Can anyone tell me about how UA compares across the various campuses for a pre-med student?
Would my son regret not going to UA-B’hman (where the med school is) instead of UA-Tuscaloosa?
Specifically, for a pre-med student with 5 years of “free” tuition on the table, so enough to get a BS+MS before med school (if desired)?
Thoughts? Experiences?
Thanks!!
There’s no reason to go to UAB where the med school is. Undergrads don’t really have access to the med school like some would imagine.
What info are you seeking in regards to comparing UA as a premed student across campuses?
Sounds like your son is a likely NMF. If so, he could do well at any Alabama campus if he sets his mind to it.
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Homeschooled throughout. 4.0 (unweighted) GPA – not terribly meaningful since he’s homeschooled. Academically rigorous studies. Fluent in Spanish, 4 years of math, music, science, English, history, Spanish, etc.
Anticipated NMF (based on PSAT score of 212 and living in WV which has pretty much the lowest of any state cutoff historically. Only took SAT once in 10th grade with no prep, and got a 1960. Will be retaking it in October and also the ACT in September. I predict substantially higher scores, since he will be prepping and obviously is older/further along. Most likely should be in the top 1-2% of national scores based on his other testing, etc.
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And does he still intend to be a ChemE premed?
Yes, my son is a NM Semifinalist; Finalist status pending the NMSC process. Thanks!
That’s actually a big relief that UAB doesn’t offer any big advantages. Thank you!
His sister is in T’town (2 years ahead) and the two of them are great friends, so I’d much prefer it if he ended up in T’town where she is, for many reasons. I just didn’t want to discount UAB in case I was missing something. His big sister wasn’t/isn’t pre-med (and is Comp Sci), so T’town was the obvious choice for her and we never considered UAB.
Thanks so much! As always, you are a great help!
@mom2collegekids, yes, he’s thinking ChemE or maybe MechE. And, yes, still planning on pre-med.
He should have his general ed requirements (english, 1st semester calculus, language, humanities/etc) out of the way with AP/CLEP/etc, so even assuming he re-takes the core sciences (not using any AP credits earned this year in Physics C or Chem), he should still be able to pretty readily manage either (any) major along with getting his pre-med courses done, even without using the 5th year of tuition that is available to NM. (Or, maybe using the extra term(s) for study abroad, etc., which he’d love.)
It is easier to be premed as ChemE rather than MechE simply because ChemE includes more of the premed prereqs.
Why wouldn’t he use some of the AP science credits? If he’s confident in Chem and Bio, he should use those AP credits.
@mom2collegekids, well, I’ve read that some med schools won’t accept AP credits for the core required sciences. Have you other information? If so, I’d LOVE to know it!
I encouraged his big sister to take advantage of all the AP/CLEP credits (many!) that she could, and that has definitely worked out great for her. I had read somewhere, though, that not all med schools would accept APs for those core classes . . . which is why I’d assumed he’d go ahead and take those core classes at college, just using the APs as a primer, lol. I will do my own googling on this topic, for sure! Thanks!
I know that ChemE has more overlap with pre-med than does MechE, but he has enough general ed requirements that he’ll get out of (both semesters English, plus I think all the HU & HX courses, and the first semester Calc), that he shouldn’t have trouble getting any degree he would like along side the pre-med requirements. Even MechE requires Chem (1) & Physics (2), so there’s still some good overlap there.
Anyway, since he is 17 and not yet totally certain he wants to be a doctor, at this point, I just want him to cover all the bases while exploring a major that interests him and could lead to a good profession that he’d enjoy if he doesn’t end up deciding to go to medical school (or can’t get in!) With 5 years of tuition available, he has a lot of options, and he might end up using all 5 years for a BS + MS or similar, whether or not he goes on to med school . . . But those sorts of details are up to him a few years from now! For now, I’m just trying to make sure he keeps some good options open, explores some fields he could love (and earn a good living at), and that I help him find good ideas/options now when he has all the choices in the world open to him. 
Thanks so much for your helpful feedback, as always!
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well, I’ve read that some med schools won’t accept AP credits for the core required sciences. Have you other information? If so, I’d LOVE to know it!
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That is often misunderstood.
Med schools won’t let you just use your AP credits for requirements, BUT THEY WILL let you use them to SKIP to the next higher level courses.
For example, if you’re a music major, you can’t just apply your AP credits to the req’ts and call it a day.
BUT…if you’re a STEM major, you often have to take higher level science courses, so you can use your AP credits to skip the lower level courses and take the higher level courses.
My ChemEng’g son used his AP bio and AP Chem credits to skip those classes and then took Genetics, Cell Bio, Bio Chem, Orgo I and II, and other classes.
If a student is strong enough in Bio and Chem, it can be a good idea to skip because Bio I and II…and Gen Chem I and II are weeded courses…so if you can skip them, it can be a good idea.
Thank you for clearing that up for me, @mom2collegekids ! My goggling confirmed what you are saying. Given the Chem1/2 reputation, I will encourage my son to go on to Organic if his AP scores merit that. He’s not taking AP Bio (but has a very strong close-to-AP bio class that I taught him, but that was 3-4 years ago), so he’ll have to suffer through that one – I hadn’t heard it was a weeder, bummer. His dad and I are both biologists, though, and so his homeschooling has been very infused with bio, so I think he’ll be alright. (He also did well on AP Env Sci), so anyway, that’s really great to hear. Especially with the Chem, since he’s had a lot of chemistry in high school, and if he gets a 5 and can skip right to organic, that’d be just awesome.
Thanks again! You are so helpful!!
Bio I and II classes are weeder classes.
If your son can self-study or review and take the AP bio or CLEP tests, he can then skip
Following…my son applied as a bio major but is thinking of changing to an engineering track as well, similar reasoning as to what @mmom99 described. He is determined to attend med school upon graduation, but we are encouraging him explore options that will offer versatility in the case he changes his mind. Assuming not to late to make a change even though he’s been accepted and received scholarship and honors offer?
@MCardella, nope, it’s not too late. I think he can just log in to his myBama and change his major there. If that doesn’t work, then call the admissions people and get guidance on how to do it. It should be really easy.
Do the major change ahead of time for your son to also be eligible for the Engineering College scholarships. (They “stack” on top of the other ones!)
@mmom99 @mom2collegekids would he be eligible for pre-med advising as an engineering major?
Thank you so much, you’ve been so helpful!
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would he be eligible for pre-med advising as an engineering major?
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Absolutely! Any major can be pre med. My son was a premed engineering major
Advice for premed student, based on my sophomore biology DD’s experience, FWIW :
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. Don’t expect the premed advisor to spend a lot of time with a freshman student. The student needs to do their own research and have plans in mind
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This is very true…at every school. Every college has about 4 times as many Frosh premed as the number that will actually apply to med school (heavy weeding). Colleges reserve their precious resourses (premed advising) to those who’ve made it past Frosh year when the numbers are more manageable.
(About half of premeds will not be premed by the end of Frosh year. After the end of soph year and after taking the MCAT, more will change career paths.)
I totally agree, @mom2collegekids, about the freshman, who are apt to choose a different path. Those who stay with it should expect more time and energy to be invested in upcoming years, and that is what I have told my daughter. Definitely, she is seeing that people have changed their career plans at this point. I am happy that DD has been able to obtain good opportunities at this point, even as a sophomore. So diligence pays off. I feel that there is a lot of help in AED, too, but the student has to show initiative to make things happen.
AED is a must!!! So much good info there!
We also have a Facebook group for parents of premeds. If interested, please send me a PM