Northeastern Honors vs. Emory for pre-med/pre-public health

[MaddiePreMed]

Hi everyone! I was recently admitted into the Northeastern Honors program and Emory University for the class of 2021! At Northeastern I would major in Health Sciences and possibly Neuroscience and at Emory I would major in Anthropology and Human Biology. At both schools I would also like to have a minor and Arabic. I would really like to go to medical school after college or go to grad school for Public Health (specifically epidemiology or health policy) because I would really like to work in eradicating disease and implementing health policies for poor nations under threat. I know Emory is great for pre-med students and the CDC is right there where I would love to get an internship at; however, I am more attracted by the city life at Northeastern and the university's focus on experiential learning through co-ops! I am looking for opinions on whether it would be more beneficial for me in the future working in epidemiology/health policy/medical field to go to Northeastern or Emory. Thanks!

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[Gurby]

FWIW I went to Northeastern for undergrad and know basically nothing about Emory. Also I studied computer science and music while at NEU and didn't take any of my prereq's there so I can't speak to that either...

But I will say their co-op program is the greatest thing ever, and I don't understand why every school doesn't do it this way. I think some people are put off by taking 5 years to graduate, but you end up with 1.5 years of real world full-time job experience, $60k in the bank (if you do STEM co-ops), tons of connections and job opportunities already set up for you should you want them after graduating. A lot of this is maybe not so important to you if you end up going to medical school, but if you change your mind during undergrad (as probably a majority of people do) NEU can set you up really well to pursue whatever you want to pursue.

The co-op program is also great for helping you figure out what you don't want to do. I really enjoyed taking computer science classes... didn't really like the real world "working as a programmer" perspective. If I had gone to a different school I likely wouldn't have figured that out before spending 4 years studying something I was ultimately going to end up hating. Working full time for 6 months in a real job gives you a good taste of what the real world is like, and I think it's so valuable to get that early on in your education rather than spend 4 years in an ivory tower without having much concept of what the day-to-day is actually like in your chosen field.

On the other hand Emory is ranked more highly and maybe has more opportunities for what you think you want to do... Definitely a tough choice, I think! You probably can't go wrong either way.

 

[SunnyDO]

Idk anything about Northeastern, but I recently visited Emory for my sister's law school graduation. Campus is pristine, the city is beautiful, and the weather is on point (this is huge because my family is from Michigan, where the winters can sometimes be brutal). They also have the university affiliated hospital - which would be great for volunteer/research related activities.

 

[sabsaf123]

FWIW I went to Northeastern for undergrad and know basically nothing about Emory. Also I studied computer science and music while at NEU and didn't take any of my prereq's there so I can't speak to that either...

But I will say their co-op program is the greatest thing ever, and I don't understand why every school doesn't do it this way. I think some people are put off by taking 5 years to graduate, but you end up with 1.5 years of real world full-time job experience, $60k in the bank (if you do STEM co-ops), tons of connections and job opportunities already set up for you should you want them after graduating. A lot of this is maybe not so important to you if you end up going to medical school, but if you change your mind during undergrad (as probably a majority of people do) NEU can set you up really well to pursue whatever you want to pursue.

The co-op program is also great for helping you figure out what you don't want to do. I really enjoyed taking computer science classes... didn't really like the real world "working as a programmer" perspective. If I had gone to a different school I likely wouldn't have figured that out before spending 4 years studying something I was ultimately going to end up hating. Working full time for 6 months in a real job gives you a good taste of what the real world is like, and I think it's so valuable to get that early on in your education rather than spend 4 years in an ivory tower without having much concept of what the day-to-day is actually like in your chosen field.

On the other hand Emory is ranked more highly and maybe has more opportunities for what you think you want to do... Definitely a tough choice, I think! You probably can't go wrong either way.

What...? I've never heard of an undergrad school getting people internships while the students learn. That sounds awesome. Do they also have this for biology majors?

 

[Gurby]

What...? I've never heard of an undergrad school getting people internships while the students learn. That sounds awesome. Do they also have this for biology majors?

I graduated in 2009 so this is subject to change... But when I was there the way it worked was you take classes as normal for your first 3 semesters. Starting spring of sophmore year you alternate 6 months of work -> 6 months class for the next 3 years. The school doesn't "get people internships" per se - employers sign up, you look through a database to pick some that sound good, send them your resume and go to interviews like you would for any job. There is also a lot of support to help get your resume looking sharp, etc. AFAIK there are co-ops for every major.

From the website, here is a cool little google map that lets you see where science majors are currently doing co-ops and what jobs they are doing: Cooperative Education - College of Science

 

[sabsaf123]

I graduated in 2009 so this is subject to change... But when I was there the way it worked was you take classes as normal for your first 3 semesters. Starting spring of sophmore year you alternate 6 months of work -> 6 months class for the next 3 years. The school doesn't "get people internships" per se - employers sign up, you look through a database to pick some that sound good, send them your resume and go to interviews like you would for any job. There is also a lot of support to help get your resume looking sharp, etc. AFAIK there are co-ops for every major.

From the website, here is a cool little google map that lets you see where science majors are currently doing co-ops and what jobs they are doing: Cooperative Education - College of Science

That is extremely awesome. I am definitely going to tell my little brother about this when he applies to college. So was it pretty simple for you to get a good co-op as a Computer Science major? This seems like a great way to help pay for college while building a resume.

 

[Gurby]

That is extremely awesome. I am definitely going to tell my little brother about this when he applies to college. So was it pretty simple for you to get a good co-op as a Computer Science major? This seems like a great way to help pay for college while building a resume.

Super easy in computer science yes, tons of well-paid spots at good companies. If you're interested in music industry or something though you might either have a great co-op that's unpaid, or a paid one that isn't really what you wanted to be doing.

Definitely an awesome program... I said this above but, the best part is it lets you "try out" a career and see if you like it or not. If you do your first co-op and realize you would be miserable in whatever field, you still have 3 years left of college so plenty of time to change gears. I haven't seen data on this, but I would guess that NEU students who participate in the co-op program have a much easier time finding jobs relevant to their degree compared to most people fresh out of undergrad.

 

[efle]

Emory has a much bigger presence in med admissions - they are up there with names like WashU, Duke and Hopkins in terms of premeds per capita (an absurd amount, 1 in 5 students there applies to med school). It will just be a matter of going with the flow there, essentially. It has the associated Emory MD school there too.

At Northeastern the premed community and resources will be smaller - it's much more known for things like business, iirc. That said, these are some very different locations and campuses, so don't go somewhere you'll be unhappy just because of your plans years down the road.

 

[Gurby]

Emory has a much bigger presence in med admissions - they are up there with names like WashU, Duke and Hopkins in terms of premeds per capita (an absurd amount, 1 in 5 students there applies to med school). It will just be a matter of going with the flow there, essentially.

Crazy! Emory might make it easier to get oneself to medical school... But is that actually a good thing? If you "go with the flow" you run the risk of not giving other paths a fair shot.


Here is an excerpt from an essay I liked: How to Do What You Love (Old Version)

"...A lot of kids decide in high school that they want to be doctors, for example. That's playing with fire. At that age you're unlikely to know what it's really like to be a doctor, or what the other options are. A friend of mine who is a quite successful doctor complains constantly about her job. When people applying to medical school ask her for advice, she wants to shake them and yell "Don't do it!" (But she never does.) How did she get into this fix? In high school she already wanted to be a doctor. And she is so ambitious and determined that she overcame every obstacle along the way-- including, unfortunately, not liking it.

Now she has a life chosen for her by a high-school kid.

Kids who know early what they want to do seem impressive, as if they got the answer to some math question before the other kids. They have an answer, certainly, but odds are it's wrong. If you read autobiographies (which I highly recommend) you find that a lot of the most successful people didn't decide till quite late what they wanted to do. And not because they were indecisive, or didn't know themselves. It takes a long time to just to learn what different kinds of work are like."

 

[efle]

I would not worry that much about changing mind on MD school, though. Emory would be a stronger launch pad for pretty much any biomed and/or research oriented career. OP would have to pull a 180 and decide his destiny is consulting in the northeast for Emory > NE to be a missed opportunity.

 

[sabsaf123]

Crazy! Emory might make it easier to get oneself to medical school... But is that actually a good thing? If you "go with the flow" you run the risk of not giving other paths a fair shot.


Here is an excerpt from an essay I liked: How to Do What You Love (Old Version)

"...A lot of kids decide in high school that they want to be doctors, for example. That's playing with fire. At that age you're unlikely to know what it's really like to be a doctor, or what the other options are. A friend of mine who is a quite successful doctor complains constantly about her job. When people applying to medical school ask her for advice, she wants to shake them and yell "Don't do it!" (But she never does.) How did she get into this fix? In high school she already wanted to be a doctor. And she is so ambitious and determined that she overcame every obstacle along the way-- including, unfortunately, not liking it.

Now she has a life chosen for her by a high-school kid.

Kids who know early what they want to do seem impressive, as if they got the answer to some math question before the other kids. They have an answer, certainly, but odds are it's wrong. If you read autobiographies (which I highly recommend) you find that a lot of the most successful people didn't decide till quite late what they wanted to do. And not because they were indecisive, or didn't know themselves. It takes a long time to just to learn what different kinds of work are like."

I couldn't agree with this more. I live in the mid-west and I went to a Big 10 school. I personally don't think going to Emory or NEU would make a big difference. I know people from undergrad that ended up at schools like Penn, UChicago, Michigan, etc. for med school. The school will not get you to where you want to go. It's on you to work hard, find research positions, shadow, etc. if you want to go to med school. Also I totally agree that at 18 years old most people simply don't know what they want to do which is why a lot of the smart kids just jump on "doctor" cuz it seems cool. The fact is that a lot of the incoming freshman will be premed but many of them will never even apply to medical school. Some of them will find it too difficult while others will simply discover that they love something else. Definitely take the time to find a career that you want in college.

 

[sabsaf123]

I would not worry that much about changing mind on MD school, though. Emory would be a stronger launch pad for pretty much any biomed and/or research oriented career. OP would have to pull a 180 and decide his destiny is consulting in the northeast for Emory > NE to be a missed opportunity.

A lot of people do pull 180s. I know people from undergrad that were pre meds as freshman and now they work as software engineers, researchers, information tech. field, etc.

 

[efle]

A lot of people do pull 180s. I know people from undergrad that were pre meds as freshman and now they work as software engineers, researchers, information tech. field, etc.

Only OP knows how well they know themselves! I didn't have life figured out as a freshman either but I could at least rule out some broad areas like arts or being a code monkey.

I went to a Big 10 school. I personally don't think going to Emory or NEU would make a big difference. I know people from undergrad that ended up at schools like Penn, UChicago, Michigan, etc. for med school. The school will not get you to where you want to go.

I agree that anybody can go anywhere from anywhere.

That said - reputation matters to private med schools and research matters a ton to a specific subset of highly competitive schools. Emory would be an easier place to build an app if OP is aiming high.

 

[Gurby]

I agree that anybody can go anywhere from anywhere.

That said - reputation matters to private med schools and research matters a ton to a specific subset of highly competitive schools. Emory would be an easier place to build an app if OP is aiming high.

Do you suppose NEU vs Emory ranking difference is significant (#40 vs #20)? Or is it more that Emory is pretty much a household name in the medical sphere whereas when you say "Northeastern" people think you mean Chicago...

 

[efle]

Do you suppose NEU vs Emory ranking difference is significant (#40 vs #20)? Or is it more that Emory is pretty much a household name in the medical sphere whereas when you say "Northeastern" people think you mean Chicago...

Northeastern is sort of a weird case, kind of an NYU med equivalent of undergrad rankings. Their student body by test scores, plus their admit rate, have been making a crazy climb over the last decade or so. Their ACT range now is 31-34, which puts it equal in that regard with some Ivy schools!

But, their general rep hasn't caught up. I think Emory is better known especially in the med circuit. And Northeastern is like 13,000+ undergrads but didn't even make it onto the AAMC list of schools with 100+ medical applicants, so the premed route must be very uncommon, relative to a place like Emory or some of the other schools with those kinds of test scores. They really aim for strength in non-science is my impression.