I am a sophomore in HS, and am starting to generate my list of prospective colleges before scheduling visits.
Here is what I look for in a college:
Academic prestigie, especially for pre-med type majors. I have good grades and do very well on practice SATs, but I probably wouldn't get into Harvard.
small to medium size student body
in a mild or warmer climate (at least milder than my native Ohio)
in a more urban setting (I don't need NYC, but I do want an urban feel)
ideally close to the coast
Public/private doesn't matter, although I realize that many smaller schools will be private
Cost doesn't matter for right now. I'll worry about that later
Here’s the list I have so far. The first 3 schools are a stretch, meaning it’s less likely I’ll get accepted.
Johns Hopkins
Duke
Georgetown
Emory
Tulane
Rice
Wake Forest
Davidson
William & Mary
Occidental
Vanderbilt
George Washington
Rollins
University of Miami
I’ll also have an in-state public university as a safety school.
How do the schools on my list stack up against what I’m looking for in a college? I’ll do my own research, and eventually make some visits, but want to see what you all can tell me from personal experience or knowledge. Tell me what the surrounding city is like, what the student body is like, climate, academics, etc.
Start with cost. Talk to your parents about what they will contribute. For each college of interest, run the net price calculator or have your parents do it before you do a lot of work (or expensive visits) looking into the college.
Medical school is expensive, and you want to save money and avoid debt for undergraduate.
College prestige is much less important for medical school admission than for goals like management consulting and investment banking.
Prestige of the school is the least important factor for medical school admission. If you are serious about medical school, go to Ohio State or Miami Univ, take the pre-med prerequisites, major in whatever you want, and get a killer score on the MCAT.
Or chase merit money at a small private institution.
Good list! Hope it works out for you! Word of advice though. Pre-med undergrad does not mean that much. It more matters about your GPA than you undergrad institution from what I understand. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that is something you would want to consider. I sent you a PM with a brief description of the schools where I know someone who attended. Good luck!
Ucbalumnus, I’m not asking for advice on whether or not I should worry about cost. I said I’ll worry about that later. I really need to make sure that the colleges on my list fit my criteria. I doubt cost will be a problem with any of them.
brantley, I’m not asking for opinions on whether it is worthwhile aiming for a prestigious school. I’m asking how the colleges I have listed fit the criteria I listed.
joecollege44, I can definitely see Davidson not being urban. But isn’t W&M close to Norfolk? Do you know if it’s easily accessible to students? Or do they just stick around Williamsburg? And isn’t Winston-Salem a decent sized town?
irish2022, thank you so much for your DM. That was exactly what I’m looking for on here! I’m not too concerned with whether the university is big on athletics, although I’m sure I’ll get into it if I end up at a university that is big on sports.
You’ve made it clear that you don’t want to hear this, but it is a fact: Medical schools don’t care whether the college you attended is “prestigious”.
We know a doctor who attended Harvard Medical School after graduating from Chico State in California and a UCSF Medical school graduate who attended Eckerd in Florida.
Other schools to research and consider:
Rhodes College in Memphis (research and volunteer opportunities at St Jude’s and other medical centers)
Eckerd in FL
Willamette or Lewis & Clark in OR
If you are a girl, check out Scripps in CA and Agnes Scott in GA.
In my research I never really read about W&M students taking advantage of Norfolk- everyone just weighs in on their opinions about Williamsburg (which are mixed).
And I don’t think most people would call the city of Winston-Salem a real plus for Wake, unless all you care about are volunteer opportunities.
@BBeatty The following from your list increasingly are becoming reach category schools although COVID may upend things. Vandy and Rice are the highest reaches among them.
Emory
Tulane
Rice
Wake Forest
Davidson
William & Mary (for OOS)
Vanderbilt
While it does not fit your preference for OOS and mild weather, Case Western might be worth looking at for premed. Also unpredictable for admission these days but worth checking out.
U of Southern California, which also a reach, would fit most of your requirements and at present offers half and full tuition merit scholarships for National Merit scholars.
The other USC (South Carolina) might be worth considering as a match and has a good honors program.
I know you are a teenager, but here’s a bit of advice: Do not seek advice from people who won’t look at your questions holistically. Part of seeking advice is finding out if you are even asking the right questions. If you are not open to that, then you are not seeking advice. You are simply demanding that people answer you.
Your reply is an example of rigid, black-and-white thinking, which does not bode well for college applications or for being a good doctor. As you mature, you will find that open and flexible thinking is your friend.
This is good to know. I looked at a map again, and W&M is further from Norfolk than I thought. I previously thought it was 10 miles away, but it seems it’s a bit further than that. What do the reviews say about Williamsburg?
I’m also curious about what you’ve heard about Winston-Salem. Is it not a nice city?
Every, single one of these things is an objective trait that can be looked up on the websites and ranking sites. If you look on a map, you will know if the school is close to the coast, urban, and in a warmer climate. If you look at each school’s website, you will learn the size of the student body. If you look at US News college rankings, you will know how each one ranks. It would take about an hour of your time.
Every, single one of these things is an objective trait that can be looked up on the websites and ranking sites. If you look on a map, you will know if the school is close to the coast, urban, and in a warmer climate. If you look at each school’s website, you will learn the size of the student body. If you look at US News college rankings, you will know how each one ranks. It would take about an hour of your time.
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Not all of that is objective. I can tell if it is technically in a city, but I can’t tell what that city is like. Case in point: Wake Forest is technically in a decent-sized city, but someone on here mentioned that Winston-Salem doesn’t receive high praise from WF students. US news doesn’t tell everything, especially specific to pre-med type majors. You also can’t quantify what the student body is like.
Toured W&M and Wake. Neither is in an urban setting by any definition. W&M’s town is very, very small. We drove west to Newport News to try to check out the closest near city; it was not a quick drive.
Wake is also not urban. It’s a defined college campus with wide open lawns, close to, but not within (for practical matters) the city of Winston Salem.
You’re in Ohio, Ohio State is an example of urban, as in the city is a short bike ride away, campus edges on to downtownish areas, things like that. If you are interested not only in urban settings but colleges with a decent size city close by, that’s fine, they are just two separate things!
LMU in LA seems to check all of your boxes, my daughter goes there. (I don’t know about “prestige”, we didn’t really factor that in, but is is a fine school and Jesuit schools are usually very well regarded in that mid size range.