Anonymous wrote:Wooster as a safety. They do very well in the sciences and give great merit for top scores.

Oberlin is also excellent in this area, but it’s for a certain type of fine arts not preppy kid. You have to visit to know if your kid would click there. Mine did, I’d attending and loves it.

Agree with Case. Our first round of visits for a STEM kid, fine arts ECs was Wooster, Oberlin, Kenyon, Case.

Denison and Miami of Ohio are also possibilities.

Pitt is another great school in that general geographic area. It’s very good in pre-med and has a 7 year MD program that’s very competitive. Kids from the DMV who visit often like it much more than they think they will. It’s Rolling Decision.

Because they are drivable, I’d look at some combo of these to start.

^^ BTW, all these schools do well with merit. If you want to trek to MN, St. Olaf and Macalaster are worth a visit. Carleton is there as well, and excellent. But no merit.

Wooster as a safety. They do very well in the sciences and give great merit for top scores.

Oberlin is also excellent in this area, but it’s for a certain type of fine arts not preppy kid. You have to visit to know if your kid would click there. Mine did, I’d attending and loves it.

Agree with Case. Our first round of visits for a STEM kid, fine arts ECs was Wooster, Oberlin, Kenyon, Case.

Denison and Miami of Ohio are also possibilities.

Pitt is another great school in that general geographic area. It’s very good in pre-med and has a 7 year MD program that’s very competitive. Kids from the DMV who visit often like it much more than they think they will. It’s Rolling Decision.

Because they are drivable, I’d look at some combo of these to start.

Anonymous wrote: What state are you in OP?

We are in DC

Thank you to everyone, this is super, super helpful! Thomas Jefferson was on our list but I had never heard of Luther or Case Western. We will go to Boston and NY to visit a few schools but I know they are all hard to get into so we need to cast a wider net. Merit aid is important but so is attending a good school which may not be generous... Quality of education is more important that life on campus (pre-meds do not have time for much else). Thank you again!

What state are you in OP?

Make a trip out of visiting a city and checking out their universities. Ex: NYC + Columbia and NYU, Chicago + UChicago and Northwestern, Boston + Harvard, MIT, Tufts, etc.

Luther College in Decorah, IA.
Great merit and good outplacement for med school via partnership with Univ of Rochester and Mayo. Beautiful campus and the premed focus is so strong they even have a cadaver lab.

Look at the cost of different schools (state, private). Run the Net Price Calculator on each website to make sure affordable. Then visit a variety of local schools to figure out preference (size, location, etc). Visiting in person is helpful if possible. Sign up for tour on the admission website.

I'd suggest checking out Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. They have a very strong health sciences focus, and their East Falls campus feels like a quaint liberal arts college in a nice neighborhood on the edge of the city. Best of both worlds.

https://www.jefferson.edu/academics/colleges-schools-institutes/life-sciences/degrees-programs/undergraduate-programs/pre-medical-studies.html

Not super close but maybe Case Western Reserve? Really good for pre-med and you may get merit aid. I think the big question is how much you need merit aid in determining where to apply.

Thank you to everyone, so useful! He got Fiske Guide at the local library, still, it's an overwhelming process and I cannot help. We are in DC so no state flagship. He wants to stay close by and he hates the heat so N-E is ideal. He already has a list for pre-med, putting now together a plan B. So far he has been in public, private, Catholic, small, large schools, he liked them all and performed the same everywhere. Full pay, merit would be great, do not qualify for aid. If it were you, where wld you go visit?

Will you be full pay, are you looking for merit, or will you qualify for financial aid? Your state flagship may be best for pre-med.

First visit any small, large, rural, urban schools in the DMV regardless of stats or whether DC is interested—just to get a better sense for what DC wants. Then target specific places. It will save you time and money.

If he wants to stay in the area for sure, still do places that are close to you and determine the general type of place he likes.

My DD thought she wanted big city, but turns out she really wanted the experience of a traditional college campus in a college town. She is happy. So try to get a better sense of DC’s wants and dislikes.

You seem entirely focused on where your child can get in. Spend some time figuring out what he wants in a college.

Visit some that are nearby, just to learn if he likes large or small. Rural or urban. What part of the US? You will want a school that is good for science.

I suggest you start by buying a book like this:

The Best 387 Colleges, 2022: In-Depth Profiles & Ranking Lists to Help Find the Right College For You (2022) (College Admissions Guides)

You can pre-order it on Amazon now. It will be coming out next week. That will help you all understand the many criteria that he can use to select (religious? Greek? LGBTQ-friendly? diverse ethnically? etc).

Plus, it will give you a starting place (or quality schools) for making a tentative list. Remember that he will need some that would be a dream (but very hard to get into), some that usually accept kids that sound like him, and some that seem like they would be very easy for him to get admitted to...known as safeties.

They will also have a list of schools that are recommended for pre-med students/science.

Try not to listen to what everyone else is doing. But do look to your school's counsellors to keep track of when different tasks should be accomplished.

Good luck!

Thanks for advice, DCUM, DS is first in the family to attend college in the US. Stats: SAT top 3rd percentile (math top 2), GPA 90 of 100 (challenging classes, AP and Hon). Sports in the first 2 years of HS (on 2 teams one V, one JV), then focused on a job. Paid working experience since 8th grade. Good ECs such as research fellowship, publication, summer full time job, etc. Experience living and studying abroad. No special categ, attending small elite private school. Interested in pre-med track. Thank you again!