Why not add GATech to your list since you are in-state? It is a great option and you seem to like urban schools.
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My school offers GT Math. I am planning for PreMed in college. Thatâs why I am more focusing on Science courses. Due to Healthcare Internship i can only take 5 to 6 classes. Org Chem vs GT Math. I choose Org Chem.
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I would recommend taking math then. And remember, DE classes count for your Med school GPA.
Also, is English your native language? If yes, make sure to use correct grammar when completing college apps and essays (I realize good grammar isnât necessarily required on CC).
If English isnât your native language, are you a US citizen or perm resident?
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Admissions would probably rather see the Math and foreign language than more science. You asked what would make you a more competitive candidate. Based on the input youâve received here, that is an answer.
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Depending upon where you go this could mean $90,000 per year for four years for a bachelorâs degree (slightly less in year 1, slightly more by year 4), plus over $100,000 per year for an MD. You could spend well over $700,000 by the time that you are called âDoctorâ, and it is very possible that you might spend over $800,000. Can you do this with no debt at all and with no financial hardship for your family? Even doctors find can in some cases find that the total debt that they take on is very hard to deal with.
It is possible to get a bachelorâs degree at a very good affordable university, and an MD at a highly ranked university, and spend a lot less than $700,000 in total.
You should make sure that you are able to handle the work load for whatever classes you are planning to take senior year. Three lab classes at a time are a lot. I do not understand taking two different physics courses. Either by itself would be great. I would be cautious about taking organic chemistry senior year (I have heard of at least one case where this went well). Also, the lack of a language class may be unfortunate. As a medical professional the ability to speak a second (or even third) language can be useful. It also seems unfortunate that you do not have any math class planned for senior year.
And of course you need to apply to preferably two solid safeties. It is worth taking time to think carefully about what you want your safeties to be.
UGA is indeed a very good university. I am puzzled by the âdont have access to ECsâ. What you are going to want is a lot of experience in a medical environment. You can get this during the school year, or over the summer, or after getting a bachelorâs degree before applying to medical schools (if you take a gap). Isnât there a hospital roughly 3 miles from UGA? Donât they have shadowing and other volunteer opportunities?
Other than this to me it sounds like you are doing very well. I like that you already have medical volunteer hours and are phlebotomy certified. Given your excellent academic results to this point plus your medical experience I am pleased to see excellent students such as yourself being potentially interested in a career in medicine. Do keep in mind that most students who start off with the intention of âpremedâ end up doing something else, but there are lots of options and plenty of time to figure this out.
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Actually as a full pay parent of a high cost school, I can say pretty definitively they do not cost more than they say - perhaps that is true at schools that advertise a low cost to suck in budget oriented parents and then stick them with undisclosed costs. Both my kids are well under the COA for both their schools - my daughter far under as she doesnât pay for the full meal plan and neither of them spend anything near the budget for books. Plus we donât have to pay for health insurance - which is another 3-4K. My daughter is around $8K under the advertised COA - so please stop with the definitive statements - particularly for schools you have no direct experience with or knowledge about.
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You should read this thread about AP/IB and DE science and math for pre-medsâ
If you are hoping to complete your undergrad in 3 years due your advanced science classes in high school, please ibe aware that med schools look very skeptically at younger-than-typical applicants and they are judged against older applicants who have much great breadth and depth in their ECs.
One of things missing from your profilesâesp if you are looking at BS/MD program is a lack non-clinical community service. One of the 15 Core Competencies for med school hopefuls is a strong Service Orientation in activities that help alleviate the distress of others, especially in populations who are dissimilar to yourself.
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Since your list includes many reaches, you may want to consider adding Pitt as a safety? The campus is walking distance to several hospitals and has rolling admissions. If you apply early you could have an acceptance in hand by mid-September, taking the pressure off a bit. Also think you have an excellent chance of getting into their honors program. It has many perks including early registration and honors housing.
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Iâve deleted the back and forth between teo parents because it does not impact the OP and itâs OT.
As a general rule, every user brings their own perspective and experience. It may be different than another userâs, but that doesnât mean itâs wrong.
Forum Rules still apply
I would recommend picking your favorite between Vanderbilt and Emory and applying ED1 to your first choice. Both have ED2 so if you get denied by your first choice you can apply ED2 to your second. I think you have a decent shot of getting into one if you apply ED 1 & ED 2 and also make sure your essays are top notch and hopefully you also have great letters of rec. ED is key though to maximize your shot. I applied to both RD and was admitted to Emory but am waitlisted at Vanderbilt. RD is tough at both schools, especially since they have two rounds of ED. Good luck!
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The only thing to be aware of is that ED 1 at Emory gives a much bigger boost to admissions odds than ED2. The acceptance rate for ED 1 is 30 percent vs. a 12 percent admissions rate in the ED 2 round. I was told directly by an Emory admissions officer that you really shouldnât bother with an ED 2 application as it gives very little advantage other than possibly having your admissions decision a bit earlier than regular decision.
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Yes, ED1 acceptance rates are generally much higher than ED2, but ED2 is still higher than RD. If these two schools were my top two choices I would definitely apply to my favorite ED1 and my second favorite ED2.
OP, another reach, but you may want to also look at WashU.
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An admission officer explained that ED1 acceptance rates are typically higher than ED 2 because that first round includes virtually all of the hooked applicants such as athletes, children of big donors etc.
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Thatâs part of it, but there is still a definite statistical advantage to applying ED as an unhooked applicant at many schools, including both Vandy & Emory.
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Agree 100%. ED can definitely be an advantage for an unhooked applicant.
My comment was regarding the higher acceptance rates for ED1 v ED2. I edited my comment above to clarify.
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My comments above are Emory specific. There is very little if any advantage to applying ED2 at Emory. It may be different at other schools, and I am not saying it is necessarily a bad idea to use a strategy of applying ED1 to your first choice and ED 2 to your second choice.
If we look at this yearâs numbers, ED 2 at Emory had a 12 percent acceptance rate. The overall acceptance rate was 10 percent, and the acceptance rate for regular decision was around 8 percent. So yes, statistically that 12 percent acceptance rate in ED2 is 50 percent higher than than regular decision. What you are not accounting for is the strength of the ED 2 applicant pool at Emory. By and large it is students who applied early to an Ivy or Ivy equivalent(and most were viable applicants for those schools).For that reason, ED 2 at Emory tends to be a more competitive round than either ED1 or regular decision. Again, I was directly told by Emory admissions that ED2 offers very little advantage over regular decision, and that those accepted ED2 most likely would have been accepted during the regular round. I know this is internet hearsay. You can choose to believe me or not.
Itâs just something that the OP might want to look into when deciding on an early decision strategy.
As @happy1 pointed out, the ED 1 numbers can be inflated by recruited athletes and children of large donors. Emory is a D3 school without a football team, I am not sure how many recruited athletes that is, but they have 400 athletes total out of a student population of 7000. If we assume there are 100 recruited freshmen athletes in the ED1 applicant pool (it is probably lower than that because not all of the athletes were recruited), that would pull the 31 percent acceptance rate down to maybe 28 percent or so. Children of large donors are a negligible number. Emory considers legacy in all admissions rounds (unlike some schools that only give a legacy boost in ED1), so I am not sure how much of an impact that has on all of this Bottom line is that for an unhooked applicant the chance of acceptance is going to be (from what I can tell) at least 2 to 3 times higher in ED1 than in either of the other admissions rounds.
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This isnt wholly true. Emory adcoms have said ED2 is actually the weaker pool of students because they were rejected somewhere. The same reason you wer rejected from Duke or Northwestern, is likely to be the same reason youâre rejected from Emory.
I do think an individual unhooked studentâs chamce of admission ED1 and ED2 would be similar at most colleges.
But letâs get back to the OPs question.
@happy1 @Momofthree24 @CAGRL @twogirls @Mwfan1921 @Greatpyrmom @Merimom23 @WayOutWestMom @DadTwoGirls @tsbna44 Thank you very much for taking time and providing the valuable information. This is great platform to share the information. Once i get in to the college i will make sure to contribute.
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My advice, donât choose a school based on âPremedâ coming out of high school. Only a small fraction of âPremedsâ actually decide to go to medical school because they find passions in other areas.
As a parent, I can tell you thereâs ALWAYS an issue on cost to some degree. Even if theyâre full pay, a good state university is a far better value for the money than full pay at a private or OOS university. And a good full-ride scholarship beats everything, because mom and dad get to keep their money. Of course, thatâs my parental opinion 
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I would say, keep an open mind, and try to keep the cost down. Layoffs happen, and it can disrupt the money flow at an expensive university. Itâs more common than you think. An affordable state university will allow you to finish a degree with student loans if you have to. If you have top grades and MCAT scores, and you really want to go to medical school, it really wonât matter which undergraduate you go to.
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