Premed Undergrad? Brown vs. UChicago vs. Duke vs. others

[Glexz29]

Hi everyone!

I'm currently a senior in high school and was recently accepted to Brown University. I was also waitlisted at several other universities, including the University of Chicago, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Dartmouth, Wash U, Cornell, Northwestern, and Vanderbilt. After speaking to my counselor, he advised that I stay on the waitlist for one of these schools if I did prefer it over Brown, and that's what I'm currently deciding. Right now, UChicago and Duke are pretty high on my list in addition to Brown. My primary interest is neuroscience, although I'm also interested in continuing with Spanish and possibly studying abroad. I am definitely interested in conducting research during undergrad and am very likely going to pursue the premed track.

I'm looking for a fairly competitive but not extremely cutthroat environment that I will enjoy and that will prepare me well for medical school or potentially an MD or PhD program. I'm interested in hearing about your experiences at any of these universities, impressions, pros/cons, and/or opinions, especially if you have any experience with premed or neuroscience, or know anything about the med school acceptances or GPA/MCAT averages from these schools. If I do end up getting off a waitlist, I'd also like to take into consideration the location and social atmosphere at the other school, so any thoughts you have could help!

Thank you

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[WedgeDawg]

Brown is an excellent school for getting into med school, is rigorous without being overly competitive, and will prepare you well for MD and/or PhD admissions. Duke and Dartmouth are similar, and are good waitlists to stay on. WashU, Cornell, Chicago, and Hopkins, while all being excellent schools, have reputations for grade deflation and sometimes intense competition.

 

[deleted838145]

Hi everyone!

I'm currently a senior in high school and was recently accepted to Brown University. I was also waitlisted at several other universities, including the University of Chicago, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Dartmouth, Wash U, Cornell, Northwestern, and Vanderbilt. After speaking to my counselor, he advised that I stay on the waitlist for one of these schools if I did prefer it over Brown, and that's what I'm currently deciding. Right now, UChicago and Duke are pretty high on my list in addition to Brown. My primary interest is neuroscience, although I'm also interested in continuing with Spanish and possibly studying abroad. I am definitely interested in conducting research during undergrad and am very likely going to pursue the premed track.

I'm looking for a fairly competitive but not extremely cutthroat environment that I will enjoy and that will prepare me well for medical school or potentially an MD or PhD program. I'm interested in hearing about your experiences at any of these universities, impressions, pros/cons, and/or opinions, especially if you have any experience with premed or neuroscience, or know anything about the med school acceptances or GPA/MCAT averages from these schools. If I do end up getting off a waitlist, I'd also like to take into consideration the location and social atmosphere at the other school, so any thoughts you have could help!

Thank you

One of my friends chose to apply to Chicago over NW because of Chicago's more academic environment. It doesn't have much Greek life and isn't very social compared to NW. I also know someone who attends NW with a major in Neuroscience and she seems to be doing well there. You are clearly a great student judging by the prestigious colleges that have accepted or even considered you. . If I were you I would choose Chicago, since it is very academic and less into the partying/athletic scene. As long as you can study hard enough you will be fine anywhere.

 

[getdown]

I went to Uchicago and the very reasons stated above about its uber academic environment was why I hated it. Almost every single one of my friends hated it too. Academic reputation means nothing except parental bragging rights. I would choose many other places before going back there. But maybe it's changed since I was there so it may be better.

 

[minicutcarrots]

I studied Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins.

You will have the opportunity to surround yourself with very motivated, bright people there. However, you will also be competing against very motivated, bright people. I am not saying this wouldn't be the case elsewhere, but it is particularly true at Hopkins, where a large proportion of the student body is pre-med (and if not pre-med, then some other iteration of pre-health, pre-law, pre-grad school, etc.). This can make or break the experience for you. If you go into Hopkins with the wrong expectations, you will be vastly disappointed.

With that said, my experience as a Hopkins pre-med was as good as it could be. You will receive the support you need from pre-professional advising if you seek it out; you will have awesome research opportunities; with Johns Hopkins Hospital and all of its resources only a 30 minute shuttle ride away, you will have an abundance of internships, volunteering, jobs, shadowing, etc. available to you; you will have a great cohort of peers to commiserate with.

I can go on and on but won't wax nostalgic here.