I am going to be a senior soon and I defintely want to study computer science in college. At the same time, I want to fulfill pre Med requirements so that I can keep my options open after getting my undergraduate degree because I am interested in both fields and cannot decide at the moment.
Seeing as the previous post got nowhere, I would appreciate it if anyone can advice top computer science colleges where it is feasible to pair computer science with a premedical track?
If it matters, I have an unweighted GPA of 4.0 and ACT of 35. I would really appreciate it someone could advice me to good colleges where I could pursue computer science, do premed while not spending too much for tuition.
I am a Georgia Resident. I have looked in Georgia Tech, which as a great computer science program, however, I have found out that GT is not a very feasible school for something like this. I would like to save money for grad school/med school and would like a school where my stats would be able to get my a considerable amount of scholarship help but if it comes down to it, money will not be the biggest issue.
I have found out that GT is not a very feasible school for something like this.
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? What did you find out and from whom? How would GT not be a feasible school for that goal?
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I would like to save money for grad school/med school and would like a school where my stats would be able to get my a considerable amount of scholarship help
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That’s possible. Are you also a likely NMF? what was your PSAT?
What about your Zell Miller and HOPE awards for GA schools? What about UGa?
I totally understand the idea of keeping your options open. My son did that as a ChemE major as a premed. In the end, we hardly paid anything for his undergrad. He’s attending an instate med school, so the cost isn’t too crazy.
Looks like GT CS has a lot of requirements, leaving little free elective schedule space to add pre-med science courses beyond the science courses that are included in the CS major requirements. http://www.cc.gatech.edu/academics/college-advising/studyplans
Which is your primary interest, and which is your secondary interest?
The problem with many STEM threads is that posters often look up graduate school rankings and then list the schools as if their undergraduate departments have been reliably quantified by this method. So I’m not surprised that many of these threads get nowhere.
Premed is often 12 courses or fewer. A BA in computer science may require 11 additional courses. (You could get a BS in CS at a school that offers one, but is this really necessary when you would already have the dual demands of meeting the requirements for CS and pre-medicine – particularly since the BA would allow you to supplement the basic requirements at your discretion anyway?) What you would like to do would be commonly achievable at a good range of schools, perhaps even if you did choose the BS route.
For excellent pre-med, either a BS or BA in CS and a good chance at merit aid, try the University of Rochester as one possibility. If you are eligible for need-based aid, your options could include some top liberal arts colleges as well, which often do not award merit scholarships. Though Grinnell, as one of probably numerous exceptions, does.
In general, whether “X major + pre-med at Y school” is doable comes down to:
a. How many courses or credits of requirements that X major at Y school has that do not overlap with pre-med courses.
b. How many courses or credits of general education that Y school has that do not overlap with X major or pre-med courses.
c. Subtracting the above from the total number of courses or credits to be taken gives the number of courses or credits that can be used on pre-med courses (typically 8 lab science, 0-2 math/statistics, 2 English composition, psychology/sociology, at typical semester schools).
So the student is often looking for schools where both (a) and (b) above are relatively small.
As a Georgia resident, GT is a great option for you.
If your parents are low income to mid-lower income, some private elites could provide you with very generous FA. Schools like MIT, Princeton, Cornell, CMU, Stanford, Rice…etc… would all be excellent.
Also, considering your 4.0 unweighed GPA and 35 ACT score, some universities that give out large merit scholarships may be worth a look. The University of Michigan has a scholarship that covers 100% of the tuition (you would end up paying $15/year), although those scholarships are given out to only a few students. But to maximize your chances of landing one of those scholarships, be sure to apply EA (not binding).
I don’t know if GT allows AP credits, but if it does, I don’t see why a CS student couldn’t be premed. There are already some science req’ts, and they’re already some of the soft-science options for Core.
I guess it could depend on which CS track is chosen. Which one interests you?
@whenhen it’s not about Georgia tech not being within my budget. I’m eligible for a Zel scholarship which would cover all of my tution for GT. It’s that GT is not feasible for CS and Premed because of the requirements for CS. The overall difficulty of GT classes would inhibit Premed ambitions, especially with a non traditional premed major.
@mom2coIIegekids as @ucbalumnus said, the requirements for a CS degree at GT are way too demanding to be able to pair with Premed and still get out with a high gpa in 4 years. It’s possible, just hard and demanding.
I don’t think I’m NMF. My PSAT was a 207.
My ZEL eligibility would cover all of my tution and both GT and UGA.
The problem with ap credits is that med schools generally don’t like them and would like to see the student take those classes in college, at least according to what I have read on the interwebs.
@ucbalumnus yea the high demands of CS is what makes it unpairable for Premed.
Primary- CS secondary- premed
@merc81 can you explain the difference between a BA and a BS in computer science?
@Alexandre I’ve actually visited Univeristy of Michigan Ann Arbor and totally loved it. Not only did the LSA school seem feasible for cs+premed, but I loved the college as a whole. The setting and vibe was nice. The only problem, prospectively, would be the high costs for an our of state student. (Somewhere around 43k+ for tution). The only large scholarship I saw was a 20k scholarship, which would still leave about 23k for tution plus a bit more. Can you post a link to this 100% tution you were talking about. I really love University of Michigan, and there are chances for me to get good scholarships there, I would love to go there. (I was dreaming of a Univeristy of Michigan here in GA. A top state school with excellent academics with the added bonus of HOPE and Zel)
“Can you explain the difference between a BA and a BS in computer science?”
This varies by institution. For example, some colleges only award BA degrees, irrespective of major.
A good BA program will offer these CS courses or similiar versions:
An introductory course
Data Structures
Discrete Mathematics (sometimes as part of, and counted towards credit in, the CS department)
Apllied Theory
Principles of Programming
Computer Organization
Compilers
Computer Architecture
Algorithms
Operating Systems
Database Theory and Practice
Artificial Intelligence
A rearch project course
Additional electives such as courses related to digital threats, etc.
If a student’s career or personal needs exceed those that could be met by a course of study such as that above, then it may be appropriate to find a BS program with even more extensive offerings and requirements. However, since you are trying to avoid excessive dual requirements, a BA in CS may be most advisable for you, much as it would be even for many students without any particular constraints.
Does your High School offer Dual Enrollment? Why not knock out some of your premed courses while in High School and the remainder at GT? I know a number of engineering graduates who have gone on to medical school. If you look at the medical students entering the University of Michigan Medical School, up to 14% of the class are engineers. Some of these students have completed their premed requirements after completing their undergraduate degree in engineering.
You are probably looking for a school like Brown, with 11-15 courses required for the CS major, with general education requirements limited to 2 writing courses (total of 12-17 courses, which include overlap with the pre-med English composition and math requirements). Since the four year total will be 30-32 courses, that leaves plenty of space for the rest of the pre-med courses.
Of course, Brown is highly selective, and can be expensive if you do not have significant financial need as they see it (check the net price calculator).
But if CS is your primary interest, you may want to consider how serious your pre-med interest is. If it leads to choosing a school that is more expensive or a worse academic fit for your CS interests than GT is, then you may regret that choice if you later decide not to go to medical school, or find that your GPA or MCAT score makes medical school admission unrealistic. How much did you like chemistry and biology in high school, and how well did you do?
Highly anecdotal but my D tells me that over 25% of her batchmates (she just finished her 1st year at Gtech) in BME are serious Med school wannabes. OP, have you checked with any of your high school friends at Gtech whether similar options (courses, workload, grades, etc.) apply to folks in the CS stream?
Often with biomedical engineering or chemical engineering, which have substantial overlap with pre-med course work, so only a few additional pre-med courses need to be fit into the limited free elective space. It would be substantially more difficult when doing civil, electrical, mechanical, etc. engineering.
what you’re really trying to do here is kick the can down the road a few years before making a decision. Not a great idea, IMHO.
I always ask kids that say they want to be doctors, why an M.D? Not that I know it is wrong for you, it may be the right fit, but have you actually looked into the medical field and considered the alternatives? From the day you start college it will be 11-15 years before you are a practicing doctor, depending on what field you go into. In other words, think back to 1st grade; all those years since then matches the minimum it will take to become a practicing doc! Its almost a reflex action among HS kids, they think of a career in medicine and its “I’m pre-med!” Doctors are far from the only ones in the health field that help people. Physical therapists, radiology techs, nurses, speech pathologists, nurse practitioners, to name but just a few.
That you say “maybe I’ll go into CS, maybe premed” suggests to me that you have spent minimal time actually thinking about a career in medicine, exploring what options are really out there in the field, volunteering to see if its right for you. It’s one thing to be genuinely conflicted about 2 things you really like, but my bet here is that these are just 2 trendy areas that maybe you’ll do, maybe you won’t, and that keeping doors open seems like a good idea to you. If you want you can spend time reading thru catalogs and searching for places to “keep options open”. What I suggest you do, instead, is go get a volunteer position in a local hospital or other care facility, starting, say, NOW. In a few months, probably even sooner, you’ll know if a career in health is right for you and then you’ll spend the time to figure out which particular career.
The problem with ap credits is that med schools generally don't like them and would like to see the student take those classes in college, at least according to what I have read on the interwebs.
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You misunderstood me. I know about those things; I have a son in med school. He was a ChemEng’g premed.
You can use your AP credits to cover some things…like history, English, psych, even Calc. What AP credits will you have?
If you have enough AP credits, then that will clear your schedule to fit in any remaining premed courses.