For college, I’m most likely looking at Lewis & Clark or Willamette for my undergrad (Reed, USC, and Vassar are just too expensive). I love Portland, the L&C campus, and want a “weirder” school (why I applied to L&C and Reed), but which is better for a biochemistry major? Which has better pre-med advising (and acceptance rates into med school)? Is one more known/respected for medicine, or does that even matter? Which school is overall a better experience? Any other information on the schools would be great, as obviously this is a challenging decision to make. Thanks!
I don’t know about Willamette, but LC doesn’t keep statistics about Med/Law School admission. Both are no name schools, so compared to Reed or Vassar neither will offer a prestige advantage. Just go to the one where you’ll graduate with less debt.
A hard-working, motivated student can do well at either of those schools. Willamette is quite small and Salem is definitely not Portland, so think about where you will be happiest spending four years. I recommend an overnight visit at both schools and a face-to-face visit with the biochemistry faculty at each, if you have not already done so. And it’s always possible that you could decide to major in something else, so consider that as well. And yes, consider which school will leave you with the least financial debt.