Pre-med advising?
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Anonymous
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What colleges are known for their personal and great pre-med advising starting freshman year?
Which colleges have research/volunteer positions "reserved" for pre-meds? I understand good foundation in sciences to do well on MCAT matters too - which colleges offer that analytical way of thinking in organic chem, etc.? Student is very high stats, 1570 SAT, perfect grades, highest rigor. Great ECs but not medical. Has done research in science (via cold emailing a prof) but not medical. Mid-atlantic magnet public HS. Cost not an issue. |
Anonymous
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Look here, especially the second list which adjusts for the size of the college: https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-medical-school
I don't think you'll find the list surprising. The list of the top 30 feeders to medical school is a mix of top private universities and top SLACs. |
Anonymous
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My kid’s is on the list above and has access to premed advising freshman year, but I wouldn’t really call it any sort of hand holding. It was more discussion of I have three hard classes, is this a good choice for a breather class or am I on track to be competitive for xyz med school, am I lacking anything? There wasn’t any reserved research or opportunities, still has to make those happen amongst all your peers that are equally ambitious.
I guess I’d be surprised if any school had tried hand holding, even SLAC, but I’ll be curious to read. |
Anonymous
That sounds about right to me. One thing to keep in mind if research is important to your kid is that its pretty easy to get at a top SLAC. My kid has had professors cold call her about opportunities based on discussions with other professors which I think is less likely at larger schools. |
Anonymous
| I work at at a T10 known for premed. The advising gets more individualized/specialized as they progress through college. About 1/4 or something absurd of each incoming class says they're "premed" at entry and for many reasons, that percentage shrinks as they go along. There are infinite resources for clubs, research, etc. Look for a school with strong advising, supportive vibe, and lots of opportunities for undergrad research and volunteering. |
Anonymous
OP here - so this is my question.. please name the schools where this happens? |
Anonymous
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OP- did your son volunteer in a clinical setting?
Try BS/MD programs then. There are 7/8 year med programs. One is at George Washington. |
Anonymous
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W&M is known for a great pre-med advising program and lots of 1:1 time with science profs. Their med school admit rate is very very good.
https://www.wm.edu/majorsminors/premedicine/ |
Anonymous
For this type of student, aim for the very top: Every top-20 private that has a medical campus affiliated with the school and close enough to campus (quick shuttle) will yield the top list. These schools all have decent grade inflation, av GPA 3.7-3.8, with median stem courses usually curved to a B/B+ for the typical frosh/soph hard premed stem. Most ov these ivy/+ have stats indicating 80-85% over a 3.3 or 3.4 get into med school in the US. 3.3 would be bottom quarter ie pretty great results. However a bottom-quarter mcat at these places is usually 508-510. Smart kids. Look at top publics and investigate whether they are supportive. Our premed did not want big public but did apply to W&M, talked to lots of premeds, and was impressed. They do very well with med school matriculation. For backup schools, expand to T50 and include publics with nearby med centers or known for rigorous premed but no med school(William and Mary is one). My premed is at one ivy and my non-med engineer is at a different ivy. Neither of them have research "reserved" for premeds, never heard of that on any tour and we toured almost everywhere in the T30. That would be completely unfair to the pre-phd kids and many others. However both schools have practically guaranteed research for any student who wants it. Premeds can do any type of research with a professor. Some do public-health related sociology research, others do basic sci, some do engineering. Med schools do not care what kind of research, unless one is going for MD-PhD then there is some strategy involved as they narrow phd interests. |
Anonymous
PP with the kids at ivies... Literally EVERY T20 private, edge given to those with a med campus nearby but for super top schools aka Princeton it does not matter that they do not have that: the research and opportunities make it a great feeder. Go down the list of USNEWs T20, cross out publics for now, and read about the 17-18 that are left. We toured all but two privates on this list for one kid or the other and premed Q were asked a lot. Websites all have premed advising, though some have the data/details limited to current students. Some of this research you or your kid have to do yourself. Your kid will not get into all of these nor should they apply to all. My kid did get in to many though and narrowed it down based on fit and feel. |
Anonymous
| Not a lot to compare it to, but we’ve been very impressed by UChicago’s premed office. We are a family of lawyers, so it’s a new process for DS. |
Anonymous
While these can be a good option, they tie you into a med school and most are not top-academic med schools. If OP's kid decides they want MD-PhD or want to try for a specialty with very competitive residency match that favors T20 med schools(because those have the specialty and the med students have experience seeing the cases), OP will be out of luck. Also, what if they change their mind and hate premed? They want to be at a place where similar top kids are doing many varied interesting non-premed pursuits. In order to keep all doors ajar for all outcomes, targeting a top undergrad for this super high-stats high-rigor kid is the best bet. BTDT. |
Anonymous
| My DC is very happy with the pre-med advising at BU. |
Anonymous
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Op here- thanks for the detailed answers.
Kid definitely not interested in MD-PhD. Not even sure if wants to do medicine but wants to keep that option open. So won’t be applying to any BS/MD programs. Has shadowed a few times but no volunteering/research in medical. To PP with 2 kids at ivies, or anyone. Are T20 premeds generally applying to med school while in college or are most taking a gap year after college? |
Anonymous
Most applicants take one or two gap years. |