What top LACs can provide good preparation for pre med students and research/shadowing opportunities? Preferably in the Northeast. Would I be better off just having research universities on my list? Financial aid is not an issue and I have a 35 ACT, 4.0 UW GPA, and good ECs. Thanks
Pre-med support and opportunities for undergraduate research tend to be among the strongest available at well-resourced liberal arts colleges. Internships themselves may be best suited towards summer intervals, though you will usually find a hospital or clinic located within proximity of the school regardless. With your academic background, you would be a strong student even within the selective NESCAC colleges. You could read through the health professions advising pages for schools such as Amherst, Williams, Hamilton, Bates et al for an idea as to the type of support they provide.
You should have a serious talk with your parents before you say whether financial aid is an issue. If you’re going full pay for an LAC undergrad and then full pay for med school, that’s something like a $600K outlay. Make sure that they know that before you state confidently that they will be paying for everything.
Focus on LACs known for a collaborative, supportive atmosphere. Top LACs will all have resources and research opportunities so you should be able to choose based on fit (ie., collaborative atmosphere) that will support your goals best.
I would visit a LAC, a mid-sized university, and a large research university and see which feels like the best fit. They all have strengths so if finances truly are not an issue then you can choose based on which environment you feel would be best for you. They can all prepare your well for med school
Price is never an issue until it’s an issue. I’d start with how much can you save going to “X” school, med/dental/professional schools are expensive.
The others have all made excellent points. I’ll just add a wrinkle. The ground is littered with the bones of once-hopeful pre-med students. One guy I went to school with switched to pre-law and is now a lawyer. My roommate in college switched to dental and became–wait for it–a dentist!
I’m not trying to be negative. Perhaps the OP has the determination to make it. I’m rooting for him/her. But perhaps the OP should also choose a school where, God forbid, if the med school route doesn’t take shape he/she will still receive an excellent education. Given the OP’s stats, that shouldn’t be an issue. As others have stated, you can get to medical school from anywhere.
The OP’s main question is about LACs, and the OP seems to be wondering if research universities would be better. Not necessarily. Smaller colleges often have more opportunities to do research since there are no graduate students to compete with. Large schools are getting better, however, at having opportunities for undergrads. You can get to medical school from either, so the more important question you should be considering is fit. I am biased, so I like the fact that LACs provide the close contact and support that most students need and desire; their commitment to undergraduate-only education (some LACs have limited graduate degrees, but the overall focus is still on undergraduates) means that you won’t get lost in the shuffle. If a particular class is challenging, you’ll have the ability to get help from the professor who will not be someone so dedicated to research that she/he is too busy to bother with undergrads.
There are downsides to LACs, but they’re all non-academic in nature. You can get into medical school from anywhere, but you need to do some soul searching about what sort of college you’d like to attend. LACs are not a poorer choice because they are not research universities; in fact, that is their strength.
why do you think that might make you better off?
At research universities, you’re competing with grad students for research work. And guess who gets priority?
I do understand financial is not an issue. But to a premed, it is essential to pick a school you like And you are the top 25% of the class. One of the elements to measure your ranking is if you receive top merit scholarship or not. Using this as a selection criteria will guide you to a successful med school placement.
I agree with @Hapworth. My DD was premed at Williams and is now at a highly competitive med school, which is every single med school in the US. She was a biology major and the majority of her bio major friends were all premed. In fact, around ten of them started a premed study group in freshman year. Like I said, there were around ten of them, and only one other girl is in med school. Another got into med school but decided to go to vet school instead. Some of the others are in grad school for biology, engineering, and public health. Another is in dental school. Others have gone into finance, teaching, and journalism. DD isn’t sure what happened to the other few, but it wasn’t med school. Some of them didn’t go to med school because they didn’t get the grades in the premed req classes, some didn’t get the MCAT score, but some found a different path in college that they realized was more suited to them than being an MD. The point is: don’t choose a school because it will help with your med school plans because you probably won’t be going to med school. This means choosing a school where you can get a full ride so you can use that money you save for med school or choosing a research university over a LAC to get more shadowing opportunities. So if you want to go to a LAC then please do not choose one based on premed reasons; choose the ones you like the best.
Pre med or pre health studies is inclusive of veterinary dental medical and applied graduate research focused paths. It can also veer to a PA or pharmacological path. It’s all basically the same pre med path of required sciences math physics and English/writing
Participating in research is not a required EC for med school, especially if you see yourself treating patients; nor will it help you if your research experience consists of doing grunt work for PhD/grad students. Below is a survey where med schools ranked importance of various application components in deciding to offer an interview.
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https://www.aamc.org/download/462316/data/mcatguide.pdfnts.
Also I couldn’t find it, but somewhere I read that approx. 15% of med schools students listed no research experiences on their applications.
apologize for wrong link above
https://www.aamc.org/download/462316/data/mcatguide.pdf