I was wondering how the pre-med program is at UW, preferably explained by a UW student. How are the classes, how is the competition, what % typically get into med school, how is the course load, and what are some pros/cons and some facts? I would really like to go here. Thank you!
UW doesn’t offer a pre-med program, but everyone aiming for pre-health usually takes the same introductory series to fulfill the requirements for professional schools.
Competition is fierce, as expected, with many people changing their minds about going to med school after the first year. However, if you’re determined to get in, it’s definitely doable. Since classes are curved and the average grade for science courses is a 2.8, you just need to do better than the average on exams to stand out in terms of GPA. But keep in mind, class sizes are at least 200+ and you’ll be competing with other pre-health students. In my mind, this is one of the cons of going to such a large public school.
You’ll also need letters of rec for med school and with so many students in each class, it’s sometimes difficult to get to know the prof well unless you take courses with smaller class sizes.
On the other hand, because of its large size and prestige in the world of research, UW offers a wide variety of research on campus for undergrads. Research experience is not mandatory for applying to med school, but it’s definitely a big plus if you do have it.
What’s mandatory for med school admission, though, is shadowing hours. UWSOM is located in the UW campus, so there’s lots of opportunities for shadowing on campus, something that might be more difficult to find at smaller schools.
UWSOM doesn’t consider where you went for undergrad so it’s hard to give you a statistic for the % of UW students that get in.
Hopefully this helps you with your decision. Despite the cons I mentioned, I’m still glad I chose to go to UW 
One thing to understand is that there’s no such thing as a 'premed program '.
You’ll take biology classes with biology majors and will have to rank in the top 20% Of them. You’ll take physics with physics majors and will have to rank in the top 20% of them. You I’ll take chemistry with chemistry majors and will have to rank in the top 20% of them. You’ll also have to get A’s in English, psychology, sociology, a diversity - focused class, and in your chosen major.
With over half the students getting a grade below 3.0 no matter what, and med schools wanting a 3.6+ regardless if school attended, you have to think it through carefully. How SURE are you that you want to be a physician - vs. NP, PA, OT…?
If you’ve volunteered in clinics and have shadowed doctors, can deal with vomit, blood, urine on your shoes and clothes on a daily basis, have a strong foundation in chemistry (AP chemistry a needed preparatory class), got A’s in calculus and science, have taken all three biology, chemistry, and physics and got A’s, and clearly rank in the top 25% for gpa/test scores at UW, you have to basics to have a shot at succeeding in premed.
All in all though, for premeds whibare SURE they want to be doctors, a smaller college that’s both supportive and nurturing and not far from a hospital, is a better environment since it doesn’t purposely ‘weed out’.
Lewis and Clark, UPS, Willamette, even Whitman, would likely make med school more likely. Further away, Creighton, St Olaf, Rhodes, Muhlenberg are all very good at supporting premeds.