Penn or Williams for pre-med?

[Anonymous]

Penn seems to offer more pre-med research and internship opportunities, stronger science, higher prestige, and more viable plan B into other career options if the pre-med doesn’t work out. On the other hand, this DC’s learning style is more aligned with deep-discussion, close-mentorship style learning at Williams, if what they advertise is the reality.

Both locations excite this DC in different ways. Not an athlete, is not motivated by getting rich (Reddit says both schools have big finance/Wall Street big money culture which is not DC’s thing). Not excited about a hyper competitive campus culture, don’t know if that’s only Wharton/finance kids that are like that on the Penn campus, or if you get some of that on the Williams campus too with so many kids from elite privates and boarding schools. This kid just genuinely loves learning. Cost is not a deciding factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penn seems to offer more pre-med research and internship opportunities, stronger science, higher prestige, and more viable plan B into other career options if the pre-med doesn’t work out. On the other hand, this DC’s learning style is more aligned with deep-discussion, close-mentorship style learning at Williams, if what they advertise is the reality.

Both locations excite this DC in different ways. Not an athlete, is not motivated by getting rich (Reddit says both schools have big finance/Wall Street big money culture which is not DC’s thing). Not excited about a hyper competitive campus culture, don’t know if that’s only Wharton/finance kids that are like that on the Penn campus, or if you get some of that on the Williams campus too with so many kids from elite privates and boarding schools. This kid just genuinely loves learning. Cost is not a deciding factor.

You've answered your own question. Normally would pick Penn, but in your case Williams hands down.

[Anonymous]

You are ignoring a huge difference...one is in a city of nearly 2MM people and one is in a remote location.

They are both of equal prestige, so pick the school that is most appealing for all the other reasons your kid wants a school.

[Anonymous]

For premed, there are tons of opportunities at Penn. Multiple hospitals on campus walking distance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Penn seems to offer more pre-med research and internship opportunities, stronger science, higher prestige, and more viable plan B into other career options if the pre-med doesn’t work out. On the other hand, this DC’s learning style is more aligned with deep-discussion, close-mentorship style learning at Williams, if what they advertise is the reality.

Both locations excite this DC in different ways. Not an athlete, is not motivated by getting rich (Reddit says both schools have big finance/Wall Street big money culture which is not DC’s thing). Not excited about a hyper competitive campus culture, don’t know if that’s only Wharton/finance kids that are like that on the Penn campus, or if you get some of that on the Williams campus too with so many kids from elite privates and boarding schools. This kid just genuinely loves learning. Cost is not a deciding factor.

You've answered your own question. Normally would pick Penn, but in your case Williams hands down.

Do we know that Penn doesn’t offer this type of learning?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penn seems to offer more pre-med research and internship opportunities, stronger science, higher prestige, and more viable plan B into other career options if the pre-med doesn’t work out. On the other hand, this DC’s learning style is more aligned with deep-discussion, close-mentorship style learning at Williams, if what they advertise is the reality.

Both locations excite this DC in different ways. Not an athlete, is not motivated by getting rich (Reddit says both schools have big finance/Wall Street big money culture which is not DC’s thing). Not excited about a hyper competitive campus culture, don’t know if that’s only Wharton/finance kids that are like that on the Penn campus, or if you get some of that on the Williams campus too with so many kids from elite privates and boarding schools. This kid just genuinely loves learning. Cost is not a deciding factor.

"Penn seems to offer more pre-med research and internship opportunities" - What is your basis for this opinion? What exactly is "pre-med" research? From and undergraduate perspective this is very debatable. Being in a large city will provide many options which may or may not help but the competition for spots will also be higher. By this standard Northeastern should be superior to Williams because their kids can and do intern at Brigham Women's but we both know that isn't at all the case.

"stronger science" - again, what is your basis for this opinion, that it is an R1? From and undergraduate perspective this is very debatable with very high academics 100% taught by professors and excellent lab opportunities at top SLACs. It is well known that top SLACs send greater proportions of kids into top Phd programs than R1s including for the sciences.

"higher prestige" - absolutely not true

"more viable plan B into other career options if the pre-med doesn’t work out" - again absolutely not true unless the pivot is engineering.

Overall you have some unfounded biases with nothing to back them up so I would say step back, take a deep breathe and pick the school that best fits your child. Two great choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For premed, there are tons of opportunities at Penn. Multiple hospitals on campus walking distance.

By that standard Northeastern is a great school for pre-med but nobody in their right mind would choose Northeastern over a top SLAC for med school admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Penn seems to offer more pre-med research and internship opportunities, stronger science, higher prestige, and more viable plan B into other career options if the pre-med doesn’t work out. On the other hand, this DC’s learning style is more aligned with deep-discussion, close-mentorship style learning at Williams, if what they advertise is the reality.

Both locations excite this DC in different ways. Not an athlete, is not motivated by getting rich (Reddit says both schools have big finance/Wall Street big money culture which is not DC’s thing). Not excited about a hyper competitive campus culture, don’t know if that’s only Wharton/finance kids that are like that on the Penn campus, or if you get some of that on the Williams campus too with so many kids from elite privates and boarding schools. This kid just genuinely loves learning. Cost is not a deciding factor.

You've answered your own question. Normally would pick Penn, but in your case Williams hands down.

Do we know that Penn doesn’t offer this type of learning?

Not for intro premed classes.

Penn is 12,000 students vs Williams 2000.

[Anonymous]

I was just at a Williams accepted students even where a kid who spoke about just *pondering* a switch to med track from a non stem major. they were able to get a position (volunteer, but williams filled in gap with pay) doing a little of everything including writing up histories in a health clinic and then working in the small, local ER shadowing doctors for an entire semester. She's now graduating and moving on to med school.

There's a lot of appeal of having a big top flight hospital in spitting distance, but think about what your actual opportunity there is for a sophomore in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For premed, there are tons of opportunities at Penn. Multiple hospitals on campus walking distance.

Penn and Williams have different approaches to accessing pre-med opportunities. At Penn, you would walk to these nearby hospitals for volunteer and internship jobs during your undergrad 4 years, like the PP said, then apply to med schools. At Williams, they often place pre-meds into paid positions after graduating, like at the NIH, and encourage these new graduates to get 2 years of experience then apply to medical schools instead of straight out of college because internship opps are scarce in Williamstown. No one way is better but they are different.

[Anonymous]

Culturally they are pretty similar, other than size. Both pretty intense and competitive. Your kid can do extremely well at either. DC will almost certainly have a clear preference after admitted student days. Let them choose.

[Anonymous]

^^also Penn is not more prestigious, not at all. They are equivalent in prestige.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^also Penn is not more prestigious, not at all. They are equivalent in prestige.

At Quakers day there were lots of Asian families. Certain communities like Asian immigrants view UPenn as much more prestigious than Williams, which is relative unknown outside of the U.S. (or even to most of the U.S.). Not to say this is right but it is what it is in certain communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^also Penn is not more prestigious, not at all. They are equivalent in prestige.

Haha this made me laugh. Not at all. Penn is miles ahead of Williams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^also Penn is not more prestigious, not at all. They are equivalent in prestige.

At Quakers day there were lots of Asian families. Certain communities like Asian immigrants view UPenn as much more prestigious than Williams, which is relative unknown outside of the U.S. (or even to most of the U.S.). Not to say this is right but it is what it is in certain communities.

Most MC American families of any race would not even know the existence of Williams. This does not have anything to do with race or Asian immigrants.