Hey guys! If I could get a quick response as the deadline is very near that would be great!
Where do I go for pre med? Do I go to WashU, UCLA, Berkeley, or UW?
Cost is not a factor for any of these schools, I love all their campuses equally, and I find that I will excel academically either way.
Which school is the best for pre med and would give me the best placement into top medical schools?
Thanks in advance!
Placement into med school is almost entirely based on GPA and test scores. The reason a school like say Stanford has a higher med school placement rate than say San Jose State is not necessarily because it is “better” but because the student population is already much more selective. Stanford is full of 1500+ SAT types with 4.0 GPAs so they are already selecting the top med school prospects from the start. They essentially admit the the top students in the world at taking standardized tests. So it is not surprising that they would have more students score high on the MCAT three years later. It isn’t because Stanford has some “secret sauce” that prepares students for the MCAT more than any other school. Those same students might have been equally successful scoring high on the MCAT and getting into med school had they attended San Jose State.
The schools on your list are all good schools but different. UW, UCLA, and Berkeley are all enormous impersonal public universities (I went to grad school at UW). Washington University is a small Ivy League type school stuck in the middle of the country that would get much more attention if it was in New England or California. They will all suit you fine if your objective is med school. I would choose the one you like the best as a place to spend 4 years of your life. If cost is not an issue then Washington U is going to give you the most attentive education and least hassles with things like getting the correct classes for your major and getting out in four years, which can be an issue with some big public universities. Maybe even more so if Covid-19 economic depression results in big budget cuts at public universities as may be likely. A place like Washington University with its enormous endowment is likely to be much more insulated from that sort of thing.
UCLA
I couldn’t agree more. At equal cost, I’d take Wash U over a bigger and more impersonal school like UCLA every time.
At equal price, I would always go for the private school for a more personalized education, all other factors equal. I would take Wash U here.
Another Wash U vote.
@Bobbymaye . . . I wouldn’t disagree with Wash U, but UCLA not to overly hype the school, is putting some really great professors, e.g., at the intro levels of chemistry (14 series) to really instill the learning aspect of the subject to students instead of rote memorization. They then act almost like gatekeepers for students seeking medical school.
Here’s a video that features a couple of them put out by the school newspaper, Daily Bruin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERfzl-9jhqQ
But at the same time, Wash U will have some large intro classes itself, especially since they are a bonafide premed factory also. This is similarly what people won’t tell you about the Ivies, Stanford, etc., about some of their popular majors; that they can have large classes also.
Every one of these schools has a fine academic reputation, and every school will be filled with intelligent, driven, goal directed students in your pre-med classes. The best course is to select the school that “fits” you the best, and only you can make that decision.
Thank you for your responses everyone!
UCLA if big sports scene is your thing.
Wash U if it isn’t.
I don’t see huge advantages to the other 2.
A bit late, but I sincerely thank you all for your responses. I loved WashU, but had hesitated due to the school being so far into the midwest, whereas I am from the west coast. After meeting current students and reading your comments, I had decided to commit to WashU!
Thank you again for taking the time to help me make a much more informed decision, and I couldn’t be more happy with my decision!