Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 00:16     Subject: Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
Anonymous wrote:https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/from-pre-med-to-md-understanding-the-pathways-to-medical-school/

Top feeders to med school
1. JHU
13. Upenn
17. Emory
23. Cornell
46. Columbia
48. Georgetown
60. BU

Comparing Emory to BU for pre-med of all things is an insult. It's one of the best.


The winner is the kid that graduated from University of Iowa at a fraction of the cost attending the same medical schools. It's pre-med folks.
Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 00:01     Subject: Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/from-pre-med-to-md-understanding-the-pathways-to-medical-school/

Top feeders to med school
1. JHU
13. Upenn
17. Emory
23. Cornell
46. Columbia
48. Georgetown
60. BU

Comparing Emory to BU for pre-med of all things is an insult. It's one of the best.
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 23:53     Subject: Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
Anonymous wrote:For the two previous posters above, can you please name the Ivy? I'm thinking there are varying experiences at, say, Brown v. Princeton or Cornell v. Harvard. It would be helpful for me to know. Thanks.


Penn and Columbia, huge boost! Research, clinicals, lots of top med schools!
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 23:50     Subject: Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Look into BSMD programs


In my oldest kid's class, there was a boy who was great in all ways. In short, most people believed he will go to Harvard. He ended with a school out of Top50. It is a BSMD program with big merit aid. Later when I saw how many students struggling on the way to med school, I realized how great his choice was.


If he had gone to an ivy he could have gotten into a better med school AND gotten merit. Aid is huge at med school now
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 23:48     Subject: Re:Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
Anonymous wrote:My sister and I were pre-meds at so-called second tier Ivies. I almost finished the course load before switching to poli sci and winding up at law school. My sister completed pre-med courses and went to Cornell Med.

We both felt that Ivies do not want to graduate classes where pluralities are going to med school. Ivies want to impact society (and generate big alumni donations later, LOL), and doctors don't do that (unless they invent a stent and then buy the LA Lakers). As a result, the curves in the weed-out classes are pretty tough, perhaps tougher than they would be at other colleges.

Pre-med courses are tough anywhere, and aspiring doctors have to run a gauntlet of coursework at any college. But at an Ivy or an Ivy+ it is indeed more difficult, IMO. The LAC pathway seems better to me.


That is how it used to be not how it is! Harvard and Duke have medians of A-, the other ivies have medians of B+ but then A- for upper level stem. Overall median GPA for premeds is the same as the overall school: about 3.75-3.9 depending on the colleges. Med schools know the peer group is hard , they know the current median at each school, and they generally let a slightly below average GPA slide because that group, below avg, will still knock out a 512-514! Average is usually 516! Are the kids super smart yes but also the classes really prepare well for MCAT.
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 23:42     Subject: Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
Anonymous wrote:My kid just graduated from Harvard (not pre-med) but I saw the names and majors of the students who received Latin honors. Let me tell you the biology majors made up a huge chunk of the summa cum laude students. One CS major. CS courses at Harvard have some grade deflation, but the pre-med majors like biology (I forgot the specific type) is where the grade inflation is. That and pre-law. My advice is if your kid gets into an Ivy that sends many to med school, and your kid thinks it is a good fit, they should go. These schools know what is needed to get in, and their students benefit!


+++ go to an ivy or top 10 private with a med school affiliated and close to campus
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 23:40     Subject: Re:Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
Anonymous wrote:My kid is pre-med at an Ivy. Their thoughts:
-the pre med classes aren't impossible and peers are not a crowd of geniuses.
-the medical school results are really good. The seniors my child knows personally this year are going to Yale, UVA, Mt. Sinai, and Hopkins. All top tier med schools. No gap year.


Mine is also at an ivy and I had another student at a different ivy. The placements to med school are amazing. 3.8-3.9 getting T30 places, above 3.90 getting T10/20 places. Many of them got merit: personally know free ride to Vanderbilt a d NYU, merit $ at Duke, need or merit not sure but big aid at stanford med, and one picked full merit at their instate which is roughly Top30 over a top10.

Med school aid has exploded and the ones with the most aid seem to be taking students from top schools. Its easier in a way to get 518+ when 1/3 od the premeds at your school get that, and upperclassmen have greaf advice on clinicals, getting research, paid summers, and of course study groups work best when almost everyone is a high level.
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 22:29     Subject: Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
Forget BU. Tufts and Holy Cross have much better pre-med programs.
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 21:56     Subject: Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
My kid just graduated from Harvard (not pre-med) but I saw the names and majors of the students who received Latin honors. Let me tell you the biology majors made up a huge chunk of the summa cum laude students. One CS major. CS courses at Harvard have some grade deflation, but the pre-med majors like biology (I forgot the specific type) is where the grade inflation is. That and pre-law. My advice is if your kid gets into an Ivy that sends many to med school, and your kid thinks it is a good fit, they should go. These schools know what is needed to get in, and their students benefit!
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 21:29     Subject: Re:Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
My sister and I were pre-meds at so-called second tier Ivies. I almost finished the course load before switching to poli sci and winding up at law school. My sister completed pre-med courses and went to Cornell Med.

We both felt that Ivies do not want to graduate classes where pluralities are going to med school. Ivies want to impact society (and generate big alumni donations later, LOL), and doctors don't do that (unless they invent a stent and then buy the LA Lakers). As a result, the curves in the weed-out classes are pretty tough, perhaps tougher than they would be at other colleges.

Pre-med courses are tough anywhere, and aspiring doctors have to run a gauntlet of coursework at any college. But at an Ivy or an Ivy+ it is indeed more difficult, IMO. The LAC pathway seems better to me.
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 20:50     Subject: Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
Anonymous wrote:Look into BSMD programs


In my oldest kid's class, there was a boy who was great in all ways. In short, most people believed he will go to Harvard. He ended with a school out of Top50. It is a BSMD program with big merit aid. Later when I saw how many students struggling on the way to med school, I realized how great his choice was.
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 19:28     Subject: Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
Anonymous wrote:A large number of kids who start as premed at any school do not end premed. They either realize they don't like the classes enough, or they find other areas and career paths they like more.

Go for the best fit - that way your kid will be happy on whatever path they find themselves in 4 years.


Didn't these kids take AP Biology and Chemistry??
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 19:10     Subject: Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If you are choosing between Harvard and Emory, definitely go with Harvard.


Op here. I’m thinking schools like Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, UPenn vs Boston University, Emory, Georgetown.

Johns Hopkins and Cornell are supposedly great for premed but I know so many guys who went there and did not make it to medical school. Have heard Columbia is cutthroat.

My kid really liked BU’s campus.

Cornell, Emory, and Georgetown are thensame tier of school. BU is levels below alll.of these other schools listed. For premed Cornell is actually one of the worse schools to go to. Out of the schools above Emory would be the best and JHU second
Anonymous
Post 06/13/2026 15:06     Subject: Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
Between BU and Hopkins, you might just go with Hopkins. BU has grade deflation, not an easy premed. But between Tufts and Hopkins, definitely go with Tufts.
Anonymous
Post 06/13/2026 14:00     Subject: Is it better to go to a lesser school if you are went to be premed
My rising junior is thinking this through right now. With VERY few exceptions, she will go where it will maximize her chances of getting into med school, assuming the college culture is one she likes (her HS is extremely competitive, and she wants a collaborative environment, so won't apply to colleges that do not fit that mold.) She would absolutely pick a BU over a JHU, if that was the call, but not BU over Harvard. Similarly, she will apply to a few BS/MD programs, and will go there over places like Rice or Georgetown.