I am currently a high school student living in New York state. When I attend college I plane to major in chemistry on a pre med track. I am trying to find new schools that I should look at and consider. I took the SAT in October and got a 1410, but I haven’t taken the ACT yet. So far I am looking at Stony Brook University, Binghamton University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester, Northeastern University, Boston University and Tufts University.
In a school I am looking for a place that has great research opportunites, I know that a lot of that is on me, but it would be great if the location and nature of the school promoted research. Right now cost isn’t that much of a problem. Because I want to go to med school I would like to go to a school that has a medical school affiliated with it (not #1 priority) and has a high acceptance rate into medical school.
Please write down any suggestions and/or make comments on those that I have listed above. I could use all the help right now.
If you look at this
https://www.einstein.yu.edu/education/md-program/admissions/class-profile/
You will find med school is not particular of any specific college and prestige does nothing to their selection, they admit from all schools, from CCNY to Harvard. So whats important is to attend a school that you can afford, fit and do well with.
High acceptance rates mean nothing since you don’t know what percentage freshmen started out premed, nor do you know how colleges control applications - you only have what percentage succeed among those who survived the pre-req classes.
For large public universities, whether you can get into the Honors college will be a clue that you can make it as a premed. If you don’t get into Honors College, what makes you think you’ll do Better than the honors students? Being premed is just an intention - to make it onto med school, you need to be top 10-20% in every class you take.
Being at a college that provides lots of support (advising, tutoring, study group spaces) and has a collaborative vibe is very important.
Also, having a med school on campus doesn’t really matter.
If you’re in NYS, I’d strongly recommend Geneseo.
For undergrad research, look at LACs: St Lawrence, Dickinson, Wooster, Skidmore - plus of course all elite/nescac LACs .
University of Rochester is great for undergrad research. That was an important reason why my daughter chose that school. Many, if not most, of the bio/public health majors like my daughter have some kind of research job on campus. She got her first job in a research lab within weeks of starting schoool her freshman year.
I gave you my opinion in your previous thread on the exact same topic, but you didn’t want to hear it.
It really doesn’t matter what undergrad you go to if medical school is in your future. Nearly every college in the country offers the science coursework you need for med school. The rest—research, volunteering, shadowing, leadership? That’s all on you. The opportunities are there, but you have to go out and find them.
I had one D who attended the local state U; I had one D who attended Univ of Rochester. Guess what? They both had research. They both got personal mentoring from their professors. They both earned strong grades. They both had multiple acceptances to medical school. One is now in residency at an Ivy hospital in her chosen specialty. The other is out interviewing for her chosen specialty today. (She too has been invited to interview at Ivies and other elites as well as at top public programs in her specialty.)
My advice remains unchanged–pick a college that is a good fit, where you’ll be in the top 25% academically of entering students, and where the COA does not put you (or your parents!) into debt.
FWIW, the weeding at UR is substantial. About 1/3 (or more) of the incoming freshman class calls themselves pre-meds. Maybe 50 or so end up actually applying to med school. D2 used to tell a joke about life at UR–When you first get to UR and walk down the dorm hall, everyone is a pre-med. After gen chem 1, you walk down the hall and everyone is a econ major. By the end of freshman year and calc 2, you walk down the hall and suddenly everyone is a sociology major.
UR also screens which students it will support for a med school application. The health professions office sets minimum GPAs and MCAT scores for student to receive a committee LOR.
A MYOS has rightly pointed out acceptance rates aren’t meaningful because you don’t know how those rates are calculated. You don’t know how many started out as pre-meds. You don’t know whether those acceptance rates include just current students or current student plus alumni who have graduated as much as 5 years ago. You don’t know if those acceptance rates include MD-only, or MD and DO only, or to any health profession grad program, or to all of the previous plus overseas medical schools. Every college calculates its acceptance rates differently, and they calculate them in a way that reflects favorably on the college.
@WayOutWestMom That story made me laugh. It’s funny because it’s true. 
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You want to be in the top 25% of admitted students. Why? Because a lot of weeding goes on in the lower level bio, chem and physics classes, and all those students attending your college…you’ll be competing directly against them for the As you’ll need to have a med school worthy GPA/sGPA.
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This and then some. I would say be in the top 15% of admitted students.
Every year we see premeds mistakenly go to reach schools…and then suddenly they have GPAs that aren’t med school worthy.
It seems like most/all of the better schools in the US have about 3-4 times as many freshman premeds than they do senior premeds. As the old story goes, the prof in Bio I will ask how many are premed and nearly all the class will raise their hands. Then the prof says, look to your right and now look to your left. Only 1 of you will still be a premed by the time you’re seniors. (And less than half of America’s premed seniors will get into at least one US MD med school)
Colleges have to weed…all of them have to do this. Otherwise they know that they’ll have way too many applying …and then will have way too many disappointed students/parents. Each college knows approximately how many of their students will end up in a us md med school.
Going to a college with a med school is not necessary. Not only are the med schools sometimes miles away, but either way, undergrads are not roaming the halls of med schools.
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Right now cost isn’t that much of a problem.
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That is vague statement. Please ask your parents how much they’ll spend each year on college. Vague answers by parents can have bad consequences later. We’ve even seen situations where parents have repeatedly told their kids not to worry about cost…only to later find out that the parents wrongly thought that the child could just borrow all the costs.
Try to get a specific amount. If they say that they’ll pay all costs, follow up with something like; So if i go to a school that costs $70k per year, then you’ll pay all that cost? Get clarity because sometimes parents don’t know how expensive colleges have gotten, or they wrongly think their child wil get lots of scholarships or aid.
When applying to colleges, Pitt (University of Pittsburgh) really struck me as a great place to be a pre-med. They have a “So you want to be a doctor” day for prospective pre-med students. After that day I fell in love with the school. Its campus is adjacent to five hospitals alone, and is very well connected with UPMC (Pitt’s hospital network affiliate). They also have the GAP program you can apply to, which is guaranteed admission to their medical school straight out of undergrad (I’m guessing this is an extremely competitive program but still something to look in to). Lots of research opportunities for undergrads, and Pittsburgh is an awesome city.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chadorzel/2015/04/10/why-small-colleges-are-great-for-science-students/
Look into (as potential matches to reaches) Colby, Union, Swarthmore, Hamilton, Bowdoin, College of Wooster.