<p>I just submitted my Questbridge application and now I can start ranking the schools I'd like to attend. I'm an aspiring gynecologist, so I'll be doing pre-med and I might dabble in journalism as another major. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I have a question about my college choices. </p>
<p>I find the Liberal Arts Colleges to be very appealing. I just think the small class size and the ability to have a close relationship with my professor would be beneficial, judging by the way I learn. But my family thinks I'm crazy. They want me to go to a large, well-known institution like Brown. </p>
<p>Here's my question. My top LAC choices are Haverford, Dartmouth, and Swarthmore (I would personally rank them over Brown). So, does it "look better" to attend a LAC over a school like Brown, or vice versa? (I've already looked at average MCAT scores, medical school acceptance rates, and I know some of the LACs don't have "pre-med programs") Please give me your opinion, facts, stats, stories, or anything that may help. Thank you!</p>
<p>Second, look good to who? To graduate schools, I would say Swarthmore probably looks better than all the others. It can vary with the other three. To the world (and probably your family) big schools like Dartmouth and Brown look better.</p>
<p>Third, don’t worry about formal pre-medical programs. Just because you did not take a pre-med track doesn’t mean you won’t get into medical school.</p>
<p>If people have heard of Brown, then they almost certainly have heard of Haverford, Dartmouth, and Swarthmore. Certainly every medical school is familiar with them. All are just as respected as Brown. I am sure the Dartmouth has a “pre-med” program because it also has a med school (also it is not actually an LAC despite its name).</p>
<p>Personally, I too would prefer to go to any of those three rather than Brown. I particularly like Haverford, and for what it is worth, my doctor went to Haverford and got his MD from Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. I’m not so worried about the pre-med “programs” because I know you can create your own schedule to include all the classes you need. </p>
<p>I mean “look better” as in, “Hey I went to a small private LAC” vs. "Hey I went to Brown University; ivy league! "</p>
<p>Dartmouth is Ivy League too. I truly doubt that anybody impressed by Brown will not be impressed by the three you mentioned. People might, or might not, be impressed by attending Pomona or Oberlin. All the ones you have mentioned are truly elite. </p>
<p>Personally, I think it is a mistake to choose a college in order to impress anybody. You should not even try to impress yourself. The best fit is the best choice.</p>
<p>Thanks NROTCgrad. You’ve been so helpful! I’m really liking Dartmouth now that you’ve said that. Iondondad, could you tell me more about your visit? Haverford was actually my first choice. </p>
<p>Dartmouth has a very different vibe from those other schools. If you genuinely like all the schools, I’d follow the money and not worry about the name. Go to whichever one you genuinely like that will allow you to graduate with the least amount of debt.</p>
<p>For pre-med purposes, any of these schools should be fine from a courses and curriculum standpoint. However, check to see how easy it would be to get to typical pre-med extracurriculars from each campus. Of course, grade inflation, net price, and other factors need to be considered.</p>
<p>Dartmouth does consider itself a liberal arts college, by the way; yes, it has graduate schools, but they are very self-contained and do not impinge on the undergraduate experience. On the other hand, it offers much better research opportunities than many small LACs (I wouldn’t say that was true of Haverford or Swarthmore, though), and its biology department has excellent interface with the medical school, should you so desire. If you are female, you should know about their Women in Science Program (<a href=“Home | Women in Science Project”>Home | Women in Science Project), which offers mentoring and paid jobs for female undergrads in the sciences and engineering. My daughter was offered a paid job with her science professor during her first semester, and she worked with him all year on his research project. </p>
<p>Brown, of course, has the PMLE program, allowing you to get both BA and MD degrees in 8 years, but you have to apply to it when you apply to the college in the first place. </p>
<p>But Haverford and Swarthmore are also very excellent choices. I think it would be tough to argue that any of these schools offer “the best” education for a premed, and the name of your undergraduate school will not matter nearly as much as the affection you feel for it while attending, and afterward. What it comes down to is the one at which you feel the best connection, with the kids and with the campus. Brown is a city school; the students are more self-consciously intellectual than at Dartmouth, from what my kids have told me. Dartmouth is rural, obviously, with a very strong outdoors vibe that some kids love and some hate. (My daughter has tried hard to get her brother to come to Dartmouth, but he’s applying to Brown.) Haverford is very small, which you might appreciate–and its biology program is stellar; Swarthmore students take pride in their work ethic and their intellectual fortitude. </p>