My D wants to pursue the Pre-Med track and is looking at Baylor and Iowa University. She is a shy person, but very hard working.
We are not able to decide between these two colleges.
Does anyone have anything to say about class sizes, research opportunities, Professor interaction, MCAT prep?
Have heard Baylor has a Medical committee that helps students find a good fit for Med school.
We have been considering Iowa because it is in-state and costs significantly less when compared to Baylor.
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A good way to know if a university would be good for a would-be premed is to combine these factors: being top 25% at that particular university, a good “fit” for their personality (a place where they’ll thrive), relatively low cost (no debt or the federal limit of 5.5K for freshman year ), good overall level (T100 nationally for instance), having a Plan B with a major that reflects it.
Specialists will weigh in with details 
@WayOutWestMom has a topnotch post on another thread that should be required reading for all premeds and their parents, for instance.
Baylor has Committee letters that keep out students they worry might not get in (basically making it impossible for them to apply to med school) as well as pre-health advising starting sophomore and especially junior year – there are so many would be premeds among freshmen who won’t make it past General Biology and General Chemistry that it’s kind of a waste of time to advise them wrt med school.
UIowa: is she among the top 25% admits? Did she get into the honors college? What majors is she considering?
MCAT prep is on the student only.
Here’s my post on what to consider when picking a pre-med school:
Let me give the advice I’ve offered to others (including my own children).
First of all, take the whole idea of pre-med out of your search.
Pre-med is merely a set of mostly into level courses that are offered at nearly every college (and most community colleges) in the US.
Especially take pre-med out of your search equation because it’s estimated that between 60-75% of freshmen pre-meds will never actually apply to medical school. (The drop off isn’t merely due to the not having good enough grades for med school, but also because most pre-meds have no idea what the life of a doctor is like, or because they decide they really don’t want to postpone beginning their careers and lives for 15 or more years after high school. Or they discover an more compatible and interesting career during college. Our high schools do a really terrible job of career exploration for our young adults.)
Out of the remaining 25% or so of pre-meds who actually apply to med school, more than 60% get ZERO acceptances. 2020/21 was an especially competitive year for med school admissions and the percentage of accepted applicants is expected to be even lower.
With pre-med out of the search equation, I’d focus on finding the college for your child that offers the best combination of fit, affordability and opportunity.
Fit–because happier students do better academically
Affordability–because medical school is incredibly expensive (Think $75K-$100K/year) and there is almost no aid other than loans available. Pre-med are strongly advised to minimize undergrad debt. Successful pre-meds won’t be earning a “doctor’s salary” for 3-12 year post med school while their $250+K in unsubsidized loans continue accrue interest and capitalize.
Opportunity–because college is 4 years of your child’s life they will never get back. They need to enjoy it. Opportunity include the opportunity for them to explore new ideas and interests (including those don’t lead to med school). The opportunity to find mentoring from their professors (who they will need to write their LORs for med school.grad school or whatever path they decide to pursue). The opportunity to grow and develop as human beings. (Med schools are looking well rounded individuals with interests that go beyond science and who have demonstrated leadership capabilities.)
Successful pre meds come from every type of undergrad from brand name research universities to small rural LACs to directional state Us. The name of the college a student attends carries very little weight with med school adcomms.
Adcomms are looking for applicants who embody the personal characteristics of a good physician, who are academically able, who score well on standardized exams (medicine is one continual line of career-defining standardized exams), who have strong interpersonal and leadership skills, and who are able to communicate comfortably with a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds. These are things that no college can teach your child.
The main difference between colleges w/r/t pre-med is that some college may offer better advising and a few more resources than others. (Be aware, however, that many college pre-med advisors are terrible and your child may be better off seeking out outside advice when they go to apply.) Better resources may be helpful – like free academic tutoring, and access to nearby hospitals or clinics for volunteering opportunities.
Undergrads do NOT provide MCAT prep. That’s something a student needs to do for themselves.
At both Baylor and Iowa, introductory chem and biology classes are going to be large (200-400 person) lecture classes, with smaller recitation/supplemental instruction sections led by an undergrad or grad student. This will also be true for ochem and other intro classes like sociology and psychology. The sheer number of students wishing to take these classes prevents any other instructional model. Your daughter won’t have smaller science classes until she gets past the intro level. Although intro classes are large, it’s possible to still make a connection with the instructor by going to his/her office hours.
Both Baylor and Iowa offer research opportunities–though your daughter will have to be the one who initiates looking for a position. It’s not going to just be handed to her. (BTW, it’s common pre-med misconception that lab research is an important part of a med school application. It’s not. Community service, clinical volunteering and holding positions of leadership are rated more important than research in the annual survey of medical school admission deans. )
I think @MYOS1634 has touched upon what a health profession committee does. It doesn’t “help students find a good fit for Med school”; it’s job is to pre-screen med school applicants so only those most likely to get an acceptance are permitted to apply.
Let me add this experience one of my daughters had. She attended an undergrad in the Northeast that was known for its pre-med program. She was a highly successful student and excelled in her course work, ECs and research. She made close connections with a number of her professors. Wonderful, right? Actually not so much when it came to applying to med school. D wanted to return to the West and go to med school closer to home, but the advisors at her school knew absolutely nothing about western med schools and were unable to advise her about where to apply.
So take into consideration that Baylor is in TX and TX has its own in-state application process for med schools. The health profession committee at Baylor is likely not well versed in the nuances of AMCAS (which is the application system for everywhere else except TX) nor are they familiar with many of the med school programs outside of TX–such as those in your home state. (Your home state med school is always your student’s best chance for a med school acceptance. It’s her least expensive option also.)
Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.