Okay, I’m going to be blunt; I have no idea what to do in terms of a college. First of all, I am looking to become a pediatrician in the future, but I am unsure of which college can provide the foundation for that, yet alone a medical school. I am seeking to apply to Hunter College or to Columbia (in the event of merit based scholarships–would be great if anyone recommended some), but I am unaware of programs that are offered to help me in my career. Can anyone offer suggestions? What should I major in to appeal to medical schools? What are some medical schools you can recommend?
There are no medical schools for undergrad. That is for graduate work so no need to look at medical schools yet.
Future doctors come from all types of colleges and universities, from small liberal arts colleges to mega state universities. While there are pre-med programs for undergrad, most future doctors either major in bio or just major in an area that they are passionate about. It’s not uncommon for English majors to get into med school as long as they take a few prereqs for med. What matters is your gpa and test scores plus some decent ECs in your undergrad career. Go to a decent college, get a major in an area that interest you, and crush your gpa and test score and you’ll be on your way.
Have you used the collegeboard seach that’s how I found schools you narrow it down by majors, where you want the school and whatever you want. If you live in NY like I do the College fair is coming up in September for Nassua County and Suffolk County and in October for NYC.
Some colleges may be more successful than others in advancing the goals of their premed students. This list, available online, makes an effort to identify them: “The Experts’ Choice: Colleges With Great Pre-med Programs.” Within New York, these schools are included:
Hamilton
Colgate
Cornell
URochester
Binghamton
Hofstra is a great school for pre-med. There are programs like 4+4 to get a B.S.-B.A./MD (https://www.hofstra.edu/admission/adm_4plus4.html) and the medical school is brand new. Also, the first graduating class at the medical school had a 100% placement rate into residencies (http://medicine.hofstra.edu/about/news/pressreleases/032015_MatchDay2015.html). You should check it out!
None of those lists adequately equate schools on factors like the extent to which they use weed out processes in their lower level bio and chem classes. I would not trust those lists one bit as a way to determine the % of students who enter college wanting premed who end up getting in to US med schools-and that is the only legitimate stat to consider.
The “pedigree” of your undergraduate major does not matter much for med school admissions, so with the significant financial burden of med school in your future, you should strongly consider the affordability of your undergrad school.