<p>I'm having a very difficult time deciding between these 4 colleges and was hoping that someone could help shed some light on which one really stands out. Here's a little on me: I plan on majoring in Biology as I intend to go on to medical school. Although shallow (and certainly not the most important factor), which school would best prepare me (and would look good as I apply) for med school. At any rate, I enjoy the work-hard play hard atmosphere. I also want to meet a lot of diverse people in college (and be able to go to a lot of places) but still have times to be just by myself and get away from the hectic student life. Anyways, my top 2 choices are probably amherst and cornell right now, but I would like to get some input from others on how/what I should do to make this decision easier and make me more confident in picking. (ps: i will be visiting amherst and cornell soon)</p>
<p>U got into those schools with a 1850?
Well Holy Cross isn’t at the same level as the other three schools from any single perspective unless you have a special reason (ex. full ride)
I would personally recommend Amherst. Awesome school with great academics.</p>
<p>Cornell’s location in upstate NY is a major deterrent for many. Holy Cross has the advantage of being less than an hour to Boston. Amherst and Williams by comparison are quite remote but very highly regarded academically. Strongly advise visiting all 4 if you can.</p>
<p>Williams is a smaller Liberal arts school. Does it have a strong science department? It is in a very small town.</p>
<p>Holy Cross has great pre-med program and great med school placement. The HC campus is only 1 hour from Boston while the other 3 schools are very remote.</p>
<p>My son did his undergraduate at Williams and graduate at Cornell. Though both are in intensely beautiful natural environments the personalities of each are very different. Both attract active, energetic students, but the social life at Cornell revolves around fraternities while Williams focuses on smaller, more intimate social groups. Like many large universities, the bureaucracy at Cornell can be stultifying. Williams offers a lot of nurturing.</p>
<p>Williams and Amherst are quite similar in student type, but the setting is somewhat different: Amherst in a lively small town, with lots of students from other colleges. Williams is an insular mountain village.</p>
<p>Williams has excellent sciences and an excellent medical school track record.</p>
<p>If you haven’t visited, try to do so before you make your decision.</p>
<p>I’d definitely recommend at least visiting Williams as well. Williams and Amherst are probably tied in terms of most highly-regarded academically of these four, with Cornell close behind. Obviously, the Williams/Amherst environment is very different from Cornell or Holy Cross. Your personality sounds like it would be a good fit for either Williams or Amherst. </p>
<p>One thing to note about Amherst is that it is undergoing a massive reconstruction of its (currently inadequate) science facilities over the next four years. May create a lot of disruption during your time there as a science major without much in the way of benefits to you. When completed, its facilities will be spectacular, but that won’t help incoming frosh, and right now Williams has both stronger facilities and typically a lot more students majoring in sciences and conducting scientific research on campus. Among top liberal arts colleges, I’d say that Williams places as much emphasis on, and provides as much support for majors in, science and math as any.</p>
<p>I’d actually go with Holy Cross. Great reputation for preparing kids for med school, perhaps not quite as competitive as your other choices–which might help you since a high GPA is really important for med school applications.</p>
<p>First off, thanks for all the responses,
I know that Cornell (compared to the other schools) is a rather large school. My question is: does have such a large number of students doing pre-med make it harder to get into med school (since many people will be competing for the spot) or does it not really matter at all? And to required_details, what do you mean by its location being a deterrent? why so?
Also, comparing Williams and Amherst (both being very similar) which school would help me with shadowing, research, etc. better? I really can’t find that answer. And will Amherst’s reconstructions severely hurt med school acceptance rate? I’ve heard a lot of good things about Amherst having a 98% acceptance rate.</p>
<p>Lastly, does the Ivy League weight hold more respect than the Top Liberal Arts?? Thanks again for the responses! I’m just having a lot of thoughts on these schools.</p>
<p>Last thing! how do med schools even look at GPA? Since schools are different (in terms of difficulty, etc)?</p>
<p>Cornell is in upstate New York which has some very long winters and several hours from a cosmopolitan city. It can get quite depressing during the winter.</p>
<p><a href=“http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-03-16-IHE-cornell-suicides-16_ST_N.htm[/url]”>http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-03-16-IHE-cornell-suicides-16_ST_N.htm</a></p>
<p>Wade, the short answer is, no, NONE of the Ivy League schools (and certainly not Cornell) are more highly regarded than Williams or Amherst by med schools. If you get a solid GPA at Williams or Amherst, you will get into solid med schools, if you get a stellar GPA, you’ll have your pick of the litter. There is a reason that, at both of these places, year after year, over 90 percent of students applying to med school are eventually accepted to at least one school. So I’d go where you believe that you’ll be happiest, since you really can’t make a better choice for your future prospects. </p>
<p>And yes, med schools certainly look at GPA, but of course that is in conjunction with reputation of undergraduate education, your course load, as well as MCAT.</p>
<p>Good FAQ on HC’s premed program: [Frequently</a> Asked Questions](<a href=“http://academics.holycross.edu/healthprofessions/questions#question%209]Frequently”>http://academics.holycross.edu/healthprofessions/questions#question%209)</p>
<p>Take Holy Cross of the list. It isn’t worth looking into when you have the other schools as options.</p>
<p>I prefer Williams to Amherst, but I think that is a personal decision you have to make.</p>
<p>Holy Cross for pre-med is among the best on the East Coast.</p>
<p>How about Swarthmore compare to Amherst and Williams for pre-med ?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the feedback everyone. Over the past three-four weeks, I visited cornell, amherst, and williams, and have really considered them and thought about what I wanted out of college. As of today, I’m between Williams and Amherst. I will be deciding tomorrow based off of my gut feeling (as I can not find a way to say that I want to be at one over the other for certain). If anyone, has any last things I can keep in mind as I make my choice that will be helpful. As of right now, I’m simply considering three things: chance of getting into medical school (a decent to top med school), social life (the ability to get away from the work to have fun, relax, party, etc.), having amazing connections/opportunites once I graduate. Thanks a lot again for anyone who replies :). (Kind of scared to make such a big decision)</p>
<p>If you decide that the premed track isn’t for you, which school would you prefer? With Amherst you have the added benefit of the five college system. That potentially means more research opportunities, more class selection, and more social opportunities.</p>
<p>wade, either Amherst or Williams would fulfill all of your requirements and then some. You can’t make a “wrong” choice, so relax and go with the environment that you can better picture yourself settling down in. My son loved Williams’ rural setting and he took full advantage of outdoorsy activities and was inspired by the profound natural beauty of the surrounding area. He found it easy enough to get to Boston or New York once or twice a semester and was always happy to return to the Purple Valley. </p>
<p>Good luck and let us know how you do.</p>
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<p>That depends on you (your GPA, your MCAT scores, your interview), not the college. No one here has produced any objective evidence that any of the schools you’ve considered gives an applicant significantly better chances of getting into med school than the others (for a given GPA/score combination). About the best anyone can do is cite the percentage of pre-med students who get accepted to at least one med school. That is a nearly meaningless statistic (since it doesn’t account for the qualifications of the students or the selectivity of the schools). </p>
<p>Remember that pre-med isn’t a major. All it really amounts to is a set of expected courses.</p>
<p>Biology (2 semesters of lecture and lab)
General Chemistry (2 semesters of lecture and lab)
Organic Chemistry (2 semesters of lecture and lab)
Physics (2 semesters of lecture and lab)
English/Writing (2 semesters)
Mathematics (2 semesters)
Biochemistry (1 semester)</p>
<p>None of the colleges you’ve considered can be assured to consistently provide a better classroom experience, year after year, across all these subjects. The Chemistry course that was great for 1 Williams student last year might not be so great for another Williams student next year when the former professor is on sabbatical or the lab instructor changes jobs. </p>
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<p>Again, this depends largely on you. It’s not as though there are 103 meaningful connections at Williams and 111 meaningful connections at Amherst (or vice-versa) just waiting to be hooked up.</p>