I was recently accepted into Oxford College of Emory and University of Washington. Both gave me about the same amount of financial aid (it would cost the same either way), and I want to do pre-med. I am a Seattle resident and would love to be able to stay near home for school, but Emory has a great program. I am not sure what the pros and cons of each are. I know there are similar posts, but wondering if anything has changed? Is it too hard to keep a good GPA at UW? Will med schools and employers see me as more worthy if I go to Emory?? so many questions and not enough time to answer them all. Thanks! Also my intended major is Neuroscience.
If you are a Washington resident and you got similar aid at both, how can they be the same cost?
That said, if you are ok with being in the middle of nowhere for two years and a very small school, Emory is much better because you’ll have small classes, a nice cohort of fellow students, and professors who know your name.
At UW, you’ll have bureaucracy, large classes, and your large school feel - plus traffic galore. But you’ll be near the city.
Good luck.
Don’t worry about what med school admissions committees will think. You can’t predict that. Pick the school you want to go to on other factors.
1 Like
Absolutely not.
Med school admission committees really don’t care where one attends undergrad. They are more interested in your accomplishments and your reasons for pursuing medicine.
If you want to see this for yourself–
look at p. 14 where admission deans rank the selectivity of one’s undergrad as being of “low importance”
https://www.aamc.org/media/18901/download
Since most freshmen pre-meds never actually apply to med school, I strongly suggest you take the idea of pre-med out of your decision and choose the school that offers you the best combination of fit, opportunity and cost.
•fit because happier student do better academically. Also because college is 4 years of your life you will never get back and you should be able to enjoy it.
•opportunity–to explore new ideas and subjects, to find your interests and strengths–even they lead you away from medicine, to find mentoring from your professors (who you will need to write you LORS for med school, grad school or for jobs and internships), to get involved in campus activities (med schools want well-round individuals who have interests outside of medicine and science), to develop your leadership skills (med schools looking for people who have strong interpersonal and leadership skills), to grow and develop as an individual and human being
•cost because med school is hugely expensive and pre meds are strongly advised to minimize undergrad debt because you will be taking out a quarter million dollars (or more!) to pay for your medical education.
Personally, I think UW would be a better choice. At Oxford, you will spend your first 2 years NOT on Emory’s main campus. Oxford is a liberal art focussed institution where you won’t have access to Emory’s research facilities or upper level/more specialized science professors. Also Oxford’s more remote location will make it difficult to get involved in clinical volunteering activities unless you have a car on campus.
As for professors knowing your name at large university–there are simple things you can do (like going to office hours, attending recitations) that will help you get to know your professors/instructors. Also UL science classes tend to be much smaller (think 25-30 people) than the huge intro level lectures–even at big universities.
4 Likes
I agree 100% with WayOutWestMoM. From first hand experience, ADCOMs really don’t care. If it is a schools that some members never heard of before, they might ask some questions, but I have never seen someone say “Oh! He went to Emory… I’ll just ignore that bad GPA and that she was one of the worst interviews of the day.”
Are both the same cost or do you mean you got a similar amount in scholarships?
Do you want a very large university or a small college then a large one?
If you weren’t to attend med school (like most would-be premeds), which university would you rather graduate from?
1 Like