High School Pre-Med Student Making Decisions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Miami - Florida
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Hi, I am deciding between the University of Miami, and they gave me a bit of money but that isn’t really a huge factor (I still care though), and also UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, Princeton, University of Southern California, Emory, Vanderbilt, and UT Austin. I am pre-med and my priority is academics. UM was my safety, but I like the campus and I am taking the money into account. I am wondering- is UM prestigious enough for premed? Have any students gone and gotten into top medical schools (caliber of Harvard, Yale, etc.)? I am worried that it will not be rigorous enough or will be looked down upon by employers and medical schools. Please tell me your experiences. Thanks.

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There are some points you may want to ponder about.

Is medicine your final career choice? What if you changed your mind? What if you couldn’t get in any medical school? What do you want to major in? What are your favorite subjects? What are your strong subjects? What kind of undergrad experience do you want? Do you want a big school or a small one? Do you want to spend 4 years of your youth in a big bustling city or a small secluded town? Do you want an easy GPA or superb education? Do you care about prestige? How much is the cost difference and how are you going to pay it? Do you have acceptances at all the schools you named?

IMO you should wait for your acceptances and EFC estimates and then decide what works best. As far as getting into some medical school, UM is as good as any.

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I can give you my S personal experience with this. He was pre-med and chose Miami due to the Singer scholarship he was awarded. He graduated Miami Summa Cum Laude and with an MCAT score in the top 1%. He applied to most of the Top 20 med schools, and got into some. He didn’t get into all though. However, one of the top 20 med schools awarded him a 50% tuition scholarship, which he accepted. His class was full of undergrads from the schools you mentioned. He’s now a resident at Stanford. You can do very well with a Miami education. Just our experience…

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@VHFather 1) how hard was it for your S to find research and volunteer opportunities on campus, especially if you aren’t in HPM, HHMI, PRISM?

  1. If you aren’t in a special pre-med program does it put you at a disadvantage?

  2. What pre-med opportunities did your S do to get into amazing medical schools?

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@loveyourself2

  1. He didn’t have much trouble at all finding research opportunities.
  2. That didn’t seem to impact him
  3. Not too much. Top grades, top MCAT score and good research. In his experience, those were the key things!