Swarthmore Vs. a completely opposite school

<p>Hey guys.. i was wondering about premed at Swarthmore as opposed to Univ. of Notre Dames'? I considering either school, yet they are completely opposite. I received a full tuition scholarship to Notre Dame that will cover all tuition for the next four years which removes work study and loans, and as for Swarthmore I received very good need based aid... so that makes ND a little cheaper, but Swarthmore is still the better academic institution?... which would help me more for getting into into med school--my ultimate goal? What can you tell me in terms of their premed educations? swarthmore has a 94% admin rate for minority premed students.. notre dame has around a 70% admin rate for all premed students... does Swarthmore discourage weaker students from applying to med school (as stated by a previous post)? of course ND has many more applicants to med school, but can anyone tell me which of these two programs would be better for me simply in terms of med school? Thank You.</p>

<p>There are obviously important differences between Notre Dame and Swarthmore besides academics.</p>

<p>However, by any measure of academics -- class size, student/professor interaction, mentoring resources, academic quality of student body, grad school admissions, preparation for grad school, academic engagement of students, per student undergrad spending, etc. -- there is no comparison between the two. </p>

<p>From a purely academic standpoint, the only reason to choose Notre Dame (or any other similarly sized university) over Swarthmore would be if Swarthmore's small size means that it doesn't offer enough breadth or depth in a specific department to suit your individual interests. That would not be the case for a pre-med student. 89% of Swat's students go on to additional schooling. 20% of those go to med school. Those numbers are off the charts.</p>

<p>Now, keep in mind what I said first. There are many perfectly valid reasons for chosing a large university or a large Catholic University over a small, high-end, academically focused liberal arts college (big-time sports, campus culture, the wider array of social options and extracurricular activities in a big community, theologic/political preferences, name recognition in the general population, etc.) But, academics would not be one of those valid reasons for the vast majority of students.</p>

<p>Good luck. You've got a couple of great options to choose from.</p>

<p>come to swat!! well i dont know much about notre dame, but im going to be a premed student at swat this fall. i did a lot of research on the premed program (although there is no actual program) to convince my parents to let me go there, and the sciences at swat seem really really great, plus i like how ill get to explore a lot of other interests too. the only thing im a little concerned about is not having a high enough gpa for a lot of med schools, but i think stuff like that tends to work itself out. notre dame is a good school too and im sure they have a great pre-med program too.<br>
cost is a big issue, especially since you'll be like 200k in debt just because of med school - you really don't want undergrad debt on top of that debt..i plan to work a lot and hopefully pay off most to all of my swat debt before starting med school. see if you can somehow manage the cost without too many loans.
i've heard that swarthmore does screen applicants before letting them apply, just like most other schools in the country. basically my advice is to go with whichever school you like better. if you got into swat you're obviously very intelligent and have a strong work ethic, and im sure you'll get into med school no matter which undergrad you go to, as long as you take advantage of all your resources and opportunities. med school is going to be the four toughest years of our lives, so i say go wherever you think you can enjoy yourself for four years.</p>

<p>Thank you both!</p>

<p>"i've heard that swarthmore does screen applicants before letting them apply, just like most other schools in the country."</p>

<p>This not true. Swarthmore does not screen applicants.</p>

<p>Look at Swarthmore PreMed Faq</p>

<p>northeastdad, there is no screening, but isn't it true that the Chem, Physics and other courses serve to screen out premeds who cannot cut it? Just wondering..</p>

<p>Achat: I think premeds drop-off more due to getting exposed to other subjects at Swat and becoming interested in those.</p>

<p>Just to add to ID's excellent points. ND has almost fanatical alumni network. Expect a lifetime of friendship from other Domers. Their informal network rivals or surpasses even the Ivys.</p>

<p>snrp33- I am in the same situation as you. After visiting all four of my college choices I have narrowed it down to 2 completely different schools:</p>

<p>Swarthmore: 1500 undergrads
Michigan: 25,000 undergrads</p>

<p>Swarthmore appeals more to my quirky, hard-working, artsy side; while UMich appeals to the side of me that is very school spirited and loves college athletics! It's going to be a difficult choice so I definitely understnad your dilemma.</p>