<p>Alexandre,
You have a point but given that the number (>300) is not small for NU (the arts and science school has about 1000 students though students from other schools can be premeds, to a lesser extent), I don’t expect the GPA range to be very narrow. It probably does have narrower/higher MCAT range given that its SAT range is higher. What I found surprising is that there were <em>less</em> premeds at UCLA/UCB than NU while Michigan’s numbers make more sense.</p>
<p>Sam Lee, several universities not ranked among the top 100 have 100% placement rates into Medical school. Looking at placement rates without looking into the specifics isn’t telling. 250/320 (80%) of Michigan applicants with 3.2+GPAs and 30+ MCAT scores got into a medical school last year. The problem is that 180/760 (25%) of Michigan applicants to medical school had sub 3.0 GPAs and/or sub 25 MCATs. Those students have virtually no chance of getting into a Medical school. I doubt that more than 5% of NU applicants to Med school have sub 3.0 GPAs and/or sub 25 MCAT scores. </p>
<p>Of the 300 or so Michigan applicants with 3.2+ GPAs and 30+ MCAT scores, 35-80 end up enrolling (not merely accepted mind you) into Michigan Medical school each year. Several others enroll into other top 10 Medical schools. Over the last 8 years, 400 Michigan students have enrolled into Michigan Medical school. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.med.umich.edu/Medschool/admissions/life/diversity.htm[/url]”>http://www.med.umich.edu/Medschool/admissions/life/diversity.htm</a></p>
<p>Very few universities have that kind of success rate.</p>
<p>Overall University of Michigan- Ann Arbor better pick.</p>
<p>Alexandre,</p>
<p>Looks like Wolverines perform better than the Bears/Bruins once the caliber of students are taken into account (250/320=78%, not 80% :p).
I emailed NU again to ask for average GPA/MCAT; hopefully, they are willing to tell me. But I do think the Wildcats have won by a FG. ;)</p>
<p>COOLBREEZZE - can you explain why you say its a better pick. I am not concerned about getting into med school. If he does well at either place I am confident he has a good chance for med school. </p>
<p>ALEXANDRE - I appreciate the stats, it was very informative. </p>
<p>also, being a city person, living in Ann Arbor is more like being in a city than in Evanston. (clubs, late night restaurants, performances, and all within walking distance). When the parties run out of stuff, including beer, its just a short walk to get more. Don’t know if things are that accessible in Evanston since its somewhat suburban. I hear that the students don’t often trek into Chicago. </p>
<p>He’s going back to see NU this week and Michigan next week. coming down to the wire.</p>
<p>NYer, when I was attending Northwestern, I ventured into Chicago many times. I was into the arts, so I visited the local museums and theatrical performances every quarter. In addition, I had to do community service projects in some Chicago neighborhoods for my major. I would say the city of Ann Arbor has a better night life than Evanston because it’s more pedestrian-friendly and compact, but once you cross into Chicago (Loop, North side) the bars and clubs are commonplace. Remember, Chicago has many other universities and young professional residents (under 30).</p>
<p>NYerr,</p>
<p>If you haven’t been to Evanston, you could be surprised by how urban it is:
[Community</a> Profile: Evanston, IL Real Estate – chicagotribune.com](<a href=“http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/communities/chi-evanston_chomes_0213feb13,0,6622787.story]Community”>http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/communities/chi-evanston_chomes_0213feb13,0,6622787.story)</p>
<p>In fact, according to the stats:
[Evanston</a>, Illinois - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evanston,_Illinois]Evanston”>Evanston, Illinois - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Evanston has the about the same population density as Wash DC.</p>
<p>Ann Arbor over Evanston as a college town. I have been to both many times.</p>
<p>
*****<strong><em>…or should i say bear</em></strong>*? </p>
<p>
I saw some pics of Ann Arbor on-line last night…reminded me of Berkeley (complete with white dude in dreds pounding on a drum)…;)</p>
<p>I lived in Chicago on the North side for a number of years so I am very familiar with it. (Lincoln Park, Rush St. Michigan Ave). This was before the Bears had the new field and the waterfront was revitalized. I have visited Ann Arbor many times. Ann Arbor is a great college town. Evanston is a lovely suburb and more upscale, sort of like the Main St. area in Ann Arbor which my son only went to when we visited. WE like pedestrian-friendly. That is a good way to describe Ann Arbor. My son is not impressed with rolling hills and fields of green, though a frisbee area is always nice. </p>
<p>I also wonder if they have pregame parties at NU. Its such a huge deal at Michigan. </p>
<p>trying to also get a handle on the quarter system at NU. its midterms at this time and finals at Michigan. very different. the workload at NU gets compacted into a shorter time period and they end so much later, too.</p>
<p>NYerr,</p>
<p>What about recent years? Evanston has seen a development boom during the last 15 years. </p>
<p>They do have pregame parties at NU, though they are admittedly not as big as Michigan’s.</p>
<p>While courses may go faster in quarter system, you have less courses to worry about at the same time. Also, the premed courses – orgo, bio, chemistry, and physics are all taught at the same pace as those in semester school–(3 quarters vs 2 semesters). Premed is not easy at NU (like most other places), but the difficulty has very little to do with the quarter system.</p>