<p>Which one is better for pre-med? (both have early assurance programs)</p>
<p>Probably Drexel</p>
<p>bump.........</p>
<p>If you can get into Penn State Honors, definitely Penn State. The Schreyer Honors College used to boast that 100% of its students who applied to med school were accepted. I have no idea if that's still true (this was three years ago when I was looking at undergraduate schools), but it's a good program.</p>
<p>if Penn State is boasting a 100% acceptance rate out of any program, they're using an application screen in all liklihood, which could be a big red flag as far as going there. I have a pretty good familiarity with both schools so here's my take:</p>
<p>Penn State:
pros- stronger overall school if you go to university park, stronger bio department, has honors programs that will get you the special attention you need in the application process</p>
<p>cons- middle of nowhere, easy to get lost in seas of students if not in honors program, some classes may use harsh state school grading curves.</p>
<p>Drexel:
pros: urban campus and close proximity to several major hospitals (Penn's is actually the closest to the Drexel campus), smaller school</p>
<p>cons: univeristy is very geared towards immediate job placement rather than immediate grad school enrollment (hence the co-op program), incredibly overpriced in terms of tuition, Penn students tend to take most of the plum internships/jobs when there is overlap in applicants between the two schools (they're right next to each other if you've never been there)</p>
<p>Honestly, neither school is a prime destination for premeds, but if your choice is between the two, I would air towards Penn State if you're a Pennslyvania resident and can get into University Park (assuming you don't mind living amongst cows and corn)</p>
<p>the only reason i applied to the schools is for the early assurance programs. drexel's program's seems a little less tougher than the penn state early assurance program </p>
<p>thanks for all the opinions</p>
<p>If you come to penn state, be ready to work additionally hard for high grades. Like philly mentioned, the grading curves are extremely unfair and several departments were ordered to cut grade inflation within the next years. My eng comp class, for example, only gives out A's to students who score above the 96% mark, and other intro classes, like psy or chem, will only give out an A if you get As on all exams for that class, which is infuriating. Penn State might have a large student body and be isolated, but it is extremely easy to get individualized attention/opportunities and administrative things done, you just have to take the initiative. The one thing that annoys me about psu is that it has that public school feel to it(classsroms are not state of the art, people write on the desks and on bathroom stalls, etc). Private schools tend to maintain more "polished" facilities and and be less rowdy in that there isn't always masses of people walking around, something I find appealing.</p>
<p>Also, why do you want to go out of state? I am from queens, btw.</p>
<p>well, i applied to a few BS/MD programs but have been rejected from most of them (waiting to hear back from one). so, these are two schools i heard of that had early assurance programs, so i applied to the schools.</p>
<p>Goodness. Depending on your options, picking a school simply because it has an Early Assurance program which you MIGHT stand a chance at later is a horrible idea. It's like the worst of both worlds: you get no guarantee AND it locks you into a less-desirable situation.</p>
<p>i know i have slim chances of getting into the early assurance progs. but I think both colleges would give a good undergraduate education and experience.</p>
<p>what about stony brook?</p>
<p>i applied to there as a safety and im not sure about going there. depends on where else i get accepted to.</p>
<p>Just to let you know, the early assurance programs you apply to after ~2 years of undergrad are EXTREMELY selective. Many of them have binding clauses that require you to attend their medical school. Also many have gpa and MCAT requirements. Also, you don't save any time (in terms of years of schooling). To be honest with you, I wouldn't choose an undergrad based on the fact that they have an early assurance program. If you get into better schools that you like better, then don't feel that you have to go the school with early assurance. Anyways, if you are going to choose, id say go to Penn state.</p>
<p>bump........</p>