Bryn Mawr or Goucher: help me decide.

bryn mawr--larger program, around longer and more established, great linkage school relationships (more?, i.e. dartmouth, UMDNJ, Penn, Rochester), classes with undergrads, philadelphia.

goucher-- smaller program, great linkage school relationships(but fewer? Tulane is the only unique one they list), classes separate from undergrads, baltimore.

i went to bryn mawr and loved it. i have friends who went to goucher and loved it.

i think goucher is more selective b/c it is half the size. ive known a number of people rejected from goucher who got into bryn mawr.

you cant go wrong with either. i would compare where each has linkage schools. then decide if you are a small program kind of person or a large program kind of person. i liked the larger program at bryn mawr b/c it allowed for more diversity and didnt feel claustrophobic (usually).

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doogie1000 said:

bryn mawr--larger program, around longer and more established, great linkage school relationships (more?, i.e. dartmouth, UMDNJ, Penn, Rochester), classes with undergrads, philadelphia.

goucher-- smaller program, great linkage school relationships(but fewer? Tulane is the only unique one they list), classes separate from undergrads, baltimore.

i went to bryn mawr and loved it. i have friends who went to goucher and loved it.

i think goucher is more selective b/c it is half the size. ive known a number of people rejected from goucher who got into bryn mawr.

you cant go wrong with either. i would compare where each has linkage schools. then decide if you are a small program kind of person or a large program kind of person. i liked the larger program at bryn mawr b/c it allowed for more diversity and didnt feel claustrophobic (usually).

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Killdevil,

First off, congrats on getting into both programs. Whichever of these two you choose to go to, you will almost certainly be in medical school in a year or two. So take a moment to appreciate your good fortune; you really can't go wrong with either choice, and you are well on your way to acheiving your goal.

A year ago I was in your same situation, and also unsure of which program to go for. I decided on Goucher. My reasons for doing so were:

1. Smaller class size + the fact that everyone starts at the same time = better class cohesion.
2. Smaller class size = more collegial, give and take style of learning in the classroom, as opposed to a more lecture based style
3. 2 full-time advisors for 30 people v. 2 advisors for 75-80 people = more attention/better advising.
4. Lower cost of living in Towson v. Bryn Mawr
5. Smaller class = less competition for linkage spots (30 people for 7 programs, v. 75-80 for 11 programs).
6. On my visiting day, students at Goucher seemed happier/friendlier. (This could just have been the day I caught them on of course, and the makeup of the class changes every year).
7. No undergrads in class = teachers teach toward the post-bacs. So topics in medicine, things that are relevant to MCAT, etc. are emphasized more than they would be in an undergrad section of class. And NO CURVES, so you never feel you are in competition with your classmates, or that you can't get an A in every class if you work hard enough.

Are these the same things that would be important to you? I don't know. But that was the way I reasoned through it.

So far, I couldn't be happier with my decision. The teaching here has been OUTSTANDING, my classmates are an extremely nice, supportive, and interesting group of people. We have great comraderie in our class, and socialize together frequently. The advising has been top notch. Everybody in my class who wanted to link this year was accepted. And the record of getting people into med school (and particularly very highly ranked med schools) can't be beat. Most people from last year's class that didn't link are headed to Harvard, Hopkins, Columbia, and other top tier schools. I can honestly say that just about everybody in my class has been equally pleased with the program here, and glad they came.

Good luck with whatever you decide, and don't stress over it. You'll do fine in either place. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions about Goucher.

lol-- fair point. diversity is the wrong word.

i should have said that i liked having a larger class b/c it never became claustrophobic for me. given how stressed out postbacs often are, i would not have wanted anything smaller.

both programs are great. these are good choices to have...

4Health said:

You can't honestly be serious about more diversity? I have never seen a more homogenous group of people.

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