Hi! I am a senior in high school and I am very interested in medical school. Any suggestions on strong pre med programs? (33 act and 3.85 gpa)
Pretty much any college can work. We need far more information. What state/region are you interested in? Are you looking for merit or need-based aid? Have you visited any colleges to know if you prefer urban, urban with a defined campus, suburban, or rural? How about size/type? Do you like LACs or Research Universities? Secular or religious? What majors interest you? (Pre med isn’t really a major - you choose a major you like and make sure you have pre-med requirement classes included or added to that.)
Good grades in colleges, a good MCAT score, and good recommendations for medical school will be more important in getting into medical school, than the name of your undergraduate school.
Whatever school it may be, you should think about getting into the “best school” that you can, in the sense that the “best school” is the one at which you can be your personal best. The “best school” for you may not be an Ivy League school, or some other place with great name recognition; it may be a place that you aren’t even aware of at this point in time.
As another poster on College Confidential once noted, “There is so much more to college than just academics, and there are plenty of jewels out there that are not top ranked. In the end where you find happiness is where you will more likely excel which is the ultimate goal. If you are hating life you are not going to do well no matter how great a school is or supposedly is. College is what you make of it no matter where you land.”
If you want to go pre-med then think about:
- The cheapest reasonable college so you/your parents can use the money for med school
- The college needs to prepare you for MCATs but still allow you to get a good GPA
- Access to volunteering opportunities (e.g., near a hospital)
- Success in graduates getting into med school
- Options if you don’t go to med school