I want to work towards becoming a psychiatrist, but I feel a little lost finding good schools that are around me and are not Ivy League or close to it. I live in Massachusetts but I don’t mind going a couple states away. I currently have a 3.72 GPA and my SAT is a 1090, although I am retaking it soon for better results. I love large schools with big campuses and student bodies. Any suggestions?
So you have an interest in attending medical school?
Yes, I do.
If you want to go to med school go to your state university. It will save you a ton
You don’t have to go to any specific type of school to go to medical school. Your local public universities in Massachusetts and other good schools that will accept you with your stats can be great places to go in preparation for medical school. I agree with NASA2014 in that saving money in undergrad is a good idea - for any career, but especially for medicine, where you will probably have to pay most of your way with loans.
Is your GPA weighted or unweighted?
What kinds of extracurricular activities and other involvement have you participated in?
What can your parents afford? Do you know what your family’s income is and/or how much your parents can pay towards college?
Psychiatry today is mostly around med management and not counseling. That is more of the realm of the PhD level psychology clinicians. Also many msw handle family and substance abuse counseling too. What is your real goal. Medicine or counseling?
There’s no such thing. No one studies for psychiatry in undergrad. Psychiatry is a specialty that a doctor studies for AFTER med school. During med school, only a very short time is devoted to psychiatry, so not really much is even studied while in med school.
If you plan on going to med school, then your goal needs to include going to a good school, get top grades, complete the premed prereqs, do some shadowing of VARIOUS specialties, volunteer work, community service, and medically-related ECs, and research.
What will your major be in college?
How much will your parents pay for college?
What are your stats?
What is your home state?