I am looking for colleges to look into for my son.
He has 3.9 gpa all honors except for math and sat is 1580
Ecs School treasurer
Key club treasurer
Chemistry club president
Hosa treasurer
Keys summer research at Univ of Arizona
He is wants to be a biology major and pre med
We live in Arizona so we already have University of Arizona on our list.
Kid wants snow and near a hospital and he wants to do research
I think he might like a lac but does not seem to have a preference.
How much are you willing to pay? Does he want a urban or rural environment?(Dartmouth, for example, is in a small town but has its own medical school)
We can afford full pay. Grandpa is helping out and we have a decent amount of money in a 529. He likes both urban and rural but prefers rural a teeny bit more.
I would check out UVM,
college runs a very strong hospital system with the UVM hospital in Burlington being one of the best in Vermont/ upstate NY
Burlington gets a lot of snow and is a small city while still keeping a rural charm to it and is surrounded by mountains and tons to do.
This would most likely be a safety/ fit with his stats (although med program might be more selective than the rest of the college)
Thanks I looked at Uvm with him and it looks like it would be a good safety for him. It is now on his list.
He says he would prefer northeast/ new england to midwest.
Case Western Reserve?
Based on stats only in the Northeast (though each of these schools consider much more than stats, so I’d recommend reading through admitted student threads on CC for examples of successful application profiles, although keep in mind that CC is self-selecting:)
Reaches: Ivies + MIT
Matches: URochester, BostonU, Northeastern, and Boston College
Safeties: Allegheny College and Juniata College
Are there any northeastern lacs that could be good fits? He has looked into northeastern lacs and thinks Bowdoin might be good a a reach academically but is worried about fitting in as a non outdoorsy/ sporty kid from the southwest.
Seconding University of Rochester. Problem with a lot of the New England LACs is their lack of proximity to a decent sized hospital.
Take a look at Colgate. They have great pre-health sciences advising and a really unique semester long program at the NIH for research.
These coeducational Northeastern LACs appear in an online site, “The 25 Best Colleges for Pre-meds”:
Bowdoin
Bates
Swarthmore
Union
Hamilton
Amherst
Middlebury
Williams
Colgate
Not northeast but Utah is an excellent cheap safety with snow and a hospital on campus. Definitely a great option for outdoorsy kids. I can’t see any reason to go to the northeast for safety schools - I certainly wouldn’t pick UVM over Utah.
Note that the OP has expressed (reply #8) that his son is “non outdoorsy.”
Williams or Middlebury could be good choices. Added bonus is all students are on campus and able to venture into the town. They both have COVID under control. Both are known for friendly, collaborative students. I wouldn’t worry about the outdoorsy aspect because your son will find his people. He will have more chances to do research, to know his professors, and to get good references for applying to med school by attending an LAC. I think your geographic location would give your son a bit of an admissions boost. Best of luck!
I’d definitely recommend Union. He’d get merit and iirc, they have a nice arrangement for top students to go straight to med school.
If he’s interested in less sporty LACs, Vassar and Haverford are two that come to mind (and where kids I know have gone before going to med school. )
Tufts could be worth a look as well. Bigger than a LAC but still smaller.
Remember, though, that med school is expensive, so if that is a serious possibility, consider finances for both undergraduate and med school. It might point you back to your state flagship.
Bowdoin is an inclusive community with great pre-health advising, easy access to medical centers/offices (orthopod office and urgent care center in walking distance, hospital a few miles away) for patient-facing experience, and good on campus research opportunities.
Many of the other schools mentioned will be good for pre-med as well.
I might avoid Williams (competitive nature of student body, more limited access for patient facing activities); Allegheny, Swat, and BU (grade deflation); MIT (pre-med not a relative strength).
Adding: Haverford, Holy Cross, Lafayette
Snowfall amounts even within the Northeast can vary considerably, as in the examples listed below:
Average Annual Snowfall
Hamilton: 96″
Colgate: 86″
Bates: 74"
Middlebury: 69"
Bowdoin: 66"
Williams: 63"
Union: 60"
Amherst: 42"
Swarthmore: 20"
(Data from Sperling’s.)