UW or SPU for pre-med?

[chestnut girl]

I'm trying to decide which school to go to and I am having the hardest time ever. Which school would be better for a student that will be pursing medicine? How are the pre-med programs at both schools? What are the pros and cons? Which school would better prepare me for medical school? I've heard that the pre-med program at UW is pretty bad and offers little to no advising. If you go there and are on the pre-med track, is this true? I went on an SPU tour the other day and the pre-med program at SPU sounds amazing and almost guarantees an admission to a medical school upon graduation. Is this also true? The only thing stopping me from committing to SPU is that UW is the more prestigious school out of the two and was definitely harder to get into so I would feel kind of like I am giving up a great opportunity. Also, the school has so much diversity which is awesome. SPU is a small private university so I am slightly scared of fitting in and making friends because I am quite shy and introverted. What's deterring me away from UW is the supposedly hard competition and higher percentage of failure. I am for sure not the smartest kid around but I am determined and can't think of anything else I'd want to do with my life than help people with the power of medicine. Any advice would be super appreciated. Please also share your experiences at either of the schools!

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[Ashers]

I'm assuming you mean University of Washington and Seattle Pacific University. (UW can also mean University of Wisconsin to a lot of the country, but I'm a PAC-10er it became the PAC-12 after I graduated.)

I know people from medical school and residency who went to each school. I also know people who didn't go into medicine from both schools who are successful in other fields.

I would consider cost (in-state vs private), resources available (eg. research, opportunities to shadow in medicine), what you want to study -- you can study something that isn't science in college if you want as long as you do the prereqs, and extracurricular activities. You can also look into study abroad opportunities, which I recommend to basically all college students if it's feasibly possible. Also, consider that you may be motivated enough not to need to be guided from one place to another like tends to happen in the smaller schools where the administration people can keep closer tabs on the students. In a large public school, you may get lost. I probably needed to be guided for about a year, so my freshman year was rough as I adjusted from high school, but then I figured out the system and was able to manage just fine without going in to meet with advisors all the time, unless I had to have something signed.

 

[randomguy123456]

I'm trying to decide which school to go to and I am having the hardest time ever. Which school would be better for a student that will be pursing medicine? How are the pre-med programs at both schools? What are the pros and cons? Which school would better prepare me for medical school? I've heard that the pre-med program at UW is pretty bad and offers little to no advising. If you go there and are on the pre-med track, is this true? I went on an SPU tour the other day and the pre-med program at SPU sounds amazing and almost guarantees an admission to a medical school upon graduation. Is this also true? The only thing stopping me from committing to SPU is that UW is the more prestigious school out of the two and was definitely harder to get into so I would feel kind of like I am giving up a great opportunity. Also, the school has so much diversity which is awesome. SPU is a small private university so I am slightly scared of fitting in and making friends because I am quite shy and introverted. What's deterring me away from UW is the supposedly hard competition and higher percentage of failure. I am for sure not the smartest kid around but I am determined and can't think of anything else I'd want to do with my life than help people with the power of medicine. Any advice would be super appreciated. Please also share your experiences at either of the schools!

SPU without a doubt