UMBC vs. St. Mary's College of MD for pre-med

<p>Need to make a decision in next 2 days about whether to choose SMCM or UMBC (Honors College) for pre-med; transfer student who will enter as a sophomore. </p>

<p>About me: 3.95 un-weighted GPA in HS (4.65 weighted); 34 ACT; many APs; have already taken first semester biology (A) and chemistry (A-); 2 years of NIH internships; training to be EMT; Completed 1 semester at highly selective private university as scholar + 1 semester at community college (due to health issues), outgoing personality and very social, enjoy learning and studying but also want to be able to pursue other varied extracurricular interests including community service (I'm not an athlete or a nerd). </p>

<p>Prefer small classes and close student-faculty relationships; intelligent student body but not but not cut-throat college environment; ability to balance academics with also having extracurricular involvement and doing study abroad; opportunities for research with faculty and internships.</p>

<p>Our family has looked at both schools. My son attends UMBC. St Mary’s is wonderful for liberal arts. It is much much smaller vs. UMBC. UMBC is amazing for research opportunitites. The STEM classes are great. For pre-med…I would pick UMBC></p>