Best for pre-med

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I have a premed at Brown, they didn’t get into PLME and now think it’s a blessing. They love the school and Providence, but want to apply out. It is an incredible way to go through though, they get a lot of support and a lot less grade pressure with no MCAT. Those chosen seem to have compelling stories, my unhooked with perfect stats, loads of leadership, research, EMT and so on didn’t cut it. The classes are very rigorous and vast majority skip intro classes. MCAT scores are very high and don’t need as much prep time due to class difficulty. The premeds don’t take classes S/NC unless it’s the occasional English class that is mandatory S/NC. Haven’t applied yet, but they’ve had great experience. Met with advising starting as a first year and meet whenever they have a question or have a need.

PLME is beneficial talent for brown. They need those kids more than those kids need brown. The type of person who gets into PLME would probably get into Harvard Med or Stanford Med, but brown gets to hold onto that talent with guaranteed med school.

Yeah sure, if they are that talented, how come Brown med school is never in T20? PLME's been around for many many years.

To PPP. I agree with your assessment (i.e., "they didn't get into PLME..."). If your kid is high performing, I'd not want to lock them up in one program. They can try for UCSF, Hopkins, Harvard...etc.

Because that’s not how med school rankings work? Apologies, but who are you and what do you know about med school?

LOL. Who am I? Just a parent w/ two kids that went thru the process. 1 in med school, another in residency.

I just asked. That’s good, so you should know that med school rankings aren’t just MCAT/GPA rankings.

I'd argue med school rankings have very little to do with students MCAP/GPA rankings. What bothers me is that some posters here keep repeating "unless you are in Ivy/Top 10, your kids are screwed" message which I don't agree with. You can get to med school from any public or private schools. Just go to each med school's website and check students' profile (most of med schools show which college they are from). Even in Top medical programs, you will see a lot of state school kids (and some no name schools). It's what you do in college, not the name of the college.

For those targeting TOP med schools undergrad matters. My T5 med school was 1/3 ivy/T15/williams/amherst and another 1/3 from the rest of the T30 privates and T10 publics. The rest were a few from hbcus, lower slacs and T100 type publics. It still has around the same ratios today. Yes you can get in from a T100 but it is not nearly as likely especially without demographic hooks

Medical school is not law school, you dont need to go to a top medical school. Doesn't matter if its MD or DO either.

First part is true - second part, not really. Each step in the training process matters way more than the step before it. My wife chose the full scholarship at a lesser med school, but was at the top of her class and rolled that into a residency at Mayo Clinc/ fellowship at Johns Hopkins in a surgical field. That would not have happened with DO, but by the time she got to Hopkins, her med school training was hardly considered.

+1 re DO.

your wife must be a super smart woman. lucky you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about Boston University? There are major hospitals nearby and a lot of research/intern/shadowing opportunities.

this!!

Except it completely misses the mark. Boston university has intense grade deflation. You’re also losing those opportunities to Harvard, Wellesley, Tufts students.

Not sure what you meant by "losing those opportunities to Harvard, Wellesley, Tufts students."

Those are the better premeds who will get the research and internship opportunities in the city. Pretty obvious.

BU pre-med consistently ranks quite high:

https://www.medschoolcoach.com/best-non-ivy-league-schools-pre-med/
https://www.ivywise.com/blog/pre-med-schools/
https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/health-care-professions/health-medical-preparatory-programs/pre-medicine-pre-medical-studies/rankings/top-ranked/

[Anonymous]

Wow, the snobbery on this thread makes me so happy I went to medical school instead of whatever degree programs/careers some of you went into. Doctors don’t talk like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All ivies except Cornell and Princeton

Yes, this for sure, definitely don't show up to med school admissions with a Princeton degree. Better go Cal State Riverside.

[Anonymous]

This board cracks me up, we’ve had a no Princeton or Cornell and another suggesting Cornell and one other. I’m baffled how people get their information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a premed at Brown, they didn’t get into PLME and now think it’s a blessing. They love the school and Providence, but want to apply out. It is an incredible way to go through though, they get a lot of support and a lot less grade pressure with no MCAT. Those chosen seem to have compelling stories, my unhooked with perfect stats, loads of leadership, research, EMT and so on didn’t cut it. The classes are very rigorous and vast majority skip intro classes. MCAT scores are very high and don’t need as much prep time due to class difficulty. The premeds don’t take classes S/NC unless it’s the occasional English class that is mandatory S/NC. Haven’t applied yet, but they’ve had great experience. Met with advising starting as a first year and meet whenever they have a question or have a need.

PLME is beneficial talent for brown. They need those kids more than those kids need brown. The type of person who gets into PLME would probably get into Harvard Med or Stanford Med, but brown gets to hold onto that talent with guaranteed med school.

Yeah sure, if they are that talented, how come Brown med school is never in T20? PLME's been around for many many years.

To PPP. I agree with your assessment (i.e., "they didn't get into PLME..."). If your kid is high performing, I'd not want to lock them up in one program. They can try for UCSF, Hopkins, Harvard...etc.

Because that’s not how med school rankings work? Apologies, but who are you and what do you know about med school?

LOL. Who am I? Just a parent w/ two kids that went thru the process. 1 in med school, another in residency.

I just asked. That’s good, so you should know that med school rankings aren’t just MCAT/GPA rankings.

I'd argue med school rankings have very little to do with students MCAP/GPA rankings. What bothers me is that some posters here keep repeating "unless you are in Ivy/Top 10, your kids are screwed" message which I don't agree with. You can get to med school from any public or private schools. Just go to each med school's website and check students' profile (most of med schools show which college they are from). Even in Top medical programs, you will see a lot of state school kids (and some no name schools). It's what you do in college, not the name of the college.

For those targeting TOP med schools undergrad matters. My T5 med school was 1/3 ivy/T15/williams/amherst and another 1/3 from the rest of the T30 privates and T10 publics. The rest were a few from hbcus, lower slacs and T100 type publics. It still has around the same ratios today. Yes you can get in from a T100 but it is not nearly as likely especially without demographic hooks

Medical school is not law school, you dont need to go to a top medical school. Doesn't matter if its MD or DO either.

First part is true - second part, not really. Each step in the training process matters way more than the step before it. My wife chose the full scholarship at a lesser med school, but was at the top of her class and rolled that into a residency at Mayo Clinc/ fellowship at Johns Hopkins in a surgical field. That would not have happened with DO, but by the time she got to Hopkins, her med school training was hardly considered.

+1 re DO.

your wife must be a super smart woman. lucky you.

she's fantastic, but also just a completely humble person who would never brag about her accomplishments like I have to do for her

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about Boston University? There are major hospitals nearby and a lot of research/intern/shadowing opportunities.

this!!

Except it completely misses the mark. Boston university has intense grade deflation. You’re also losing those opportunities to Harvard, Wellesley, Tufts students.

Not sure what you meant by "losing those opportunities to Harvard, Wellesley, Tufts students."

Those are the better premeds who will get the research and internship opportunities in the city. Pretty obvious.

BU pre-med consistently ranks quite high:

https://www.medschoolcoach.com/best-non-ivy-league-schools-pre-med/
https://www.ivywise.com/blog/pre-med-schools/
https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/health-care-professions/health-medical-preparatory-programs/pre-medicine-pre-medical-studies/rankings/top-ranked/

BU not bad.

15 Best Pre-Med Schools in the US in 2025

https://www.medschoolcoach.com/best-premed-schools/

1. Harvard University
2. Columbia University
3. Yale University
4. Duke University
5. Boston University

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, the snobbery on this thread makes me so happy I went to medical school instead of whatever degree programs/careers some of you went into. Doctors don’t talk like this.

I think there are a couple doctors here providing real life experience but most are parents of college kids blabbering about things they know very little about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, the snobbery on this thread makes me so happy I went to medical school instead of whatever degree programs/careers some of you went into. Doctors don’t talk like this.

I think there are a couple doctors here providing real life experience but most are parents of college kids blabbering about things they know very little about.

PP who's wife ended up at Mayo/Hopkins - read studentdoctor forums not this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a premed at Brown, they didn’t get into PLME and now think it’s a blessing. They love the school and Providence, but want to apply out. It is an incredible way to go through though, they get a lot of support and a lot less grade pressure with no MCAT. Those chosen seem to have compelling stories, my unhooked with perfect stats, loads of leadership, research, EMT and so on didn’t cut it. The classes are very rigorous and vast majority skip intro classes. MCAT scores are very high and don’t need as much prep time due to class difficulty. The premeds don’t take classes S/NC unless it’s the occasional English class that is mandatory S/NC. Haven’t applied yet, but they’ve had great experience. Met with advising starting as a first year and meet whenever they have a question or have a need.

PLME is beneficial talent for brown. They need those kids more than those kids need brown. The type of person who gets into PLME would probably get into Harvard Med or Stanford Med, but brown gets to hold onto that talent with guaranteed med school.

Yeah sure, if they are that talented, how come Brown med school is never in T20? PLME's been around for many many years.

To PPP. I agree with your assessment (i.e., "they didn't get into PLME..."). If your kid is high performing, I'd not want to lock them up in one program. They can try for UCSF, Hopkins, Harvard...etc.

Because that’s not how med school rankings work? Apologies, but who are you and what do you know about med school?

LOL. Who am I? Just a parent w/ two kids that went thru the process. 1 in med school, another in residency.

I just asked. That’s good, so you should know that med school rankings aren’t just MCAT/GPA rankings.

I'd argue med school rankings have very little to do with students MCAP/GPA rankings. What bothers me is that some posters here keep repeating "unless you are in Ivy/Top 10, your kids are screwed" message which I don't agree with. You can get to med school from any public or private schools. Just go to each med school's website and check students' profile (most of med schools show which college they are from). Even in Top medical programs, you will see a lot of state school kids (and some no name schools). It's what you do in college, not the name of the college.

For those targeting TOP med schools undergrad matters. My T5 med school was 1/3 ivy/T15/williams/amherst and another 1/3 from the rest of the T30 privates and T10 publics. The rest were a few from hbcus, lower slacs and T100 type publics. It still has around the same ratios today. Yes you can get in from a T100 but it is not nearly as likely especially without demographic hooks

Medical school is not law school, you dont need to go to a top medical school. Doesn't matter if its MD or DO either.

First part is true - second part, not really. Each step in the training process matters way more than the step before it. My wife chose the full scholarship at a lesser med school, but was at the top of her class and rolled that into a residency at Mayo Clinc/ fellowship at Johns Hopkins in a surgical field. That would not have happened with DO, but by the time she got to Hopkins, her med school training was hardly considered.

+1 re DO.

your wife must be a super smart woman. lucky you.

she's fantastic, but also just a completely humble person who would never brag about her accomplishments like I have to do for her

And that's perfectly okay. It's refreshing. So many negative spouse beating threads here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, the snobbery on this thread makes me so happy I went to medical school instead of whatever degree programs/careers some of you went into. Doctors don’t talk like this.

I think there are a couple doctors here providing real life experience but most are parents of college kids blabbering about things they know very little about.

PP who's wife ended up at Mayo/Hopkins - read studentdoctor forums not this!

+1

[Anonymous]

Curious what people think is inaccurate that has been posted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious what people think is inaccurate that has been posted?

What’s a “great” premed.
What’s a “great” med school.
All these silly rankings.

Med school isn’t like law or business. In med school, what matters is what you know, empathy for people, and wanting to serve. It’s not about rankings or perceptions or gaming the system. It’s a calling. And if you love it, you’ll do great things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All ivies except Cornell and Princeton

Yes, this for sure, definitely don't show up to med school admissions with a Princeton degree. Better go Cal State Riverside.

Not gonna engage with a-holes like this. There’re so many of them on this forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious what people think is inaccurate that has been posted?

What’s a “great” premed.
What’s a “great” med school.
All these silly rankings.

Med school isn’t like law or business. In med school, what matters is what you know, empathy for people, and wanting to serve. It’s not about rankings or perceptions or gaming the system. It’s a calling. And if you love it, you’ll do great things.

I am a doctor who went to a top undergrad and a top med. While of course it is correct that it is a calling, I had friends who were called to ophthalmology (lost an eye as a kid), neurosurgery(dad died of brain cancer). Or they thought they wanted primary care and then fell in love with a super competitive specialty that they were introduced to on med school clinicals and then realized only a handful of places in the US have this subspecialty. The entire class of top 15ish med school grads, even the bottom people(it is pass-fail so there is no strict rank), are able to match into any specialty they want due to the reputation of the top med schools. It is not just a prestigious name, the top med schools are tertiary care centers with highly specialized capability and best in the US or world level clinicians teaching. Residencies specifically surgical or interventional driven fields tend to be the best at the hospital systems affiliated with the top med schools: they select a majority for these programs from top med schools, their own or other schools with that subspecialty. One has to have in depth experience to match in certain fields.
CHOP for example has developed cardiac procedures that were revolutionary in pediatrics: if you want to be a top peds cardio surgeon you need to be there or maybe 6 other places for your training. Same with groundbreaking cancer treatments: they happen at the same 5-10 hospitals in the country.
That is even more important now as robotic techniques are added to the operating theater. Very few med schools in the country have a fully dedicated teaching robotic surgical suite for med students to use.

It absolutely matters where you go to medical school if you have dreams and goals that involve subspecialties, or if you want to be a cutting edge research MD-phD. I do not know a single undergrad who made it to med school nor any of my med school peers who thought "I just want to be a doctor any doctor will do". No that is not how it ever is, for those that end up making it.