Best Pre-Med Programs at christian schools

paapii · 10-17-2009, 05:34 PM

My First two boys are looking at schools and the oldest wants to go to a nationally ranked Pre-med. praogram. Is there one the is sincerely Christian and provide a great Pre-Med. program?

futuredoc2011 · 11-10-2009, 10:11 PM

Hi,

The answer to your question is a resounding YES!! Mississippi College is a Christian university established in 1826. I am currently a psychology/pre-med major at MC and love every aspect of the program. All the instructors are extremely accessible and always willing to help. As for your son wanting to attend a nationally ranked pre-med program you should know that as of now there is no official ranking system for these programs. This is due in part to the complexity of pre-med programs and the many unmeasurable aspects of such programs. However, I should note here that U.S. News and World Report ranks MC 23rd in academic reputation among 123 southern universities and in the top 10 of "best value" colleges.

Dr. Stan Baldwin, the dean of the school of science and mathematics, is also on faculty at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS. As the dean he is responsible for the entire premed program. Dr. Baldwin structures all of his classes the same way he structures his classes at UMC and has also asked the other professors to do the same. In one of my many encounters with him he mentioned that several of his med students who DID NOT attend MC always complain about the significant advantage the MC students have in the curriculum of the first two years. I should warn you, the program is VERY, VERY tough and requires the same dedication and focus necessary to excel in med school. If you can survive MC's premed program, you will do well in med school. That said, I can say without a doubt that MC has the top premed program in the state and one of the top programs in the country.

As for the Christian aspect, as a Christian university all of the administrators, faculty, and staff exemplify Christian attitudes and morals both in and out of the classroom.

If you have any other questions I encourage you or your son to contact the Office of Enrollment Services at (601)925-3800 or enrollment-services@mc.edu. Or, if you'd like a student's perspective you or your son can email me at mgodwin3568@yahoo.com

hoosiermom · 11-11-2009, 02:23 PM

Take a look at Hope College. It has a very strong science reputation and the school's approach to preparing their pre-med students for medical school admissions is very impressive. I posted a few details in cc's college visit reports in 2008 if you want more info. A family friend attends Hope and has been very pleased with the caliber of the academics, research opportunities, and Christian environment.

Creekland · 11-11-2009, 03:30 PM

Do either of these places (or anywhere else) offer undergrad research with them? My son wants to head into medical research and ideally wants plentiful research opportunities at the undergrad level (so he can better figure out what appeals to him at the grad level). I'm assuming I'm going to need a larger research U - and therefore not Christian - but would like to consider all possibilities (esp since HE would prefer Christian and smaller).

hoosiermom · 11-11-2009, 07:16 PM

Hope does. There are opportunities for paid positions for summer research also. The professor we talked with was the advisor for pre-med and pre vet. Hope has excellent stats as far as med school admissions. I didn't specifically ask about students intending to pursue the sciences in grad school but I do know Hope is nationally ranked with respect to number (may be percentage) of graduates attaining a PhD. If you have the book "Colleges that Change Lives", Hope is profiled in it.

futuredoc2011 · 11-11-2009, 10:23 PM

Honestly, I'm not sure if MC offers undergrad research in medical sciences but I will make a point to get with Dr. Baldwin and find out. I'll post his answer as soon as I have it. I don't know what Hope's med school admissions stats are but I can proudly say that MC has an 85% acceptance rate which, incidentally, is 2x the national average.

phear_me · 11-11-2009, 11:34 PM

The OP asked for NATIONALLY RANKED pre-med programs, not for people to troll for their various undergraduates.

There are no nationally ranked pre-med programs offered by Christian schools. You are going to have to give up that desire if you want to attend a Christian university.

The closest thing to what you are looking for would probably be found at Wheaton College, and even that's a stretch. Pepperdine might have something in the hopper, but Pepperdine is sort of a diet-christian university and is definitely not known for biological sciences. The hard truth is that to get a nationally ranked pre-med education one needs to be affiliated with a nationally ranked medical school. That doesn't exist at Christian universities, which are almost exclusively liberal arts colleges.

RSBuletz · 11-11-2009, 11:48 PM

Further to Dr. Baldwin, the following gives a synopsis of the pre-med program,

http://www.mc.edu/campus/users/sbaldwin/Baldwin.pdf

hoosiermom · 11-12-2009, 08:56 AM

phear_me, no one is trolling. The OP asked for Christian schools with great pre-med. Hope is a geat Christian school AND has a great pre-med program with superior undergraduate research opportunities. I couldn't find a national "ranking" for any pre-med programs, Christian or otherwise. Can you provide a link?

futuredoc2011 · 11-12-2009, 01:10 PM

Thanks RSBuletz. I didn't think to post that link. To phear_me: Like hoosiermom said, no one is trolling. If you have a problem with the replies then stay off the thread. Whether or not the responses are what the OP asked for is not for you to decide. If he/she has a problem with them then they should comment on it, not you, an uninvolved 3rd party. As far as a pre-med program being nationally ranked, if you had done any research at all you would find that there is not an accepted ranking system for such programs either at a Christian school or otherwise. If by some chance you've managed to find one, please, share it with us. I think we'd all be interested to see it.

Creekland · 11-13-2009, 07:10 AM

I'm not the OP, but as far as I'm concerned, the more suggestions the better.

phear_me · 11-13-2009, 09:16 AM

futuredoc2011 - you mean the OP should comment on it, not a third party, like you just did? Honest to goodness if you can't even stay consistent with the sentence you JUST wrote how do you expect anyone to take you seriously?

Simple reading comprehension: "My First two boys are looking at schools and the oldest wants to go to a NATIONALLY RANKED Pre-med. praogram. Is there one the is sincerely Christian and provide a great Pre-Med. program?"

If you want to see the top pre-med programs, look at schools with top biological/health science programs. That's done by graduate department, not undergrad specialty, and it's all the regular players you would expect to see: Hopkins, MIT, Harvard, Stanford etc.

hoosiermom · 11-13-2009, 12:01 PM

Op, one plug for LAC's and research at schools where there are no graduate programs, the undergraduates will not have graduate students to compete with for the choice research opportunities.

Creekland · 11-13-2009, 12:46 PM

For what it's worth, the advice I've read on other sections of CC suggest NOT going to a program with a top graduate level medical facility such as Harvard, etc. The competition tends to be tougher there - meaning unless you are top of the top, you won't get as much consideration going there for grad school (diversity deal). Being top of the top at a 'different school' (along with a top MCAT score) will be more likely to produce an interview than being near the top at these other schools - unless one wants less of a top grad school.

I've summarized it, but check out the FAQ on the pre-med section. I'm busy or I'd look up the link and post it. It was quite informative - and is what has me checking out all these 'other' schools to find a great match.

Then there's the financial issue. Going to a 'different' school is likely to produce decent merit aid for top students. Going to the 'name' schools is likely to produce a lot of debt (unless one can afford the education, of course). Having a lot of debt prior to grad school isn't an asset.

It is highly suggested to look at actual admission rates - and to where - to compare pre-med options. Not all schools are created equal.

futuredoc2011 · 11-13-2009, 01:54 PM

phear_me: The sentence is consistent. Because I had just referenced the OP in the previous sentence I didn't feel it was necessary to make that distinction again. Like you said, it's simple reading comprehension. Also, I was not commenting on the validity of the responses, except of course for yours.

OP: Please excuse this little aside between myself and phear_me. I hope you are finding the information presented helpful.