I am a Biochemistry major and Neuroscience minor who plans to attend medical school. I’d live to have available research opportunities and a successful application to a top med school. I’m very split right now and the deadline is nearing, so please help!!
Both of these have excellent pre med programs. So provided they both are equally affordable, you can choose between them based on size, location, what you’ve heard about the meals and dorms, availability of specific courses you want to take, etc.
Many students change their minds about med school along the way. If you wake up one morning hating biochem and neuroscience, what else might you like to study? Which of these places offers good alternates for you?
If you are still undecided, my vote is for Haverford. Mastering the skills of consensus and living under the honor code that derive from Haverford’s Quaker history will serve you well for the rest of your life.
Based on your academic interests and post-graduation goals, Haverford seems like your stronger choice.
Two totally different schools. For pre-med I would go with Haverford!
I think it’s a very personal choice though. size, location, honor code, should all be considered.
I think chances of excelling and being in a supportive non-competitive environment is way better at Haverford. Also, really important, research opportunities go to all students, no grad students to compete with at HC.
Both are excellent choices. Congrats on the acceptances.
IMO there are enough differences between the schools that (assuming they are equally affordable) you should pick based on your personal preference. Which is more appealing to you?
LAC v University
semesters v quarters
suburban v urban
D3 sports v Big 10
no Greek Life v Greek Life
What did you decide?
In what way? Northwestern allocates $3.5M to undergraduate research in case you don’t know.
these are academic peers and it’s really up to you. you know the differences.
haverford is very small- this is a plus for some people but a minus for others. If you have doubts about that then I would take the safe pick- NW.
I think it’s may be too simplistic to think just because there’s “no graduate students to compete with”, the research opportunites would be greater. Major research universities like Northwestern have way more research going on than any liberal arts colleges. Yes, there are graduate students but there are also more projects to go around. I think it really comes down to the leve lof support for undergraduate research when it comes to research universities. At Northwestern, they allocate around $3.5M for undergraduate research across all fields, probably among the highest out there.
If you want to do research, you will have no problem finding support at either school and both have plenty of opportunities for the ECs that med schools are looking for: While there are a lot of factors that affect med school acceptance rates, FWIW both schools have nearly identical MD acceptance rates and a nearly identical percentage of overall students who get into MD schools. GPA is a huge factor for med school, and as @happymomof1 notes, a lot of students change their minds about going to med school, so pick the school where you feel you will thrive academically, emotionally, etc. Congratulations on having a couple of very different but very awesome choices!
Very different campus cultures.
Without more info., Northwestern is the safer choice.
@IWannaHelp: You are right. Northwestern could be an excellent choice as well for undergraduate research, which covers one of the stated criteria. If the OP reappears on the thread, I’ll expand on my earlier reply.
On another thread, a poster suggested googling: Political Correctness Haverford College
The “pc” culture at Haverford College may or may not be important to you, but awareness is important as it is one of your two final choices and Haverford is a very small school.
Academically, both are outstanding schools.
For premed, I would strongly consider Haverford over NW because of the stress issue. NW is known for it’s extra-heavy course load and it’s generally a high-stress school. Very high-powered, competitive (and none of this is bad if this is what makes you thrive, OP!)
Haverford’s personality is to reduce stress. The lowered-stress exam culture at Haverford is something to consider. Also, as for size, H is very small, to be sure, but there are other campuses that are part of the consortium. Most students start at Haverford, get their feet under them, and branch out to BMC, Swarthmore, and UPenn later. It’s worth noting that BMC, its sister school, is known for one of the better Post-bac programs for premed. Looking into that might help you make your decision. As for urban vs suburban, H is only 11 miles (about) from Philly and it’s on a commuter line.
Best of luck to you!
I agree with the above poster that if you do not handle demanding academics and competition well, then Northwestern University may not be the best choice.
Neither have a biochemistry major, so not sure if OP means chem major and minor or concentration in biochem and a minor in nueroscience.
“If you wake up one morning hating biochem and neuroscience, what else might you like to study?”
Good point, if OP ends up changing outside of STEM, Haverford could be better, if STEM, especially engineering, then Northwestern, since Haverford doesn’t have engineering programs.
Easy to change majors at Northwestern University according to many posters & recent graduates of NU.
I don’t think you know/understand Haverford despite your continued insistence on posting about it like you do. The academics at Haverford are demanding and top notch but the school is structured to minimize competition.
Many super bright students who can handle rigor. They just choose to do so in a noncompetitive way which makes Haverford a place with a unique community.
Earlier in this thread I wrote: “Academically both are outstanding schools.”
Haverford is a small school with a very distinctive culture.
For pre-med, the liklihood is that Northwestern will be a bit more competitive.
Can you elaborate how Haverford reduce stress?
NU’s premed is stressful to many mainly because their organic chemistry sequence is taught at a faster pace and covers more materials than other schools do. Other than that, the “competition” is pretty much due to the limited percentages of As allocated to the premed courses and therefore, a signifcant fraction who are used to getting straight As in their high schools have to settle with Bs or even Cs by default. Does Haverford have more grade inflation? The premed students at NU often study in groups and are collaborative, however.