<p>Sonoma, give some consideration to ZPMQ's idea about Community College, particularly if you are set on attending U of Washington or Washington State University. While both schools are "re-tooling" their Direct Transfer Programs, it still may be easier to get admitted their science programs from CC. Keep in mind some community colleges in the region have very good pre-med preparation. Bellevue Community College near Seattle comes to mind.</p>
<p>Sonoma000, why do you think you wouldn't be able to get into the UW? Are you a junior? Have you taken the SATs yet? How's your gpa? Those are the two things the UW mostly considers. Are you in-state? Can you afford to go to a non-state school or is money a huge consideration?</p>
<p>Are you sure you want to be a biology major or are you just thinking biology because of premed? They say the most important factor in picking a major as a premed student is choosing something that you love because then you should do your very best. Also, many premeds fall by the wayside so it is good to think about that. If you love biology-great. If not, take your year of bio, 2 years of chem, calc and english to meet your app requirements(some med schools require other things but those are the basics) and major in what interests you most. Often music, math, psych etc. majors do better percentage wise than science majors as med school admits anyway! My niece that recently went through the UW undergrad and then their med school was a psych major and she minored in ethics. They are big on seeing the human side of an applicant and the UW med school really wants drs that will work with the underserved areas of our population...rural, innercity, ethnic, etc.</p>
<p>Lake Washington is right, there are some very good ccs in WA and Bellevue is one of the best. I think that things don't always transfer the way they should though and I don't believe that taking your pre-req science courses from a CC would be as impressive. Not that it couldn't be done. I also think that it is helpful to have continuity in premed advising throughout college plus I am a big fan of a four year college experience. (Not that ccs aren't a good option for the right student.I'd be a little bit cautious about premed though.)If you do get into med school your nose will be to the grindstone for many years practically to the exclusion of all else! (Another reason to major in a non-science area now if you are so inclined. Last chance!)</p>
<p>BS/MD programs are insanely difficult to get into and to be honest, I would not want my kids to go to most of them because of the overall college experience. And then what if medicine doesn't work out? The three I would entertain would be Brown, Northwestern and Rice but you have to be top notch and very lucky to snag a spot in one of those programs...and for that matter most any other BS/MD program. It usually comes down to kids choosing between one of those programs at a less than prestigious college and an Ivy. If your stats are that good you should easily make it into the UW or WSU.</p>
<p>My advice for a student that wants to pursue premed but is not at the top of the heap coming out of high school is to go to a smaller liberal arts school. I wish my nephew would have done this-he has probably killed his chances at med school by choosing to attend the UW (out of state no less- at $30 grand a year) and yet he is not a top student. He is so name-conscious though and insisted that since the UW has such a stellar medschool that it was THE place to go. Oh well! He and half of the student body up there are mistaken about that! Different routes work best for different people. Another thought is you want to be sure that there will be some money left for med school when you are done!</p>
<p>One of our own highschoolers is a potential premed and her resume will probably be near perfect-even so I think a LAC would be a great place for her. I believe that Amherst in Mass still has the highest med school placement percentage. While it is very difficult to get admitted there, there are many less selective LACs that have excellent placement rates that do not weed out their premeds-they actively support them. Many of our medical friends and relatives send their children to these type of schools and wish they had gone their themselves! There is much talk about this on this site. Again, try to search the medical or parent forums. Cangel, Carolyn, Hubbelgardner are a few that have talked extensively on this subject. Carolyn has her own college website. The other two are physicians with premed kids.</p>
<p>Are you willing and able to go anywhere in the country to school or do you prefer the NW or the west coast? Again, if we knew what your stats are and what part finances play in your decision we could probably be more specific. (Don't rule out private schools thinking they will be more expensive. Often they are much more generous with financial aid.) Anyway, around here Whitman, Willamette and UPS would be good bets. We have a good friend that went to UPS and got into Washington University's med school-which is usually ranked about #3. Pomona in CA is great but competitive. Less so would be Knox, Juaniata, St. Olaf and many other small, lesser known places back east. Is that something that would interest you? </p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Wow thank you very much. It took me a while to read but it was really helpful. I am a junior I am not the best at academics so im guessing about a 1800 or 1900+ SAT and about a 3.3 GPA. I have only considered big schools and never thought about LAC's. Although BCC would be a great option, I dont think community colleges would be the best for me. I am slightly confident I will get into WSU I am confident that I might get rejected from UW. Do you think going to Western Wash. University in Bellingham would be good? or not?</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
<p>anyone? thanks again...</p>