Having trouble researching colleges for pre-med

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hey! Im a high school junior and Im REALLY having problems finding schools that I should be researching.</p>

<p>My SAT(2090): M 710 W 710 CR 670 and my WGPA 3.86. Im an average student and I need a school where I can earn a good GPA for admission into med school. I DEFINETELY WANT TO GO TO MED SCHOOL. I cant see myself doing anything else. :]</p>

<p>I just need somewhere to start...Im looking for a school (East coast/Midwest) that is a good stepping stone for Duke. </p>

<p>Im a California resident, but I am absolutely positive Im going to college elsewhere. </p>

<p>a list of reache and safe schools will really help me.
ANY ADVICE IS MUCH APPRECIATED! thanks!</p>

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<p>absolutely ANY feedback is appreciated!!!!!!</p>

3

<p>Hey, you have the same SAT as me!</p>

<p>Anyways.. how about UIUC-GPPA program? University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign has a fast-track pre-med program (you finish in 7 years). However.. you want to go to Duke -- so how about Northwestern University?</p>

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<p>wouldn't Northwestern be a reach? Im trying to find a list of safeties. lol same SAT score...r u gonna take it again?</p>

5

<p>For pre-med, find a school that has strong sciences, but also a broad liberal arts core. Med schools are looking at LACs with favor right now. Amherst, Haverford, Carleton, Colby, Davidson, Hobart and William Smith, Middlebury, Oberlin, Lewis & Clark, Rhodes...</p>

<p>If you're specifically looking for matches: Davidson, Rhodes, and Oberlin would probably be in the right range. Hobart and William Smith and Lewis & Clark could possibly be safety-ish, depending on the rest of your application. Some of the others, such as Amherst and Middlebury might be good reaches.</p>

6

<p>For the most part undergraduate school doesn't matter in med school admissions.</p>

<p>The pre-med requirements are long on breadth but short on depth, so most schools won't be phenomenal in all the sciences. Conversely a school that is really great in one science won't be of much help unless you major in that subject. This is not to say that there aren't places that are better for pre-meds, just that the things that make a school better for a pre-med tend not to be things tied directly to the classroom. Things like quality advising, access to research opportunities, access to volunteer opportunities (especially clinical/hospital experiences), access to physicians who will allow you to shadow them, good interview prep, and chances to be involved on campus are more important for getting pre-meds the things medical schools are looking for. Unfortunately these are hard to quantify in any real, meaningful, accurate way. At one school, research may be very easy to come by, but it's impossible get involved on campus because everyone is an all-star and is trying to take on leadership positions. Conversely, other places may have great advising, but there's only one hospital to volunteer at, and they have a waiting list for people to take spots because EVERYONE wants to volunteer there. The one generalization I feel I can make is that at a smaller school, the opportunities that are available will be more readily apparent, perhaps even thrust upon you. At a larger school, they'll be there, but you may have to do a little searching, or asking around to find out what's possible (which may be far more than is imaginable at the smaller school). One example I have is my roommate went to a smaller school where a mock interview was scheduled for you by the pre-med adviser as soon as they learned you had submitted your AMCAS application. At my larger school, if I wanted a mock interview, I would have had to schedule it myself with Career Services and provide them with possible med school related questions for them to ask me. But if I had scheduled it, I would have received a tape of my performance plus analysis of my body language and voice inflections, along with written feedback.</p>

<p>So all that said, you should be looking for an undergrad school that has great fit for you, someplace where you'll have the best chance for success academically, socially, physically, and emotionally - all with great balance between those areas. For some people, an LAC like world changer suggested would be great. For others (like myself) that would have been really, really bad.</p>

<p>I'd worry less about finding a match based on your stats and focus far more on looking at things that will make a difference for you and your enjoyment of the college experience. For me, I was looking for a big place, a great college town, big time D1 athletics, and the right distance from home (and out of state). Through my experiences, I also realize that having a great Greek Community (fraternities and sororities) was a key part of my college experience and subsequent success (I wouldn't be in med school if it weren't for being in my fraternity) even though I wasn't looking for that initially. You might be looking for very different things though.</p>

<p>Moving on to major - choose whatever you have a true, genuine passion. Major also doesn't matter. The stats from the AAMC show that the majors of matriculants to med school are in the exact same ratio as the majors of applicants. This is not to say that aren't some medical schools with preferences for science majors or non-science majors (b/c there are at least a few which have come out publicly stating their preference) just that overall, it all balances out.</p>

<p>Finally, why are you so set on Duke for medical school? Medical school admissions are ridiculous, and most students only get one admission. Even phenomenal candidates (36 MCAT, 4.0, etc) applying to only top 20 schools are going to get maybe 2 or 3 admissions, if that. Just keep your options open is all I'm saying, and be happy to get in somewhere.</p>

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<p>Bigredmed, that was extremely insightful. I agree with you about finding a school that will eventually lead to a good college experience for me. BUT, I am having a BIG difficulty even begining to get a list of potential colleges that are not in California. Ask me about any college in Cali and I can advice you, but my lack of experience with out-of-state colleges is really starting to scare me. What are some potentials that you would advice me looking into? </p>

<p>Once again, your response was VERY helpful.</p>

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<p>Well I don't know you. What sorts of things are you looking for? I've given you a list of things that were important to me when I was in your shoes 7 years ago. </p>

<p>Do you want big or small?
Lots of sports? Prefer football or basketball or neither?
What type of college town? Small town/big city/something in between?
Is location a huge deal, or will you go anywhere?
Costs? Do you need a scholarship package to match what in-state tuition would be in CA (or lower if you're in one of the "flyover" states that I've lived my entire life in), or can you or your parents manage pretty much anything?
Are you really worried about prestige? Or would you travel to Missouri State University in Springfield MO if it was right for you?</p>

<p>I'm not going to necessarily be able to help you come up with any particular schools - that's not my forte, and I never explored colleges in depth because my criteria pointed me to large state publics within 3.5 hours of my house, all of which were schools I already knew a great deal about. I'm just good at asking the questions to get you to think about what you want.</p>

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<p>I really want you to go to a good undergraduate school that will save you a lot of money.</p>

<p>You should try to get full rides if you can. </p>

<p>Your life will be easier.</p>

10

<p>Bowdoin is a really good school for Pre-med. In general, Bowdoin's science courses are phenominal and all the faculty are approachable/ accessible. Research opportunities are abundant and many students are co-authored on a professor's journal publications. Also about 90% of Bowdoin applicants per year get accepted to at least 1 medical school (note the national average is only 50%). Finally, since your a CA resident, Bowdoin would take a good look at your application since Bowdoin is constantly trying to get a broad range of geographic regions represented in its student body.</p>

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<p>Tufts, Holy Cross, and Davidson all have great pre-med programs.</p>

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<p>Avoid using "medical school acceptance rates" as any sort of guideline. It's an easily manipulated statistic and since some schools actively screen their potential applicants, allowing only the most competitive to apply, schools that don't screen are at an inherent disadvantage. I'm personally of the opinion that the only people who should be deciding if someone is worthy to become a doctor are the admissions committees at medical schools, NOT some pre-med committee that is trying to keep their acceptance rate over 90% for marketing purposes. Nevermind the fact that acceptance rate gives you no idea of the quality of the pre-med experience.</p>

<p>Note that not all pre-med committees screen, but many do, although some far more actively than others. </p>

<p>I find it odd that everyone is suggesting LAC's despite no input from the OP that he's looking towards that direction at all...</p>

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<p>Bigredmed gives an important warning about picking schools based on med school acceptance rate and the role the advising committee plays in who gets to apply. In the Bowdoin premed FAQ it says
[quote]
When considering these statistics, it is important to keep in mind that we encourage individuals to apply when they are in a position to be realistic candidates.

[/quote]
I've replied on a few of these threads where someone touts a school for its 90+% admit rate, and so far every one of them has some sentence to this effect about counseling undergrads and dissuading the weaker ones from applying.</p>

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<p>to tell you the truth, I dont know why or why not people would choose a LAC. Are there ceratin pros and cons of attending a LAC? </p>

<p>Oh, by the way, Im a "she" :]</p>

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<p>Sorry about calling you a "he"...I usually try to stay gender neutral until I know for sure...but i'm mid test week and a little sleep deprived.</p>

<p>Depends on what you are looking for...and exactly which LAC you go to as well probably. What someone currently at an LAC might find as a plus, I might find as a huge negative.</p>

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<p>My son is accepted to McGill in the Science faculty and is excited about meeting students from all over the world; he wants no hand-holding, and since he is mature, I'm all for it. However, he has med school in mind, and I haven't been able to find any information about the advising there, if any. He definitely would need support to pull this off. I've read there are undergraduate research opportunities, but they don't have any kind of premed program listed in their catalog or on their Web site. If anyone has any first-hand knowledge of McGill, we could use some help.</p>

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<p>University of Miami has an amazing pre med program. the best in Florida and one of the best in the nation. consistently ranked in the top 10. Its very hard to get in though, but if u get in, its a great place to do medecine.</p>

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<p>I would advise staying away from pre-med progrms. Study something you're interested in. You don't need the stress and competition that being stuck with a bunch of other pre-meds will bring you. I applied to med school after several years out of college and had to take biology and organic chem for the first time in my life (engineering major). I did the 1st semester of bio at night during the spring and the other 3 classes (2nd semester bio, org. chem 1 & 2) over the summer. Was told by another student in my org chem class that I'd never get into med school with a C on my college transcript (in quantum mechanics). He was wrong, although I kind of wish he hadn't been. That summer was my only experience being around pre-meds. What a miserable bunch of stressed-out people!</p>

<p>In med school, the students who seemed to adjust to the clinical years best were those with nursing degrees. Something to consider. In the long run, it didn't seem to matter at all what anyone majored in as an undergrad.</p>

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<p>eg1: you make a good point. </p>

<p>I was considerig of majoring in Art History as well. Its something Im interested in (besides BIO) and enjoy learning. :]</p>

<p>Bigredmed: As far as I know, one of the pluses of going to a LAC would be the intimate enviroment. I'd prefer going to a smaller school in a college town. Besides that, academically esp., Im not sure what to expect. </p>

<p>I've also heard the advice of not using the "med acceptance rates" before. And Im glad that people are warning others about this. Previously I was ignorant regarding these stats. </p>

<p>What are your opinions regarding U of M-Anne Arbor? Would I have a chance...uh, Im back at the "chances" question. That's not good. :]
And yes, Im familiar with the weather...I used to live in Chicago. So that's not a problem. But environment wise what are your opinions?</p>

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<p>I'm not denying that some people might find "intimate environment" a big plus. I personally wouldn't is all I'm saying. If that's right for you, that's right for you. </p>

<p>What I'm trying to say is that an LAC in the middle of nowhere might not have all the opportunities for say hospital volunteering that an LAC in a bigger city might. Or a really tough to get into LAC that's really small might make it hard to get any leadership positions on campus b/c everyone's really motivated and really talented to snap up those positions. Going to a bigger, perhaps less academically motivated school, like a state public might mean that leadership opportunities are available for the taking - as many as you can handle. </p>

<p>Even then though it depends on the particular student - some people thrive on being in an extremely competitive environment where they really have to work at beating equals. Other people do much better being the big fish in the little pond...</p>

<p>Again, look for fit that's best for you. I've previously given you an idea of some criteria you might decide is important for you, and personally that's how I'd go about it - define what your dream school, how you imagine spending your four or five years on campus, and then find schools that match that. What things are really important for you (positively or negatively), and what things don't really matter? Putting together some criteria like that may help others who know more about colleges give you some suggestions.</p>