I want to pursue a science-related major on the Pre-Med track. I was curious about which universities are the most well-known for their Pre-Med programs. What schools prepare you the best for medical school? Taking into account factors such as med school acceptance rates, shadowing opportunities, research opportunities, prestige, and advising.
If you would like, you can search “The 25 Best Colleges for Pre-meds,” which offers analysis on this topic.
The college where you can spend as little money as possible (to save for expensive medical school), where you can earn the highest GPA in sciences and overall (rigorous or voluminous general education requirements in areas that you are not as strong in may be a disadvantage), where you have good access to expected pre-med extracurriculars, and where you can more easily travel on short notice to medical school interviews.
Some colleges have a pre-med committee to advise pre-meds. In many cases, they will advise those with lower chances of admission not to apply, and/or refuse to write a committee letter of recommendation (or if they write one to a weaker applicant, it will not be good enough to be helpful in getting admitted to a medical school). Dissuading weaker applicants from applying to medical schools does boost the college’s medical school admission rate, so be careful about comparing medical school admission rates across colleges. Even though the pre-med committee may appear to be a “weed-out committee”, it can be to the advantage of a weaker pre-med to know earlier to switch to something else instead of going through an expensive, stressful, and futile medical school application process.
All or none…
Someone used the word egalitarian to describe employment for those with CS degrees, because it doesn’t matter what universities from which the degrees are taken, all will be valued because they are in extremely high demand – and the employment prospects will subsequently be excellent (provided, say, a minimum threshold of scholarship were maintained).
The word would apply to someone applying to med school who has taken the requisite courses and has achieved a degree. As long as a threshold of scholarship is maintained – 3.5 and above in science, and overall – along with the necessary MCAT score – say, 511 or higher, depending on the desired med school (along with research opps, etc.) – then a difference between receiving a name elite or “lower-tiered” state degree would matter effectively not at all.
Some colleges will report a 70-90% acceptance rate to med school, but that’s because they selectively cull the numbers to boost their rates. And this is the part for which you are undoubtedly interested. But if you’re Harvard eligible, you’re going to do well wherever you go. Therefore, as is typical on this board, they’ll recommend, the cheapest choice, to save yourself from accumulating debt even before you start med school, which could then save you from an irreversible state of debt afterward.