<p>I've been accepted into Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania, Amherst, and Johns Hopkins</p>
<p>i don't feel JHU fits me</p>
<p>Cornell, Penn, and Amherst, however, all fit me well</p>
<p>My dilemma is between Penn and Amherst - I like both of them, but I'm curious - which would be the better premed choice?</p>
<p>and
would a lib art school place me at a disadvantage?</p>
<p>amherst is easily one of the best schools in the country, on par with any ivy.
i'm obviously biased towards LACs, but i'd choose amherst.</p>
<p>1.) I think I would tell most students that they should make the same decision you've made thus far -- that is, that Penn and Amherst might suit more students a little better than the other two. This is obviously not univeral, particularly for those that really really like Ithaca, which is not hard to imagine. [Little brother was accepted to Cornell and really loved the setting.]</p>
<p>2.) Penn vs. Amherst, I can't imagine either choice is wrong. A LAC is going to be a little smaller with better attention, but, then, an Ivy is pretty good for that too. The Ivy has higher-profile research, but, then, that's not particularly important for a premed. What matters is that you get involved in a project where you really have responsibility of your own. If you wanted to go into consulting or finance, the Ivy has better name power -- but, actually, you'd be competing with Wharton kids and Amherst is very famous in its own right. Besides which, you're premed.</p>
<p>You can see that the decision can't go wrong either way. Best of luck.</p>
<p>I'm of course unabashedly biased towards Penn, though I have friends at Amherst who love it (though they are not premed, and one actually switched out of being a science major all together because he didn't feel the department had much to offer). Strictly for the case of being premed, I'd say Penn is the stronger school, simply because you have better access to research and hospital exposure and a program that has a proven track record of getting it's premeds into med school.</p>
<p>That said, the two schools are VERY different in terms of urban vs. rural, small vs. mid-sized, etc. and you should definately choose whichever one you feel most comfortable at.</p>
<p><em>smacks self in head</em></p>
<p>Yes, of course, access to a hospital matters a great deal. I have no idea where Amherst is and whether it is a match for Penn in this regard.</p>
<p>penn should be a good place for research and medical shadowing opportunities</p>
<p>Penn's Chemistry department is hella hard and majorly deflated. Chem 101 is curved to a C+/B- median, and remember you have to also take Organic Chemistry as a premed.</p>
<p>I would recommend Amhurst for that reason alone.</p>
<p>On the basis of one course?! Goodness, that's nitpicky.</p>
<p>For the record, that's the same curve Duke uses. I'm betting it's a pretty common standard.</p>
<p>Does UMass Amherst (which isn't too far from Amherst College) have a med school/hospital and allow Amherst students to use those resources? I know the 5 or so colleges in the area share resources and as a student you can classes at any, but I know nothing about UMass and med school (if it has one or not). That could make the difference between Penn and Amherst. </p>
<p>If not that, maybe the fact that Penn >>>>> Amherst (guess which school I'm biased towards).</p>
<p>UMass Amherst is at least a half hour drive from Amherst College</p>
<p>Um, what? UMass is a mile from Amherst. What are you talking about?</p>
<p>In any case, the point is moot if I'm reading Google Earth correctly. There do not seem to be any university-affiliated hospitals in the area. There certainly will be doctors, of course, but it's no longer on the same campus, where you can walk over after class and shadow a surgeon.</p>