I’m trying to decide where to apply SCEA and I wanted to get opinions on both schools.
Right now I’m leaning toward Princeton because of their undergraduate focus but I’m still torn because Harvard’s neurobiology program is more established and Stanford offers a specific Human Biology major. Could anyone provide insight on how the pre-med experience compares between the schools? Could you also speak to the comparison of the schools as a whole? I’d like to hear opinions on the greatest advantages and disadvantages of going to these schools.
All three are amazing educations. Princeton has the best undergraduate teaching, but Stanford and Harvard have their fair share of unbeatable opportunities too. Really, you have to go with where feels right. It’s about fit, not the ‘best school.’ They’re all amazing so you can’t pick a bad one. Do more research, think about what you want, and then apply the school that fits your needs best.
Good advice from @Senior2016M you also might consider east vs west coast, how weather and logistics may affect you as well. You can’t go wrong, but as always ensure you have some good match and safety schools.
@LXXIII All amazing choices but my advice would be either Harvard or Stanford for practical reasons. Both Harvard and Stanford have two of the best medical schools and some of the best hospitals in the entire world and you can have great opportunities for research, internships etc. I think research and clinical experience experience is very important for pre-med because you get to actually see for yourself what being a doctor is all about and also it is a great way to bolster your med school application. Especially at a place like Harvard or Stanford, where some of the biggest names in medicine teach and work, you can get involved in really cool projects and get recommendation letters for professors with big clout in the medical world (also you get an extra advantage for admission to Stanford and Harvard Med as a Stanford, Harvard undergrad respectively). Also grade inflation is higher at Harvard and Stanford vs Princeton so that is another practical consideration.
All that said Princeton undergrad teaching is second to none and you will definitely find there top notch life sciences -related research opportunities and Princeton grads are very successful for med school admissions. If you feel you like Princeton way more than the other two then definitely go for Princeton. But if not, for the practical reasons of access to top medical school professors, clinical resources and also grade inflation, I would personally go with Harvard or Stanford.
@ClarinetDad16@psywar I’ve already decided my safeties and matches. I’ve heavily researched all the schools I’ve looked at but the purpose of this question was to see if I could get any new information to help make a more educated decision on where I apply EARLY. I in no way assume I am going to be accepted to all of these schools.
If you are going to apply to medical school, then it helps to have some research experience. While all 3 schools have great research programs, Princeton doesn’t have its own medical school. So the research opportunities at Princeton will be limited to basic science or bench-type research. Also consider proximity to the research labs. Harvard’s medical school is in Boston and the undergrad campus is in Cambridge. So if you do research at Harvard, it will involve some commuting back and forth.
Also consider the GPA distribution at the 3 schools. Medical schools focus heavily on the GPA. So schools or programs (like engineering) with grade deflation may put you at a slight disadvantage.
Hi, all 3 are amazing schools that can get you into the best med schools in the country and I can only comment on my son’s experience at Princeton, now entering his junior year. majoring in Molecular Biology, but focusing on pre-med. He did get into Harvard too by the way and did not apply to Stanford. He commented how grateful he was that he chose Pton, specifically because of the med school opportunities that have now come to fruition. This past semester he got into an exclusive linkage program with another ivy league med school. This summer he interned there, next summer too and as long as he keeps up a 3.5 GPA he will get to matriculate to that med school without taking the MCAT. He mentioned that in hindsight, this opportunity to go to a top 5 med school would not have existed at any of the other schools he was accepted to.
Even the most qualified people don’t get accepted to all 3. But for early action, it really depends on your focus, Harvard has the best med school but only if you want neurobiology. Other wise id go Stanford. Princeton is obviously a great school but not as recognized for med
sgopal2, that program is for URM students but they are very open as to who can qualify for that. Again all 3 schools are great and there are many more that can get you to the next level. Opportunities and resources at Princeton and their HPA is a big advantage and they will do all they can to get you where you want to go.