<p>Initially, I was set on attending Pitt for neuroscience with a pre-med focus. My pap went to Pitt for his undergraduate degree and medical school, and I know that they have many opportunities for research in the area, which both lead me to going with Pitt. I went on an overnight campus visit, and I did like the campus, despite being a "small-town girl." </p>
<p>But earlier this fall, I visited Juniata College during the health professions and biology department day. Their director of health professions, Dr. Kirchhof-Glazier, was extremely informative and helpful. It just seemed like Juniata really gets involved and help pre-med students with the application process. </p>
<p>Seeing this, it raised my concerns that Pitt's advising for pre-meds won't be as helpful because they have so many students. I guess it's not right to compare yet - I just went on a general tour with Pitt, rather than a pre-med specific one. But still. Checking Pitt's website, it's not even clear who to contact for a personal visit, which leads me to believe that, well, Pitt will be an impersonal experience.</p>
<p>But a drawback for Juniata is that is doesn't offer a neuroscience major, and obviously, it's not surrounded by UPMC facilities for internships/research. I can still take neuroscience courses, because students have POEs rather than specific majors, but Pitt's neuroscience department is well-renowned, and would be more enriching than the courses Juniata offers in that area of study. </p>
<p>From your experience and knowledge, which pre-med program is better?</p>
<p>The pre-med program at Pitt is “better” in general, no question.</p>
<p>But the two colleges are much, much different: large, public Uni vs. a liberal arts college. And yes, public Unis are not as good at handholding (and advising) as are LACs. But with that said, Pitt has one of the to Neuro programs in the country.</p>
<p>btw: be wary of Juanitas’ statistics for med admissions. For one, the college requires a Committee letter/recommendation, so they screen out unlikelies in that way. And second, that numerator includes admissions to osteopathic schools of medicine.</p>
<p>If you are at all interested in neuroscience as a major, don’t go to Juniata. They do not offer anything remotely close as far as true neuroscience courses. Neuroscience is a research discipline, and there is no neuroscience research at Juniata College. If you are just interested in a pre-med track, it doesn’t matter as much, although there is no great advantage of going to Juniata. If you can’t get into med school from Pitt, you likely aren’t getting in from Juniata, unless it is simply the difference between you being able to excel (GPA wise) in a small setting vs a larger one. As far as navigating early career decisions in the health sciences, you certainly won’t be as exposed to the field in Huntingdon anywhere close to what you will be in Pittsburgh. If you don’t like the urban, big campus feel of Pitt, then take your time with looking at other schools, and don’t limit yourself to Pennsylvania. Pitt and Juniata are both good schools but they are very different, and they are in completely different stratospheres in regards to opportunities in the biosciences.</p>
<p>I definitely liked Pitt, it had character, and i guess you could say it seemed nicer compared to other schools I’ve visited in urban settings (cough, cough…temple.) I will be comfortable in either setting - location is not my primary concern, although I don’t want to be toooo far away (Pitt is about 2.5 hours, Juniata 45 minutes). </p>
<p>And since cost is a relatively important factor, I have been limiting myself to in state schools. (Yes, I know Juniata is private, and certainly more costly than Pitt, but I also qualify for certain academic scholarships there.)</p>
<p>I just wasn’t sure if there’d be an advantage to Juniata because it is so small, and it allows for more individual attention from professors/advisors. But I think even if this is the case, based on what you’ve said, and considering I have an interest in neuroscience, I’ll do well, if not better at Pitt. I want to major in neuroscience out of interest because of a family history of Alzheimer’s, not just because it fulfills many of the prereqs for med school.</p>
<p>So thank you guys, very helpful answers!</p>
<p>And anyone else who want to put their two cents in, please, do so! Every answer is appreciated!</p>
<p>^You are not the first to not being attracted to Pitt and surroundings. D. withdrew after an interview at Med. School despite of highly ranked school and opportunities. She said simply that she did not see herself going there. But it is very personal, you are the only person who can tell. It is very important to have a sense of belonging. Without it the superiority of the program will not work specifically for you, it will ork for those who feel that they belong there. Trust your own heart the most.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t discount Juniata. I am familiar with a couple Juniata grads who have done very well in med school. Juniata is highly respected regionally and may work in your favor. Remember your undergrad major is far less important than your passion for medicine, your clinical experiences, your gpa and your MCAT scores. You could major in anything and succeed in your pursuit of medicine as long as you get your prereqs in. </p>
<p>Neuroscience may be of interest, but it won’t earn significant (if any) extra ‘points’ in the med school admissions process. It can actually hurt you unless you truly excel. Med schools are looking the best students. A 3.8 in English may well trump a 3.2 in neuroscience, for example.</p>
<p>You should consider the big fish/little pond idea versus the big pond/little fish. True, the research opportunities are often more available at the Pitts of the world, but the Juniatas of the world often have wonderful research opportunities as well and the mentoring is often preferred at the smaller schools. </p>
<p>Unless you are really interested in research and will pursue research at any cost, I encourage you to consider a smaller LAC. At least don’t eliminate them from consideration at face value. </p>
<p>Regarding research opportunities; adding real research credentials to your med school application packet, including publications and presentations, can absolutely help get you into med school. It is particularly beneficial for the higher caliber medical schools where competition is the fiercest and these sorts of things can help set applicants apart. </p>
<p>And although there are absolutely cut-offs for GPAs and MCATs at med schools that applicants will need to obtain in order to get an interview, admission committees also know that a 3.8 in English is not equivalent to a 3.8 in Mathematics, Bioengineering, Neuroscience or Molecular Biology. You also have to demonstrate some interest in health sciences. You don’t have to major in them, per say, but you need the right science prereqs and a demonstrated interest in bio/health science at least other ways such as significant volunteering/clinical shadowing experiences. Research experience absolutely is a plus. While small LACs may give more personal attention to class work, the personal attention for training, career advice and development in the labs found at bigger schools simply isn’t available at many LACs because they just don’t have real working research labs. Nor is there necessary the opportunity to get recommendation letters from faculty, clinicians and scientists with the same name cache. At research schools you will likely be able to regularly interacting the MDs and PhDs if you seek those research or volunteering experiences.</p>
<p>If someone is going to excel better at a LAC, with small classes and more hand holding (and I’m not using that as a negative, just a reality), then they should go there. Again, you absolutely have to be able to get those high GPAs and MCATs. But if it doesn’t make a difference to a student, if they can excel the classroom in the same way but more independently, I would absolutely recommend going to a school with more opportunities in the bio and health sciences because it will be much easier to build a more competitive application at such schools. If someone is interested in a career as a Physician-Scientist (eventually applying for an MD-PhD program), then it is even doubly true.</p>
<p>“Neuroscience may be of interest, but it won’t earn significant (if any) extra ‘points’ in the med school admissions process.”
Couple comments:
-Do not set a goal of 3.2 in any major. It is NOT a good goal at all. The goal is 4.0 and 3.6+ should be an end result. Everything else is an obstacle, that you do not want to create.<br>
-Neurosicence in UG has NO background whatsoever for med. School. D. was a Neurosicence minor (did not complete, 2 classes short). She currently has Neuro block at Med. School. She said that her Neuro minor did not give her any advantages in regard to Med. School academics. She said, not even close.<br>
In regard to Research opportunities, they are absolutely everywhere, any non-ranked/low ranked college would have them and they are not hard to obtain at your UG, while it is almost impossible to do outside of your UG. Absolutely no need for any publications, at least to top 20s, do not know anything about top 10/top 5, etc.</p>
<p>College GPA / MCAT score - right it down, put on a wall. The rest comes after that. Any place where you feel happy (which will help with GPA and provide better environment to study for MCAT while still taking classes) is your #1 criteria for choosing college.</p>
<p>FWIW, the content of the courses will likely differ between the two schools. Two of my guys have recently been comparing Bio 101. One is at a small research U (Pitt ended up being his 2nd choice). The other is at a small LAC (not Juniata, but similar caliber stats-wise). There is FAR more “in depth” info in the research U class. When I asked for specifics I was told that the LAC class was “skimming the surface” whereas the research U “went into details.” Prodding for more, the example given was with cell replication. At the LAC they were taught “enzymes and proteins are involved with DNA separation…” At the research U they were going through which enzymes (by name) and what, specifically, they did. The LAC kid sat in on the research U kid’s class while visiting…</p>
<p>Either type of school can get you into med school, but if you truly are interested in research, I recommend a research U - though admittedly - this is based solely upon two schools basic Bio classes (no lower level Bio class available at either). It will definitely require more studying at the research U. The kid there loves it and is eager to delve into research soon. The kid at the LAC is happy with his choice (not heading to med school).</p>
<p>The quoted part is terrible advice, and I will pin my BS and PhD in Neuroscience, my med school courses that I took in grad school, and time teaching Neuroscience coursework to premeds on it. I don’t know where your D went to school or what courses she took, but they were obviously lacking at her UG. This is why it is important to pick universities with actual undergrad neuroscience departments or mature, thoroughly developed neuroscience programs. These are hard to find at LACs. Look for undergraduate courses like Neuroanatomy, Neurochemistry, Neurophysiology, Neurodevelopment, etc…taught by neuroscientists, not faculty pulled from a psychology program. A good undergrad program will have neuroanatomy that will make one of med school’s most notoriously difficult courses go by in a breeze. Neurophys, same thing. And available undergrad research experiences, doing real research (at least neuro research), are not created equally and absolutely not available everywhere, particularly at LACs. They are not impossible to do outside an UG, but unless you are in a urban environment with schools close by, a student would probably be limited to summer fellowship programs which provide a significantly inferior experience because you can not see any sort of substantial project through when restricted to a couple summer months. It is true publications aren’t necessary for med school admissions, but it can give an applicant a serious boost. They are absolutely necessary for anyone wishing to pursue a MD/PhD or similar program.</p>
<p>During a search to see how hard it is to get into Pitt Medical School I came Juniata vs. Pitt. for undergraduate studies. My son sent a text last night saying that his secondary application to Pitt Med School was submitted last night and I like to look at the rankings as he is doing the applications to see how he stacks up against the average student being accepted.</p>
<p>I know nothing about Pitt but hear that is is a really good undergrad college. I know this about Juniata. My son is a biology POE (major} and will graduate in 2014. He has done research at Juniata and travelled with that professor to Moravian and Princeton and will continue that research into his senior year (2014). When he was accepted to MIT to do research this summer it was one of the happiest days of his life and not something he thought possible since he is going to a tiny college. He recently scored a 36 on his MCAT. He says Juniata is hard but he feels while visiting other more elite colleges that he has been given everything that they have plus more since it is more personal at Juniata. His advisor which he calls “KG” is always helpful and fast in answering his questions…he needs advice from her a lot now that he is in the secondary application process of applying to medical schools. His roommates and friends are such great students as well and he is surrounded with professors who are always available. The professors often invite the students to their houses for dinner or to play musical instruments with their families. He has done well academically at Juniata and looking back we can say with certainty that it was the perfect choice for him. </p>
<p>I know picking a college is hard. I would say to follow your heart. Then, work hard to maintain a high GPA. Also, be involved so you have extra curriculars for med school applications. You will need to write about them and have advisor contact information for them. It’s a tough road but I know the dedication and drive that students have to achieve their goals. This can be done at Juniata…and you can apply to the best medical schools in the country from there.</p>
<p>Neurosicence in UG has NO background whatsoever for med. School</p>
<p>I’ve often suspected this. Too bad many premeds will insist on only attending undergrads that have that major because they think it will prepare them for med school and future career goals. I would think that a biochem major with maybe a psych minor would get a better prep for med school</p>
<p>Please use old threads for information only, do not post and revive them. If you want to ask a question or start a discussion, please use the New Thread button to start your own thread.</p>
<p>If you click on the member name, you will see an option to view the posting history, the OP has not been active on CC since Nov of last year.</p>