Pre-Health Program School Listing

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Hey guys! The following information is just a list I put together of colleges that have been identified as schools with excellent pre-health programs. I'm sure we have all been in the position where its come time to apply for college but we just weren't sure which schools had good programs. Its organized by state so people can determine what schools would be "in state" when they start applying. I may have accidentally ended up focusing too much on pre-medicine, but the list shouldn't be too biased

Colleges that have stars next to them were identified as being "in the top ten" for pre-health programs by the Princeton Review. I put "in the top ten" in quotes because many feel their listing was heavily biased with no real facts or statistics to back up the findings. The rest of the schools were chosen by cross referencing many rankings and statistics available on various websites. I am well aware that I missed a number of prestigious colleges but I was trying to keep the listing condensed. There were a number of states that I could not find a clear winner for. Therefore, I left a place holder until those schools can be determined.

Please post any suggestions! I'll try and keep the post updated. It was quite interesting going through some of these colleges and realizing that they had excellent acceptance rates (Transylvania University in Kentucky had an 87% acceptance rate last year to medical schools, Ripon College in Wisconsin had an 80% rate). I hope someone can find this useful!

Noteworthy Colleges with Outstanding Pre-Health Programs

Alabama
1. University of Alabama – Birmingham

Alaska
1. University of Alaska - Anchorage

Arizona
1. Arizona State University
2. University of Arizona

Arkansas
1. University of Arkansas

California
1. University of California – Los Angeles *
2. University of California – Berkeley *
3. University of California – San Diego *
4. Stanford University
5. University of Southern California
6. University of California - Irvine
7. University of California - Davis

Colorado
1. University of Colorado – Colorado Springs
2. University of Northern Colorado

Connecticut
1. Yale University

Delaware
1. University of Delaware

Florida
1. University of Florida – Gainesville *
2. Florida State University
3. University of Florida – Miami

Georgia
1. Emory University

Hawaii
1. Hawaii Pacific University
2. The University of Hawaii System (Hilo and Manoa)
3. Brigham Young University

Idaho
1. University of Idaho

Illinois
1. University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign *
2. Northwestern University
3. The University of Chicago

Indiana
1. University of Notre Dame

Iowa
1. Grinnell College

Kansas
1. University of Kansas
2. Kansas State

Kentucky
1. University of Kentucky
2. Kentucky Wesleyan College
3. Transylvania University

Louisiana
1. Tulane University

Maine
1. Bates College

Maryland
1. The Johns Hopkins University

Massachusetts
1. Harvard *
2. Tufts University
3. College of the Holy Cross

Michigan
1. University of Michigan *

Minnesota
1. University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
2. University of Minnesota - Duluth

Mississippi
1. Mississippi State University

Missouri
1. Washington University

Montana
1. Montana State University
2. The University of Montana

Nebraska
1. Creighton University

Nevada
1. University of Nevada – Reno
2. University of Nevada – Las Vegas

New Hampshire
1. Dartmouth College

New Jersey
1. Princeton University
2. Rutgers, the State University
3. The College of New Jersey

New Mexico
1. Reserved

New York
1. Cornell University
2. New York University
3. Colgate University
4. Yeshiva College

North Carolina
1. Duke University

North Dakota
1. Reserved

Ohio
1. Case Western Reserve University

Oklahoma
1. Reserved

Oregon
1. Reserved

Pennsylvania
1. University of Pennsylvania
2. Carnegie Mellon University
3. Lafayette College

Rhode Island
1. Brown University

South Carolina
1. Reserved

South Dakota
1. Reserved

Tennessee
1. Vanderbilt University

Texas
1. University of Texas – Austin *
2. University of Texas - Dallas
3. University of Texas - Arlington
4. Texas A&M University
5. Texas Tech University


Utah
1. Reserved

Vermont
1. Middlebury College
2. University of Vermont
3. Saint Michael's College

Virginia
1. University of Virginia *
2. The College of William and Mary

Washington
1. Reserved

West Virginia
1. Reserved

Wisconsin
1. University of Wisconsin – Madison *
2. University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire
3. Ripon College

Wyoming
1. Reserved

Thanks for putting this together, as there are a ton of threads here asking about "the best premed schools"

Suggestion: Creighton University in Nebraska has an excellent premed program.

Very nice and organized list

I suggest NYU for New York and UCD, UCI, USC, Stanford are pretty good for Premed in California

Case Western is generally considered one of the best premed programs in Ohio.

Thanks for making the list. I would suggest St. Michaels College and the University of Vermont for Vermont. Saint Mike's has a 92% acceptance rate to med/dental/vet schools, and UVM has a 55% rate.

Thanks guys! I'll add those in.

Add the University of Texas at Dallas, University of Texas at Arlington, Texas A&M and Texas Tech to the list for Texas. All of them are great schools with solid programs (Especially UTD with its BAMF pre-health advising program).

WARNING: Be wary of the so-called "acceptance rates" for universities. Heard from a provost on how these figures are massaged by colleges. Most pre-med students starting out freshman year switch majors since they find it to be too "rigorous" (Only 1 out of 10 will apply to med school and only 1 out of the 4 who applied will get in).

So, some colleges set high standards to get a recommendation letter from the Health Advising committee and only count the students who get the recommendation. Non-competitive students are ignored. The provost told me more ways on how this figure is messed with, but I can't remember all of them at the moment.

Originally Posted by ElCapone

Add the University of Texas at Dallas, University of Texas at Arlington, Texas A&M and Texas Tech to the list for Texas. All of them are great schools with solid programs (Especially UTD with its BAMF pre-health advising program).

WARNING: Be wary of the so-called "acceptance rates" for universities. Heard from a provost on how these figures are massaged by colleges. Most pre-med students starting out freshman year switch majors since they find it to be too "rigorous" (Only 1 out of 10 will apply to med school and only 1 out of the 4 who applied will get in).

So, some colleges set high standards to get a recommendation letter from the Health Advising committee and only count the students who get the recommendation. Non-competitive students are ignored. The provost told me more ways on how this figure is messed with, but I can't remember all of them at the moment.

Just got done adding those schools! And yeah, I was a little concerned about some of these acceptance rates as well. Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to really dig through all of the data available to remove colleges that boast stats that are inflated.

If anyone knows of any schools that I have listed who use a similar gimmick such as what ElCapone described, let me know so I can add a warning next to their name.

In addition, if anyone knows of any schools for the states that have "Reserved" place holders under them at the moment, post some ideas!

I should note with Saint Michael's College is that the 92% rate is the TOTAL rate for dental, veterinary, and medical schools. Medical may not be as great as veterinary; it could be something like that. As far as I know, though, they don't use ElCapone's method. That could just be my ignorance, though.

Originally Posted by AntiHouseMD

I should note with Saint Michael's College is that the 92% rate is the TOTAL rate for dental, veterinary, and medical schools. Medical may not be as great as veterinary; it could be something like that. As far as I know, though, they don't use ElCapone's method. That could just be my ignorance, though.

Thanks for the clarification! I think it should be fine considering this list is meant to encompass all pre-health programs and you're suggestion encompassed a number of them.

Originally Posted by Badger MD

If anyone knows of any schools that I have listed who use a similar gimmick such as what ElCapone described, let me know so I can add a warning next to their name.

You might as well mark up the entire list since every undergrad is doing it to be marketable, including the ones that I mentioned. Undergrads that are truthful would receive less applicants (Less application fee money) and less students for those programs (Less tuition). Revealing a low placement rate would also bring into question the value of the institution and its leadership and raise several eyebrows amongst grant granters. Colleges are ultimately businesses and not charitable institutions run by monks. They have to make money at the end of the day, even if it means resorting to less than truthful means.

I've heard from medical students and pre-meds who graduated but couldn't get into med school that Pre-Med programs are only as effective as you make of it. I know plenty of kids who went to Ivy League schools for Pre-Med but couldn't get into medical school even after several application cycles. On the flip side, I know others who went to lower ranked schools like UT Dallas yet ended up in Ivy League medical schools.

But being an active participant is great since you're exposed to a lot more information that you would probably receive from your Pre-Health advisor. But many students out there are unaware of SDN and have no clue that they have to volunteer in a hospital and shadow physicians. And when they do, they often underestimate the number of hours that they have to put in because their pre-health advisors are either:

1. Too busy since they have to advise a ridiculously huge number of students and the school doesn't have enough of money to hire more advisors
2. Unaware of the extent of the application process since they weren't pre-med students and did something else before becoming pre-health advisors.
3. Were pre-med students who failed to end up in med school since they didn't know how to navigate the entire process and became advisors (And some could hold a grudge against other pre-medders)
4. Some poor guy or girl shoved into the role of pre-health advisor since no one else wanted to do it

So go to whichever school offers you the best financial aid package and know that you will excel there not because of the great "program" there but because you are knowledgeable of the med school admission process. Stay on SDN and always ask if you have difficulties with anything. There are plenty of great people on here who are willing to help you with everything.

Originally Posted by ElCapone

So go to whichever school offers you the best financial aid package and know that you will excel there not because of the great "program" there but because you are knowledgeable of the med school admission process. Stay on SDN and always ask if you have difficulties with anything. There are plenty of great people on here who are willing to help you with everything.

I don't know if I really agree with that. While it helps to be knowledgeable about the admissions process, it doesn't hurt to go to a school where the Pre-Health department is well versed in the application process too. I'm not claiming that going to one of these schools will get you into medical school, but not going to a school that you know has a dedicated staff and successful history with pre-health students would be foolish. There are a plethora of stories about colleges with advisers who didn't know about MD/PhD programs, the MCAT, etc. But there are certainly a fair amount of colleges (many of which are on this list) with professors who make it a point to have their students present findings nationally, co-author, and complete the necessary steps to become a competitive applicant.

Originally Posted by Badger MD

I don't know if I really agree with that. While it helps to be knowledgeable about the admissions process, it doesn't hurt to go to a school where the Pre-Health department is well versed in the application process too. I'm not claiming that going to one of these schools will get you into medical school, but not going to a school that you know has a dedicated staff and successful history with pre-health students would be foolish. There are a plethora of stories about colleges with advisers who didn't know about MD/PhD programs, the MCAT, etc. But there are certainly a fair amount of colleges (many of which are on this list) with professors who make it a point to have their students present findings nationally, co-author, and complete the necessary steps to become a competitive applicant.

I strongly disagree. Nothing my pre-health advisor told me hasn't been mentioned on SDN, but I've found that a lot of what's on SDN hasn't been mentioned by him. Your pre-med advisor will not also hold your hand in the process and ensure that you will get into med school, MD/PhD programs, etc. Also, your advisors don't help you with posters, etc. It's your PIs who will and you can find plenty of helpful PIs in almost every college. I will be going to what might be considered a very low ranking school yet my PI has been extremely helpful with the work I do and has ensured that I will be published as long as I put in the work.

I believe that their are some programs that prepare you better for medical school (Wash U. for example, has a very rigorous premed program). I don't think that schools will go out of their way to make their students more competitive, that's our job .

Originally Posted by ElCapone

I've heard from medical students and pre-meds who graduated but couldn't get into med school that Pre-Med programs are only as effective as you make of it. I know plenty of kids who went to Ivy League schools for Pre-Med but couldn't get into medical school even after several application cycles. On the flip side, I know others who went to lower ranked schools like UT Dallas yet ended up in Ivy League medical schools...

So go to whichever school offers you the best financial aid package and know that you will excel there not because of the great "program" there but because you are knowledgeable of the med school admission process. Stay on SDN and always ask if you have difficulties with anything. There are plenty of great people on here who are willing to help you with everything.

This man speaks the truth.

Originally Posted by aSagacious

This man speaks the truth.

Thanks a lot. Just putting it out there to warn future pre-meds because I know too many people who could have made it to med school drop out of the race because they didn't prioritize and because they didn't know what to do. That's why I push myself and am trying to be proactive about a lot of these things because I'm afraid of ending up in the same position as them.

By the way, is that a picture of Popeye in your avatar?

Originally Posted by ElCapone

By the way, is that a picture of Popeye in your avatar?

Yeah, he's a little past his prime in this shot, but still strutting his stuff.

Originally Posted by ElCapone

I strongly disagree. Nothing my pre-health advisor told me hasn't been mentioned on SDN, but I've found that a lot of what's on SDN hasn't been mentioned by him. Your pre-med advisor will not also hold your hand in the process and ensure that you will get into med school, MD/PhD programs, etc. Also, your advisors don't help you with posters, etc. It's your PIs who will and you can find plenty of helpful PIs in almost every college. I will be going to what might be considered a very low ranking school yet my PI has been extremely helpful with the work I do and has ensured that I will be published as long as I put in the work.

Then you've had an ENTIRELY different experience in relation to what I've had

Granted, the school I attend has only 1,000 undergraduate students and only 180 new incoming freshmen each year. And on top of that, 61% (the current statistics) of the incoming freshmen designate themselves as pre-health. Its what the school prides itself in.

Originally Posted by Badger MD

Then you've had an ENTIRELY different experience in relation to what I've had

Granted, the school I attend has only 1,000 undergraduate students and only 180 new incoming freshmen each year. And on top of that, 61% (the current statistics) of the incoming freshmen designate themselves as pre-health. Its what the school prides itself in.

That's a tiny school! How competitive is it to find research positions?

Originally Posted by ElCapone

That's a tiny school! How competitive is it to find research positions?

Indeed it is! The town it is located in only has about 7,000 people and 1,500 of them are affiliated with the college in some way (I rounded the numbers off a bit). The largest class size I've had is 15, the smallest is 7

In terms of getting research positions, it can be difficult at times. Overall its not too bad though. Each professor has 2-3 undergraduate students that are "theirs" and they do everything they can to help us out. I'm not really sure how it is once someone gets on into their later college years (I'm guessing it gets harder) but so far I've had an easy time. Its also nice because you're usually paired with a professor who has similar interests so if you get to research with them its something you'll have a genuine interest in.