Pre-Med College Options

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>Currently, I am a sophomore and have begun to look into various colleges that have a genetics major (since this is not available at the undergraduate level for universities, I would also be interested in a microbiology concentration) which would allow me to take classes to fulfill all pre-med requirements.</p>

<p>I have seen the "typical" suggestions for where to go to, such as Harvard and MIT, but I know that there are other options that may be better for me and the specific major in which I hope to go into.
Some of the colleges in additions to the ones listed above that I have been looking into are (in no particular order):
1. Johns Hopkins
2. Cornell
3. University of Michigan
4. University of Chicago</p>

<p>The problem is that they all have programs that appeal to me (provided that I would be able to get into them - several would be a stretch) and I am having trouble narrowing down to a list of schools that I will apply to as a senior. Is there anything specific that I should look into to narrow down my list, or are there any other schools that I should consider for my interests? I would be hoping to take a Spanish minor as well, so I would want a school with a good romance languages department.</p>

<p>Any advice will help!</p>

2

<p>I will warn against going to UChicago for premed. It’s infamous for its harsh grading curve, which will hurt your GPA and ultimately your chances for getting into medical school (as med school admissions are primarily based on GPA and MCAT). I’ve also heard that JHU is also incredibly competitive (though less so than Chicago), but it does have a reputation as a top pre-med school for a reason. Your other choices look fine (Cornell, UMichigan, Harvard, MIT). Just keep in mind that the prestige of your undergraduate education is not a factor in medical school admissions - the reason you go to an impressive undergraduate school and not, say, a cheaper lower-tier state school, is for the better connections and research opportunities available to you at a higher-quality school.</p>

3

<p>The med school admissions rates for Uchicaga is comparable to the others on your list. By the way college attended can influence the admissions decesion.</p>