Muhlenberg vs Lafayette College for Pre-Med

My son was accepted into both Muhlenberg and Lafayette, with merit scholarships to both (Muhlenberg would be somewhat less expensive). He is interested in eventually becoming an MD. While Muhlenberg is higher rated, according to several sources, does any one know how its pre-med program compares to Lafayette’s? I realize that neither college has a specific “pre-med” major or track.

Lafayette is ranked considerably higher than Muhlenberg (if you care about that). My D14 is at Lafayette and intending on a medical career. She also got into Muhlenberg. She has enjoyed Laf and finds the curriculum to be rigorous.

@aristophil I just posted this on the Lafayette page but wanted it to also appear here. My daughter was accepted to Lafayette and Muhlenberg and a bunch of other schools. She chose Muhlenberg because of the significantly lower cost and the warm community. For now she is on the pre-med track and says the courses are very rigorous. Muhlenberg is known for having an outstanding pre-med program. She is having the best experience of her life at Muhlenberg.

Overall, Lafayette is higher ranked by most publications who produce rankings, but Muhlenberg may be better for pre-med and has an excellent reputation and track record for getting kids into med school.

Are you familiar with the Drexel medical school matriculation program that Muhlenberg offers? If not, then I’d suggest looking into it.

Other than that, Muhlenberg has been known to have excellent matriculation rates to medical school - while the science curriculum is vigorous, the staff nurtures its students so that they can be very competitive with students at other schools.

My friend’s (a Doc himself) son is at Muhlenberg. He chose Muhlenberg (large scholarship) over Pitt and UMich for Pre-Med. He is local to the area and has had an underwhelming experience so far (2nd semester). Top grades and test scores have been easy to come by. He maintains that school spirit is limited and that very few students of relative academic standards are there to challenge him. However, his main discontent is that he is missing out on a “full” college experience in these 4 years, since medical school will obviously be a grind.

@i012575 So sorry your friend’s son is not so happy. My daughter has found her pre-med classes to be very challenging and gets top grades as well. She would agree that school spirit is less than strong and feels disappointed about that, but she does go to games and has a great time. Hmmm. Maybe part of his discontent has to do with him staying local, especially if he is commuting to school. Transferring is always an option.