Hi, everyone. I’ve narrowed down my decision to Penn and Northwestern. I’ve visited both, and I’m really torn between the two universities. I’m aiming to double major in biology and Spanish (pre-med track), so if anyone could elaborate on the strengths/weaknesses of each school, I’d be really grateful. I’ll be posting this in the Northwestern forum, too, for more opinions. Thanks!
Penn’s pre-med statistics are 76% admitted to medical school, and an average MCATs of 33.9. http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/gradprof/healthprof/parents.php#success
Northwestern is an excellent school too, and I am sure they also have strong statistics, but I do not know what they are. You will receive an excellent education at either school.
@motivatedjunior cangrats! these are excellent choices. I would say Penn’s selling points are
- it has one of the very best/top ranked hospitals and medical schools
- the med school and hospital are right on campus and undergraduates have very easy access to research and volunteer opportunities there (two very big pluses on your med school app) (Penn really encourages and helps undergrads to do research)
- the research done in Penn Med/HUP is world-renowned (so a research position at HUP as an undergrad will be a rly big deal on your med school app)
4.Penn Med is known for admitting one of the largest percentages of the applicants who were Penn undergrads.
so overall based on your interest in medicine you will have more and higher quality opportunities at Penn.
Now apart from Penn’s specific strengths in terms of medical school/hospital/research:
the overwhelming majority of ugrad cross admits choose Penn over Northwestern. I have also noticed that each year there are quite a few transfers to Penn from northwestern. also overall Penn’s departments are ranked higher. in terms of quality of life, Penn is known for its vibrant social life. i am not so sure how life is at Northwestern.
@motivatedjunior also one concern you might have that i didnt address is that there is a reputation that Penn pre-med is cutthroat. It is cutthroat because penn has no rampant grade inflation like some other ivies but it is definitely not cutthroat to the point that your fellow students will sabotage you or anything. And i dont think grade inflation wise penn and northwestern are that different. If you play it right, i.e pick a relatively easy major, spread your med school required classes across your undergraduate career wisely so that you are never overloaded and you can give 110%percent in each of them and also focus on getting a research position at HUP( which is that hard at all for committed pre med students at Penn)then you will be fine. I want to stress especially the research part. Being able to write that you did research with Penn Med and HUP and even getting a rcommendation from one of your supervisors ( who are most prob gonna be some of the very best in their field) will rly give you a huge edge in the med school application process.
Thanks, everyone!!
Penn is warmer than NW