Premed at Stanford vs. MIT vs Princeton Vs Columbia

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
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<p>Hey guys, I just heard yesterday that I got into Stanford'12, I'm also columbia'12 (got a likely letter), admitted into MIT and threw Princeton into the bunch just to get a general idea, even though I expect a rejection. But my question is which school would be the best place for premed. I want to be able to do research, get a nice science background, get to know professors, and obviously get into Med school. After some research I've came up with this:</p>

<p>Stanford: It has a med school, so like Columbia, does can really make for great class selection junior and senior year. Not as specialized as MIT but more specialized than Princeton, but I really don't know how much this place into it since I've wanted to go to med schools since like 7th grade. But the downside to Stanford is that half the students want to go into premed, so the introductory classes are really meant to weed out students, and that it can get really cutthroat between premeds. (this is what i've heard, so please correct me if i'm wrong) And my other question is how easy is it for freshmen do get research and how hard are the classes, are there a lot of grade inflation or deflation. Thanks for the advice guys. </p>

<p>MIT: Research is by far the best available in the country in my opinion b/c of their UROP program, which pretty much allows freshmen to seniors to do research and get really involved. Downside, no med school thus junior and senior courses might not be as interesting. And its an engineering school, so i'm concerned that the people there might not be as knowledgeable as other schools with a Med school (this is what i've heard about premed advising, so correct me if i'm wrong) And MIT has grade-deflation, but it prepares you well for you MCAT, so....</p>

<p>Columbia: You get a core, which can make as well-rounded as possible. But that doesn't mean as much as the Med school, where you can cross-register your junior and senior year, which make classes selection really interesting. And you really get to experience how Med school is by talking to med students and learn what it takes to get in. Classes tend to be easier relative to MIT and Princeton, but I don't know. And a lot of classes are taught by TA's which may or maynot suck (sorry for the language).Your in New York City, which i don't know how much a factor this could be to premed...</p>

<p>Princeton: Not as specialized as the other schools. But you get really attention from the professors vs classes that are taught by TA's. But the downside, major grade-deflation, and unlike MIT, there seems to be some competitiveness between students. And No med school.</p>

<p>So as you guys can probable see, I'm really torn about which school would be the best place for premed students, even though all three a great schools. This thread got a little long, but input would be great. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Can anyone help me out?????? I really need to get as much info as I can before May 1 rolls around.</p>

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<p>OK
MIT is an engineering school. And it will be a GPA Killer. So, unless you LOVE MIT no reason to choose it for premed.</p>

<p>Columbia is in NYC and has a core curriculum. Stanford is in Palo Alto, and has no core. They are so different, that you must have some preference for one over the other.</p>

<p>You didn't get into Princeton yet. Maybe they will take care of this "choosing" problem for you...</p>

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<p>the "mit is an engineering school" thing isnt really accurate. actually, mit students have acces to the world´s second top rated med scool (im talkin bout harvard of course). </p>

<p>from what i hear, mit and harvard are actually really close, so ur basically attending both which is great if u prefer the mit atmospher, but the harvard academics (or really just didnt get into harv)</p>

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<p>You are probably not getting the kind of responses you'd like because the question you're asking is similar to ... "Which car should I buy, a Mercedes or a BMW?" You have great choices, all of which will be good for pre-med. ALL of the schools you've listed send lots of kids to Medical school, but also have very difficult courses that try to "weed out" pre-med students.</p>

<p>For some more specifics on Stanford.</p>

<p>Stanford does not have a core...but has many required courses. Intro to Humanities for 3 quarters, Program in Writing and Rhetoric for 1 qtr freshman year and 1qtr sophomore year plus numerous distribution requirements in different disciplines.</p>

<p>There are freshman and sophomore seminars at Stanford, which include professors from a number of the professional schools, including the medical school. </p>

<p>Lots of opportunities for undergraduate research at Stanford:</p>

<p>UAL</a> - Research Opportunities</p>

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<p>Also...see "Pre-med questions" thread in CC Stanford 2011 sub-forum.</p>

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<p>bump, bump!</p>