<p>I've been looking at a lot of websites with lists of colleges with the best pre-med programs, and in many of the descriptions/reasoning these sites discuss how good "[insert college's] medical school/hospital is" and therefore that school has a good pre-med program. Is that true? Also, is there anything specific I need to look for in schools with good pre med programs?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Rarely do colleges have pre-med programs. Major in whatever you want with high GPA and take requirements + MCAT and your good.</p>
<p>The most important thing is to choose a school where you can maintain a high GPA, get good pre-med counseling , strong recommendations, as well as service/research/intern opportunities.</p>
<p>Lots of misnomers about becoming a physician. Take a look at this url for some information on choosing a major, but look around at the other pages at this website for advice, too:</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/careers/students/gradstudy/health/guide/part1/major”>https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/careers/students/gradstudy/health/guide/part1/major</a></p>
<p>I recall once seeing a discussion about how the one place you DON’t want to do pre-med is at a place with a good medical school due to increased cut-throat competition among the pre-meds, but no discernable advantage to actually doing pre-med there. I don’t think that necessarily applies everywhere, I would think Harvard is still a great place to do pre-med, but I think it was warning marginal candidates off places like WashU or JHU. Of course, if you can get in those schools, you in theory shouldn’t be a marginal med school candidate, but some people probably do have some slacker study habits and those environments are best left to others.</p>
<p>Schools don’t have “premed programs”. </p>
<p>Being a premed student just means that you take REGULAR classes that other STEM students take. There isnt anything special about them. </p>
<p>I dont think that there is any special advantage of going to an undergrad with a med school. It is more important to go to an undergrad where there arent too many gunners. </p>
<p>Wouldn’t a medical school on or near campus better allow undergraduates to determine if they actually want to go to medial school as well as easily shadow doctors without having to have a car or take public transit to the nearest hospital? I know very little about medicine or premed. It just seems that being able to speak with current med students and doctors on a day to day basis would give students a much clearer idea of what medicine actually entails. </p>
<p>mom2collegekids, what is a “gunner?”</p>
<p>You could also ask the schools your considering how many of their pre-med students go on to med school. </p>
<p>Having research opportunities is a plus. Avoiding gunners is a plus. Good pre-med advising is a plus (but that seems idiosyncratic).</p>
<p>Oh, and not getting in to med school may be the best thing to happen to you. A girl from my HS was pre-med at one of those pre-med factories. She ended up getting a MPH and joining the lowest rung of administration at a hospital instead. Now she’s CEO of a hospital and making more than most of the doctors who work for her.</p>
<p>@sparklersm: However, schools can distort the success rate (artificially raising it) with the use of the committee letter, while still denying many kids med school. Also by curving science classes and the like.</p>
<p>from urban dictionary dot com:</p>
<p>gunner:
A person who is competitive,overly-ambitious and substantially exceeds minimum requirements. A gunner will compromise his/her peer relationships and/or reputation among peers in order to obtain recognition and praise from his/her superiors.
That chic in the front row of our class who always raises her hand, takes on additional assignments, and wrote a 25 page answer on our final when all that was required was 10 pages is such a gunner.</p>
<p>
You are completely mistaken about this being a normal experience for aspiring pre-meds at U’s with a medical school. Or, for that matter, about it being even really possible.
As PurpleTitan pointed out, a meaningless number. A college can make it anything they want it to be, should they care to do so. Example #1 would be Holy Cross.</p>