Princeton vs Columbia (John Jay Scholar) vs Penn (University Scholar) vs Brown for Premed

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
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<p>Hi so obviously I have a great choice which I’m very happy about but I’m struggling from choosing among these four schools. </p>

<p>Princeton:</p>

<p>I think Princeton is the most prestigious of the four, and it boasts around a 95% med school acceptance rate. However, when I visited Princeton, they said that a lot of premeds will take a year off before applying to med school, which is something I don’t want to do. So I’m wondering if the 95% means just those who apply without taking a year off or includes everyone no matter what year they applied. I think Princeton gives a great education and I love the campus and everything, but I’m worried about the grade deflation issue everyone keeps talking about and if it would limit my chances for med school, if the courses might be too challenging, and also if the atmosphere is too stressful. Also the lack of a hospital to do research at might be a setback. However I could always do clinical research over the summer and also Princeton requires you to do research which would be a good boost to my resume. Also I think the other students there might be way too smart and make me look worse. Will I have to spend time studying 24/7?</p>

<p>Columbia:</p>

<p>I like how Columbia is in the city, which would provide a lot of internship opportunities because of the close proximity to different hospitals and everything. I also got awarded to be a John Jay Scholar, so I would get separate advising and some other perks, though I’m not sure how helpful this is. The main issue with Columbia for me is the core because of all the reading required and this might prohibit me from focusing on science. Also I think that Princeton might be better known/be more impressive when applying to med school. Would going to Columbia be more helpful with getting me into Columbia med school? </p>

<p>Penn:</p>

<p>Penn seems to be the college that wants me the most because it sent me a likely letter and asked me to be a University Scholar and a Vagelos Scholar. I think a University Scholar would be helpful for med school, though its requirement of doing research over the summer is basically the same thing as what Princeton requires without being in a special program. I’m not sure if the separate advising or special designation would be better for med school though. I’m definitely not doing Vagelos because it sounds way too hard. Also would going to Penn be helpful for getting into the Penn med school. I know Penn is very preprofessional which would be good for helping me stay on track in achieving my career goals.</p>

<p>Brown:</p>

<p>I think Brown might be the the easiest of these colleges in terms of getting the highest GPA because I could choose only the courses that interest me, which I think is a great idea, but I’m not sure how helpful this would be in comparison with going to Princeton but getting a lower GPA. I know Brown is the least cut-throat/competitive of the schools which is a plus, but would it be worth sacrificing a Princeton degree? </p>

<p>So that’s basically my thought process right now. Sorry for such a long post. Obviously it’s after May 1st but I have asked for a week-long extension. I might go to Princeton, but I’m not sure if it would be better to go to Columbia, Penn or Brown where there’s a hospital close by to work at. However these three schools have around 80% accepted to med school, but are students discouraged from applying in Junior year like at Princeton? Also I think Princeton is the only school that compares in prestige to Harvard, which is where I applied early/wanted to go. Do you think I’m missing out because I didn’t get into Harvard or Yale, which are the other two most prestigious colleges but also have hospitals close by to work at?</p>

<p>My stats:
SAT: 790 Reading, 800 Math, 800 Writing
SAT II: 800 Bio, 800 Chem, 800 Math II
GPA: 3.95 unweighted with a heavy courseload
AP: 5 in Bio, 5 in Chem, 5 in Calc, 5 in French
Rank: Top 5%
Major Awards: AP Scholar, National Merit Semifinalist, Presidential Scholar Candidate, USABO Semifinalist, AIME qualifier
School type: Magnet Public School
Asian Female</p>

<p>Ok thanks please respond. Sorry for writing so much. Basically I probably will go to Princeton but wanted to know if you think I would be making a mistake/if any other colleges are offering me better opportunities that would allow me to get into a better med school in the future. </p>

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<p>A few notes:
-Med school acceptance rates are deceiving. Many schools (I would assume Princeton is one of these - I know Brown is) require premed students to get a “committee letter,” which basically tells med schools that the college is behind their application. Without a committee letter, you basically can’t apply. So the colleges are essentially “gatekeeping” the path to medical school - you can’t apply without their permission. That’s how they get their acceptance rates so high.
-Many premeds everywhere take a year off before applying to medical school. It’s honestly the norm these days.
-Going to Columbia (or any school) will not increase your ability to be accepted to their medical school.</p>

<p>Honestly, you’re a good student, and you’ll do well anywhere. I think you’re spending way too much time focusing on whether or not you’ll be accepted into medical school, and not enough time on thinking about enjoying the path to med school. College can be a great four years, and you don’t need to kill yourself studying all the time to make it to medical school. Which of these colleges actually attracts you the most? Please, leave prestige out of the picture, because going somewhere prestigious may not make you happy in the end.</p>

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<p>You realize you were supposed to submit your acceptance to your chosen school by May 1st?</p>

4

<p>Yes as I said in my post “Obviously it’s after May 1st but I have asked for a week-long extension” but thanks anyway. </p>

5

<p>Ok so bruno14 I wrote a response to you but then it said I had to wait to get it approved but it was never posted I guess so I’ll just restate the main points of it.</p>

<p>I like Princeton the most but my main worries about it are its lack of a med school/lack of clinical research and if the classes will be full of IMO winners and USABO winners and all that which would make me at the bottom of the class.</p>

<p>Also I do not want to have to take an extra year off so I would like to avoid that if possible.</p>

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<p>There’s only a 1% difference in the acceptance rate between Princeton and Brown. If you expect to be at the bottom of the class at Princeton, do you seriously expect Brown to be a cake-walk? You won’t be able to skip hard courses like Organic Chemistry, for example, and still have the required coursework for entrance to med school.</p>

<p>You ended up asking 4 schools for an extension because you couldn’t even narrow down your final selection after a month? I’d hate to see you pondering over life-and-death decisions in an emergency room!</p>

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<p>Why thank you for your kind words Lorem Ipsum. Anyone with actual advice related to what I was asking?</p>

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<p>LoremIpsum is correct. There is going to be no difference between your chances of getting into medical school from any of these schools - it’s going to be up to you no matter where you attend.</p>

<p>If you like Princeton the best, go to Princeton, and stop stressing about it.</p>

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<p>You seem eager to get through the undergrad process and on to med school. Have you considered which of these schools you could possibly graduate from a year early? Which ones (if any) give AP or IB credit? There is a boy from my D’s high school who got through Harvard in three years. </p>

<p>Penn sounds like it might be the best fit for you with it’s preprofessional bent. </p>

<p>You might find Brown and Princeton a bit frustrating with their students’ heavy participation in non-career focused studies and extracurricular activities. Though I’m sure you could find your niche and thrive at any of these schools.</p>

<p>Best of luck with your choice!</p>

10

<p>Here’s my list after reading your first post and subsequent posts by you and others:</p>

<ol>
<li>Princeton</li>
<li>Penn</li>
<li>Brown</li>
<li>Columbia</li>
</ol>

<p>You’ve had an amazing academic career already. I strongly believe you will continue that outstanding record no matter where you go. Best of luck to you.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>WHAT??? Can we please dispense with this well-worn canard about Penn and the 6,400 undergrads in Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences? Penn’s College easily has the same level of “heavy participation in non-career focused studies and extracurricular activities” as do its peers, including Brown and Princeton. For example, Penn’s Performing Arts Council, alone, consists of more than 45 theatre, a cappella, dance, comedy, and musical groups, all well-funded and with vigorous participation and a busy schedule of well-attended performances. And believe it or not, lots of Wharton, Engineering, and Nursing students also participate. And there are many other examples in other areas of extracurricular activities. The “non-career focussed” extracurricular life at Penn is as rich and varied as that at any of its peers, with comparable participation by all Penn undergrads.</p>

<p>Further, in terms of “non-career focussed studies,” again, the 6,400 undergrads in Penn’s College are, by definition, enrolled in a liberal arts curriculum that is not career focussed and provides over 2,000 courses from which to choose. Not to mention all of the non-credit courses and programs in which lots of Penn undergrads participate, including those of the Kelly Writers House, the Penn Humanities Forum, and the more than 30 varying non-credit courses offered each semester in Penn’s Preceptorials program:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.preceptorials.org/about.html”>http://www.preceptorials.org/about.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>^^^ of course you’re right. Penn is an amazing school. Splitting hairs here.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Didn’t mean to direct all of that at you ;), but it’s kind of a pet peeve of mine. Sometimes, there’s a tendency here on CC to overlook Penn’s enormous strength, breadth, and depth in liberal arts, and its rich diversity of cultural and intellectual extracurricular activities, simply because it also happens to have one of the world’s best undergraduate business programs. And I have to wonder at the use of the term “preprofessional” when applied to Penn’s College–one of the largest undergraduate liberal arts programs in the Ivy League–as compared to the undergraduate liberal arts components of Penn’s peers. :)</p>

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<p>bump</p>

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<p>Does anyone know anything specifically about how good the University Scholars Program/John Jay Scholars Program are?</p>

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<p>Asking in the Brown forum is not going to get you the best set of answers about a program at another university.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>It’s all good. </p>

<p>Yes, U Penn, of course, has all of this and more and it’s a beautiful historic campus located in a dynamic city. </p>

<p>To me, it seems a shame to reduce these four fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to concerns about prestige and GPA management. I would ask the OP do you have feelings about the great professors and seminars available at each school, the labs, the departments, the distinct culture and social scenes, the cities you’ll have access to, the residential life, etc…? If not, perhaps just find the one you can grind through the quickest and move on to the next stage in your life.</p>

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<p>If your hear leaning toward Princeton, go to Princeton, work hard, and good luck.
Brown is not an easy school, especially for those who think themselves they are very smart. That’s because they tend to take too high level courses, sometimes graduate level courses. You don’t have to be a medical doctor. Go to school where you think you can learn most and would be most happy next several years.</p>

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<p>Being able to do research/get an intership at Columbia’s hospital would be a nice perk. Just pointing that out.</p>

<p>Do think about where you’d fit in best, though. That’s what matters most.</p>