<p>Hey, I am wondering, out of these schools, which seems like the best fit for me. I realize that I should really visit these schools, but the truth is that I probably won't be able to visit all of them. Anyways, here are my interests and what I want out of my undergraduate experience:
-great pre-medical program (good advising to really help me get an edge into medical school admissions, challenging but not impossible courses, competitive but not a super cutthroat environment, great place for research and summer internships)
-location in or close to a large city (not just any large city, but one where I can experience numerous different things like great shows, restaurants, sports teams, maybe even museums idk for sure but hopefully you understand somewhat what i'm talking about)
-really nice campus vibe (where the school is generally pretty close-knit and there is large involvement in school spirit and pride)
-pretty respectable status (high rank and a school where medical school admissions would be impressed if I even got just like a 3.5 or 3.6)
-nice people (I kind of already mentioned this, but i don't want a school where everyone is SUPER competitive... instead I want a school where people are pretty laid-back and nice with each other)</p>
<p>Some other questions I think you may want to ask yourself:</p>
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<p>As far as what you’ve said, I’d say WashU would be a near-perfect fit, the only real question would be how satisfactory you would find St. Louis, which I think is fairly hit-or-miss.</p>
<p>If you really want to experience a lot of the city you’re by, Penn would clearly be a lot better in that regard, though just from rumor, I’ve heard they don’t have the strongest advising, and it’s definitely not as laid-back.</p>
<p>Michigan is a great option if you are a big sports fan and you don’t mind huge numbers of students, but from your criteria it doesn’t quite sound like what you want.</p>
<p>Northwestern…it may be a good compromise between a bunch of things; if you want a bit of that competitive atmosphere (which you won’t find much of at WashU) and also some prestige, it could be a good choice. That said, I know a lot of people deciding between the two schools (who go here) who say that we have a much more open, friendlier campus.</p>
<p>For you, I would say WashU>Northwestern>Penn>Michigan.</p>
<p>Yep, there are lots of factors to consider.</p>
<p>For example, Michigan is much, much bigger than Wash U. Accordingly, sports at Michigan are much better than at Wash U. On the other hand, you’ll take a bus to class at Michigan.</p>
<p>False you will NOT take a bus to class. I’ve been at UMich for two years and have not once set foot in a bus. If you’re not looking for competitive pre-med, maybe don’t come to UMich. I know a lot of people that are real competitive on the pre-med track.</p>
<p>Well, I have three friends at UMich and they all take the bus. And I saw hundreds of students taking the buses while I visited for a weekend.</p>
<p>-great pre-medical program (good advising to really help me get an edge into medical school admissions, challenging but not impossible courses, competitive but not a super cutthroat environment, great place for research and summer internships)
-nice people (I kind of already mentioned this, but i don’t want a school where everyone is SUPER competitive… instead I want a school where people are pretty laid-back and nice with each other)
-pretty respectable status (high rank and a school where medical school admissions would be impressed if I even got just like a 3.5 or 3.6)</p>
<p>These three aspects you listed above perfectly matches WashU without question; it’s like you’re describing it.</p>
<p>-really nice campus vibe (where the school is generally pretty close-knit and there is large involvement in school spirit and pride)</p>
<p>The school is pretty close-knit and there is quite a bit of school spirit and pride. Not exactly sure about the involvement, but then again I haven’t attended some of the school-oriented programs like Red Alert (which gives free pizza to students who go see WashU sports), so I can’t really comment on this.</p>
<p>-location in or close to a large city (not just any large city, but one where I can experience numerous different things like great shows, restaurants, sports teams, maybe even museums idk for sure but hopefully you understand somewhat what i’m talking about)</p>
<p>This is the one that I would agree with nitwitoddment that WashU students tend not to go into the city a lot. A lot of the students refer to this as the “WashU bubble” since although St. Louis has attractions like the City Museum (which is really fun by the way) and Forest Park, which includes the zoo and places like the art museum, most people tend to stay on campus. The Loop, which is a street filled with restaurants, is fairly close and has a pretty good selection of restaurants. If you really want a “big city” feel and its really important for you, Upenn would be a better choice. (Upenn though does have a much more competitive atmosphere than WashU.) Otherwise, WashU would be the far better choice.</p>
<p>That being said, you still have to get in. You never know; the admission process might decide for you.</p>
<p>-washu is supposed to be excellent in the natural sciences/premed but ive heard it can be pretty competitive. out of those schools, ive heard penn is really good for pre-med, it supposedly has fair grading which i know attracts a lot of pre-meds from my area
-for a big city, washu and penn are directly in st. louis and philly. northwestern is in evanston which has a city feel and you can see chicago from the campus, but it is still a good half hour drive or hour by public transportation to get into chicago. ive heard ann arbor’s great but it definitely is no philly or st. louis
-i think all the schools have really strong school spirit, esp the div. 1 schools. if i had to guess the most school spirited itd probably be michigan and northwestern considering they’re Big 10
-all these schools are top so no matter where you go, a med school would highly respect them
-ive visited all schools but michigan but i must say, having seen schools in the northeast south and midwest, the midwest and south definitely had the friendliest student bodies and staff. they seemed much more chill and welcoming</p>
<p>Deciding amongst these very fine colleges for a pre-med path has been an annual event for many top pre-med students, particularly those from the midwest.</p>
<p>First, you should understand that it’s extraordinarily likely that it’s a no lose situation if you go to any of the four – most students (including hard-working pre-meds) have a fantastic overall experience at all four, they’ll all give you superior pre-med academic training and advising, and medical school admissions committees will consider each one of them total peers when assessing your candidacy (meaning don’t waste a moment trying to figure out whether one school is better than the other in that regard).</p>
<p>Having said that, it would be a rare student who have no preference as to the feel or the “vibe” difference between these schools. They’ll take you to the same place in the end, but the scenery you encounter will be different. Ask around - a lot. Search the archives here - there is endless info talking about the differences/similarities between these schools. I’d strongly advise you to visit yourself since ANY third-party information can never replace what you see, feel, sense yourself. Yes, it’s often a financial and logistical nightmare to do this, but that pales in significance to the dollar and energy expenditure you’re about to make to attend any one of them.</p>
<p>My son was fortunate in that he had the option for all four – he chose Wash U. In fairness, while we know many people who have had exceptionally positive pre-med path at all four, we have 20-30 people in our lives who have had over-the-top amazing experiences at Wash U. It was his top choice going into applications and they sealed the deal for him by luring him with a merit scholarship as well (they didn’t need to do this as he would have come anyway, but call me a cynic, I didn’t think I had to let them know this).</p>
<p>I would like to say something about one poster’s comment that Wash U pre-med is particularly competitive. Everyone can have a different experience and perspective I suppose, but for generations really (since the late 1960’s, to my personal knowledge), one of the major selling points for doing pre-med at Wash U was its reputation for being unusually NON-competitive for pre-meds. The general consensus seemed to be that Wash U admissions did a pretty good job of selecting very strong students, but students who were perhaps a touch more collegial, cooperative, and less overtly competitive than you might find at many peer institutions. Pre-med will always be inherently competitive because grades matter for med school admission and relative grades between students make a difference at schools (and school like all four of these will have a tremendous number of very high quality students). But, some schools are generally seen as adding an additional layer of competition above the inherent competition, while others are generally seen as lacking this additional competition. Through conversations with a LARGE number of grads over the years, we had a sense that Wash U might truly be the best at doing THIS, at least among the four schools you mentioned. And, for what it’s worth, that was exactly his sense after going through the program.</p>
<p>Best of luck in whatever route you choose.</p>
<p>“Well, I have three friends at UMich and they all take the bus. And I saw hundreds of students taking the buses while I visited for a weekend.”</p>
<p>When you visited for the weekend? That’s cute. I have upward of 50 friends here who never take the bus. We actually joke about how difficult it will be if we ever need to travel because none of us are familiar with the bus system. So hundreds of people, you say? Kinda doubt that.</p>
<p>There are over 25,000 undergrads at U-Mich, and I witnessed many of them taking the bus. I’m just telling you what I saw. In fact, my friends told me they sell Michigan shirts that say “I don’t know you, but we’ve probably spooned on the Bursley/Baits bus.” Hey, ain’t that a coincidence! There’s even a Facebook group with that exact name, and over 1000 members…<a href=“Facebook Public Group | Facebook”>Facebook Public Group | Facebook;
<p>There are a bunch of pictures and even a video of someone crowd-surfing inside the bus.</p>
<p>Just because you and your friends might not take the bus doesn’t mean it isn’t part of Michigan campus culture.</p>
<p>All this discussion about Michegan and bus or not bus is getting totally OT.</p>
<p>Whew! That said, I wanted to chime in for WashU and Northwestern. I have two kids, one in each of these schools and they’ve had a great experience. My son at WashU is pre-med and I can tell you this: he is so not competitive. I keep trying, but he won’t pay any attention. My son at Northwestern isn’t into the sciences, but he’s loved his college experience nonetheless. I don’t know Penn or Michegan, but it seemed to me that when you were describing the “ideal college”, you were describing WashU. At least, if you asked my son about WashU, he’d say the same things you described.</p>
<p>campus culture? Do me a favor: spend more than 48 hours on campus before talking about the culture. </p>
<p>That’s the problem with relying on other people to get valuable insight regarding a decision like this. Unless you visit these places, you’re going to get secondhand info or peoples’ “perceptions,” or “heard it through a friend” anecdotes. You really do need to visit for yourself no answer here is going to be enough. I could make a comment on NU’s pre-med based on what my buddy has told me, but that really doesn’t mean anything.</p>
<p>All are excellent schools. One could debate which is better for pre-med all day, and probably not come up with a definitive answer.</p>
<p>I’ve visited three of the four with my child, and they have very different feels. For example, Mich is much larger than Wash U. Is this an advantage or a disadvantage? Shrugs shoulders – the answer will vary from student to student. </p>
<p>If your choice comes down to these four schools, you won’t go wrong with any of them. So, it really comes down to – is there a financial consideration (e.g., are you Mich in-state), what is your perception of the strengths and weaknesses of each, and which school makes you feel the most at home.</p>
<p>Going to any of these schools is quite an accomplishment and would be something to be proud of.</p>
<p>i saw premed and then big city and then i immediately though WashU is perfect. Michigan has a good premed but not big city. also WashU is constantly ranked to have one of the best quality of life ratings, which is basically a grouping of your final 3 requests</p>