<p>I've been trying really hard to get a hold of some stats that may help me decide what colleges to apply to. I mean, there are like, a thousand bazillion out there, and I don't have time to look at all of them. I want some place with a good pre-med program. I want good professors who don't mind answering a few questions every now and then, even if it does take away twenty minutes of their precious research time. Some place with grade inflation, a good reputation, with a high percentage of pre-med students actually making it into med. I can't seem to find any place that says "Here are the schools that dish out the greatest percentage of med students." Now, now, I already know that Harvard and Hopkins are good programs, but I'm not looking for anything so rigorous I have to have cured cancer and gotten a 4.0 unweighted GPA and a 2400 SAT to get in. I'm interested in becoming a double major pre-med student going for bio and philosophy majors. If I'm majoring in both, I can't maintain my 4.0 and have at least some fun in college at a place so rigorous. I want a little time to take some fun courses in undergrad, double major, and have fun before I hit med, because once I hit med, my life disappears for eight years. I'll be specializing. Neurosurgery. Anywho, any help on sites with good stats or pre-med ratings, personal experience, stats on grade inflation and med school acceptance would be great. I've only found a few schools I'm interested in in so far.</p>
<p>Ok, maintaining a 4.0 as a double major in Bio and Philosophy is going to be basically impossible. College isn't high school. Unless you go to a flagship state U or community college. The VAST majority of students at top schools DO NOT have 4.0s. The perfect records of high school students are a result of grade inflation and a struggling public school system. Don't expect the same success when all of your peers are just as smart or smarter than you.</p>
<p>The schools that dish out the most premed schools tend to be the most selective colleges. This is not because the med schools "like" those universities and their students. It is because the best students tend to end up at the more selective schools, and will therefore have a better shot at me school.</p>
<p>Grade inflation is, unfortunately, something to look for in your college selection. It's probably best to steer clear of the tech schools like MIT/caltech(unless that is where you thrive, of course). Duke tends to fit the bill of successful premed students, as well as a thriving social scene. Also, look in the premed forum, you'll find a lot more info.</p>
<p>"Grade inflation is, unfortunately, something to look for in your college selection."</p>
<p>not necessarily - the average GPA for Swarthmore alumni-turned-medical students is about 0.2 points lower than the average GPA for American college students.</p>
<p>this site is good for a start - <a href="http://web.reed.edu/ir/phd.html%5B/url%5D">http://web.reed.edu/ir/phd.html</a></p>
<p>it ranks schools by "percentage of alumni that go on to receive PhDs in [this field]". a lot of them are liberal arts colleges.</p>
<p>you could also look at individual colleges' pre-med pages - for example Reed (<a href="http://web.reed.edu/ir/medschool.html%5B/url%5D">http://web.reed.edu/ir/medschool.html</a>) says it has a 71% med school acceptance rate from 2003-06 (keeping in mind that med school applicants are very self-selective). in comparison, incidentally, Swarthmore's rate is about 90% (in 2005 - last year I think it was 100%) - <a href="http://www.swarthmore.edu/x8889.xml%5B/url%5D">http://www.swarthmore.edu/x8889.xml</a></p>
<p>I think that Brandeis might be a good option for you. They have a pretty well respected pre-med program with good placement records, and almost every student has a minor/double major, which should fit the bill for what you're looking for. It is also not impossible to get into Brandeis like HYPS.</p>
<p>Wow, there's a pre-med forum? I didn't know I was posting in the wrong area. That may be helpful. Thanks oodles, guys, for the suggestions and links alike!</p>
<p>Bates and Amherst have good premed programs, and have big reputations nationally as well. Many doctors advise going to a smaller, liberal arts college for premed. In many areas, an LAC without a huge national reputation may be known as a good premed school.</p>
<p>Search for the posts by bigredmed, a current med student. Lots of good advice.</p>
<p>Be leery of searching for schools with high admit rates to med school, because that stat is easily manipulated. Many of them get that by controlling who applies to med school. Your school has to supply a "committee letter" when you apply, and a school can either refuse to write the letter or tell you "sure, we'll give you one, but we're going to put in it that we don't recommend you".</p>
<p>watch out for swarthmore. I believe it is swarthmore that the majority of applying/accepted students have taken time off after undergrad. Therefore, they have extra experience to make up for lower GPAs--so they maintain a high acceptance rate.</p>
<p>OMG!! i also aspire to be a neurosurgeon.</p>
<p>I hate to tell you, but when you becoming a neurosurgeon is like becoming a priest. You dedicate your entire life to the church of neurosurgery. Just for starters: medical school for 4 years, where you have to work your tail off to get a ns residency. NS residency which is 7 years of killing yourself. ( 11 years after college already accounted for.) Then when you are in practice, you will be on call running to the ER in the middle of the night. You will spend 6-8 hours on your feet to remove a brain tumor. You will be sued every year by an ungrateful service patient. You will pay over $100,000 per year in malpractice insurance. You will not have a family life.</p>
<p>That is why most people who say on this board that they will become neurosurgeons, do not.</p>
<p>Hey, I want to be a surgeon too! I also plan to study pre-med, and am looking for good undergrad schools that will give me a high acceptance rate for med-school.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.medschoolready.com%5B/url%5D">www.medschoolready.com</a></p>
<p>and check this out, this website is like an information treasure!</p>
<p>if you look at their profile, their GPA is like almost 4.0. It's crazy..</p>
<p>Well, im going to be a neuroscientist, but not a surgeon. how can you let yourself drill into someones head as peices of skull fly all over your smock like wood chips? lol</p>
<p>oldperson, what you said was not entirely true, in fact, most of it was exaggerated. also, i am aware of the dedication it will take. i am prepared for sleepless nights, years of schooling, and malpractice. however, neurology is my passion, and there's nothing anyone could say to sway me from it. </p>
<p>where would the world be if everyone just gave up on things just b/c it was "Hard". it is those individuals, who continue to fight for there dreams despite of it's difficulty, that are truly successful. imagine if ghandi, and MLK decided not to pursue civil rights and equality just because they didn't want to reap the consequences that protesting would bring.</p>
<p>Ummmm.... no offense, but you are both saying the same thing. I dont think old person was trying to discourage you, he was just stating a somewhat factual opinion- a lot of people drop out of neurosurgury (and medicine in general).</p>
<p>why not look into the programs at Muhlenberg <a href="http://www.muhlenberg.edu/%5B/url%5D">www.muhlenberg.edu/</a></p>
<p>i don't know if you're looking into any ivies, but i know that UPenn has a really good pre-med program - about 85% of their students who apply to med school get in. </p>
<p>i'm going to UPenn next year to major in biology - hopefully with a neuroscience concentration so i can become a neurosurgeon too (:
but i'm also looking into being a vet, so who knows.</p>
<p>but UPenn is a bit easier to get into than Harvard - i didn't have a 4.0 GPA or a 2400 SAT, and did not cure cancer (;</p>
<p>^ wow, a neurosurgeon or a vet.......those two are so different. best of luck to you.:)</p>