<p>A number of years ago now, Howard Greene published a book called The Select. In it he surveys students at 20 top colleges, including both public and privates.</p>
<p>One of the questions he asked was something like “Are your classmates cut throat?” Nobody at Wesleyan said yes. One half of one percent of Brown students did. (At some schools, 40%+ of the students did.) If Caroline Sacks found students at Brown too competitive, frankly, IMO, there has to be something wrong with her. I’d be hard pressed to name a school as strong in biological sciences as Brown is where the students are less competitive. </p>
<p>One reason for this is that many of Brown’s pre-meds are in the PLME program. This is an 8 year combined program. As long as you maintain a certain GPA in the sciences–which isn’t all that high–you’re guaranteed admission to the med school. (This is one reason Brown medical school isn’t higher ranked by US News. Part of the rating is based on the GPA and MCAT scores of accepted students and because you only have to maintain a certain GPA to continue on to the med school, Brown med students have lower median GPAs.) </p>
<p>I’m not in medicine, but I think there are a couple of things you should take into account. At some schools, there is some sort of screening which which prohibits some students from even applying to med school. Then the college will say that 90%+ of our grads who applied to med school are admitted. They leave out the “detail” that there were other students who didn’t make it through the screening and thus couldn’t apply. </p>
<p>The other is that if you are going to med school, you usually have to take the MCAT. If you go to a school that’s weaker in science, you may struggle with the MCAT. One of my young neighbors took the merit $ and went to a much lower ranked college. He was a star there. Then he took the MCAT. Then he took a year off to study and took the MCAT again. Then he gave up the dream of being a physician and went into another health-related field. If he’d gone to a better college, he might not have been a star, but he probably would have had a better background in science. So, one piece of info I’d ask for if I were you is “What was the median/average/25-75% MCAT score of your students?” </p>
<p>The third thing is that switching out of science isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I am an alum interviewer for my college. I interview students from a NYC public magnet. I would estimate that three-quarters of the kids I interview want to be MDs. The exceptions are almost invariably the kids from better educated, more sophisticated families. Being a physician is the immigrant / first generation college dream. Doctors and teachers are sometimes the only professional people these kids have ever met. They see it as a golden ticket to the good life. When they get to college, some of them decide there are other paths they’d much rather take. (And often their immigrant/ blue collar parents actively oppose considering anything other than STEM.) </p>
<p>My D went to an Ivy. She started as a STEM major and switched into another field. She found the other field much more interesting. Her sophomore year roommate was pre-med. She ended up in social sciences. That was in large part because she spent a lot of time her first year doing stuff at the university’s affiliated hospital. As a result, she came to the conclusion that she wasn’t cut out to be a doctor. (Eventually, she got a Harvard MBA.) Their suite mate did the same sort of activities and decided to become a doctor; she switched INTO the sciences. My D’s freshman year suite mate was going to major in science, but ended up majoring in economics. She is a physician now. So, note that switching out of science into social science doesn’t necessarily mean that someone isn’t going to go on to med school. </p>
<p>But yes, there are some people who switch out of STEM because they find it too difficult and get discouraged. Some of them will tell you if they’d gone to their instate public U they’d have majored in science. That may well be true. It’s when they say “…and then I would have gotten into medical school” that I have my doubts. Not everyone who applies to med school gets in–and I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing that some people who are weaker in the sciences give up that dream after taking organic chem rather than after applying to med school and getting denied. </p>
<p>If your D takes a cheaper path to save $ for med school, I certainly understand that. It’s a valid approach. However, if she thinks the pre-meds at less selective colleges will be more co-operative and less competitive than at top schools, I think she’s misinformed. </p>