<p>Ok, I will die from the grueling pain of making decision between Stanford and HPME if I don't ask the question here. As the title suggests, I was accepted into Stanford and HPME at NU. I am interested in biomedical research in academia or industry, but not necessarily practicing medicine per se. For me, Stanford means more flexibility in choosing grad schools and doing research; it also has a better name and location. However, as an international student, choosing Stanford almost means not going to med school, since med school admission is almost impossible for int's students. (So I will get a Ph.D only if going to Stanford) HPME, on the other hand, guarantees admission into med school; if I work hard, I can even possibly go into MD/Ph.D . But NU does not match up with Stanford in terms of weather, prestige, etc. So, the question comes down to whether I shoud get Ph.D, MD, or MD/Ph.D if my intention is to do research. Appreciate your feedback.</p>
<p>I would pick the HPME program.</p>
<p>Stanford's weather and beauty is probably 100x better than NU but premed is really tough there. If you are set on being a doctor, NU will provide you the quickest and easiest way. (And I believe Feinberg is a very very prestigious med school as wlel)</p>
<p>northwestern</p>
<p>If "biomed" includes the engineering side, then you may forget that NU's undergrad biomed engineering is pretty strong (I've seen it was ranked like 8th). I bet your college experience will be much better without the pressure of getting high GPA (which still doesn't guarantee a spot in med school esp for foreign students) at NU. Trust me, when you are all stressed about getting straight As, your time for undergrad research will probably be pretty limited despite that's where your passion is. How much time you can commit is very critical in research. I am sure you can find exciting projects at NU also.</p>
<p>same choices...im leaning northwestern...but any advice would be helpful</p>
<p>Thank you guys for the advice.</p>
<p>just wanted to let you know, a kid from my school last year had the same decision and is now at hpme. however, last I heard from him, he said he was doing really well in the program and is planning on applying out of it, so maybe stanford is better?</p>
<p>I'm completely unbiased, and I just happen to know that person, so I decided to share it.</p>