Pitt vs William and Mary for Pre-Med/Biology

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both of my kids had Pitt and WM in the top 3 at decision time. We (kids and DH and I) were pleasantly surprised by Pitt. We had initially looked only because of rolling admission— get an early yes and take some pressure off.


Kid 1 was looking a pre-PhD is a science field and came down to WM and Pitt in April. Kid 2 chose WM based largely on small intro science classes taught by full professors and not TAs. This kid has ADHD on the mild to moderate end of the spectrum, but it made huge intro chem, bio classes etc concerning.

Kid 2 was interested in a humanities field and went to the not Pitt or WM finalist, which was a SLAC with a specific program in their strongly held area of interest.

I looked more at science PhD outcomes than pre-med outcomes for Kid 1 and they were great for both schools— maybe better for WM, but it’s hard to tell because WM’s department is smaller. NOTE: this kid was from TJ. Pitt is TJ’s safety school and many years 200+ kids applied to Pitt and every single one was accepted. At the time, Pitt was the 3rd most attended college for TJ grads (UVA and WM were 1 and 2. VT was already on its DEI tear and was 4 or even 5).

I would be shocked if pre-med outcomes were very different in terms admission rates for med school/ quality of schools between WM and Pitt. Bunch of TJ pre-med were accepted to both and both were popular. I know Pitt has more hospitals in proximity. But both DC and her roommate (biochem double major, pre-med) were doing meaningful paid research with a prof by sophomore year. My DC stayed on campus to continue research summer after sophomore year. Her roommate had no problem doing something hospital based near her home (IDK exactly what).


It has always surprised me that Pitt and WM are attracting some of the same kids. But visiting Pitt it doesn’t feel huge. I would look at cost and mostly where your kid is most comfortable. Kids who love their college always go well.

Two side notes: my TJ kid got offered a merit award $10k a year) and honors college at Pitt. HC doesn’t actually have many benefits in terms of smaller classes, etc. It’s a nice recognition, but isn’t really a smaller school within a school, like many state HCs, so look at the benefits closely. We didn’t see enough benefit to HC for it to factor into our decision.

Also, my TJ kid who got 10k a year merit for class of 2020 and that was considered an award on the high end. By 2022, there were fewer awards among my kids friends and most were $5k a year. My kid got $0. Also, if your kid was admitted in early fall and hasn’t gotten a merit by now, they probably won’t.

Good luck! Congrats on fantastic options. There is no bad choice there. Just kid preference.

Apples to apples acceptance rates are hard to come by, but you can try contacting the schools through the medical advisors. They may provide something. They often want to give context because some schools exclude some students who apply from their calculations (e.g., students that don't get a recommendation from a committee). Just as important is identifying a school that doesn't discourage an applicant before they even apply (weed out courses, difficulty in getting a good faculty recommendation, strain of competition, lack of help with difficult classes, poor advising). I suggest looking at those things.

https://www.savvypremed.com/blog/3-reasons-many-uc-pre-meds-regret-their-college-choice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I couldn’t convince my DD to like W&M either for the same reason. Let her go where she wants.

Same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We visited both schools. DD preferred Pitt and is admitted. I thought WM is nice too, probably because the test scores/GPA are higher which may suggest stronger peer group. DD is still waiting to hear about Honor college at Pitt. WM sent us texts and email encouraging DD to apply but DD does not like the campus or location (fake colonial town?!). Thoughts?

All day long PITT.

It is a fantastic school for premed.

+1 You just cannot get the same medical opportunities at W&M. Pittsburgh is a great city for medicine. Lots of great hospitals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like your kid has a strong preference for Pitt, which is totally fine, and there’s lots appealing about the school and city, but just to clarify Williamsburg is not a “fake” colonial town!

What you see today in "Colonial Williamsburg" was only built/"restored" starting ~100 years old.

[Anonymous]

Yes, only dilapidated historic houses are real historic houses.
Monticello is just another fake historic house since it had also restorations. Another tourist trap.

Right you are.



/s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like your kid has a strong preference for Pitt, which is totally fine, and there’s lots appealing about the school and city, but just to clarify Williamsburg is not a “fake” colonial town!

What you see today in "Colonial Williamsburg" was only built/"restored" starting ~100 years old.

A lot of the buildings had original foundations, walls, etc. They were restored to 1760 appearance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We visited both schools. DD preferred Pitt and is admitted. I thought WM is nice too, probably because the test scores/GPA are higher which may suggest stronger peer group. DD is still waiting to hear about Honor college at Pitt. WM sent us texts and email encouraging DD to apply but DD does not like the campus or location (fake colonial town?!). Thoughts?

All day long PITT.

It is a fantastic school for premed.

+1 You just cannot get the same medical opportunities at W&M. Pittsburgh is a great city for medicine. Lots of great hospitals.

You can get better science education, essential for pre-med at W&M.

[Anonymous]

I would pick Pitt unless you like the Braveheart vibes at WM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would pick Pitt unless you like the Braveheart vibes at WM.

?????