CMU vs. NEU vs. BU for chemistry (pre-med)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carnegie Mellon University
1

I’m choosing between Carnegie Mellon University, Boston University, and Northeastern University. I got into Chem for everywhere, and I plan to minor in computer science. However, I’m interested in taking business, finance, and engineering classes just to see if they spark my interest.

I visited CMU recently, and I really liked it. The people, atmosphere, campus, etc. But Pittsburgh sucks tbh. Also, the food and athletic center is terrible. The small dorms I can live with, but id prefer better dorms. Furthermore, I’m not sure if undergrad chem there is good. CMU is known for engineering, math, and comp Sci, not bio or chem. Additionally, CMU is known to be a rigorous school which would affect my GPA and consequently my medical school admittance negatively.

BU and NEU are enticing because they’re in Boston (which is incredible for college kids IMO) and they have great food, dorms, and athletic centers. Generally, CMU is ranked much higher than BU and NEU. But i think BU, NEU, and CMU’s undergrad Chem are basically the same (i can’t back this up at all). I’m going to have a much better college experience in Boston than at CMU, that is if the people there are as great at the people at CMU. Plus, BU has a med school so perhaps going to undergrad there may positively affect my chances of admittance there.

Lastly, I heard that med schools don’t acknowledge the undergrad schools applicants went to. They just look at GPA. So even if CMU does have a better (harder) chem program than BU and NEU, my GPA would probably suffer if I went to CMU.

Something to add: money DOES NOT have to be taken into account in my decision

2

You have great options. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them.
That being said, I just want to add my two cents, for what they are worth.
I went to CMU as undergrad (psych, but I was pre-med for two years), then I went to BU grad school. Boston as a city is awesome, but Pittsburgh is not as bad as you believe. There were plenty of fun things for me and my friends to do in the city and around (concerts, shows, fancy dinners), not to mention you will be able to see top notch drama/art production right on CMU campus itself.

If you plan to apply to med school and go that route, I would assume you would want to attend a school that will prepare you academically to meet that challenge. I can said with confidence that CMU will most certainly do that for you, plus you will receive more individual attention from faculty and mentors and more opportunities to do awesome things (internship, research) due to CMU’s smaller undergrad population.
Best wishes!