Looking for colleges - interested in medical field, suggestions?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello,
I'm currently a junior, but I've been looking into colleges for a while now. My sister and I are planning to take a trip over the summer to different colleges for me to get a "feel" of them (I realize that late summer isn't the best time for college visits, but it is the nly time I have). I was just looking for some suggestions, I'm generally drawn to Ivy League/top twenty, but I know that there are a lot of great colleges out there that are often overlooked for the more prestigious schools, so I figured I'd come to CC and ask around.</p>

<p>As stated in the title, I'm interested in the medical field. I don't know exactly what I want to major in yet but I have been looking at cellular biology, genetics, epidemiology, and global health (I may just major in something broad, like biochemistry) and I know that I want to minor in Spanish. </p>

<p>Some of my stats:</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0</p>

<p>Classes: all honors classes freshman/sophomore year (AP not available to underclassmen)
Junior Year: AP English Lang., APUSH, AP Spanish Lang., AP Chemistry, and Trigonometry/Pre-Calc (H).
Senior Year (plan to take): AP English Lit, AP Gov., AP Physics, AP Calc, and either AP Psychology or AP Biology.</p>

<p>Standardized Tests:
-ACT: 34 (It wasn't actually "official" but my school offered a legitimate test under same testing conditions, but it was for practice)
-PSAT: 208 (I'm disappointed in this, wasn't feeling my best on testing day, and its right on the cutoff for my state last year :/)
-SAT: haven't taken yet, will take in March</p>

<p>The schools I've decided to visit are:
-Northwestern University
-U of Chicago
-Tufts University
-Dartmouth College
-Brown University
-Columbia University
(We'll mainly be on the east coast)</p>

<p>I'd appreciate any suggestions/information about programs at certain schools. Thank you so much. :)</p>

2

<p>Med School admissions is numbers driven so the undergraduate college that you attend, and even you major, is less important than your overall GPA, your GPA in the pre-med course sequence, and your MCAT score.</p>

<p>Med School is even more expensive than the private LACs, so you may want to choose a less expensive undergrad institution (or attend the one that offers you the best scholarship and financial aid) and save your money for Med School.</p>

<p>Your grades and exam scores put you in the running for a number of merit scholarships. Read through <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt; and see if anything looks good to you.</p>

3

<p>Why not check out a LAC or two? Many have strong sciences and a lot of faculty mentoring. They also don’t tend to have the aggressive ‘weeder class’ mentality that you find in schools with intro chem and bio classes of 200+ students. Check out Williams, Amherst or Middlebury - all preppy, but if you’re okay with Dartmouth, they should be fine too. And at least as competitive to get into as those already on your list.</p>

4

<p>You have excellent stats. To a certain extent, I agree with happymom; med school admissions is a numbers game, and the school you attend is often secondary to GPA, MCAT etc…</p>

<p>However, JHU, WUSTL, Duke, and Penn also have great premed programs. (Not sure how this would fit with your travel plans.) Finances may also play a role, as you are potentially in the running for significant financial packages at some of these schools, the top publics, and LACs. Good luck!</p>

5

<p>If you’re interested in medicine and looking at Brown, take a look at the PLME program ([Brown</a> University: Program in Liberal Medical Education](<a href=“The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University”>The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University)). I’m currently a first-year PLME and it’s amazing. Feel free to PM me for any information that isn’t given on the website. Looking at smaller LACs might also be a consideration - Swarthmore, Amherst, and Williams seem like good possibilities for you.</p>

6

<p>Since you are coming to the east coast, are interested in medicine, and are looking at top 20 universities–you should visit Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and Penn in Philly.</p>

7

<p>Until you have actual scores it’s hard to tell. </p>

<p>If you do get an ACT 34 in an actual test, that will be a strong score for top schools. :)</p>

<p>Thumper is right. Where you go to undergrad is less important for med schools than your GPA and MCAT score.</p>

<p>Sometimes students get focused on elite schools for pre-med, but then their GPA suffers because of a harsh grading curve. That makes getting into med school much harder. Med schools aren’t going to give you a “pass” for having a lower GPA from an elite school. </p>

<p>There’s a pre-med forum here on CC and you might want to visit it. </p>

<p>Thumper is also right about considering costs for undergrad since med school is soooo expensive. </p>

<p>Also, have you talked to your parents about how much they’ll spend on college? Although some top schools give great aid, it’s not unusual for these schools to expect a larger “family contribution” then the family is willing/able to pay. So, if you haven’t talked to your parents about how much they’ll pay, do so soon.</p>

8

<p>BTW…Nevada hasn’t had a NMSF cutoff score above 208 (at least in recent years), so you’re probably good with your score. :)</p>

9

<p>You should definitely apply to Hopkins and research their BME program. JHU has great research opportunities which makes it a strong school for pre-meds. </p>

<p>I wouldn’t be too worried about FA when applying to top schools, since most of them match the offers made by peers (or schools that are somewhat better). I know a student at JHU who got accepted at Harvard and a full grant but no aid at JHU. After contacting JHU, they agreed to give him a full tuition grant.</p>

10

<p>Thanks for all of the feedback. I’ll definitely be looking into some of the LACs. </p>

<p>I’ve talked to my parents about paying for college already and I know that financial aid is very important. My parents are small business owners and lately, with the dismal economy, they haven’t been doing very well. I’m looking into schools that meet most, if not all, demonstrated need. </p>

<p>Also, any suggestions for the west coast? My dad’s been bugging me about finding some potential colleges that are closer to home, so I figured I’d look into and maybe I’d find one I really liked. Again, thank you.</p>

11

<p>*I’ve talked to my parents about paying for college already and I know that financial aid is very important. My parents are small business owners and lately, with the dismal economy, they haven’t been doing very well. I’m looking into schools that meet most, if not all, demonstrated need. *</p>

<p>You’re a junior and it’s early 2011. Your first FAFSA will reflect the income your parents will earn this year. If your parents’ income increases, you won’t qualify for much.</p>

<p>And/or…if your parents’ income increases in some later year, you won’t qualify for much later.</p>

<p>So…the point is…just because your parents’ business wasn’t doing well in the past, you don’t know the future. You need to talk to your parents about that. If their business were to pick up this year to “normal or near normal”, how much would they pay? </p>

<p>Sometimes when people have had a decline in income, they have to spend quite awhile “recovering” from all that…which can mean that they won’t have the money for college if their income were to get back to normal. </p>

<p>Also…those who are self-employed sometimes find that schools expect them to contribute more than what might seem reasonable. It’s likely that even with a school that gives great aid, your parents may be expected to pay more than they are willing to pay.</p>

<p>You need to talk to your parents about all of this.</p>

<p>There was a mom last year who was very, very upset because her D got super aid her first year because the husband was unemployed for awhile. But then dad was re-employed, and the school took away nearly all aid…yet the family was in no position to start paying nearly full-freight because of the lingering negative affects (debt, etc) from the dad’s previous unemployment. </p>

<p>So…I would also recommend that you are certain to have some financial safety schools. Schools that you know that you can afford from family funds and/or merit scholarships. </p>

<p>*Also, any suggestions for the west coast? My dad’s been bugging me about finding some potential colleges that are closer to home, so I figured I’d look into and maybe I’d find one I really liked. Again, thank you. *</p>

<p>USC if you make NMF (of course, your parents may be expected to pay more than they can afford).</p>

<p>Stanford…great aid for those who qualify</p>

<p>USF…for pre-med prep…may get good merit.</p>

<p>Santa Clara…really great school…may give merit.</p>

<p>USeattle…may give merit.</p>

<p>Again…since your goal is med school, you really just have to get yourself into a good school with good science courses.</p>

<p>Also…you need some real test scores…too many kids here on CC score differently on practice tests than they do on the “real thing.”</p>

12

<p>William & Mary, Davidson are two of the top pre med programs, esp if you want to have 60 degree day in Jan/Feb :)</p>

13

<p>mom2collegekids- I just want to say thank you. All of your advice has been fantastic and I greatly appreciate it. :slight_smile: I’m definitely looking into financial aid, both merit and need-based, and am also looking into many different scholarships. If all else fails (and I really hope it doesn’t) I will always have the public university and Millenium will pay for most that. What SAT/ACT scores do you think will make me competitive for these colleges? I’m also planning on taking SAT Subject Tests in Math II, Chem, and US History, but is it pointless to take USH?</p>