Hello there , I just received an email that I was accepted at the University of Michigan. Im planning to be a pre med student starting fro fall 2016. During this time I have red a lot of information about pros and cos of being a pre med student at the university of Michigan. I know it is hard to mantein a high GPA but im a real hardworking guy + I have done 1 and half year at a med school in Rome but I just quited everything to come here and try to get to med school here. So is UM a good choise? Im also thinking neuroscience as my major. What do u think of neuroscience is it a good major for a pre med stdent?
@A-PreMed Well if med school in Rome is as rigorous as it is in the US, then you should be okay as undergrad is a lot more relaxed than medical school in the US. UM is a good choice if you want to go to UM Medical School. It certainly isn’t a guarantee, but I know that the acceptance rate at UM Medical School is like ~5%, but for UM undergrads, just last year it was ~12-13%, more than double the odds (albeit still really low).
In regards to major, major in what you are passionate in. There is no “good” major for a pre med student. From what I’ve been advised, it really doesn’t matter what you take in undergrad cause as long as you take the pre-med pre-requisite courses, then you are prepared for medical school (academically, at least). So whether its neuroscience or some humanities major, it’s viewed as the same to medical schools.
As others note, there is a hook for Michigan undergraduates, but you have to have stellar credentials. Here is a fact sheet from the school’s page which indicates that roughly 3% of the applicant pool matriculates (roughly 1/3 of 9% interviewed). The 3:1 ratio is biased to the upside in that the interviews weed many out and the yield is quite high.
Admission Summary
Applicants: 5726
Interviewed: 538 (9.4% of applicant pool — 6.9% decrease from 2014)
Class size: 170
Class average sci GPA: 3.75
Class average total GPA: 3.78
Class average MCAT 34.54
Michigan at the undergraduate level is exceptionally strong in neuroscience.
UM is the #2 research university on the US and has enormous lab facilities owned by the medical school. The big advantage is all of the research you can participate in as an undergrad. Getting your name on a few papers is a good way to get into medical school too.