I’m currently trying to decide between UNC (oos) and Case Western Reserve for pre-med. I’ve noticed that the social sciences and humanities at Case Western are not highly ranked compared to UNC. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how either of the programs are (how competitive, rigorous curve, quality of education, etc). I would be paying $15k less per year to go to Case rather than UNC, but from my understanding it’s easier to get into med school from UNC, so is it worth paying $15k a year more to go to UNC?
Are you planning on studying social sciences and humanities as a path to medical school?
Prestige of the undergraduate school is not really that important in getting into medical school; it’s about your GPA and MCAT scores.
I visited Case as a prospective humanities major, and my tour guide mentioned a “joke” around campus that “humanities kids are dumb.”
Run. Run while you have the chance.
That might make it easier for the OP to keep the GPA up.
@Zinhead but it’s definitely not what you’d want in a school culture as a humanities student. Undergrad is not just a waiting period for grad school; fit is important and I can’t imagine why anyone would want to spend 4 years in a community that views them with contempt.
Case appears on an online list, “The Experts’ Choice: Colleges with Great Pre-Med Programs.” This may be of some interest to you should you be experiencing doubts about the pre-med opportunities there.
Don’t be overly influenced by off the cuff comments from a tour guide. Delve deeper to see if that is a prevailing sentiment on campus or some comment made by an ignorant jerk-they are different.
I’d say if it isn’t going to make a difference to your family in a functional way-- like, say, your mom gets a toyota corolla instead of a lexus as her next car – go to UNC. If someone has to get a second job to cover it, or take out PLUS loans, go for the cheaper option and be glad that it is there. UNC is definitely better for a social sciences major. You might change your mind about medical school (like most do).
@lostaccount That was the general impression I got from Case; the tour guide’s words just exemplified it. They have a ton of beautiful, shiny STEM buildings and programs they love to talk about, but no buzz about the humanities or social sciences.
Humanities and social sciences are both pretty big at UNC. Many of these students are on a pre med track. Many study abroad and do research in the social sciences. We were told of one student who was a religious studies major. His medical school interviews consisted almost entirely of him speaking about the research he did in this field. He had several acceptances. That being said, you need to go to a school that is affordable to your family. Case Western is an excellent school and I am sure you could succeed there as a humanities major. As lostaccount suggested, you should delve deeper into the comments that were made.
CWRU deserves some regard for the academic preparedness of its students: “The 50 Smartest Colleges,” Business Insider. If their humanities kids are “dumb,” as a joke may have it, they are not so “dumb” as to substantially bring down this school’s averages.
@merc81 The concern isn’t the humanities kids actually being “dumb”, it’s that they’re PERCEIVED as lesser by STEM students within the university. That’s not a healthy and encouraging community dynamic for a humanities student.