I’m absolutely certain about medicine, so I’m trying to find a school that will suit my needs best. So far, my top choices are the following (in no particular order): UVA, W&M, Rice, Johns Hopkins, and WashU in St Louis. University of Washington seems like a good safety (let me know if this seems unreasonable, but with 55% acceptance, I think it’s a pretty good safety).
Here are some of my stats:
GPA: 4.0 (unweighted), approximately 4.4 (weighted, but should be greater once it has been recalculated)
ACT: 35
SAT: 1500 (should I submit this considering my ACT is much better?)
SAT Subject: waiting, but I took Biology M and Math 2
Course load: Full IB student - for those unfamiliar with IB, it’s like taking a total of 12 APs junior and senior year, plus extra requirements.
Extracurriculars: President/founder of a few service organizations, volunteer at hospital, work at veterinary clinic, lots of musical activities, some scientific research (only one semi-cool project), etc
I’m trying to be really considerate of the financial burden of each institution as I narrow down my list. Since I’m from Virginia, W&M and UVA offer by far the best tuition, leaving me a lot in savings for med school. However, they’re not as prestigious as Rice, Johns Hopkins, or WashU.
I guess what I’m wondering is if going to a low-price school will affect my research, volunteer, and academic opportunities, especially as a pre-med who is hoping to get into a prestigious med school. If anyone has pre-med specific information about any (or all!) of these schools, I would love to learn more!
I wouldn’t go to university of Washington for pre-med especially if you’re not in-state. Have you looked into Virginia state schools? A safety means that your parents can afford it. Can they afford UW OOS tuition?
I haven’t given much thought to some of the safer VA schools (VCU, JMU, VTech, etc) because I know I wouldn’t like them. I’ve heard really good things about Washington for pre-med, and it seems conceivable that I could get some financial aid, but I’ll have to look at that more. Thanks!
Why would you go there as an OOS student. It’s premed isn’t better than anywhere else. It has a top med school but it won’t accept you because you’re not from a WWAMI state.
UWash isn’t known for giving much in merit scholarships so not much FA there and you wouldn’t get any need based aid…
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I’m from Virginia, W&M and UVA offer by far the best tuition, leaving me a lot in savings for med school. However, they’re not as prestigious as Rice, Johns Hopkins, or WashU.
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Why are you concerned about prestigious undergrads if you’re a premed student? Med schools don’t care about the names of undergrads.
How much do you have in your college savings acct? You’d be smart to save that for med school.
I’m definitely going to change my safety, thanks for the advice!
I’ve heard many differing opinions on med schools caring or not caring about the prestige of undergrad schools, but I’m inclined to agree with you. My biggest worry, though, isn’t the prestige so m uch as it is the resources. UVA has a lot of opportunities in the area, but it’s such a big school that it may be difficult to get those opportunities. W&M is certainly much smaller, so I would have better relationships with my professors, but there are less research opportunities because it doesn’t have a graduate school or many possible hospitals nearby. That’s why I’m still looking at the other three schools, since they all have terrific research and premed advising. At the same time, I could just put in a bit of extra work to build up my resume, though I wouldn’t have the advantage some people do.
Even considering this, I’m definitely leaning toward UVA and W&M ((though my heart tells me Rice). Their costs are definitely the most practical, and no matter what, I’ll have an amazing education at schools with good reputations. Since I think I can get into both, does anyone have some advice on how to choose between them?
You have very good options with W&M and UVA. I think both have very good admit rates from pre-med students. You mention concerns about opportunities at W&M, but most science majors at W&M actually do research with faculty and there are several hospitals that are fairly close by.
You’ll have to work hard in pre-med regardless of where you go. Choose some place where you think you can remain focused and happy.
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I’ve heard many differing opinions on med schools caring or not caring about the prestige of undergrad schools,
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From whom?
Seriously, random people will think that a school’s name matters, but they’re just assuming without any basis.
Med schools want the best future doctors no matter which US undergrad they come from. Sure, they’ll be concerned that an applicant from a directional may not have gotten the best education, but that’s where the MCAT acts as an equalizer. But you’re not considering directionals. You’re considering very good state schools as options and those are fine.
As for hospitals nearby… I think you’re not realizing that undergrads don’t have access to these hospitals except to possibly do some volunteering or maybe get a scribing job.
There isn’t mixing between the undergrads and med schools which is why it doesn’t matter if an undergrad has a med school or not. Undergrads aren’t roaming the halls of med schools. They won’t be given access.
JHU may have a great med school, but for an undergrad, it can be a grind.
Since you’re 100% certain that you want to go to med school, be careful that you don’t choose a school where all the other premeds will be top students like you. You may not survive, it will be harder to shine. Pick a good school, that you like, where you can be a star. You’ll get the best opportunities and the best LORs.
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guess what I’m wondering is if going to a low-price school will affect my research, volunteer, and academic opportunities, especially as a pre-med who is hoping to get into a prestigious med school. If anyone has pre-med specific information about any (or all!) of these schools,
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The price of a school isn’t what affects opportunities! UVA and VT are cheap for instate students, but they’re not lacking for opportunities.
Re: getting into a prestigious med school. Don’t get ahead of yourself. In a few short years you’ll be praying that you’ll get into any US med school. All US med schools are excellent. Unless you’re going for a MD/PhD (academic medicine), it’s not necessary to go to a tippy top name med school…at all. Med school education is flat. They all have to teach the same things.
Sure, if you’re going to want a top residency (and that can be important for some specialties, depending on your career goals), then you should try to aim for one of the 40 MD med schools that get the highest NIH funding…because the top programs do have a bias towards students from those med schools. My son just graduated from med school and he’ll be doing his residency at Harvard’s MGH, the #1 program for his specialty. His med school is one of the 40 with top NIH funding.
I agree with @mom2collegekids. Definitely try to go a college where you can get as high of a GPA as possible. Med schools don’t generally care about the prestige of the undergraduate college that you go to.
Also keep in mind that you will need a letter from the health professions committee. At big schools like UVA the committee is swamped writing letters for hundreds of students. At smaller schools like W&M you can get to know the committee members more intimately. Hence the letters will be better.
You’re right that the opportunities for research are more limited at smaller schools. Why not try for smaller colleges near a big medical center? Rice, Haverford, Richmond, GWU, etc? You will most certainly graduate at the top of your class. As long as you get a decent MCAT score you should be in great shape for medical school.
@sgopal2
UVA doesnt’ write Committee Letters. Schools that have several hundred applicants usually do not write them because they don’t have the resources. Schools like UFlorida, UCLA and Berkeley don’t either.
That’s ok, because med schools don’t require them from schools that don’t provide them.
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You will most certainly graduate at the top of your class
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I would never predict that particularly for a school like Rice. At Rice, she’d be surrounded by students just as strong or stronger than she is. They all can’t end up top of their class. Lol
Seriously, no one can predict how any top high school student will do in college. We’ve seen people with perfect high school stats and scores stumble big-time in college. College is more demanding than high school and many have trouble with the adjustment.
No matter where this student goes, even if it’s VCU, she will have to work very hard to be top of her class as a premed.
I’m currently advising a rising premed senior at George Mason. She went there on a full ride with top stats. Her GPA isn’t perfect (eng’g major) and it’s been shocking for this former tippy top high school student. I think she’ll make it into med school, but probably not a top one.
You have been offered some solid advice from parents who have gone through the process with their own children. In smaller schools or LAC’s, you may actually have better chances of working with your professors on their research as you do not have to compete with graduate students for those opportunities.
Med schools look at high GPA’s and MCAT scores. As mom2collegekids mentioned, the MCAT is a good equalizer. You want to attend a school where you will be able to complete the prerequisites with the highest GPA possible and at the lowest cost.
Remember also that medical school is expensive. So going to a lower cost undergraduate school can help in terms of keeping eventual total debt down at the end.
Also, staying in-state may make in-state public medical schools more accessible for interviews.
@mikemac I read the articles you provided, and I understand what you mentioned about research not being the most important factor. However, I still need clinical experience, which I was worried about with W&M, though I realize there are some hospitals nearby that I could gain experience from as a volunteer or by shadowing a physician.
Thank you for the articles, they’re very informative!
@ucbalumnus and @ECmotherx2 Lowest cost definitely makes me want to go to UVA or W&M, but I would still worry about GPA there. From what I understand, they have some serious grade deflation, which could hurt my chances of med school. I don’t know what the grading system is like at the other universities I mentioned, so I’ll need to do some research on that.
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Unless you’re going for a MD/PhD (academic medicine), it’s not necessary to go to a tippy top name med school…at all.
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I haven’t fully decided on this, but I definitely want to keep the option of getting a PhD. If I do decide to get a PhD, what resources would you recommend looking at for this?
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I’m currently advising a rising premed senior at George Mason. She went there on a full ride with top stats. Her GPA isn’t perfect (eng’g major) and it’s been shocking for this former tippy top high school student. I think she’ll make it into med school, but probably not a top one.
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I’m worried that I’ll find myself in a similar situation. I’ve never received anything below an A, and, at the risk of sounding pretentious, I’ve never had to work very hard to maintain an A. (I don’t shy away from hard work, I just don’t have to work much, even though I’m full IB)
Do you know how much consideration a med school will give to the rigor of a university when examining an applicant’s GPA? I’ve learned that UVA and W&M have grade deflation, so I’m worried about maintaining a competitive GPA (which I understand to be between a 3.7 and 4.0).
@ilylily112 This is a 2015 survey conducted by the Assoc. of American Medical Colleges that asked admission committees what they regarded as most important in a premed app.