pretty much what the title says lol
What makes a “best” pre-med school?
The best “pre-med” schools are the ones that you can graduate from with low to no debt and that offer all of the required courses that med schools want you to have taken, and received excellent grades for.
Med schools really don’t care which undergrad school you attend. They want excellent grades, excellent scores on the MCAT, and excellent letters of recommendation. A small school that would allow you to rise to the top and get to know professors and do some research with would be most helpful. Schools that foster cooperative rather than competitive study would also be helpful - so that you can have a great study group rather than the other students fighting to out-do everyone else.
You are going to be doing nothing but medicine once you hit medical school, so you may want to consider a major other than a science, as long as you have enough elective space to take the courses required for med school.
Pre-med isn’t a major or a degree program as such. One cannot get a bachelor’s in pre-medical studies. A pre-med student declares ANY major they want to declare, and also completes a set of prerequisite courses for medical school which includes a number of courses in chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, and others. Many pre-med students choose a major such as biology or chemistry because those majors already include many of the pre-med requirements as part of the degree program. However, many students complete degrees in physics, philosophy, history, sociology, and many other majors, then go to med school.
Simply put, a good pre-med school is a school that offers the necessary science courses and offers the student a chance to excel in them. Basically any major university in the country will have the required courses.
I recommend finding that list of schools that meet need (through grants, not loans), and research them. comfortablycurt was correct in that you don’t need to major in a science to go to medical school. When I attended Hamilton, a graduating senior had taken all the pre-med prerequisites, and had majored in art. His senior show featured medical illustrations that were also very artsy. He was admitted to every medical school program that he applied to, as he had something unique to offer. Great position for him to be in.
Agree with all the others here. But I also want to put in a plug for taking a careful look at LACs if you are pre-med for several reasons: At smaller schools, the pre-meds end up in a lot of classes together and get to know each other well. That tends to foster a cooperative, rather than competitive atmosphere. No one wants the reputation for being a jerk at a small school. You also tend to have closer faculty relationships - no grad students TAing or competing with you for faculty time, attention and research opportunities - and you need those relationships to get good letters of rec. There are fewer research opportunities perhaps - but you don’t need lots to of cutting edge research for admission and you don’t even have to do it during the school year: Summers provide sufficient time for research. Few schools are so isolated that they aren’t near medical facilities that offer the opportunity for relevant volunteering. And any reputable school - not just major research unis- will provide quality basic science classes in bio, chem, physics, etc…that you need for MCAT prep.
Of course, the higher priority is to graduate without debt and to find a place that you feel brings out the best in your as a student and a person.
Very good response @N’s Mom. I find your post to make very good sense. As a current student in high school who is thinking of going to Pre-Med, your post is a good reason for me to go to a liberal art school and do Pre-Med.
Now, as for the top medical schools, here is a list of the best medical schools in the U.S. :
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankings?int=98fd08
Remember, these are rankings based on a system created by U.S. News. However, this list does save us time to compile a list of our own.