Picking undergrad colleges

[doctoreverlast]

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Hey,

I'm a graduating high school senior (and despite the username my sister picked I'm not exactly sure about what I'll be doing in the future) but I would like to keep my options open for a career in medicine.

I'm currently deciding between the following colleges:

Lewis and Clark College
University of Pacific
University of Puget Sound
UCR

If anyone could comment on the curriculum at these schools for a biology major, the availability of opportunities such as research and extracurricular activities, or advising for premeds at these schools, I'd really appreciate it. If anyone is aware of any other websites or resources that state the percentage of premeds who were accepted to med school at these schools, I'd appreciate that information as well.

Thanks for your help.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

Honestly, go to the school you were most excited to get accepted to. All of these schools will give you good preparation for med school, so pick the one you liked most.

 

[quiltlady]

Go to the one where you will graduate with no debt. This will be very important if you go to med school. Any of those schools will prepare you adequately to be accepted to medschool.

 

[Shalashaska]

Best to discuss this in the HSDN section.

Bottom line: Go to the college that you feel you will be most happiest at. It's not about the college that's the "best" - choose the place that you feel is right for you.

 

[doctoreverlast]

Thanks, guys. I agree and understand what you're saying but I'd appreciate getting more specific information about each school from a current student or an alumni. I think I would be happy at any of these schools so that's not an issue. I was simply hoping that more school-specific information would help make this decision easier.

 

[Praefectus]

Go to the one where you will graduate with no debt. This will be very important if you go to med school. Any of those schools will prepare you adequately to be accepted to medschool.

I second that. You'll be swimming in medical school debt in no time, so it's better to have a clean slate.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Which is the cheapest?
Which has the smallest class sizes?
Which is more grade inflated?
Which has a major or specialization you'd like?
Which is in a better location?
Which do you generally feel better about?

Answer these and you'll probably know where the best place to go is.

 

[namiie]

I can only speak for University of the Pacific, so I guess it gets my automatic vote. It has a top notch biological sciences department. Most bio majors there are Pre-Dental or Pre-Pharmacy (since UOP has its own dental and pharmacy schools, both of which are well-renowned) but the faculty and teaching is so great I think it benefits all pre-health students. It's a small school so the biggest bio class (intro bio) often maxes out at like 110 students, and generally it's about 50-60 students in a mid-level course like genetics, and gets even smaller as the level gets higher. My histo class had 20 people and my developmental biology class had 7 (including me!). Lots of individualized attention and the professors above all just really want you to succeed, so they'll always talk to you and sit there with you in office hours til you get it. The courses can be difficult because some professors are very thorough but overall I felt all the classes were very fair and doable. You put in the work, you get the results.

It's easy to get into a research lab too, for the same reasons. I didn't know anyone who wanted to do research and got turned down, nor was the process complicated. We generally didn't have to worry much about finding our own grants or funding either. It's a really supportive environment. Extracurricular-wise it's pretty average...a lot of service clubs available (loved the bio honors society which always had great events) and the pharmacy school campus is right next door so you can do a lot of stuff with them too, health EC-wise. A con might be that the pre-med culture is next to non-existent and that there is no Committee but you shouldn't have a problem getting good advising anyway since the advisers/faculty help tons of people get into dental school and pharm school every year. I guess some other cons would be the location (Stockton is no paradise), the price/tuition (though financial aid is very generous; one of the best with respect to private schools) and the dominance of Greek life (both social and professional greek societies) on campus. Ultimately I still think it's a great school to spend your undergrad years and get a killer science/pre-health education. Good luck

 

[Political]

Hey,

I'm a graduating high school senior (and despite the username my sister picked I'm not exactly sure about what I'll be doing in the future) but I would like to keep my options open for a career in medicine.

I'm currently deciding between the following colleges:

Lewis and Clark College
University of Pacific
University of Puget Sound
UCR

If anyone could comment on the curriculum at these schools for a biology major, the availability of opportunities such as research and extracurricular activities, or advising for premeds at these schools, I'd really appreciate it. If anyone is aware of any other websites or resources that state the percentage of premeds who were accepted to med school at these schools, I'd appreciate that information as well.

Thanks for your help.

UC riverside, since i've never heard of any of the others

 

[TheMightySmiter]

UC riverside, since i've never heard of any of the others

Really? Are you from the East Coast? Those are pretty well-known schools out west.