Daughter is interested in Bio major or Chem and possibly pursuing the pre med track. Can anyone give us information on the quality of the science programs and the med school admittance rate, and med schools admitted to?
HI, me again:-). My daughter is also premed- neuroscience and art major. We got a good impression of the science program when we were first looking at the school and so far she’s had a positive experience with her classes and already getting the opportunity to do some research next year so that is encouraging. Only one year personal experience so far tho.
Lafayette is a small school however and so the data on premed students and results isn’t huge. That said- the premed or actual Lafayette grad doctors we had spoken too all spoke very highly of the program and the premed advising and in general the school is very nurturing and Involved with the students so DD ultimately chose Lafayette over some other highly regarded premed programs such as Bucknell and CWRU.
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Excellent in science.
Med school admittance rate is meaningless (some colleges even include Caribbeans, which are a dead end especially with the new reform; some colleges restrict who’s allowed to apply so obviously they only allow top students and everybody else is stuck…)
As for “which med school”, that also is meaningless:
Many high school students who like science and people and don’t know what they’re interested in, then in college discover their skills and actual interests; some students are weeded out: about 2/3-3/4 students who think they’ll be premed senior year in high school don’t continue on that track. Of those 25%, only 40% get into ANY med school nationally. Students don’t care WHICH med school, especially since basic learning is the same, all med schools are considered good, all are tightly regulated (so that no doctor " skipped" something), and what will matter is ranking for residency.
For those who are really motivated by the medical profession, premeds do better if their college is supportive, offers lots of tutoring, and doesn’t “weed” (or minimally - meaning they don’t automatically cut a large number of students from each class.)
At Lafayette, the college is very supportive and weeding is minimal, but make no mistake, the level in the sciences is strong and even for good HS students this is no picnic.
Thank you for all of your info and insight! So very helpful! I agree and would be so pleased if she was at a college that actually was supportive in whatever she may ultimately pursue. Any other thoughts on Lafayette would be appreciated. It sounds like a place we need to visit!
My D (graduated in 2016) was not pre-med (although she considered it briefly) but did get a BS in psychology degree and took I think 6 science courses (2 Chem, 2 Physics, 2 Bio) and 2 calculus courses so she did get a solid STEM foundation at Lafayette that has served her very well in her grad school program.
She had a really wonderful experience at Lafayette. I have said this elsewhere, but I think that Lafayette has found that “secret sauce” whereby the students are engaged and challenged academically and yet they also have the time and energy to pursue other interests/activities while they are at the college. For example my D is into the arts and she played in the orchestra, was involved in theater productions, surprised us and joined a low-key sorority, did community service, and worked on research projects with professors (one of which was ultimately published in a peer reviewed journal). Not sure how she did it all, but it seemed to work. She developed wonderful friendships there and knew people involved in all kind of things from varsity sports to debate – in fact she is living with 3 friends from Lafayette now as they are all attending different grad programs at Columbia now.
Definitely worth a visit.
And I’d also caution you to fully understand any med school acceptance rates and they way schools calculate them (if they do) can vary wildly.
Thanks so much! One more question can you walk into town from the college?
You can (it is down the hill). I believe there are also shuttle buses.
Thanks! We finally visited the campus. It was a lovely campus.
I agree. We will be back in Easton in a couple of weeks to drop S off for year two. He can’t wait to get back!