<p>Hey, I am wondering, out of these schools, which seems like the best fit for me. I realize that I should really visit these schools, but the truth is that I probably won't be able to visit all of them. Anyways, here are my interests and what I want out of my undergraduate experience:
-great pre-medical program (good advising to really help me get an edge into medical school admissions, challenging but not impossible courses, competitive but not a super cutthroat environment, great place for research and summer internships)
-location in or close to a large city (not just any large city, but one where I can experience numerous different things like great shows, restaurants, sports teams, maybe even museums idk for sure but hopefully you understand somewhat what i'm talking about)
-really nice campus vibe (where the school is generally pretty close-knit and there is large involvement in school spirit and pride)
-pretty respectable status (high rank and a school where medical school admissions would be impressed if I even got just like a 3.5 or 3.6)
-nice people (I kind of already mentioned this, but i don't want a school where everyone is SUPER competitive... instead I want a school where people are pretty laid-back and nice with each other)</p>
<p>You already posted this in the Duke, UChicago, Northwestern, UPenn, and Michigan threads.</p>
<p>I don’t think /any/ of the schools you listed are what you’re looking for. (Well, maybe Northwestern. I don’t know anything about it, though.)</p>
<p>I haven’t found Harvard too competitive, but neither is it laid back at all. You had better also, (as is my impression as a non-pre-med freshman) get much better than a 3.5 or 3.6. Getting an A (4.0) can be difficult, but getting Bs (3.0) is generally really easy. I am really really happy here, but I would not use “nice” as one of the first five words to describe my peers. (Instead: interesting, accomplished, fun, funny, wonderful.) Our premed track also seems really hard. We have no “campus vibe” of that sort. Being all WOOO #1 IN THE COUNTRY is generally viewed in bad taste. Many of us do feel that sort of school pride, but displays seem arrogant, unfortunately. </p>
<p>I don’t think Duke will give you any taste of city life. I also don’t think its on-campus arts/speakers/whatever scene is fantastic enough that if you wanted a city life, you wouldn’t miss it.</p>
<p>UChicago (to which I nearly went) seems ridiculously intense. They call themselves the “place where fun goes to die.” I thought they were joking. Now that I have tasted what fun in college feels like (I did not have fun in high school.) and now that I have peers at UChicago, I do not think that they were joking.</p>
<p>After being a negative Nancy for my whole post, I’d like to end with some schools to recommend. Some of your characteristics seem pretty contradictory, though. A very top school and a school where people are laid-back and a school at which a 3.5 or 3.6 is eminently respectable for admission to top med schools? Maybe Princeton, since they’re known for grade deflation. I think they tend to be a little bit less tightly wound then Harvard students, but I don’t know. (I visited and didn’t really like it, so my research was less than thorough.) Or NYU for a safety? I’ve heard various things about their competitiveness. (oh it’s so laidback and oh it’s sooooo cutthroat; don’t know what to make of that!) Maybe try posting in the general College Search forum?</p>
<p>@Lirazel
Thanks for your help. And I feel that I may have conveyed the wrong sense when I said “laid-back”. I don’t mean a school that’s super chill and casual, but I mean I just don’t want a school that’s RIDICULOUSLY intense… kind of like what you said about Harvard. In fact, I love to work and study. So a competitive school that pushes me is where I want to go. But the point is that I also want a school where I can relax on weekends and hang out with a good group of friends who don’t need to be studying 24/7… even though I might have to do that probably numerous times. The main thing I am concerned with about Harvard is whether or not it’s SUPER cutthroat to the point where people are selfish about schoolwork and will not help out peers… also, I have a feeling that Harvard consists of a good amount of pretentious, arrogant people… not saying that they make up the majority, but that’s kind of what I’ve heard about some Harvard kids.</p>
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<p>I think the tales of cutthroat competition and pages being ripped from study materials are largely apocryphal.</p>
<p>I’d look at Northwestern for the pre-med track. I think it’s supposed to be really good. I’m not sure, but I think it’s a BS/MD track if you’re interested in that</p>
<p>Have you thought about west coast schools (Stanford, Pomona, etc)?</p>