Hi! I’m currently choosing between Tufts (Biomedical Science/ Biomedical Engineering), WashU (College of Arts and Sciences), and Cornell (Human Biology, Health, & Society @ Human Ecology College).
I was also accepted to Rice and Vanderbilt and waitlisted at Northwestern, so if you have any suggestions about these colleges, I am really open!
I am aim to go to med school and work in medicine, so any advice about these schools (academically, socially, advising, location, opportunities/internships/research etc.) would greatly be appreciated!
*financial aid is NOT a factor
Have only visited WashU and Vanderbilt. Both have beautiful campuses but WashU’s wins in my book. The most beautiful campus I have seen in the U.S. Both are great for pre-med but again, slight edge to washU. Vanderbilt is better if you wish more of a sport -focused college experience. Both have a welcoming feel. Vanderbilt slightly more urban feel. WashU felt safer. WashU had more open feel/green space. Vandy had more mature trees. WashU is next to an amazing huge park for biking/museums, with hospital complex on other side of the park. Vandy had hospital more incorporated into the undergrad campus (I actually felt this was a downside as it kind of separated the main campus from the freshman campus more). IDK if ambulance sirens would be more annoying to those on the freshman campus because of this - not sure. You have many great options!
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First of all, congratulations!
I have visited all of these campuses with my two kids.
The clear winner is Rice, with Vanderbilt second. Both compete for happiest students, with one of the two usually winning it.
But Rice has a special house culture, and for premeds the Texas Medical Center is literally across the street. This is the world’s largest hospital complex, and so the research opportunities for Rice premeds is unmatched anywhere else. Add to that it’s undergraduate focus and its low student to faculty ratio, and you have a special place.
And did I mention that Rice has the most stunning campus, by far? Take a look at photos from inside the quad. Yes, it really does look that good.
If safety is a big concern, Rice is in the safest neighborhood of the four. Tufts and Cornell and Vanderbilt are fine, but St Louis can get sketchy once you go a bit away from Wash U.
Cornell is big! I mean by that it takes forever to get from dorms to class, and from one part of campus to another. And Ithaca is isolated (we lost cell reception repeatedly while driving there) whereas all the others are in cities.
I don’t mean to dump on Wash U. It’s campus is nice, though not as nice as Rice. It has a Midwestern friendliness to it, and the cafeteria food was the best there among these five.
As for Tufts, it’s fine, but you have IMO better choices.
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thank you!! what do you think about Tufts’s early assurance program (apply for in sophomore year)? I thought that would be a huge plus considering I could be guaranteed into Tufts med school…
My DD was faced with a similar decision a year ago - Tufts, Wash U, Rice, and several Little Ivies. She chose Rice and a year later has no regrets. What clinched the deal for her were the residential colleges and the overall campus culture.
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Early Assurance Program | Tufts University School of Medicine describes it. Minimum eligibility is 3.7 college GPA overall and in science, with specified minimum grades in certain courses and specified science courses completed with grades by a certain time. It says that a majority of the 40-50 applicants each year are interviewed, with about half of those getting offers (so about 21-26 getting interviews and about 10-13 getting offers).
Obviously, you would have to find the cost of Tufts medical school (beyond Tufts undergraduate) acceptable.
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Of the schools on your list, my daughter applied to Rice, Vanderbilt, and Wash U and chose Rice She did not apply to Cornell or Tufts. She wanted a school in a big city with lots to do outside of school such as sporting and cultural events, museums restaurants, shopping etc. All of the schools on your list except Cornell fit that bill. Vanderbilt and Wash U have the Greek system. Rice does not. She was not interested in being in a sorority. Vanderbilt and Wash U are more preppy than Rice. Rice is full of laid back, casual, happy nerds. The Houston medical center is right across the street from Rice so there are lots of internship and research opportunities there. Vendy also has a great hospital on campus. You have many wonderful choices, any one of them would be lucky to have you.
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thank you for your advice!! how does your daughter feel about Rice pre-med advising
do you have any idea about how competitive Tuft’s early assurance program may be?
No idea, though if I were to guess, it is probably at least as or more competitive than normal medical school admission.
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I don’t know. She’s not in pre-med; she’s an Econ major.
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Thank you so much for your kind words, and congrats to your daughter as well! If you don’t mind me asking, did she commit to Rice? If so, what were the final factors she was considering that set Rice apart?
Ah I see, thank you though!
RE: Tufts early assurance program for Tufts SOM.
Admission is extremely competitive.
Also be aware that Tufts is the second most expensive medical school in the US (Most expensive is UIC OOS that clocks in at over $120K/year.) Tufts SOM COA is over $100K/year and FA will be mostly or only unsubsidized loans.
For Tufts and Cornell–check to see whether there are opportunities to do clinical volunteering nearly. Cornell’s med school is in NYC, not Ithaca, and Tufts’s med school is in downtown Boston, not Medford.
My daughter at Rice is not pre med either. She is Psychology/English double major. See this article about Rice premed advising. Perhaps some other Rice folks will chime in. Pre-Health Professions | Office of Academic Advising | Rice University
My daughter is a senior at Rice this year. She chose Rice based on fit. She did not want a school with a heavy emphasis on Greek life. She liked Rice’s residential college system. She liked the small size of the school and smaller size classes. We are from Houston so she was already familiar with the surrounding area and the beautiful campus. She knew some students that attended Rice. She visited the campus, spent an overnight at Rice, and attended admitted student day (in 2017). It was her first choice. Rice was slightly less expensive than some of the other schools, but not by a lot.
As someone who was trained as a psychologist, I think that a Psych/English double major is a wonderful idea. Great fiction writers are so successful at character development that they convey wonderful insights into human nature. This complements the study of psychology in the same way that reading great historical fiction that is well researched complements the study of History.
Best of luck to your daughter.
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Congrats on all your great options, I’m sure they reflect a ton of hard work and I don’t think you can go wrong here!
Just to throw in my experience as a recent WashU alum, I would describe the student body as curious, fun-loving, and multi-talented. I was never pre-med, but many of my friends are now in top med schools (often with great scholarships!) My understanding is that the WashU pre-med curriculum is known to be strong enough that students can major in pretty much anything and be competitive applicants – two of my pre-med friends were Spanish majors who spent a semester abroad in Chile. Take a look at Med Prep I & II, a popular lecture series on the realities of working in medicine + shadowing at the hospital. Great pre-med advising, student societies, and lots of cool local research jobs for undergrad and post-grads too.
I’d describe WashU’s campus as upscale suburban with easy access to the culture & events of a city – sports games, museums, concerts, restaurants, etc (similar to Tufts/Rice/Vanderbilt). Sure, you can find some rougher neighborhoods around St. Louis if you go looking, but not near where undergrads live. WashU has some Greek life, but there’s actually been a huge shift away from it in the last year, so it’s definitely not dominant – maybe 20% of students at this point, and no sorority houses, so people tend to mix pretty well.
For me (west-coaster), it was a good intro to the four seasons without being overwhelming – winter was pretty well done by mid-March, unlike Cornell or Tufts. Summer can be hot, but that’s the same at Vanderbilt and Rice, and there’s a certain magic in it 
If you’d like to talk to a pre-med undergrad or recent alum, I’m sure the admissions office would be happy to connect you. Good luck and have fun, wherever you go!
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