Are they all very good or is one or two’s lacking?
Also how are they considered for pre-med students? When checking rankings for their chemistry programs I definitely see some inconsistencies.
Northwestern is usually in the top 10-20 while WashU and Notre Dame can be in the top 10 for one ranking, top 20 for another, and then not in the top 50 or ranked at 100 on another ranking.
There are no undergraduate subject rankings except in Engineering. That being said, Northwestern’s Chemistry department is exceptional (top 5-10 nationally at the graduate level). Notre Dame and WUSTL are not as strong in Chemistry, but they are just as good for premed purposes. If it comes down to those three, you want to consider finances and fit above all else.
Amen.
Ditto. Amen.
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Also how are they considered for pre-med students?<<<
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Premed students aren’t chemists. Premed students take a limited number (and mostly LOW levels) of bio, Chem, physics, and math…and the rest of their chosen major.
There is nothing “premed” about those prerequisite classes. Schools don’t prepare you for med school and they don’t prepare you for the MCAT.
All of those schools (and 100s of others) are fine for med school. I was reading about the this year’s entry class at my son’s med school. The first year students are from 60 different undergrads. When my son was a first year, the number coming from different undergrads was similar (57). And that’s just one med school. Another med school may be reporting new students from another 50 colleges…and so on.
IMO they are peer institutions academically. Choose the school that: 1) is financially realistic given med school costs down the road and 2) has the environment you prefer.
I second happy1’s advice If your primary goal is to get into a med school. But if you have a passion for chemistry and want to learn from the leading experts, Northwestern has the clear edge. Northwestern is usually ranked within top-10 in the world.