URochester vs Emory Pre-Med

Hi guys,

I applied to Rochester a while ago, and I really like Emory but I am considering Rochester for Pre-Med since it closer to home for me.

Which university is it easier to get a higher GPA in?

Which one has ample medical opportunities with close proximity (EMT or pediatric shadowing or etc.)?

Supposedly, Emory is more “presitigious.” because of 20% acceptance rate instead of Rochester’s 30%. Is that correct? Then why does Rochester have a higher medical school acceptance rate? So, would I have a better chance of med school there?

My main concern is WEED OUT. I heard Rochester has a lot of WEED OUT courses than Emory, whereas in Emory, the effort you put in is what you get. Is that true?

I do not want cutthroat competition. I might choose Emory then because its courses are less rigorous. In which school would professors know me better and write better letters of recc?

I heard Emory has 55% med school acceptance rate and Rochester has like 76%, so I’m confused? Would I have a better chance with Rochester? Quick responses would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much guys.

Also Emory has the EMT sources and CDC and many hospitals on campus. Rochester has a hospital and a medical school but that’s it. I want to EMT and pediatric shadowing and more opportunities. Also, the seats in Rochester med school are reserved for some of the REMS scholars. I want as many seats as possible available in the med school. Thanks guys!

Also, I think I will reduce more money by attending Rochester because of its merit-aid, but Emory is very hard to get merit-aid from, so it likely the sticker price for me. That is my main concern. Please take that into consideration. Quick responses would be appreciated! Thanks again guys!

Also, I think I will reduce more money by attending Rochester because of its merit-aid, but Emory is very hard to get merit-aid from, so it likely the sticker price for me. That is my main concern. Please take that into consideration. Quick responses would be appreciated! Thanks again guys!

@SBSapphire : Well then apply to both and if you get into URoch, go there. I wouldn’t bank on merit aid as their stats are pretty similar to Emory’s (Emory just gets higher app. volume). You would not stand out at either statistically.

Also please please please stop asking: “Which one will give you the higher GPA?”. Ain’t nobody GIVING you nothing! It makes you sound like a bad applicant to either who isn’t worried about learning and who believes that getting a higher GPA is a matter of choosing the right elite school. That makes no sense. In addition, it is a horrible question because we don’t know what you will major in, the courses and professors you would take at each, and how they will grade. We don’t know, so stop asking.

Leave your confusion behind on the medical school admit rates. You either have a great application or you don’t. If you went to a state school with a 35% rate but were excellent versus the rest of the student body and your performance reflected it, you would very likely get in unless you can’t interview well. There are so many things that affect these numbers that you need to just stop being confused, visit places and choose somewhere you actually fit, and do well. That is how you get to your next destination. These percentages have nothing to do with what YOU and your situation and performance will be. Either take that to heart or remain confused and go to Rochester or wherever else.

You already asked about competition and I don’t know anything about UR’s academic environment. Emory’s was already answered.

Your thing about weed-out is just false (UR has engineering, and engineering curricula everywhere and especially at selective schools are very challenging, but that has nothing to do with pre-med classes. From my comparisons of course materials in the life sciences, Emory is among the harder schools ranked between 13 and 25 or so). Every student at every damned school claims that pre-med courses are weedouts. If you compared the actual courses between elite schools you would either find out that there is no difference, or that one student body was exaggerating to a ridiculous extent. If you want to keep saying this with no evidence than hearsay, please avoid Emory because what you “heard” will lead you to a path of misery. Pre-med is going to be hard at any selective university. To even try to split hairs between selective schools without seeing course materials is a waste of time so stop doing it. If you are concerned, choose schools much less selective than either of these and stop saying this part and the stuff about the GPA every time you post.

Emory and Rochester are basically peer institutions, slight differences in rankings, acceptance rates, and medical school placement notwithstanding. Both are excellent schools with lots of clinical and research opportunities convenient to the main undergrad campus. And both are rigorous and respected without being known for cut-throat academics or grade deflation (or inflation, either, for that matter). But, yes, you’ll also find “weed out” courses at both schools as well.

Remember, too, MOST students do not go to undergrad and med school at the same institution. So, size of med school class or reserved places for REMS is sort of immaterial. Some of the best schools for pre-meds are LACs that have no direct ties to med school but provide excellent education and good pre-med advising.

Conventional advice for pre-meds is to make sure that they pay attention to COA, since they will have several more years of schooling after undergrad to consider in terms of finances.

Also to add to your confusion: Emory used to release the tables with the breakdown of pre-health admissions data. If you had a 3.5 GPA and 30 equivalent on the MCAT, your chances of admission were 80% + (may have actually been 90%). Let us use those analytical skills to determine what may have been up with most of the 45% who didn’t/don’t gain admission. Also, does the fact that most folks with a 3.5 GPA get in tell you that Emory is “less rigorous” than whatever? Let us put it all together shall we.

@bernie12 Can you link to that data, please? Thanks!

@Mwfan1921 : I was just looking for it and it used to be through the career center but those links are broken. Either way, they used to box (it was a GPA bracket versus MCAT bracket table) that threshold and it was always over 80%

How your question comes across may not be exactly what you intended. From this reader’s perspective: You seek the school with the least rigorous coursework, graded in the most student-friendly manner, and with highest acceptance rates at medical schools. Is that an accurate summary?
Extending that: how successful would such an over-promoted and undereducated student be on the MCATs, at medical school, or as a doctor? Would you trust your child’s health to such a doctor? Just a thought experiment.
I’d think the strategic goal of your education would include best preparing you to take on the profession you are considering. If you know the type of medical work you want to do, that may help guide your decision based on the specific opportunities provided at different schools. That’s a far better approach. Nobody asks their oncologist for their sophomore grades, they ask them for answers.

Ditto the above for how your post comes across. Having a lad in med school and seeing the work required there to do well becoming a doctor anyone would want to see, if you’re worried about the rigor in undergrad classes you’re probably best finding a different career plan.

Taking what is perceived to be the “easy” route (according to the candidate) is one med school admissions frowns upon (as told to us by med school admissions reviewers when the above mentioned lad was contemplating pre-med), so you might want to consider rewording questions, etc.

Your best odds at getting into med school come from your putting in the effort studying to get good grades and an MCAT score while simultaneously getting the experiences needed within the medical field. I’ve seen students do this from many different schools - small religious LACs to large state schools and anything in between. The common denominator is they worked to do it (and had the ability to do it), not which school they went to. Their applications were attractive due to their accomplishments - not due to anyone freely giving them something.

I see very little difference between Emory and U Roc as destinations for undergrad. What you do at either will be the tipping point. Definitely consider finances as med school is expensive. Definitely consider what you “like” because students often do better where they are happier. Consider what your Plan B is too. Every potential med school candidate should have one as many do not make it in. That’s just the way it is.

From my understanding, an acceptance rate of ~30% allows colleges to choose a fully qualified class. Personally, I regard it as detrimental to associate greater prestige with colleges based (solely) on even lower acceptance rates.

All- Thanks for your comments.

When I posted the question “Which university is it easier to get a higher GPA in?”, my intention was to know the rigor of both the schools comparatively.

To clarify, I am neither afraid of hard work nor expect to get anything freely. I have chosen a career option that I am interested in. I have also pursued activities that kept me happy and at the same time enhance my application. No matter which school I go, I will be the same person, my attitude toward education and hard work goes with me.
As gpa is one of the major deciding factor in medical college application, I just wanted to know if I will be in a situation where it will be difficult for me to score higher gpa in spite of my efforts.

I was seeking answer from people who has friends/relatives in both these schools and/or have information pertaining to the rigor of these schools.

This website has been very helpful to people who want to get different perspectives on their thoughts. I am making one of the major decision in my life and I wanted to gather as much information possible. May be my question didn’t come out correct, and if that is the case, I would be happy to explain my question.

@SBSapphire I think getting a 3.8 is going to be difficult but not impossible at both schools.

You’ll be in classes with similar students—ones much like yourself—at both schools. You’ll have professors who are equally good at what they do and demanding of their students at both schools. You’ll cover the same content and get the same kind of foundational knowledge for MCAT prep at both schools.

My daughter had similar high-school stats to yours, and she’s had to work diligently to maintain a GPA in the 3.8 range. She’s taking a gap year to get more clinical experience and study for MCATS (study abroad did make it hard to take the test spring of junior year). So far, her friends who did apply during this med-school app cycle have been happy with their results.

Emory was on her “short list,” but ultimately she chose Rochester. She loves Rochester and has been prepared well for med school there through classes, research work, volunteering, internships, and ECs. But, truth to tell, if she had chosen Emory, I’m sure she would have been equally happy and equally well-prepared there.

@EllieMom: your last sentence is full of wisdom.

@SBSapphire The two schools are peers academically. You might find an easier or tougher Prof at either one of them TBH (or any other school), but both have their reputation due in part to the reputation for their academics and research. Both schools have students who successfully get into med school each year. Both schools have those who don’t. Whether those who don’t could have if they’d made a different choice is debatable. Statistics never apply to the individual.

FTR, my pp to you wasn’t meant to be condemnation. It was meant to get you to seriously look at your presentation, because that matters. Tact matters in several aspects of life.

From those I’ve seen from the high school I work at, the students who are most successful at getting admitted to med school are those who select a school where they are in the Top 25% of incoming students (unless at a lottery school where “all” are really at that level with a point or two here or there being meaningless). They also have a good work ethic from high school and don’t suddenly arrive at college freshmen year changing their major (or minor) to “party.” They join things and have fun, but remember to put studying and truly learning the material as their top focus. They ask questions when they don’t understand something.

My theory as to why they do better when they are in the Top 25% (GPA and SAT/ACT) is confidence level. Those stats tend to show a similar foundation of academics. Many classes in college start at the “average” level for incoming students. When students get into a class where they’re “behind” others they tend to feel they are “dumb” compared to the class. That’s not necessarily true as it’s often a foundation gap they could fill in, but they think it is and get stressed/discouraged. When they feel “up” with their peers, or on the higher end, it’s a good boost to confidence letting them feel they can continue to take on anything/everything. It’s a theory (hypothesis if I want to get technical), so take it as you wish. If you aren’t in the Top 25% for either school, you might want to consider others - or know you could have to work a little bit more at the beginning to close an occasional gap or two in the introductory classes (and that’s ok - you just have to actually do it).

Best wishes to you no matter where you ultimately choose. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a medical career. You don’t want to give yourself more hurdles by not understanding the whole process. How you come across at each stage is part of that process.

Is English your primary language?

First of all, med schools don’t care. Secondly, I doubt med school adcoms pay any attention to acceptance rates, particularly a situation of 20% vs 30%.

Even if this were true, we may not know the details or how their reported rates are derived/manipulated.

Either way, how would a reported acceptance rate affect YOU?

This stat is often reported by many good schools.

Yes. You can expect to be in classes where it will be very difficult to earn an A. Unlike hs where As can be handed out like pez candy, perhaps only 15-20% of a class will get As. You will face weeding out at both schools. You will be sitting in chem, physics, etc classes with not only other premeds, but also with other bright non premed chem, physics majors, etc, all who are trying to earn the limited number of As a prof hands out.

Premed is hard everywhere. I’ve seen estimates that suggest 70ish% of those who start as premed change their minds for any number of reasons. Of those who actually apply, 60% will fail to start anywhere. Agree with @ Creekland, a Plan B is vital. https://www.aamc.org/download/321442/data/factstablea1.pdf

Both schools will offer you the opportunities and resources to be a successful med school applicant. Whether you do so will be dependent mostly on you and your efforts, less on the school attended. Good luck.

Ok, but it’s not random. Each applicant does not have the same “chance” of getting into med school. Sure there some mistakes and/or unlucky state issues that can cause a strong stats applicant to come up empty handed, but more likely the failed applicants had problem stats.