<p>I am ashamed to admit that I have almost no clue which school excels at what (how I wrote that "why here not there" essay is beyond me). I'm interested in bio/pre-med and pre-business. All I know is that: WashU has more opportunities for bio, NU doesn't have pre-business but has other options like certificate program. Could anybody offer deeper insights into either school? :/</p>
<p>NU is better at engineering.</p>
<p>EDIT: I feel like I have to say “But WashU is better at …” so I don’t sound biased now…But I don’t know what WashU is good at.</p>
<p>WashU is handsdown better for premed; I don’t think anyone can dispute that. Pre-business would go to NU though so you pretty much should decide right now what you want to do or you might miss out on the better school.</p>
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<li>“I don’t think anyone can dispute that” - AKA “The Power of Marketing”</li>
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<p>I know I’m wasting my time, little match for the misinformation that promotes the idea that there is some magical formula that will make one college a “better pre-med school” than another. Universities that rely heavily on their medical schools for their overall rankings/reputations (e.g. Wash U and Hopkins) are happy to perpetuate this myth. </p>
<p>Were the OP to graduate from these two schools, or Northwestern or Chicago, or big Illinois or Michigan, or little Carleton or Grinnell, he/she would fare equally well all around. GPA and MCATs (THE big determinants of med school admission) would ultimately reflect inate ability and the effort one commits. </p>
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<li>Business recruiting at the highest levels will be somewhat stronger at Northwestern. Some of this will be because of Kellogg, some of this because of Chicago. Business as a major (with the exception of Wharton and MIT, possibly Stern and Ross) is sometimes frowned upon as a weaker, easier, undergrad track by many banks and top recruiters. On the other hand, at a less competitive tier of hiring, the business track can be seen as making for an smoother hire, with grads better prepped to “hit the ground running.”</li>
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<p>My ultimate “deeper insight”: Go where you think you’d be happier.</p>
<p>^^yeah; what s/he said.
seriously, a solid assessment and good advice</p>
<p>I’m not really sure what you’re trying to say Bala. WashU advertises its great med program so therefore it must be false advertisement? Lol. I can’t help but see the bias in your post when you agree with the second half of what I said (pro-NU) while you try to disprove the first half (pro-WashU). Oviously if the OP works hard from NU, med-school won’t be a problem, but are you honestly trying to say he wouldn’t have better pre-med opportunities from WashU? His question was which school is generally good at what, and it’s failrly common knowledge that NU has the advantage with any thing business/econ related while WashU has the edge for med. Overall I would agree that NU is probably the stronger school for what its worth, but I would say your last sentence is accurate.</p>
<p>Pre-med can mean a lot of things…as you know, you can major in anything and still be pre-med as long as you complete the required set of courses (5 or so of them?). What matters in the end is your GPA and MCAT. If you’re talking about the sciences specifically, WashU is not clearly better. If you’re talking about med school internships, WashU might have the edge if med schools really care where you interned (and even then NU still has a top med school). I doubt schools without med schools (e.g. Princeton, LACs) would be at a serious disadvantage, if at all. The OP should pick the school where he can thrive so he can be happy and get a nice GPA. I considered WashU and from my impression, the experience there would not be radically different. I would tell you though it’s tough to get a nice GPA at NU, especially in the sciences. A lot of pre-meds drop out (I personally know a few), and people used to take Orgo at Harvard in the summer when NU still accepted the credits because the class there is reputed to be easier. The same is probably true at WashU (about the tough grading), but I’m not sure.</p>
<p>Medical school admissions are most importantly about GPA and MCATs. “Value added” depends on the particular medical school. Some will intentionally seek a high percentage of admits with strong science based research credentials already established. Others will show preference for those interested in clinical medicine. Many seek a balance and look to insure a large number with humanistic qualities and demonstrated interests (and majors) outside the sciences (very in vogue of late).</p>
<p>There is nothing Wash U, Hopkins, or Northwestern for that matter, can do to skew the odds, influence this formula. Princeton or LACs - brebeuff’s examples - all without med school affiliates - will do just as good a job helping prepare a hopeful future doc. That same individual, at any of these schools, will fare equally well come med school application time.</p>
<p>Final point, one I’ve made before. A pre-med program is about as stressful as any undergrad. If this is the course you choose to take, think about whether you want to surround yourself on a campus where pre-meds dominate or one where diversity reigns. Much of Hopkins reputation for stress I feel is well deserved but related not to the school itself, but the simple preponderance of pre-meds on campus. Thank heavens for art, music and theater majors (and I mean this sincerely).</p>
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<p>It is the PERSON, their GPA and MCAT score that determines how they fare in med school applications. NU and WUSTL are both excellent schools that are similar in many regards – the big differences, honestly, are Chicago/Evanston vs St. Louis. The OP should pick whichever one he personally prefers (assuming there is no significant financial difference). Could we please stop with the myth that certain schools are “better” in pre-med? Could we please stop pretending there even is such a thing as pre-med, as opposed to simply X number of courses that med school applicants have to take? The school doesn’t get you into medical school; YOU get yourself into medical school.</p>
<p>Northwestern is miles ahead in business recruiting (finance/consulting). NU is a target school for Chicago while Washu is a complete non-target (not sure why, it’s not really worse academically). Also, nobody looks down on business majors, in fact, many smaller banks would rather recruit a UofI finance major than a NU chemical engineer.</p>
<p>Right, but there are actually business opportunities outside of finance/ consulting. Believe it or not. I am SO tired of all the high school seniors and college freshmen who seem to think that the only jobs in business are finance, consulting and i-banking. There are a million other jobs one might have. And you know, there are actual, real companies in St. Louis, too. Like Anheuser Busch, Brown Shoe, etc. And banks! And everything!</p>
<p>These differences are dancing on the head of a pin. What the OP prefers is where he should go.</p>
<p>I mean of course, if you are not looking for competitive business jobs, then it doesn’t really matter. But ibanking/consulting have the steepest learning curve and give the best exit opps out of all entry jobs. There is a reason why most top university students pursue these positions, however, everyone has to decide for themselves what kind of career they envision.</p>
<p>Northwestern.</p>
<p>Say you decide that Premed is not for you, (do poorly in orgo, competitive nature is repulsive, w/e the case may be a plurality of students drop the premed track), northwestern offers a great range of opportunities (journo, fine arts, business, engineering, etc).</p>
<p>Better recruiting, closer to the better of the two metro areas (Chicago) and broader opportunities.</p>
<p>I agree with the general sentiment that WashU and NU are great schools, and similar in many respects (smaller size, both well-regarded, etc.). Neither is going to give you better opportunities for pre-med or pre-law tracks (I believe the assertions that admissions to med or law school are based almost entirely on GPA+test scores). And I would agree with the general sentiment that NU’s proximity to Chicago/Kelogg school is going to give one a SLIGHT edge in terms of internship opportunities and recruitment. It’s not that St. Luis ISN’T a big city, because it’s big enough - but it’s not as big as Chicago. I believe this is true for any uni near a major city, from state schools to Top 20 privates…bigger city = slightly more opportunity. Big enough to be the make or break between two schools? Maybe not in this case.</p>
<p>So, ultimately, I agree with the general sentimet once again: go where you’ll be happiest. I hope you did pick that route in the end, if you’ve picked! Personally NU’s proximity to Chicago would make me go for it, not just for job opportunities (because those must be only slightly different), but also for the culture, fun, adventure, etc. a city like Chicago provides…if you’re still a youngin’, visit both and see what atmosphere you enjoy most.</p>
<p>it’s not just NU’s proximity to Chicago…it’s mainly NU’s name reputation in the business field that is going to give it a tremendous advantage over WashU…not slight.</p>