Best Programs for Pre-med??

[am0003]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi everyone! I was wondering which of these schools have the best undergrad pre med programs, or possibly programs similar to UCLA's MIMG (I'm interested in genetics, immunology, and surgery):
Boston University, Northeastern, Villanova, University of Pittsburgh, Tulane, George Washington, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Colgate, University of Maryland, University of Miami, UC Santa Barbara, and UCLA. (forgive me for the long list!)

I know that the most important factor of a med school application is GPA, so would it be better to go to a school where the courses are not so rigorous and get a high GPA, or go to a school that has a difficult program for pre med and learn more? I'm really torn between the two and need some advice. Thank you all in advance!!

 

[YankeesMD]

so would it be better to go to a school where the courses are not so rigorous and get a high GPA, or go to a school that has a difficult program for pre med and learn more?

High GPA.

 

[BioBeaver]

High GPA.

+20 👍

 

[Tolbert]

I know that the most important factor of a med school application is GPA, so would it be better to go to a school where the courses are not so rigorous and get a high GPA, or go to a school that has a difficult program for pre med and learn more? I'm really torn between the two and need some advice. Thank you all in advance!!

I think high gpa.. Often times that school would probably offer more money too (at least in my experience), so that's a plus 👍

Still, with that said, I don't think you should choose a school based on your prediction of how tough the rigor is. You won't really know for sure until you get there so pick a school based on the basics: whatever is important to you whether it's location, cost, fit, ect.

 

[AlteredScale]

I know that the most important factor of a med school application is GPA, so would it be better to go to a school where the courses are not so rigorous and get a high GPA, or go to a school that has a difficult program for pre med and learn more? I'm really torn between the two and need some advice. Thank you all in advance!!

Actually there is no "most important factor". Your GPA and your MCAT scores will be the deciding factors of whether or not you receive a secondary from schools. Everything else is what you were able to do while maintaing a high GPA (leadership, integrity building, community work, *clinical work*, hobbies, networking, LOR's) will really decide whether or not a medical school wants you. I cannot stress this enough, good grades DO NOT make or form a physician one bit. What they want to see is if you can not only be book smart, but street smart in your ability to connect with people, show empathy, compassion, innovation to push the field of medicine forward, and a keen sense of critical thinking, all in the mindset of service to the community.

IMO- Go to the school where the courses are more rigorous. Do NOT be scared of harder classes, all it takes is a bit of hard work and you will get the grades you need. You can do this! I am assuming you are a motivated student as is so go for it. But you know yourself better than I do so don't play on naivety or word-of-mouth.

The most important courses to master and excel in are the basic sciences such as GenChem, OChem, Physics, all GenBio in your first two years. If you have taken any AP or honors courses in the sciences then you should feel right at home.

Best of luck 😳

 

[OrangeCaramel]

Boston University has horrendous grade deflation, which would definitely not help your GPA. So there is one school to cross off your list.

 

[iforget2]

Look up which schools have the most students who matriculate each year into med school. For example, a few years back when I checked (not sure if it's the same now) UC Berkeley was #1 and UT Austin is #2. Sure, it might be because the student population is large, but it's also because they have great pre-med programs and things (volunteer opportunities, research opportunities, pre-med advisors) that can help pre-meds get into med schools. Also maybe see if you can find stats on each school's class of matriculates. For example, I go to UT Austin so here's ours:

http://cns.utexas.edu/images/storie...cal_School_Statistics_Entering_Class_2011.pdf.

Good luck in your decision

 

[Cephal0pod]

Actually there is no "most important factor". Your GPA and your MCAT scores will be the deciding factors of whether or not you receive a secondary from schools. Everything else is what you were able to do while maintaing a high GPA (leadership, integrity building, community work, *clinical work*, hobbies, networking, LOR's) will really decide whether or not a medical school wants you. I cannot stress this enough, good grades DO NOT make or form a physician one bit. What they want to see is if you can not only be book smart, but street smart in your ability to connect with people, show empathy, compassion, innovation to push the field of medicine forward, and a keen sense of critical thinking, all in the mindset of service to the community.

IMO- Go to the school where the courses are more rigorous. Do NOT be scared of harder classes, all it takes is a bit of hard work and you will get the grades you need. You can do this! I am assuming you are a motivated student as is so go for it. But you know yourself better than I do so don't play on naivety or word-of-mouth.

The most important courses to master and excel in are the basic sciences such as GenChem, OChem, Physics, all GenBio in your first two years. If you have taken any AP or honors courses in the sciences then you should feel right at home.

Best of luck 😳

I agree with a lot of this, but want to re-emphasize that good grades are still very, very important, and there is definitely something to be said for going to a school where you will be better able to get them. For example, I have several friends who are also pursuing various science-y things and are attending a very large state school. I am at a much smaller private school. All of us took two semesters of gen chem this year. I ended up with A's both semesters, they were ecstatic to even pass. Now, I do not go to a little podunk, easy-peasy school or anything like that (I still had to work my tail off and then some to get those grades!). I was actually extremely close to going to the same state school as these friends, largely for financial reasons. However, when things did work out so that I ended up having more of a choice as to where I wanted to go, one of the biggest reasons I chose my school was because I knew it had a learning environment in which I would have a better shot at achieving the grades I needed. So, please keep that idea in mind. If you can go to the "more rigorous" school and swing great grades, more power to you. Sometimes going to the "more rigorous" schools is romanticized a lot more than it should be, though, so keep your head on straight and make realistic decisions with your future goals (and the GPA you need for them) in mind. 👍

 

[californicati0n]

Actually there is no "most important factor". Your GPA and your MCAT scores will be the deciding factors of whether or not you receive a secondary from schools. Everything else is what you were able to do while maintaing a high GPA (leadership, integrity building, community work, *clinical work*, hobbies, networking, LOR's) will really decide whether or not a medical school wants you. I cannot stress this enough, good grades DO NOT make or form a physician one bit. What they want to see is if you can not only be book smart, but street smart in your ability to connect with people, show empathy, compassion, innovation to push the field of medicine forward, and a keen sense of critical thinking, all in the mindset of service to the community.

IMO- Go to the school where the courses are more rigorous. Do NOT be scared of harder classes, all it takes is a bit of hard work and you will get the grades you need. You can do this! I am assuming you are a motivated student as is so go for it. But you know yourself better than I do so don't play on naivety or word-of-mouth.

The most important courses to master and excel in are the basic sciences such as GenChem, OChem, Physics, all GenBio in your first two years. If you have taken any AP or honors courses in the sciences then you should feel right at home.

Best of luck 😳

Totally agree with this. A lot of people on here believe that going to a less rigorous school is better because you can get a higher GPA. While this may be true, it's seriously not the mindset you should be having in picking a school. Go to a school that will challenge you, because that will prepare you for the rigor of medical school. I seriously considered going to Wake Forest, which is a school that has tons of weed-out for pre-meds. However, the ones that made it felt more prepared for med school than their class mates. Yes, getting good grades in undergrad is important. However, don't shy away from a college just because it might be more of a challenge.

To answer the 2nd part of your question:
-Northeastern is kind of cool because it has the co-op program, and I know pre-meds intern at hospitals, so that's pretty cool. Plus, Boston has a lot of great hospitals.
-Tulane's great for premed and has a cool program for premeds that don't major in a science
-UMiami is great in the sciences and gives out tons of merit aid
-Villanova is a pretty good school for premed, primarily because they're private and give a lot of individual help to undergrads
-UCSB and UCLA are both good, especially UCLA

Hope this helps!