Any Pre-med from Maryland of D.C??

[Pettie Baige]

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I'm a pre-med who is planning to transfer to a 4 year college in Maryland within this year or next year. I'm currently attending so-so college in my home state. I recently started researching for schools in Maryland. and I am kinda having hard time finding good schools that would prepare me well for admission to a med school. Yes, I know Johns Hopkins would be very nice but I'm not even counting on it.. lol

Can anybody give me some advice on choosing a good college/univ in MD (or Washington D.C is fine also) that might help me to get into a med school?
or at least some names of reputable schools in those areas is fine
I just have no clue where to look first..

I'm still new to pre-med courses and I'm not sure if the name of college that you did your undergraduate at is going to matter in the admission process.
I mean doing 3.7 in no-name college and 3.7 in Ivies would sound different to the adcoms, isn't it??

thanks in advance!

 

[Silence]

nt

 

[DoctaJay]

There are only a handful of schools that selectively prefer undergrads from ivy/big name schools. For the most part, what matters is your GPA and the MCAT (the great equalizer). That being the case, any school will get you into a good medical school, especially if you are well rounded with your ECs.

I've heard alot of great stuff about UMBC; they have an extremely strong science program and smaller environment. UMCP is good too, but it is just so big (I would get lost in an environment like that). Hopkins undergrad is beautiful, and you will have great opportunities, but they can't seem to shake their reputation of having a cut-throat environment.

I'm from MD, but I go to school in Alabama. I've been on college parks campus ALOT, UBMCs campus twice, and Hopkins campus for a summer (summer research). I would choose UMBC; but really, any school will do.

 

[gmsquid]

I go to college park. I like it a lot, though it may have had a slight effect on my app cuz I graduated in 3 years. But, I've gotten in and been waitlisted, so don't worry too much. The pre-med office is decent. If you have an y questions about it, pm me.

 

[Funky]

There is Johns Hopkins in MD. You could try them.

 

[learss]

I totally agree with Doctajay on the issue of UMBC. It is a gem of a university with an excellent science program and reputation. Also I would reccommend St Marys College in southern Maryland. Another good liberal arts college.

 

[tch001]

I go to school at a very small liberal arts college in maryland called McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College, but we're not actually in western md so we had to change the name). We're not well known but I absolutely love it here! Our science department is excellent, and routinely sends students to top notch science programs (Yale, Upenn and Hopkins last year). Our admissions material boasts that we have a higher medical student acceptance rate than hopkins, but that might be skewed because the school selects for its pre-meds pretty rigorously. The science courses are hard and weed out most of the potential pre-meds (eg. my freshmen year there were 75 pre-meds in my class, now there are 4 of us!). I think McDaniel really helped me in the medical school admissions process because I actually got to know my profs so I got great LORs and the opportunities for research here are incredible. I started doing research my first month here as a freshmen! The only downside is that nobody's ever heard of it, so I had to explain on my interviews why I picked this school (a few interviewers even mistakenly called it McDonalds College, ouch!). Even with all that, I love it here and would gladly choose to come here if I could do it all over again. PM me if you have any questions!

 

[maddhandless657]

yea, i go to college park too. im only a freshman so im not sure how it compares to other schools but i would assume Hopkins must be really nice

 

[KaraKiz]

I am a Univ of MD College Park alum. I had a great time there. The campus is beautiful, and its a well-ranked public research university. The athletics there are also a ton of fun to be a part of. Professors and advisors, for the most part, were student oriented. I found a lot of support in my department. Its a big school, so its easy to feel like just a number. You have to make an effort to stand out. The pre-med advising has been a little nuts over the past few years, but they are working on a permanent solution. It seems like everyone in the Life Sciences is pre-med, so they just didn't have the resources to deal with it all. There are also a ton of leadership/community service opportunities to take advantage of.

 

[eesh72]

I go to Frostburg State University in Western, MD.

 

[scrubsaresexy]

I totally agree with Doctajay on the issue of UMBC. It is a gem of a university with an excellent science program and reputation. Also I would reccommend St Marys College in southern Maryland. Another good liberal arts college.

I currently go to St Mary's College. The bio program here is...rigorous. It may be a public college, but basically, its just a cheaper private college. Its small (I think about 1800 people), absolutely beautiful, and has amazing professors. The med school admission rate is something like 88% because they really work with you from the minute you get on campus freshman year. The downside is we're considered by some as Summer Camp for Big Kids. But really, bio is taken very seriously here and if you don't mind rampant liberalism and working your ass off, it's a great school.

I would stay far, far away from Towson (no offense to current students/alums). College Park is great if you don't mind big.

I hope that helps! PM if you have any questions about St Mary's

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Hopkins undergrad is beautiful, and you will have great opportunities, but they can't seem to shake their reputation of having a cut-throat environment.

WTF? Are you talking about Homewood campus? The campus blows. We're sitting next to inner city Baltimore, and when the two clash, students die. Had 2 murders and a stabbing in the last 2 yrs. Don't even get me started on the med campus.

Yeah there are great opportunities, if you're willing to scratch and claw your way through all the other throats. It's no joke, this place is a hellhole for any one who is slightly sane and considerate to their fellow man. They can't shake the rep, because their students don't change...

 

[ssquared]

Just so you have the info, the (major) schools in DC are Georgetown, GW, American, and Howard. Georgetown is a great school (can't say anything for their pre-med program), GW is WAY WAY overpriced (first school to top $50,000 in tuition, now there's a claim), American is so-so (and is in a mostly residential neighborhood, which could be good or bad depending on your view), and Howard is what it is. DC is definitely a cool place to go to school, but you will find an overload of government majors who want to work on Capitol Hill. That's just the way it is.

Oh, and I've met the pre-med director from UMD College Park, and he's a really awesome guy. Very realistic about people's chances and totally willing to help people out (such as myself, even though I'm not even an MD resident, let alone go to school there).

 

[ssquared]

Yeah there are great opportunities, if you're willing to scratch and claw your way through all the other throats. It's no joke, this place is a hellhole for any one who is slightly sane and considerate to their fellow man. They can't shake the rep, because their students don't change...

Seriously...it's a great school, but what you've cited here is the reason I didn't even bother to apply. When visiting Hopkins (my mom has an MPH from Hopkins and is quite fond of the school), after about 20 minutes in the info session and just seeing the type of people who wanted to go there, my parents yanked me out of the auditorium and hissed "you're not going here." We all look for different things in colleges, but any university that publishes in its alumni magazine about their difficulties with having miserable students needs to re-evaluate its admissions priorities.

(Disclaimer: I'm sure there are lots of people who go to Hopkins and love it...it just attracts a certain type, like most schools, and if you don't fit that type you might have trouble being happy there)

 

[Eric Lindros]

WTF? Are you talking about Homewood campus? The campus blows. We're sitting next to inner city Baltimore, and when the two clash, students die. Had 2 murders and a stabbing in the last 2 yrs. Don't even get me started on the med campus.

Yeah there are great opportunities, if you're willing to scratch and claw your way through all the other throats. It's no joke, this place is a hellhole for any one who is slightly sane and considerate to their fellow man. They can't shake the rep, because their students don't change...

I agree that Baltimore as a city sucks, but I have to disagree and say Hopkins campus is pretty nice. It has grass. It has open air. It actually feels more like a suburb than part of the city. And it's not really near the real crime in Baltimore. 2 murders in the past two years is nothing, even state schools in the middle of nowhere have more than that.

 

[khushboo]

I totally agree with Doctajay on the issue of UMBC. It is a gem of a university with an excellent science program and reputation.

I currently attend UMBC; it is very strong in the sciences, and every year 40-43 students matriculate into a medical school, including such highly-ranked schools as Harvard and UPenn. Also, they love to give out money--there's a good chance you'll get some sort of scholarship. UMBC doesn't have as much of the social life/scene as, say, College Park, and we're not in a typical unversity setting, but it is fairly close to Baltimore and the surrounding areas of Owings Mills and Columbia are a lot of fun.

UMBC may not have a lot of name recognition but I learnt not to underrate it: the classes are tough, the environment focused and academic, and the opportunities are there if you look for them.

 

[njbmd]

In terms of value for the money, UMBC is outstanding. It has great faculty, excellent facilities and the right sized campus. The student population was friendly and cooperative

University of Maryland at College Park is huge with loads of that huge college atmosphere and loads of resources. There is a well-developed Greek society and a breadth of experiences and environments. This is the essence of the university experience in every way.

Both UMBC and UMCP are great values in terms of cost of attending for a Maryland resident. I would give the edge to UMBC because of the campus size. It's easy to get lost at College Park.

In DC, GT is quite selective in terms of admissions and expensive. The Jesuits are excellent educators. GW is not as selective but is very expensive also. GWs campus is a large urban campus with a very well developed evening course system. GT's campus is more contained and smaller.

Howard has great pre-med advising and excellent faculty but you have to be able to thrive in an Afrocentric environment. The science faculty is nationally known and the tuition is far less than GW or GT.

American (and Catholic U) are smaller campuses that are located in DC. Both schools are great liberal arts and OK for science majors but do not have the science resources that the others mentioned above enjoy. Again, these are private schools that are located in DC.

 

[DoctaJay]

I agree that Baltimore as a city sucks, but I have to disagree and say Hopkins campus is pretty nice. It has grass. It has open air. It actually feels more like a suburb than part of the city. And it's not really near the real crime in Baltimore. 2 murders in the past two years is nothing, even state schools in the middle of nowhere have more than that.

Yeah I thought the same thing. The first time I was on Hopkin's campus (Homewood) was when I did summer research and the first thing that came to my mind was "There is so much bloody grass here". It's like you walk in from the abyss of baltimore city into an oasis of grass and marble and non-minorities, lol (at least during the summer).

 

[Eric Lindros]

Yeah I thought the same thing. The first time I was on Hopkin's campus (Homewood) was when I did summer research and the first thing that came to my mind was "There is so much bloody grass here". It's like you walk in from the abyss of baltimore city into an oasis of grass and marble and non-minorities, lol (at least during the summer).

oasis is exactly how I think of it.

On a side note, I'm not very familiar with Hopkins Medical but from I could tell from a quick drive-by it's a bit rougher than the undergrad. I would actually prefer UMD location-wise.

 

[Eric Lindros]

.
Both UMBC and UMCP are great values in terms of cost of attending for a Maryland resident. I would give the edge to UMBC because of the campus size. It's easy to get lost at College Park.

UMBC over UMD? Are you nuts!!!!????

BTW, Terps really let me down this weekend. Friggin Butler? Where was the team that had 7 ACC wins in a row down the stretch??

 

[Brennydoo]

There is also Loyola College, Towson University, Morgan State University, Coppin State College, Goucher College and a whole host of cheaper state schools(excluding Loyola and Goucher) that will prepare you well enough for the MCAT and whatever lies ahead. UMBC has great research and credentials with regards to pre-health training and UMCP is of course no slouch either. With regards to cost, the state colleges and universities are the way to go.

 

[tch001]

Speaking of $$, something I forgot to mention before is that McDaniel gives very very nice scholarships if you have a good GPA and SAT scores. Geez, I sound like the admissions office, but I can't help it I just love it here.

 

[KaraKiz]

UMBC over UMD? Are you nuts!!!!????

BTW, Terps really let me down this weekend. Friggin Butler? Where was the team that had 7 ACC wins in a row down the stretch??

For the record, this was also the team that lost to Miami (again) in the first round of the ACC tourny. MIAMI dammit... WTF guys?? Why (again) was Wilbo chillin on the 3 point line while Mike Jones was under the basket rebounding? We have a 7'1 white guy who thinks he is more useful NOT under the basket?

They killed us on 3-pointers... I mean, they had some rediculous shooters. All I have to say is I called Mike Jones going cold. He always does this. He has a couple of bad games where he is cold, everyone starts talking about how overrated he is, then he busts out for a couple of rediculous games, then he's cold again. And why did Dave Neal inbound with 0.6 seconds left? I love Dave Neal, but not with 0.6 seconds left to go in the second round of the NCAA tourny down 3.. ugh!!! Totally ruined my day.

Games are not won at the free-throw line, but they are certainly lost at the free-throw line.

 

[gmsquid]

Don't blame the Butler game on Mike Jones, he lit em up for like 25. That game was def lost on the free throw line, and you could put a lot of blame on Hayes and Vasquez for not showing up.

 

[KaraKiz]

Don't blame the Butler game on Mike Jones, he lit em up for like 25. That game was def lost on the free throw line, and you could put a lot of blame on Hayes and Vasquez for not showing up.

True, true, he did pull his weight, esp in the 2nd half. I was more frustrated with the Miami game than Butler. They are a team that should have taken Butler and Miami without a second glance.. its so frustrating..

 

[Pettie Baige]

wow, I wasn't able to come in for a few days. and I'm glad to see some useful info. Thank you everyone for the input. I might PM some of you for specific school info. good day!

 

[tinytiger815]

UMBC has rigorous science classes that can really prepare you for anything in science. Its not too hard for undergrads to get into labs either. If you're interested, you could take advantage of having two med schools a short drive away by volunteering or working in one of their labs. I work at Hopkins med and its been a great experience. I haven't had any problems with the area and I commute on the bus. PM me if you need more info.