Brown PLME vs. Columbia College

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

<p>So I’m going to be applying to either the Brown PLME or Columbia College (Premed) for the 2009-2010 year. I’ll be doing one of them ED, but I can’t decide which.</p>

<p>Could you guys give me some insights on the benefits/costs of going to either? Could you also chance me for both/one of them? I have previously posted stats before on a different account.</p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>Scores:
SAT: 2260 (I’m going to retake it, but the breakdown currently is 790M, 730CR, 740W)
SAT Bio M - 800
SAT Chem - 800
SAT Math II - 800</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0/4.3 unweighted and 4.75/5.0 weighted. I’m somewhere from 5th to 8th in my class of 420 students.</p>

<p>AP Coursework (11 listed): AP Bio (10), AP Chem (10), AP Language and Compostion (11), AP American History (11), AP Calculus BC (11), AP Physics B (11), AP Statistics (12), AP Environmental Sci (12), AP Literature and Compostion (12), AP Psychology (12), AP Econ (12).</p>

<p>College Coursework:
UConn Spanish V (12) - An immersion course by University of Connecticut.
Fairfield University - “Human Biology: Form and Function” taught by Dr. Indrani Dutta. It’s an undergraduate level Biology course. I ended up with a 99% in it.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Medical-Related Activities and Achievements:

  • Qualified for and completed 30 hours in a medical internship under dermatologist Dr. William A. Notaro (11)
  • Completed 42 hours as a volunteer at the Pathology Labs at Danbury Hospital (10)
  • Completed 35 hours as a volunteer at the Dialysis Unit of Danbury Hospital under Dr. Winston Shih, Dr. Raymond Raut, and Dr. Howard Garfinkel (11)
  • Completed 17 hours as a nursing-volunteer at the Ashlar Senior Home (9, 10)
  • UPenn Biomedical Research (2009) - A research immersion program that I had to apply to for the summer based off of SAT scores, essay, and extracurriculars.</p>

<p>Science Related Activities and Achievements:

  • Newtown Science Quiz Bowl Team (9, 10, 11)
  • 3rd place and 7th seeded science quiz bowl team at 2008 U.S. High School Northeast Science Bowl (10)
  • 4th place and 4th seeded science quiz bowl team at 2009 High School Northeast Science Bowl (11)
  • 2008 Connecticut Chemistry Olympiad State Finalist (10)
  • John’s Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth Program in the summer for sciences (2007 and 2008)
  • Fast-Paced Chemistry Course and Laboratory under Dr. Art Frankel at JHU CTY (9)
  • Fast-Paced Physics Course and Laboratory under Dr. William Kallfel at JHU CTY (10)</p>

<p>Mathematics Related Activities and Achievements:

  • Founded the Math Team (9)
  • President of the Math Team (9, 10, 11)
  • 2nd Place Team for Western Connecticut Mathematics League Tournament (11)
  • Completed 45.5 hours of volunteer work as a Math Tutor for high school students (9, 10, 11)
  • AMC Recognition Award (10)</p>

<p>Debate Related Activities (9, 10, 11):

  • Junior-Varsity Debate on the Lincoln-Douglas National Circuit (9)
  • Varsity Debate on the Connecticut Extemporaneous Circuit (9)
  • Varsity Debate on the Lincoln-Douglas National Circuit (10, 11)
  • 8th Speaker at 3rd Connecticut Extemporaneous Tournament of 2008-2009 (11)
  • Double-Octofinalist at the Princeton Classic in the Varsity Division (11)
  • 2007-2008 Best Underclassman Debater Award with a season record of 15-8 (10)
  • Captain-elect for the 2009-2010 [Senior] year (I have to take care of a roughly $20,000 budget).
  • Summer of 2007 National Debate Forum Debater in the Varsity Locke Lab (10)</p>

<p>Athletics:

  • Obtained varsity letter in golf (9)
  • NHS Boys Varsity Golf (9, 10, 11)
  • 2007 South-West Conference Academic Team Award (9)
  • 2007 South-West Conference League Champions (9)
  • 2008 South-West Conference Academic Team Award (10)
  • 2008 South-West Conference League Runner-Up Team (10)
  • Selected teaching assistant for PGA Professional John Hiteshew – completed 30 hours (10, 11)
  • Probably placing at some Connecticut State Junior Golf Tournaments.</p>

<p>Religious Services:

  • Drummer of the junior youth group praise team (9)
  • Drummer of the primary youth group praise team (10,11)
  • I ended up playing for the church’s fundraising concert in order to make money for church repairs. Recently our church burned down due to a severe electrical problems.</p>

<p>Other Awards and Achievements:

  • 2008 English Department Chair Book Award (10)
  • Spanish Honors Society Award (10)
  • 2008 CAPT Mastery Award (Perfect Mathematics Score, and highest level scores in all sections) (10)
  • Probably National Honors Society
  • More awards this year</p>

<p>Other/Misc:

  • Asian-American
  • $150,000+, so financial aid won’t hinder me.</p>
2

<p>Hi Minoo,</p>

<p>The scores and the extracurricular you have involved didn’t seem real to me. How can you do so much stuff in 3 years?</p>

<p>Is there any reason why all your volunteer work is medical related? Do you think PLME and the premed in Columbia would favour applicant who had medical research and volunteer experience in high school years?</p>

<p>Please keep us post if you get accepted to PLME or Columbian in December.</p>

<p>Vpat</p>

3

<p>haha yes vpat, i exist
and im proud to say this resume exists as well.</p>

<p>i had to focus on and be consistent with time management

  • My summers involved JHU CTY, Debate camp, and will involve my UPenn Biomed Research… I haven’t had a free summer since 7th grade to tell you the truth.
  • Debate, medical-stuff and mathematics were activities that primarily occurred during the fall/winter seasons… and for math team, commitment wasn’t anything difficult, just mandatory attendence once or twice a week depending on the week… for the med stuff, it was weekly attendence as well.
  • Science quizbowl was weekly throughout the year and was most concentrated during the late winter/spring season. This didnt take too much time commitment because I was fairly well prepared in the sciences since i took ap bio and ap chem as a soph.
  • Golf is obviously during the late spring/ summer here in connecticut
  • And sundays are reserved for my church =)</p>

<p>As for my volunteer work, it being medically related has nothing to do with favorable admissions in premed. Especially in columbia college, where u have to initially get into school and THEN apply premed. u cant just go directly in… i think. I did that volunteer work for my own benefit. If there are added side benefits that i cant see, thatd be great!</p>

<p>That said, i unfortunately didnt have much downtime with my friends except during holidays. Hopefully my senior year will be different if I get into somewhere ED.</p>

4

<p>oh and… i dont see how my scores are all that unreal. my SAT 1 is nothing impressive (which is why I’m taking it again) and getting 800s in chem and math II wasn’t anything difficult either. Bio M definitely took the most effort to prepare for, but I DID take bio m and chem my soph. year which gave me a lot of time for me to work on it.</p>

<p>if it makes me sound less ■■■■■-ish
i guess ill say that im probably gunna get three 4s and three 5s on my ap exams.</p>

<p>and ill definitely keep you posted. CC has been very kind to me these past few months.</p>

5

<p>sidenote to all people viewing who aren’t minoo: Just a reminder, PLME is hard to get into, yes. But just like any program, be yourself, and if you fit the program, great. If not, you’ll fit in somewhere else. But I know for Brown in general, having these stats in ECs and such helps, but is not necessary to get in. And if someone with these stats comes off as fake or self-centered or undesireable in some way, they can definitely be rejected too (even if they don’t come off as undesireable. Admissions is quirky).
Back to the thread itself: As for Costs/benefits: Brown PLME means you get to go to Brown. That means you don’t have to take Columbia’s core requirements (though you don’t get TOO much freedom… you are premed, after all). And if you’re a debater, Brown’s parli teams do pretty well on the circuit. And they’re pretty cool, seems like. Plus, Brown is already a pretty chill place, where there’s no need to really overly compete with your peers to get into the best grad schools, to get the best grades, to get whatever. Even if you didn’t get PLME, Brown still puts kids into the best med schools around the US. Most the people from Brown seem to get into one of their top 3 choices for grad school.
And really, ED is not as big a deal as it’s made into. It’s nice, yes. But it’s not needed. Being rejected by your ED school sucks for a week or two, but it sucks when you’re rejected or waitlisted by one of your top schools regular decision too. If oyu like Brown more than Columbia, apply to Brown ED. If not, then you’re CRAZY. Just kidding.</p>

6

<p>A little to add to chsowlflax17’s comment:</p>

<p>Another difference is that with PLME, if you get in, you’re guaranteed entry into at least 1 med school (Brown’s). You’re permitted to apply to others, of course, but you wouldn’t have to worry about not getting into med school. Of course, the very low acceptance rate to the program may mean you’re not accepted, and no one is a 100% lock for any Ivy, regardless of stats. You certainly have a chance at both programs. However, if you’re unsure between the two, unless you have a change of heart and have a strong desire for one, applying regular may be the better option. The numbers for people who apply early tend to be higher, but in part, if not in whole, this is due to recruited athletes, I believe. I’m willing to answer any questions you have about Brown to help you decide, but I believe everyone needs to determine their optimal college for themselves.</p>

7

<p>Well Brown PLME and Columbia are totally different. I am attending Brown in the fall and I live in NY but I remember hating Columbia because its core curriculum and very “citish” (yeah I know its not a word but u get the point!) atmosphere. Brown is a very liberal, relaxed place while Columbia seemed a bit more intense. Also, Brown PLME is 8 years and you get admitted to both Brown and Brown Med while Columbia has a pre-med program (though I’m sure it helps you get into Columbia Med). So I would look more into what you actually want, though both are great schools! </p>

<p>As far as chances go… You can’t deny that your credentials are AMAZING but the Ivies are all free for alls I feel like. For example, I was totally underqualified to get into Brown but I managed to get in but I know friends of mine who seemed like statistic shoo ins who got denied. It depends what they’re looking for. So this may sound like a really cheap response but I’ll say you should get in but you never really know for sure until your letter comes. good luck!!! </p>

<p>PS. If you do apply early to Brown and get defered, don’t worry. I got deffered to and I almost failed my second quarter of calculus and I still got in the second round. So just relax and go for it! Hope that helps :)</p>

8

<p>I say go for it! You have amazing credentials! :slight_smile: All your medical work is amazing, I myself am interested in biological sciences. This program is very difficult to get into, but I think you really have a good shot at getting in! If not your rolled over to regular decision admissions. You can’t lose.</p>

9

<p>I would say go for Brown PLME</p>

10

<p>Brown PLME is an important decision, do not make the decision rashly… I faced a similar choice myself a few years ago… Brown college is a great undergraduate institution, but Brown Medical school is a different entity unto itself.</p>