<p>I apologize for the length…</p>
<p>I see you have posted similar questions at a couple other school forums. I highly recommend that you look at the pre med forum and read BlueDevilmike’s guide to selecting pre med colleges. Here is the link: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1122176-bluedevilmikes-ten-step-guide-picking-premed-school.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1122176-bluedevilmikes-ten-step-guide-picking-premed-school.html</a></p>
<p>There are also many other threads on that forum that can answer your overall questions. </p>
<p>Not speaking in particular for NU, but statistically speaking about 50% of pre med students aren’t pre med by the time they graduate. They aren’t for a couple main reasons. They may not have done well in science classes. They may have done well in science but realize that their passion lies in a different science field rather than medicine. Or they may decide that medicine is not really for them. There is a lot of growing up and maturing between 18 to 22 years old and people change and their goals change. Some kids even start out as non pre med majors and decide later on to go to med school, so it works both ways. So my first best bit of advice is to pick a school that will continually interest her, challenge her, make her think and make her willing to strive for her goals. </p>
<p>I don’t know the average GPA for NU students applying to med school. To be competitive overall for med school, one needs at least a 3.6 GPA, with a 3.7 preferred, at least at 3.7 science/math GPA, a strong MCAT, lots of volunteering experience, research experience, strong letters of recommendation and a strong personal essay. Applying to med school is one huge crap shoot. It bears no resemblance at all to applying to college. It is in its’ own league. No matter where your D ends up going to school, she will need to work hard and get good grades and be pro-active. She will have to seek out research opportunities, volunteer, etc… She will also have to have a life – be social, do fun things, make new friends, try new foods, etc. She does not want to be burned out by the end of 4 years and have no interest in doing several more years of school and training. So second piece of advice – make sure D picks a school where she feels she can have a life too. Someplace where she feels comfortable. </p>
<p>DS went to NU. He worked hard and is the first to admit that there were plenty of times that he neglected having a life outside of school work. He regrets that and now wishes he did more. He did do a lot at NU though. He joined club sports, went to football games, hung with friends, went into the city, etc… but not as much as he wanted to do. He is in med school now, which does validate the hard work, but just two nights ago he told me that he has learned his lesson. He is trying to have a life now in med school and it is harder because of all the studying and work, but he is managing to go out and enjoy things more. He realizes that he needs a balance in his life if he wants to succeed. </p>
<p>As for getting into NYC/northeast med schools, NU is highly respected by NY area schools. No reason why she can’t apply to schools in that part of the country. Whether she gets an interview invite and then an admission invite depends upon all those variables I listed above. Med school applicants on average apply to 15-20 schools, get invites for interviews to a handful and are lucky to get one or two admissions. Most get only one admission offer. DS did get 4 admission offers including two in the NYC area. If your DS wants to go to med school in the northeast, then she will have to focus her application process on the NE. Choosing a college in the northeast just to improve chances of getting into a northeast med school makes no sense. You also asked about chances of getting into their top 5 choice. There really isn’t such a thing. Med school is med school and you take whichever one offers you an admission. As I said before, it is a total, complete crap shoot. </p>
<p>I cannot speak about specific statistics regarding NU. I can just speak from what I have seen and heard. DS had a terrific education at NU. Science classes were hard and he worked for his grades. (side note –no matter which school your D picks, all of them have a reputation for hard science classes. And if she can’t handle them, then she will have a hard time handling med school). Organic chem at NU is notoriously difficult but not impossible. DS used the pre-med counseling service all 4 years. There is a pre med club and they had different speakers throughout the years to talk about medicine, applying to med school, etc. Beginning his junior year, he went downtown to the medical center and volunteered a couple days a week at the medical center. There is a shuttle bus between the Evanston and downtown campus so it was easy to get back and forth. He also did a several week shadowing experience with an internal medicine doctor. Beginning the middle of his freshman year, he started doing research with one of his professors. He did that till the end of his sophomore year. He also was a science tutor and ran weekly study sessions for freshman and sophomore science students. This was through a program run by the university. He did club sports and traveled around the country competing and met alumni all over. He did so much more there – I can’t even remember half of the things that he did. (Again, I stress balance for your D. Not just grades and MCAT count for med school.)</p>
<p>DS had many friends that were pre med majors. Some changed their minds and they changed their focus for a variety of reasons. Some of his friends decided to delay med school and get Master degrees first since they felt that they needed stronger applications for whatever reason. Some of his friends had phenomenal grades but so-so MCAT scores or great MCAT and weaker GPA and also decided to delay med school for a year (you will see that no matter what school your D attends). Other friends applied and got into med schools all over the place. They tended to apply to schools around their home states. So some are west coast, some are mid west, some are northeast. </p>
<p>Again, my best advice is to pick the school that your D will be happiest at. If she is not happy, then that diminishes her chances to succeed. Pick the school that she feels most comfortable at. It is then up to her to make the best of the opportunities that are there. I have been reading that pre-med forum for years and I can tell you about students that went to smaller colleges, or less renowned colleges and have succeeded beyond imagination and are in med school now. </p>
<p>I love NU. I am so happy that DS went there. He had 4 terrific years there and he says he would do it all over again since he liked it there so much. He had some great professors. The quarter system allowed him to have a dual major. He had Chicago right outside his door. Evanston was a great college town and even has some very good restaurants. DS had fun there too! Even though he feels he didn’t balance life enough sometimes, he still had a life and enjoyed it. It is a great university and I highly recommend it. Your D will have a terrific education here. Her degree will be highly respected. She will have numerous opportunities for just about everything. She will meet people from all over the country and world. Your D won’t be making a bad decision to come here if this is where she chooses to attend. Please don’t get hung up on how many students fail chemistry, and how many have GPA’s above 3.75. Please look at the overall, the big picture. Look for the university that fits her, that she likes, the one she feels that she can succeed at. Hopefully NU is the one. She has 3 very strong schools to pick from and none of them have a reputation for being easy. Her success there and her grades will be up to her.</p>