General Picking a college for pre-med

[WedgeDawg]

Hi,

I am currently enrolled as a computer engineer at a 4 year institution. During my first year I have completed general chem 1 and 2 with labs and general biology 1. I will be transferring universities in the fall as I have figured out that engineering and premed do not work well together, scheduling conflicts. I have applied to WASHU, Appalachian State, and UNC as a computer science major, (North Carolina home State) which cuts down on the required classes and opens up space for more science courses, premed requirements. Additionally, I have applied to NC State as a biomedical engineering major. Descisions for these universities come out around mid April, but I am really stressed out about having to pick one.

I was wondering what I should be looking for. In a university as a premed student. I know all the universities I applied to have medical advisors, I am unsure about the amount of students who actually get into medical school. Additionally, does the name of the school have any influence on admission to medical school, for example assuming ec’s, gpa, and MCAT are all the same for one applicant at Appalachian and another at UNC, which applicant would have a better chance of getting into medical school?

Thanks for your help!

It's tough to decide where to go for college because it's a decision you make with very little information about what's actually the most important - fit!

The bottom line is the best college for you as a premed is the college that fits the most of your criteria possible as well as being the one you get the best feeling from.

The first thing I would do is wait to see which schools you receive acceptances from, particularly since some of the schools you applied to are highly selective (particularly WashU, but also UNC). This will help narrow your decision.

Second, yes, the school you go to does matter to a certain extent, but not as much as how you perform at that school. A stellar MCAT and near perfect GPA from Appalachian State with strong ECs will still make you a competitive applicant for any medical school in the country. There are inherent biases towards the more "brand name" undergrads, and there are also feeder schools to certain med schools, but these are just one part of the overall equation to take into account when deciding on where to go. I would say in terms of name recognition / feeding to med schools, WashU and UNC will be the two best bets - but again, this is only a single variable in a highly complex equation.

Third, cost is very important to at least recognize. The financial burden of medical education is high, with the average indebtedness of medical school graduates sitting somewhere in the 150k-200k range. The less debt you have coming out of undergrad, the easier your life will be from a financial perspective, so make sure to compare aid offers before deciding on a school.

Fourth, advising varies heavily between schools, but the good part is there are plenty of free online advising resources (such as SDN) that allow you to compensate for non-existent or even harmful advising practices from your undergrad institution. Generally, the more "brand name" schools will have more robust advising, but again this is not an insurmountable obstacle at other schools.

Fifth, the resources available for extracurriculars will vary based on school. WashU and UNC are both powerhouse research institutions with a lot of potential for medically related research, and both have affiliated hospitals where you can shadow, volunteer, and work. They also both have attached medical schools and both likely have some degree of preference for their own undergrad students (UNC especially so, particularly if you're a NC resident). This are probably the most significant advantages that they offer that you won't find at Appalachian State or NC State.

Finally, fit is, in my opinion, one of the most important factors to consider. Being happy and secure in your environment will lead to better performance, and ultimately performance is what will get you into medical school. Finding a school you can thrive at will set you up for med school admissions success far more than anything else.

So my recommended plan of action is hang out for a month or so and see where you get accepted and what aid offers you get, go to the admitted students weekend and talk to current students - especially current premeds of all years (including ones that got accepted to med school this cycle) - to see how well you fit in, then come back with a more informed opinion about the schools and your options, and we can help you then with your decision even better. If you do this, you might find you really fall in love with a school and won't even need us to advise you!

Best of luck!

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[MusicDOc124]

Getting into medical school will largely depend on your GPA and MCAT, and less about the school you attend. The education you get at a given school may arguably change your ability to perform on the MCAT, etc, however all of the schools listed would prepare you well.

What I would consider in your shoes are less about which will give you the "best chances" since, again, that's largely dependent on you, but rather go with the school that either is the cheapest as to accrue the least debt, in your home state if you prefer to be near family/friends aside from school, and/or the school that you're happiest at as that could influence your behavior and ability to do the work you need to do to be successful. If you're favorite school location also happens to be the cheapest and closest (or furthest, depending on your views) from home, then that would be the obvious choice for me. Otherwise you have to weigh out what's the most important to you so that you can be at a school that will allow you to do what you need to do.

Remember that people are in medical school from so many different schools, degrees (both field and level), backgrounds, etc. I'd be willing to be that the vast majority didn't get in because of a specific school or that the school they chose was at such a different caliber compared to other choices.

I hope this makes sense. That's my .02 on the topic.