Your choices are the equivalent of a kid in a candy shop. You do not really need an easier route because you are going to prepare for your craft no matter what – that is why Brown softens the requirements …because it knows you don’t need motivation to properly prepare your career. HOWEVER, just because you are good with dealing with stress does not mean that you should be ok with it. Stress at low levels are ok, but with big ticket stressors like what your org chem grade is going to be or —you have to get an A in x class to keep a 3.7 gpa for the quarter… is arbitrary pressure that will not make you a better doctor. It really is about knowing yourself and quality of life and for that reason… none of us can ultimately move the needle for you. Love to hear about what you decided.
A BS/MD program shouldn’t be seen as a “shortcut”. I understand that taking the MCAT and standardized exams overall provides good experience especially in terms of self-studying, managing multiple things, stress and finding your individual method to efficiency. However, the time that you would spend studying and agonizing over the MCAT, you could spend doing other classes (relevant to your other interests), research or clinical work, also important as you continue your med journey.
By the way, would you mind giving your stats?
“The single greatest gift she has ever received in college is taking orgo pass fail”
That’s a little odd, that’s a class you want to take for a grade so you challenge yourself. I’ve brought this up before, do you really want a civil engineer to take a structural mechanics course (or whatever is the weed out course), barely pass, and build a bridge?
“Brown is NOT helping you with a 3.0 GPA requirement.”
I would agree with this, one of my good friends went to Brown undergrad back in the day for pre-med and he said med schools want to see the grades of all your classes, so p/f was not an option for him. I would slightly lean to NU because it’s a better med school and you get to switch campuses at med school, so it’s not the same scene for 7 or 8 years, as someone mentioned above.
Oh come on @theloniusmonk .
Your telling us you don’t get the difference between working hard/challenging yourself and life or death stress? She actually did great. Because she had the ability to relax and learn the material. These types of students don’t mail it in.
@theloniusmonk, how much material in orgo does any working doctor need to know or remember?
Orgo is used as a weedout class because med school classes, like orgo, require memorizing a lot of material in a short period of time.
They may not mail it in, but they can mail it in, the combination of pass/fail, 3.0, guaranteed med school means you can do not so good in science classes, well in the others and you’re in med school. Ancedotally my friend at Brown, went to Hopkins, so from my vantage, it’s great for pre-med if it gets you into the best med school! Pre-med should not be cut-throat but it should be competitive, not relaxing.
Not quite. Gen Chem is where you can get away with just memorizing stuff, and a few formulas.
Organic is a class that requires visualization and critical thinking/reasoning skills in addition to memorization, but the hard part is how to apply those memorized facts. That is why the ‘C’ students who stick it out can do much better second term once they ‘get it’. What they they really ‘get’ is much better visualization and critical thinking skills.
Thanks, everyone, for the input! I ended up choosing Harvard!! 
Congrats @confusedcat123! Good luck!
@confusedcat123: It would be very interesting to follow your journey through college.
Wow.
Congratulations! We have family there now and have been hearing great things. You made an informed choice and found the program that works best for you. Well done. Enjoy!
That’s a great decision to attend Harvard ! Its wise to not tie down at age 18 with a seven year journey. I know others in your shoes who turned down guaranteed MD and later got into Tufts Med school. If you are even supposed to go to med school, you will know in about two or three years after you take health policy classes and and take time to work with patients over summers. Might as well take the MCAT. Its one of those rights of passage ??!!! Have fun in Cambridge. Better location than frozen Lake Michigan or Providence. Enjoy soup dumplings at Shanghai Fresh on Mass Ave across from the Post Office !!!
Providence is a much better than take than Cambridge. And I love Cambridge. Cambridge has gotten a bit sketchy. Providence is the foodie capital and totally hip arts scene. The ocean and med tech hub. College hill is tree lined and super clean and fun. All students and risd too.
Where do people get their information?
Agree. Evanston is a beautiful upscale community along the shores of Lake Michigan.
Tufts Medical School is ranked at #50 (along with UMass-Worcester) and for Primary Care is ranked at #55 (along with Hofstra, Eastern Virginia, Missouri & Mount Sinai).
Regardless, all grads are still called doctor.
Just a bit surprising for one who is committed to medical school to turn down two amazing opportunities.
Also Alpert medical school has. Brand new buildings on the bay, brand new student apartments the Wexford innovation zone and billion dollar med tech and science incubator zone. The whole new med and science zone is exploding. Wonderful place for a young person. Providence is in the downtown and college hill zone is one of the best places in the world to be a student right now. And the influence of the world class culinary school at Johnson and Wales can be felt city wide.
And a quick trip to Newport and the world renowned beaches in 45 minutes.
Really. I get the Harvard thing but the location. No way. Harvard is like going to school at college Disneyland if you like tourists.
@confusedcat123 Congrats! You chose a harder road towards an MD, but it will be potentially more rewarding. Explore all the wonderful opportunities Harvard has to offer, make great lifelong friends and enjoy those four incredible years!
“Really. I get the Harvard thing but the location. No way. Harvard is like going to school at college Disneyland if you like tourists.”
My kid’s dorm is a few steps from Harvard statue, the most visited spot on campus. Out of hundreds of phone calls and messages I have never heard once she complained about there being too many tourists. I guess one gets used to it quickly.
But you do see all kinds of visitors on campus. Two days ago I got a text from my DD saying Bill Clinton just walked by. And there are sightings of Obamas and John Roberts as they are all parents there. Visitors and tourists can keep things interesting.
Not saying it isn’t interesting or great in its own way. But a poster compared it to Providence as though superior. Some might like the tour busses and people touching Harvard’s foot for good luck all day. Some not so much.
FWIW.
On the brown on campus in the past few years I’ve seen Sting, had lunch next to Larry David at Andreas, stood in line at the bookstore next Steven Spielberg, saw Emma Watson a load of times and jack Nicholson at city sports and Phil Michelson several times. They all chose brown and providence for their children among their many choices It’s not unique to Harvard.
@confusedcat123 congratulations on such prestigious acceptances.
Can u please share ur profile and stats .