<p>qtpie , u are not required to stay a summer for northwestern's HPME.. you get your BS in medicine in the first year of medical school or if u can, u can get a BA or BS in one of the schools at Northwestern by fulfilling the requirements for a major.. </p>
<p>i think HPME is just a little bit more well known of ap rogram, since it was established in 1961 (oldest one i think?) and it accepts a good amount of students (50-60) whereas rice/baylor as mentioned above, only accepts 15-20</p>
<p>so if prestige is based on how well-known a school is to others, than northwestern wins, but i can't judge on which one is more prestigious b/c i don't know much about rice and its academics</p>