This topic interests me and I was wondering if anyone could shine some limelight onto this because I’ve heard many conflicting arguments on this issue. Some say that at a larger university your nothing more than a number while in a liberal arts college selection of a potential Med student is better estimated. I’ve also heard opposite arguments of what has been said. Could anyone mediate on this?
There are definite benefits to both types of schools (and mid-sized schools as well) so I’d choose the environment where you feel you will be happy and most successful. The best answer will not be the same for everyone.
^ Ditto to that. The pros & cons of LAC v. university have been discussed extensively on this board. Do a search for existing threads. Basically, it comes down to smaller class sizes for LACs v. more extensive course and program offerings for research universities. Also consider your personal preferences for big sports programs, Greek life, or other activities that may be better supported at a large school, or perhaps more inclusive at a small school. I haven’t noticed any evidence that either type offers a clear advantage for medical school preparation or admissions.
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while in a liberal arts college selection of a potential Med student is better estimated. I
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What does that mean???
Just go with whatever uni has better reputation. Nobody cares how many students there were at your university. Just make sure to not go with some obscure stuff nobody heard about (problem with some liberal arts) and avoid colleges with large dropout rates (common problem with large unis)
International applicant?
I am at UCI, a very large public research university, and I absolutely hate it.
As a pre-med, I would strongly advise an LAC because I’ve noticed that UCI professors don’t care about our education experience, and in most cases, “can’t be bothered.”
If I was going to learn chemistry, physics and biology, you’d be sure I’d appreciate a class run by someone who wants me to learn the material, and someone who is there for me to ask questions and improve my understanding.
Much to my surprise, this seems to be a trait exclusive to the LAC. In other words, if you truely value your education, and are intrinsiclly motivated, avoid research universities at all costs.
@fleetfeet2016 You’re premed at a UC. That by itself is asking for trouble. UCs are fine, more than fine. BUT, they’re over-ran with a gazillion premeds, the premed prereq classes are likely very large, and it’s harder for profs to take an interest in particular students.
Are you a freshman? It will likely get better as some premeds get weeded out, and you move up into upper division courses.
Some people assert that the best way to get into med school is to attend a college that is less challenging, because med schools don’t care about where you went to college, they only care about your GPA. The “be a big fish in the small pond” theory.
This may be an accurate characterization, but you also must consider the possibility that you might end up changing your mind a couple of years into college about whether you want to go to med school at all. And if that is the case, you may have sacrificed the opportunity to get the best possible education, and you might find that your degree from Less-Challenging U. might not serve you as well in the real world.
It’s a tough call.
Educationally, for an undergraduate, there is no negative in going to a liberal arts college.
Socially, you are dealing with an environment that is very different from a large school. If you are social then an LAC is great.
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Some people assert that the best way to get into med school is to attend a college that is less challenging, because med schools don’t care about where you went to college, they only care about your GPA. The “be a big fish in the small pond” theory.
This may be an accurate characterization, but you also must consider the possibility that you might end up changing your mind a couple of years into college about whether you want to go to med school at all. And if that is the case, you may have sacrificed the opportunity to get the best possible education, and you might find that your degree from Less-Challenging U. might not serve you as well in the real world.
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Unless it’s for financial reasons, I don’t think many of us recommend going to school where changing one’s major/career goal would matter. It’s not like we’re saying, “don’t go to Harvard, go to Podunk U with inadequate facilities instead.”
I don’t know if I’d agree that its asking for trouble. Instead I’d echo the classic “know yourself”. There are plenty of kids who went to a large UC and did just fine.
And I’m sure there are just as many replies out there by people that chose the big U and hated it.
Some kids thrive in a large U, willing to make the effort to get research opportunities and to know their profs, do fine in large lecture classes, etc. And while Chem 1 might not be the right class to get to know your prof when you are in there with 200+ other kids, as you enter upper-division and get closer to the time of applying to med school the classes will get saller. Others who choose the large U made a mistake and would have been better off at a smaller school. I don’t think we can give one piece of advice that fits all kids.
A fine example of a kid that made the wrong choice for themselves