Thanks katliamom! I can definitely see how BU would lack the traditional campus-feel, but when I visited NYU back in high school I could totally see myself living in the city and enjoying it. The opportunities that I’d have in the city to see/participate in so many things really hooked me, and the main reason that I didn’t go is that I was actually accepted to the school of engineering, but had a change of heart senior year and wanted to pursue medicine. I’d have to stay at least a semester in the school of engineering, and that (combined with the very high cost of the school, thought I know BU isn’t that much cheaper) persuaded me to not go there.
I am really looking forward to visiting to see if I get the same vibe that I did from NYU, and that combined with the great science program could be the deal-breaker for me. If I visit BC and find that I’m really drawn to the campus, I think I will lean more towards going there!
I haven’t mentioned Tufts just because I’m assuming the worse, but if I get accepted I definitely plan to go!
Forbes ranking methodology uses the 4 year graduation metric. They acknowledge that Northeastern is different but they essentially say “so what”. That drops them in the ranking.
I really appreciate your information redpoodles. I understand that this semester wasn’t my strongest, I hadn’t taken chemistry for a long time and it was a very fast course for me, I’m hoping that this next semester I can push my GPA upwards toward a 3.8 or 3.9, though I know my 3.6 is the only GPA colleges will see while I’m transferring.
I understand that the co-op program at NEU could be a hindrance, and after hearing about that and how much the school pushes this program I think I am moving it the bottom of my list.
I actually have been considering Umass, I just wasn’t sure if transferring from Oberlin to a far less selective school was advantageous. I’m not at all trying to sound pretentious, I just want to give myself the best chance to getting into med school and I know that doing well at a school like BU would be weighed more than doing well at Umass.
However, I know that doing really well anywhere is the most important part. Umass’s honor program seemed perfect for me and I have a lot of friends there so I know I would feel at home, I just wasn’t sure if going through the whole transfer process to go there worth it. I would love to hear your opinion though!
TomSrofBoston that makes a lot more sense thank you! I won’t take that ranking into huge consideration then, since I know it would be much higher if student didn’t take time off for the co-op program.
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I just want to point out that Northeastern doesn’t consider participation in the co-op program “time off”, but rather a vital part of the educational experience. They basically offer a five year degree, one year of which is experiential learning. I’m just mentioning this so you don’t characterize the program inappropriately in any discussions with Northeastern personnel. (Whether Northeastern is the right choice for someone hoping to head to medical school is another issue entirely.)
I think someone above mentioned that the co-op semesters at Northeastern mean the student has to pay for housing and food for an additional year, but keep in mind that co-op positions are not unpaid internships, but are paid positions–so that may be a wash anyway. And some are in located communities other than Boston, where the cost of living is lower. Of course delaying the start of one’s a career for a year means having a shorter working lifetime, with an associated cost to be considered as well.
No premed can get into med school without MONTHS of clinical volunteering, research, and doctor shadowing. The 4 year 1 coop program is perfect for that. Have you taken Organic Chemistry yet? If not, don’t expect your GPA to improve over standard chemistry grades you’ve gotten this year.
@mbm2000 I would recommend the premed subforum here on CC. There you will learn a lot about what you need to get into med school (hint: prestigious science program is not one of those things).
What is your money situation? You won’t get much aid a transfer, so if you need it - you may want to consider that.
^^ Years. You should try to do at least a year of clinical volunteering and shadowing–something like once or twice a week over the course of a couple of years for clinical volunteering would also suffice, and you can start now, which is especially helpful in seeing if you really even like this profession. You should also try to obtain a research opportunity to see how you like that part of it–a lot of applications are out in Nov-Feb for the following summer. You can do these things from any of these schools and from Oberlin. They are ALL good schools that send students to med school. Apply to all of them (and UMass) and see what pans out and then reassess when you have offers in hand…
Some more forums-- google “Student Doctor Network” and “AAMC.”
@MommaJ I completely understand what you’re saying, I have been discussing that with my family and my mom (who is a doctor) said taking a year off is not the best idea, and that I should focus on going to med school straight from college. I am definitely going to look into this co-op program more, because I know how important outside research and shadowing is, I actually shadowed a doctor this month before going back to school and it was a great experience!
I’ll have to decide if a gap year (or pursue the co-op program, if I opt for Northeastern) is the best fit for me, but as of now I’m focusing on doing well with classes doing the year and then applying for summer research opportunities starting next summer.
@suzyQ7 I haven’t taken organic chemistry yet, but this semester of chemistry at college (chem 101) was the first time I took chemistry since sophomore year of high school. I had thought about pursuing engineering so I took physics my junior and senior year, so I’m hoping that physics will be easier for me to tackle than chemistry and biology, which I am unfortunately having to relearn very quickly.
However, towards the end of the semester the speed of chem 101 seemed to slow down and I started to grasp concepts quicker, and I didn’t finish up with too bad of a grade (B+), so I’m hoping I can continue to trend upward and get an A in Chem 102!
I will also definitely look into that forum, thank you so much for directing me to that! As for my financial situation, I’m sad to hear that transfer students receive less aid than students coming out of high school. I didn’t know that, and that will definitely be impacting my decision, based on how much aid I get from each school. I’m definitely going to be applying to Umass, and if the other schools that I get into are much more expensive than what Oberlin is right now (which I’m afraid is going to be the case), Umass will be my best option. I’ll have to wait and see though!
@redpoodles I’m actually just finished a month of shadowing a doctor at my mom’s office, and it was a great experience! I learned very much and can definitely see myself working in the medical field, though I would not want to work in my mom’s specific field. I know that if I went to a school like BU I would most likely have many more opportunities to shadow doctors or volunteer at hospitals/clinics considering I would be right in the city, and it would be great to do that once or twice a week like you said during the year. I’m also planing to apply for summer research opportunities starting next summer, I’m excited to get some experience in research too!
Thank you for the advice of applying to all the schools, I will do that and see how pricing pans out!
Interesting about the comment above re. less aid for transfers - perhaps that was with merit only? – This is, seeing as the FAFSA and CSS are done yearly, whether or not a student transfers, so need-based aid I didn’t think would necessarily change much - espec. if its from FAFSA grant. Also - have also heard that Brandeis premed.s do well in getting accepted (in gen’l – don’t know the specifics on that).
School spirit varies a lot from college to college and is not always defined by sports. The only school on your list that has significant sports fervor is probably Boston College; the rest are going to have relatively similar views towards sports as Oberlin, I’d imagine. (Being in Division 1 doesn’t necessarily determine sports fervor, either, as there are lots of D1 schools that don’t have big football or basketball programs or where the students are simply uninterested in sports. Conversely, I know of some D2 schools that have a lot of sports-centered school spirit.)
To be quite honest, the vast majority of colleges in the U.S. don’t have a significant sports presence. There are lots of other factors that contribute to a school’s student body having pride and a sense of belongingness, which is what I think most students mean when they say “spirit.” I think you should probably dig a little deeper into what you want you mean by “spirit.” It may actually be sports! And if that’s the case, you should know up front and maybe adjust your college list accordingly to include more schools that have sports programs you can follow. But if it really means something else (and from your other comments, it sounds like you are more looking for a community of students who share and grow with each other despite different interests and activities), then forget about the sports and concentrate on finding colleges with whatever that thing is.
Also, you mentioned wanting to be driving distance from home. I’d also encourage you to think hard about this requirement as well. You said you’re a freshman, which means you’ve been at Oberlin for 4 months, maybe 5 now. It’s really common for freshmen to feel a bit homesick and as if living closer to home would solve all their problems, until they settle in and feel happier. It could be that feeling out of place at Oberlin is actually confounding this for you - and it could be that if you were at a school where you had what you were looking for, that you’d feel less inclined to go home very often and wouldn’t need to be in driving distance.
The other thing is, what does driving distance mean to you? Do you want to be able to go home every other weekend in a 2-3 hour drive, or is a 6-hour drive only for school breaks acceptable? And will you have a car? Also, if your family is driving distance to Boston, you might also consider some colleges/universities that have train lines into Boston. Your family could always pick you up in Boston (or Providence - based on Maps it looks like Providence is pretty close), and that would expand the number of schools you could consider. For example, there’s Brown - their transfer admissions rate is about the same and sometimes higher than their regular freshman admissions rate.
Did she say why? I have a lot of friends, high school/college classmates, and former students who are doctors or nearing the end of their med school careers, and I know just as many who went to med school after a year or more off as I know who went right after med school. There’s no right or wrong path, and no indication that one or the other has lower or higher chances of you getting in. It’s far more common these days for prospective doctors to take a few years off before going to med school.