etc.

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William’s Answer

All psychiatrists take the same national tests and board exam. Any accredited medical school will afford you the opportunity to learn everything you need to know to become an excellent psychiatrist. More important than the medical school you will attend is your personal commitment to learning what you need to do. Having said that, students at allopathic medical schools (at which you earn an M.D.) tend to do better on the national standardized tests than students who attend osteopathic schools of medicine (at which you earn a D.O.).


Attending a "name" medical school like Harvard or Johns Hopkins is only important if you plan to make your career in academic medicine: research, teaching, etc.


I attended a public medical school and yet am on the faculty of two different Colleges of Medicine, regularly publish articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals.


Which medical school you attend is far less important than your commitment to learning all you can about medicine.

William recommends the following next steps:

Google the national standardized tests every medical student is required to take: Step 1 (taken after your first two years of medical school), Step 2 (taken prior to medical school graduation and step 3 (taken after your first year of residency training) and compare the pass/fail rates of allopathic medical schools, osteopathic medical schools and international medical schools. Do the same for Specialty Board examinations (taken after completing residency).
Research on the internet medical schools which you are considering and compare their students' pass/fail rate on the same national, standardized tests. The higher the pass rate on these examinations, the better a school does in educating physicians.
Apply to as many medical schools as possible to maximize your chance of admission.
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