<p>Really interested in the pre-med track! Anyone know great colleges / universities in PA? I'm currently looking at U Scranton & Lehigh.</p>
<p>I’m beginning to believe it’s more about the student than the college. DD went to what was touted as a great pre-med school, and some of her high school classmates at her level have accumulated better credentials at the state flagship. Worse still was DD saying that she and several of her current classmates being advised by their GCs to take a gap year to prepare to apply to med school.</p>
<p>Dad of 3 is right…</p>
<p>There is no such thing as “great pre-med colleges”…at least what I think you’re speaking of. </p>
<p>Here’s what to look for…</p>
<p>1) colleges with strong science classes</p>
<p>2) Colleges that have good pre-med advising</p>
<p>3) colleges that do Committee Letters to help you get admitted to med school.</p>
<p>4) Colleges that won’t require much debt (save your money/debt for med school).</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>What is your budget?</p>
<p>What state are you in?</p>
<p>The thread a while ago showed the list of undergrad institutions represented at JHU Med school, and if I recall correctly JHU, Harvard, and Yale topped the list. UMCP also had decent representation. I would definitely recommend applying to JHU since it has med school placement rivaling Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, etc. and is a bit easier to get into. </p>
<p>Also there are lots of programs that JHU has for pre-meds. Just make sure to keep a high GPA. </p>
<p>[Semester</a> Tutorials](<a href=“Pre-Professional Advising | Student Affairs”>Pre-Professional Advising | Student Affairs)</p>
<p>[Intersession</a> Tutorials](<a href=“Pre-Professional Advising | Student Affairs”>Pre-Professional Advising | Student Affairs)</p>
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<p>A cynical person would add “schools with high [grade</a> inflation](<a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com%5Dgrade”>http://www.gradeinflation.com) relative to the competitiveness of their students” to the other criteria.</p>
<p>*A cynical person would add “schools with high grade inflation relative to the competitiveness of their students” to the other criteria. *</p>
<p>LOL</p>
<p>Well, then something else to add…</p>
<p>A school where you won’t be “middle of the road” grade-wise. You’ll want to be in the top of your classes to get the best grades and to get noticed by your profs (for letters of recommendations and research opps.)</p>
<p>I’m going to agree with the previous posters. How successful you are in applying to med school depends on what you do in college and not some magic the college has with regards to preparing students for med school. There are hundreds of colleges that can give you the opportunity to be a strong med school candidate.</p>
<p>One thing to avoid is placing any importance into acceptance numbers. Some schools boast incredible rates, but it boils down to one of two things. Either they start with great students (if you’re smart enough to compete against all the other kids across the country to get into Stanford, you’re likely smart enough to compete successfully 4 years later for med school) or the school weeds out students. Look out especially for the “committee letter” which small schools with average students coming in wield like an axe to prevent all but the strongest applicants from applying right out of college; to no surprise, they often boast 90% or better med school “acceptance” numbers for their undergrads.</p>
<p>There is an excellent online handbook at Amherst I recommend you read to get an understanding of the process and what really matters
</p>
<p>dad<em>of</em>3: the advice for a gap year isn’t so unusual. According to the premed guide I linked to in the previous post
It could be she’s getting that advice, while her friends at the flagship are flying on their own and don’t know about it.</p>
<p>Wow, thank you all so much for your wise input. Now I understand that it’s more about how I succeed in college and not necessarily where I end up going. I live in Pennsylvania near the NJ border, btw!</p>
<p>Holy Cross and Tufts have very good pre-med programs.</p>
<p>*I live in Pennsylvania near the NJ border, btw! *</p>
<p>Well, you’re lucky to have fine universities in your state that certainly well prepare you for med school.</p>
<p>That said, if you want to go out of state, you need to know your financial situation.</p>
<p>Have your parents told you how much they’ll spend each year? If not, ask them. That is very important info and will largely determine where you should apply.</p>