Northwestern vs Vanderbilt vs UVA (in-state)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We looked at both Northwestern and Vanderbilt. I don't know anything about UVA. For pre-med, I think they're both very good. You really can't go wrong. If it makes any difference, the Vanderbilt University Medical Center is next to campus whereas the Northwestern University Hospital is 30 miles away in Chicago. Vandy is a more urban school. NU is more suburban. I think the Vanderbilt campus is much nicer, but NU has the lake. The two schools seem to have similar caliber students, but the vibe at Vanderbilt seemed a lot warmer and friendlier. It definitely felt more social than NU. Both schools are a part of major sports conferences. And they both kind of suck at sports presently.

You should visit of course. Most students will sense what feels right. Nashville is a blue city in a red state and some might find that off-putting. Northwestern is freezing for much of the academic year. And it has a quarterly system, which is not for everyone. Chicago is a great city, but NU is not in Chicago. Evanston is... fine.

DS preferred Vanderbilt and attends there now.

Northwestern hospital is only 12 miles away but it’ll take you at least 30 mins to get there, if that’s what you mean. But it’s not 30 miles away.

When you are a pre-med, you are not in medical school. Why obsess over the location of the medical center? There are hospitals in the area.

Who’s obsessed? I’m correcting misinformation in the PP.

It was directed at the one who thinks this really matters.

[Anonymous]

A friend's son went to Vanderbilt Pre-Med, was top of his class in HS. He realized within a month the students there were so smart and talented he didn't stand a chance when it came to med school. Transferred after 1 semester to State U. Ended up at the same medical school as many of the top Vandy kids.

[Anonymous]

I’m writing big checks to Northwest so clearly I think it’s worth it but I would think uva makes sense in this situation especially if will be in honors program. Med school is so expensive and uva is a solid choice. If there’s a chance kid will change mind and want to get a PhD in bio or chem or do research or something, that northwestern might make more sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If medical school is a consideration, probably makes sense to go with the lowest cost option and use difference towards medical school. All three are peers academically so just a fit choice otherwise.

This. I can’t imagine turning down in state UVA for pre-anything.

Even Northwestern? Interesting.

Yes, even Northwestern.

This is a financial decision, yes? Because UVA doesn't even compare.

Huh? No. I think of all three of these schools in the same academic tier. And I don’t have ties to any of them, went to two different T10 schools myself.

+1

[Anonymous]

These schools are close enough in quality that you can get to the same destinations from all 3. There’s way too much hairsplitting going on by people on this site when comparing colleges that are of similar quality.

If you want to say Johns Hopkins will get you places that George Mason won’t, fine. But NU, UVA, Vandy…naw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If medical school is a consideration, probably makes sense to go with the lowest cost option and use difference towards medical school. All three are peers academically so just a fit choice otherwise.

This. I can’t imagine turning down in state UVA for pre-anything.

OMG here the come the UVA boosters again. I will name you many schools to turn down for UVA unless it is only a money question.

1. Any Ivy (yes any, including Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, and Penn).
2. Stanford, Northwestern, Duke, Hopkins, Chicago, and any non Ivy in the top 15.

+1000. I am a physician and know many: the premed advising and opportunities are much greater at the schools listed than they are at UVA. Average kids (ie GPA 3.6-3.7 at most of those privates) get into med school as long as Mcat is high, and have a much better shot at the top 50 research med schools than coming out of UVA . You have to be a top 10% kid at UVA to have a similar shot. For lower ranked publics top1%.

This is a weird post. Not accurate at all.

He said he was a physician. He never claimed to be smart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If medical school is a consideration, probably makes sense to go with the lowest cost option and use difference towards medical school. All three are peers academically so just a fit choice otherwise.

This. I can’t imagine turning down in state UVA for pre-anything.

OMG here the come the UVA boosters again. I will name you many schools to turn down for UVA unless it is only a money question.

1. Any Ivy (yes any, including Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, and Penn).
2. Stanford, Northwestern, Duke, Hopkins, Chicago, and any non Ivy in the top 15.

+1000. I am a physician and know many: the premed advising and opportunities are much greater at the schools listed than they are at UVA. Average kids (ie GPA 3.6-3.7 at most of those privates) get into med school as long as Mcat is high, and have a much better shot at the top 50 research med schools than coming out of UVA . You have to be a top 10% kid at UVA to have a similar shot. For lower ranked publics top1%.

This is a weird post. Not accurate at all.

He said he was a physician. He never claimed to be smart.

Why do you assume PP is male? But yeah, just because someone is a physician doesn't mean they know what they're talking about when it comes to deciding where to go to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We looked at both Northwestern and Vanderbilt. I don't know anything about UVA. For pre-med, I think they're both very good. You really can't go wrong. If it makes any difference, the Vanderbilt University Medical Center is next to campus whereas the Northwestern University Hospital is 30 miles away in Chicago. Vandy is a more urban school. NU is more suburban. I think the Vanderbilt campus is much nicer, but NU has the lake. The two schools seem to have similar caliber students, but the vibe at Vanderbilt seemed a lot warmer and friendlier. It definitely felt more social than NU. Both schools are a part of major sports conferences. And they both kind of suck at sports presently.

You should visit of course. Most students will sense what feels right. Nashville is a blue city in a red state and some might find that off-putting. Northwestern is freezing for much of the academic year. And it has a quarterly system, which is not for everyone. Chicago is a great city, but NU is not in Chicago. Evanston is... fine.

DS preferred Vanderbilt and attends there now.

Northwestern hospital is only 12 miles away but it’ll take you at least 30 mins to get there, if that’s what you mean. But it’s not 30 miles away.

When you are a pre-med, you are not in medical school. Why obsess over the location of the medical center? There are hospitals in the area.

Because that’s where the research opportunities will be which you need to apply to med school.

My DS is a pre-med freshman at Vandy. Classes are intense and but he doesn’t feel like they are cut throat at all. He also has found the pre-med advising very helpful and loves the school, including his non-pre-med classes and professors. He considered Northwestern as well but ultimately thought Vandy would be a better fit for him overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If medical school is a consideration, probably makes sense to go with the lowest cost option and use difference towards medical school. All three are peers academically so just a fit choice otherwise.

This. I can’t imagine turning down in state UVA for pre-anything.

OMG here the come the UVA boosters again. I will name you many schools to turn down for UVA unless it is only a money question.

1. Any Ivy (yes any, including Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, and Penn).
2. Stanford, Northwestern, Duke, Hopkins, Chicago, and any non Ivy in the top 15.

+1000. I am a physician and know many: the premed advising and opportunities are much greater at the schools listed than they are at UVA. Average kids (ie GPA 3.6-3.7 at most of those privates) get into med school as long as Mcat is high, and have a much better shot at the top 50 research med schools than coming out of UVA . You have to be a top 10% kid at UVA to have a similar shot. For lower ranked publics top1%.

This is a weird post. Not accurate at all.

He said he was a physician. He never claimed to be smart.

[mastodon]Why do you assume PP is male? But yeah, just because someone is a physician doesn't mean they know what they're talking about when it comes to deciding where to go to school.

When women write, they use lots of exclamation points & dot each i with a little heart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We looked at both Northwestern and Vanderbilt. I don't know anything about UVA. For pre-med, I think they're both very good. You really can't go wrong. If it makes any difference, the Vanderbilt University Medical Center is next to campus whereas the Northwestern University Hospital is 30 miles away in Chicago. Vandy is a more urban school. NU is more suburban. I think the Vanderbilt campus is much nicer, but NU has the lake. The two schools seem to have similar caliber students, but the vibe at Vanderbilt seemed a lot warmer and friendlier. It definitely felt more social than NU. Both schools are a part of major sports conferences. And they both kind of suck at sports presently.

You should visit of course. Most students will sense what feels right. Nashville is a blue city in a red state and some might find that off-putting. Northwestern is freezing for much of the academic year. And it has a quarterly system, which is not for everyone. Chicago is a great city, but NU is not in Chicago. Evanston is... fine.

DS preferred Vanderbilt and attends there now.

Northwestern hospital is only 12 miles away but it’ll take you at least 30 mins to get there, if that’s what you mean. But it’s not 30 miles away.

When you are a pre-med, you are not in medical school. Why obsess over the location of the medical center? There are hospitals in the area.

Because that’s where the research opportunities will be which you need to apply to med school.

My DS is a pre-med freshman at Vandy. Classes are intense and but he doesn’t feel like they are cut throat at all. He also has found the pre-med advising very helpful and loves the school, including his non-pre-med classes and professors. He considered Northwestern as well but ultimately thought Vandy would be a better fit for him overall.

Not true.

https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/medical-school-admissions-doctor/articles/premed-research-that-impresses-medical-schools#:~:text=It's%20not%20necessary%20for%20a,not%20necessary%20to%20gain%20acceptance.

[Anonymous]

Where is your student going to get the best grades? You want them as high as possible for pre-med.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where is your student going to get the best grades? You want them as high as possible for pre-med.

In this case wouldn’t schools like BU or Pitt or CWRU or UIUC be better? Kids will sail through with good GPA and yet have solid premed training with abundant research and shadowing opportunities with close by hospitals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If medical school is a consideration, probably makes sense to go with the lowest cost option and use difference towards medical school. All three are peers academically so just a fit choice otherwise.

This. I can’t imagine turning down in state UVA for pre-anything.

OMG here the come the UVA boosters again. I will name you many schools to turn down for UVA unless it is only a money question.

1. Any Ivy (yes any, including Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, and Penn).
2. Stanford, Northwestern, Duke, Hopkins, Chicago, and any non Ivy in the top 15.

If and I am emphasize If, the intent is premed, going to an Ivy or any of the top 20 privates is one of the dumbest things you can do when choosing a college. Especially Cornell, Columbia, Chicago and Penn. Beyond stupid.

First, you burn yourself down with trying to get good grades.

Two, your competitors are also going to be very competitive for premed which would make it even tougher.

Three, you are going to pay a lot of additional money over going to an instate public school. Money that can be used for medical school and beyond as you would essentially not be earning much for 10 years or more.

Four, the med school you go to is what matters. No one gives a hoot about what college you went to before the med school.

The reported percentages of premeds gaining acceptance from those schools is typically much higher than from schools like Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, and UVA.

The national acceptance rate of premeds into any accredited medical school is only about 40%. The challenge is to get in.

That simplistic review leads you to the wrong conclusion.

The kids who got into Ivy or top 20 schools are already extremely competitive. The cohort going to Ivy's is vastly different from the cohort at a large public school. The vast majority of top 20 school students have already been filtered on several levels. Many in the peer group of pre-med at top 20 schools have a gold something like that on Biology or other Olympiads.

At a large public the pool is much more varied and there is a large segment that is not very competitive. So if you are determined to go into medicine then going from a large public is so much easier.

A large percentage of my extended family is in medical field, went through this process with several kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If medical school is a consideration, probably makes sense to go with the lowest cost option and use difference towards medical school. All three are peers academically so just a fit choice otherwise.

This. I can’t imagine turning down in state UVA for pre-anything.

OMG here the come the UVA boosters again. I will name you many schools to turn down for UVA unless it is only a money question.

1. Any Ivy (yes any, including Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, and Penn).
2. Stanford, Northwestern, Duke, Hopkins, Chicago, and any non Ivy in the top 15.

If and I am emphasize If, the intent is premed, going to an Ivy or any of the top 20 privates is one of the dumbest things you can do when choosing a college. Especially Cornell, Columbia, Chicago and Penn. Beyond stupid.

First, you burn yourself down with trying to get good grades.

Two, your competitors are also going to be very competitive for premed which would make it even tougher.

Three, you are going to pay a lot of additional money over going to an instate public school. Money that can be used for medical school and beyond as you would essentially not be earning much for 10 years or more.

Four, the med school you go to is what matters. No one gives a hoot about what college you went to before the med school.

I went to a T10 undergrad and a T5 med school. More than half the class came from ivy/plus/Amherst/Williams/Swat. Most of the rest came from the next tier down. Less than 1/4 came from below T75. The matching for residency from a Top 10 med school goes to the top hospitals in the country. Med school matters if one wants to be top of their field. Undergrad matters to a lesser degree, to get into the T10-20 med schools.
Premed advising committees give bumps for undergrad institution and major: Engineers from top universities just need to be average at their school, or 3.5, as long as mcat is high. Premed advising letters from undergrads who provide them list median gpas and have other info on the student and how they compare. I have served on these committees.
Undergrad does matter, to a degree.
However, I do think UVA vs Northwestern vs Vanderbilt are regarded very similarly. Premed committees use a tier system of undergrad + major .
The student should pick the one they "fit " best, as you shine best when you are in a "fit" environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If medical school is a consideration, probably makes sense to go with the lowest cost option and use difference towards medical school. All three are peers academically so just a fit choice otherwise.

This. I can’t imagine turning down in state UVA for pre-anything.

OMG here the come the UVA boosters again. I will name you many schools to turn down for UVA unless it is only a money question.

1. Any Ivy (yes any, including Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, and Penn).
2. Stanford, Northwestern, Duke, Hopkins, Chicago, and any non Ivy in the top 15.

If and I am emphasize If, the intent is premed, going to an Ivy or any of the top 20 privates is one of the dumbest things you can do when choosing a college. Especially Cornell, Columbia, Chicago and Penn. Beyond stupid.

First, you burn yourself down with trying to get good grades.

Two, your competitors are also going to be very competitive for premed which would make it even tougher.

Three, you are going to pay a lot of additional money over going to an instate public school. Money that can be used for medical school and beyond as you would essentially not be earning much for 10 years or more.

Four, the med school you go to is what matters. No one gives a hoot about what college you went to before the med school.

The reported percentages of premeds gaining acceptance from those schools is typically much higher than from schools like Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, and UVA.

The national acceptance rate of premeds into any accredited medical school is only about 40%. The challenge is to get in.

That simplistic review leads you to the wrong conclusion.

The kids who got into Ivy or top 20 schools are already extremely competitive. The cohort going to Ivy's is vastly different from the cohort at a large public school. The vast majority of top 20 school students have already been filtered on several levels. Many in the peer group of pre-med at top 20 schools have a gold something like that on Biology or other Olympiads.

At a large public the pool is much more varied and there is a large segment that is not very competitive. So if you are determined to go into medicine then going from a large public is so much easier.

A large percentage of my extended family is in medical field, went through this process with several kids.

With this logic, Pitt or UIUC should be better than CWRU or CMU? Really?