<p>I’m a junior in high school and I’m starting to look at colleges. I want to get some college visits in this spring and more over the summer, but the problem is that I don’t even know where to begin to look! So hopefully you guys could help out with some ideas. </p>
<p>I’m an Asian-American and I live outside of Cleveland. I want to major in pre-med. I’m in the top 5% of my class, 10th or higher in rank at a private Catholic high school. I have a 4.4 + accum. I got a 208(0) on the PSAT and was in the 98th percentile. I took the SAT last year for practice and got a 1950. I took the PLAN last year and got a 29. I haven’t taken the SAT or the ACT yet this year. My ECs are above average, but could be better. My course load is the hardest possible at my school with all AP/honors (besides AP US History, which I did not take last year). </p>
<p>As for colleges, I really don’t know what I want yet. I don’t like rural areas and I need to be near a major hospital as I have a serious health condition that requires monitoring. Of course money is always an issue, but I’m not even really thinking about that right now. I’m just trying to make up a list of colleges to visit. </p>
<p>I’m going to visit Ohio State, Case Western, and Northwestern, but beyond that I have no idea. Any help would be appreciated!</p>
<p>PS: This is my first post here so if I’m doing something wrong, I apologize!</p>
<p>1) Pre-med is rarely a major at most schools, instead is it simply an advising category. If you take the pre-med requirements, then you are pre-med. Now, because most medical schools require a bachelor's you do have to major in something, but it can be anything - from art to accounting, history to biochemistry. Pick a major that interests you. Don't think you have to be a science major as major has no affect on admissions to medical school (the ratios of matriculants' majors are identical to applicants' majors)</p>
<p>2) As for school, in general, the name/prestige does not matter. You can be a pre-med anywhere and get into medical school. Going to a "name" school is not going to guarantee you anything. This is not to say that there aren't schools out there that are better for pre-meds than others, just that the typical ways in which you might think a school is better (ie whatever you think of when discussing why Ohio State isn't as good as Northwestern) aren't that important. What are important are a bunch of things which are very hard to quantify and compare in any reasonable fashion - access to professors, opportunities for research and campus involvement, openings for volunteering both in the community and at hospitals, the type of interview preparation provided by the school, etc. </p>
<p>3)Never make decisions base on how you think it will help you get into medical school. Whether major, minor, undergraduate institution, or even which campus organizations to join. Pick these things based on your interest, passion, and in the case of school - fit. Look for the school where you have the best chance of being successful in all aspects of college life - academically, socially, physically, emotionally, etc. The place where you'll be the happiest should be where you end up (realize that cost is a part of this equation though - if you're at some place where you're always nervous about how much you or your parents are paying, that may interfere with the fit). Part of this is because you'll be more successful if you are happy, and part of this is because the attrition rate for medical school is so high - if for some reason you decide to change your major, you need to be at a school where you'll still be successful. </p>
<p>As far as choosing colleges, that's not really my forte, so I'll let someone else handle that part of your post.</p>
<p>Excellent colleges near big hospitals where you'd be challenged but could still get a gaudy gpa (very important for med school admission) and could possibly get some financial aid: Clark U (Massachusetts), Fordham, Iowa, Tulane, Pittsburgh, Vermont, Colorado.</p>
<p>Committee's are a slightly, for lack of a better term, controversial subject. Some people have extremely positive experiences, other's don't. Again, the focus should be away from things that you explicitly think are going to help you with medical school, and more towards what's the absolute best place for you.</p>
<p>As for the hospital - if you're just volunteering there, recognition is unnecessary. Pretty much any sizable community is going to have a hospital - the question becomes will they have enough space to make getting a volunteer space easy to come by. This does give an advantage to larger cities. </p>
<p>If you have a keen interest in biomedical research, being near an academic medical center is of higher priority, but many such centers do have summer undergraduate research opportunities. Bench research at your undergrad institution would be just as beneficial so it comes down to interests. If you have an interest in clinical research over general bench research, than proximity to a major academic medical center would facilitate that...</p>