<p>Hello. Forgive me if I am posting on the incorrect forum, but I'm completely new to websites such as this one; I assume that this is where I should post my question.
Anyways, I am hopefully heading to medical school after undergraduate, and I was wondering which LACs have strong science programs that would prepare me for med school. Are there any particular LACs that are known for sending their students to good med schools? I have no particular area specifications, and am thinking about majoring in a natural science like biology, chemistry, biochem, etc.
Thanks to anyone who replies!</p>
<p>There are lots of great LACs that are strong in science and have strong med school acceptance rates. Why don't you post a little more about yourself and what you want? Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore come immediately to mind, but very hard to get into. Franklin & Marshall is much less difficult from an admissions standpoint, but terrific. There are others that other posters will come up with.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply.
All right, so I lied in the previous post; ^.^ I really would like an LAC on the East Coast, Virginia or up. I want it to have a strong philosophy program as well, and I would like it to be a suburban area (although if the school were good, I might consider urban or rural). I also want it to have a good study abroad program, and a more liberal student body. That's all I can think of right now...</p>
<p>Holy Cross has an excellent pre-med program and is only 1 hour from Boston.</p>
<p>Definitely Harvey Mudd</p>
<p>Tufts is not exactly a LAC but is midsized and fits all of your descriptions</p>
<p>Colgate (it's not just a great toothpaste!)</p>
<p>Haverford.</p>
<p>Swarthmore would fit all the items on your list.</p>
<p>Gorgeous suburban Philadelphia location. Train station on campus that takes you 11 miles to downtown.</p>
<p>Bio is a particular specialty of the school, with very high numbers of majors going to med school and to research PhD programs.</p>
<p>Philosophy is also one of the school's strongest departments.</p>
<p>Student body is liberal politically, but not particularly "hippie" or outlandish. The school and students are very academically oriented. They study hard and enjoy professors who push them. The school has a history of social and civic engagement. The president refers to it as "ethical intelligence".</p>
<p>Financially robust institution with a huge endowment. One of the most ethnically diverse schools on the east coast, both in student body and faculty.</p>
<p>Study abroad options are solid. The school operates three of its own programs -- one in France, one in Poland, and one in Ghana. About 40% of students spend a semester abroad.</p>
<p>Downside? You have to be OK with working pretty hard. And, it's not a very preppy place. It's also pretty hard to get into.</p>
<p>Other options I would consider would be Williams and Amherst (but, these are just as hard to get into and don't match your criteria quite as well).</p>
<p>I haven't looked at premed spefically at any of these, but Haverford would definitely be worth looking at. Wesleyan would be worth a look-see in a larger LAC. Vasser would fit ppretty nicely. Oberlin in Ohio is probably a good match, although more rural. Several of the mid-west LACs (Grinnell, Carleton, etc.) are terrific schools and great admissions values because they aren't in popular locations.</p>
<p>Most of the other New England LACs are in pretty remote locations and tend towards the preppy side (although still "liberal". Bowdoin in Maine is a good school. </p>
<p>A little further down the selectivity scale, there are several solid LACs sprinkled around Eastern Pennsylvania. Lafayette, Franklin & Marshall, Dickinson, Gettysburg. These tend towards a preppier, harder partying crowd a bit that the Philadelphia schools. But, some of them are reasonable from an admissions standpoint, offer some nice merit aid, and are good solid schools.</p>
<p>If you are a girl, Wellesley in suburban Boston fits all your critiera. Bryn Mawr, Smith, and Mt. Holyoke are also terrific women's colleges and well worth considering. I think they are the best admissions values around.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wesleyan.edu/sciences/%5B/url%5D">http://www.wesleyan.edu/sciences/</a></p>
<p>Personally, I have to strongly suspect that if you're talking about sciences, Harvey Mudd is the way to go.</p>
<p>If you want to talk about biology, then you should strongly consider Reed.</p>
<p>"Reed is third in percentage of its graduates who go on to earn PhDs in all disciplines, after only Caltech and Harvey Mudd. Reed is first in this percentage in biology."</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_college%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_college</a></p>
<p>Could people please declare if they've got personal biases due to connections to specific schools? It gets agonizing to sort out...</p>
<p>I can declare that I have no personal connections (beyond simple admiration) for Reed, Harvey Mudd, or any other LAC.</p>
<p>northeast LACs strong in sciences:
Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Bucknell, Colgate, Denison, Franklin and Marshall, Hamilton, Haverford, Holy Cross, Middlebury, Oberlin, Swarthmore, Trinity (CT), Union, Vassar, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Williams, C of Wooster, Allegheny</p>
<p>Which LACs are non-preppy? I'm shocked to find out how much of UChicago is preppy...</p>