which school is better for applying to medical school?

[geolamp]

Hi
I am currently deciding between Northeastern University and Boston University. I like both schools regarding the social and campus life. I am actually in love with both but don't know which one to attend! I'm lucky enough that money isn't an issue or factor.

My only concern is regarding academics. I want to know which school would prepare me better for medical school.

Northeastern- I would do 4 years, co-ops in summer
BU- 4 years
I've heard BU deflates grades and NU is normal grading with a few inflated grades.

My question is, which school would look better to medical schools if I do the same extracurriculars and get the same grades?

Thank you! I appreciate it!!

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[sehnsuchtsermedico]

Doesn’t really matter. Just go to where you feel most comfortable. Just do well in school. Enjoy undergrad

 

[freedoctor17]

I'd avoid BU if the deflate grades. No point in making your life more difficult/stressful than it needs to be.

 

[878956]

Graduate with the school that will give you the highest GPA when you finish.


It’s a numbers game. Play it appropriately.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

Graduate with the school that will give you the highest GPA when you finish.


It’s a numbers game. Play it appropriately.

This. If you are from New England, you should give serious consideration to going to your state school. Historically, the people of New England have not invested that much in state supported higher education. These schools generally don't draw the kind of students that you would see at elite eastern private colleges or the big state schools in the Midwest like Michigan, Wisconsin, Purdue, Minnesota and Illinois. Furthermore, the New England state schools are much less expensive than Boston U. If your parents are picking up the tab for your undergrad, tell them you will take one for the team now with the understanding they will help you out in med school. When you get to college, make sure you stomp the partiers and work hard.

 

[futureDocDD]

From GPA perspective, definitely Northeastern is the better choice. Heard BU has horrible grading in pre-med weeder classes. Let's put it this way, you might end up with sub 3.5 GPA in BU while in NE you might have 3.7+ GPA, so which one would you choose?

 

[Harambe]

Northeastern. The co-op experience is cool and likely will make you stand out with interesting work experiences

 

[tanbrucewayne]

NEU for pre-med! Easier to get significant experiences in research through co-ops, no grade deflation = less stress, similar ranking (BU has a better name brand tho) so it comes down to where you would be happier and think you’d enjoy. PM if you want more info on NEU or Boston🙂

 

[getdown]

You can go anywhere. Choose the one that'll most likely saddle you with the least amount of debt.

 

[BTC0821]

Went to a public state school and haven't noticed it being an issue at any of my interviews. Try not to spend too much on your undergrad when you still have med school to pay for, your parents will thank you and you'll still get a good education. Better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

Went to a public state school and haven't noticed it being an issue at any of my interviews. Try not to spend too much on your undergrad when you still have med school to pay for, your parents will thank you and you'll still get a good education. Better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond.

Yep. What this guy said.

 

[PapaGuava]

You can go anywhere. Choose the one that'll most likely saddle you with the least amount of debt.

This

 

[geolamp]

NEU for pre-med! Easier to get significant experiences in research through co-ops, no grade deflation = less stress, similar ranking (BU has a better name brand tho) so it comes down to where you would be happier and think you’d enjoy. PM if you want more info on NEU or Boston🙂

NEU for pre-med! Easier to get significant experiences in research through co-ops, no grade deflation = less stress, similar ranking (BU has a better name brand tho) so it comes down to where you would be happier and think you’d enjoy. PM if you want more info on NEU or Boston🙂

Thanks for your reply! I'm not sure how to PM here so I'll just message you on the post if that's alright! How do you find the academics at NEU? Like if you study well, do HW on time, do well on labs, etc.. just do what you need to do, will you be able to get a good grade? I think my main stress is that Northeastern isn't as well known as a pre-med school as BU. I know that UMASS Medical school seems to have a good relationship with Northeastern students, would you say that's true? Can Northeastern pre-meds get into decent med schools? Thanks again!!

 

[tanbrucewayne]

Thanks for your reply! I'm not sure how to PM here so I'll just message you on the post if that's alright! How do you find the academics at NEU? Like if you study well, do HW on time, do well on labs, etc.. just do what you need to do, will you be able to get a good grade? I think my main stress is that Northeastern isn't as well known as a pre-med school as BU. I know that UMASS Medical school seems to have a good relationship with Northeastern students, would you say that's true? Can Northeastern pre-meds get into decent med schools? Thanks again!!

Fwiw two of my friends are in top 10 MD/PhD programs and met a student from NEU at Harvard. Can’t go wrong with either school for premed tho and I’m sure if you kill it in a state school you can also get to where you want to be!

 

[geolamp]

Fwiw two of my friends are in top 10 MD/PhD programs and met a student from NEU at Harvard. Can’t go wrong with either school for premed tho and I’m sure if you kill it in a state school you can also get to where you want to be!

Thank you so much!!
Everyone, I've decided to go with Northeastern 🙂
Thanks again, these responses were really helpful.

 

[tanbrucewayne]

Thank you so much!!
Everyone, I've decided to go with Northeastern 🙂
Thanks again, these responses were really helpful.

Good luck! if you have any pre-med NEU questions feel free to PM me

 

[PapaGuava]

Thank you so much!!
Everyone, I've decided to go with Northeastern 🙂
Thanks again, these responses were really helpful.

Good luck with everything moving forward!!