Hi!
I’ve been admitted to all of these schools and have narrowed it down to them but I’m seeking out as many opinions as possible considering I can’t visit and got off the waitlist just recently for WUSTL. This might be long, so thanks in advance for reading! It’s all down to a bunch of minor differences.
Career/major plans:
I want to go into medicine and have all through high school but recently was fortunate enough to experience computer science and learn over an internship with a major tech company that it is definitely a career I would like.
However, med school is the goal in the end.
Relevant info:
-Direct admit to CS @ UW Seattle with Honors College admission
-Half tuition scholarship at Northeastern with Honors
-WA state resident
-Parent agreed to help with undergraduate tuition and can do so relatively comfortably, money isn’t a major deciding factor
Current thoughts:
@UW Seattle: major in computer science and try to complete pre-med pre-reqs. Take summers for medical-related opportunities and get involved in research year-round if possible. If plan is too hard/GPA plummets/plan changes, full send computer science or switch out depending on interests.
@WUSTL: major in biochemistry and grind the pre-med work life. If possible, minor in CS or leverage CS experience in research but still prioritize bio coursework. Seems like the best pre-med academic advising.
@Northeastern: major in biochemistry with a hard-set goal to minor in computer science. Co-op and 5 years might allow me to accomplish both better and balance work life. However, I am most unfamiliar with Northeastern.
What I’m looking for in a campus/college experience:
-To learn how to handle myself in a different environment (college will accomplish this no matter what), but I am slightly enamored with the idea of throwing myself off the deep end in a city across the country.
-Private school vibes with good advising and support. I believe I’m comfortable with speaking up and can function in large class sizes but do prefer smaller ones.
-A big enough city that there’s always diverse viewpoints and a sense of emotional maturity in that open conversations happen. I’m not a big fan of pretentiousness or social rat races - although I know I’ll find that anywhere. With these cities, it’s probably splitting hairs.
- Research and medical opportunities that I can combine with computer science that I hope will be the strongest part of my application
Bonus question: Is UC Berkeley as much of a state-school vibe as I think it is? Even though their undergraduate enrollment is lower than UW’s I feel like I’d academically and socially get lost a bit. For these reasons, I crossed it off mentally, but am I characterizing it correctly? I’ve had multiple sources give polarized opinions.
Thanks for your time!