mehta93

hey guys.. how is northeastern for pre med? Im gnna major in biochemistry and then maybe double major in neuroscience.. I got into the honors program and the scholars program too (they only accepted 50 students for this Scholars program) and I also have a full tuition scholarship.. Im an international student and I plan to attend a med school in the states..
Ill be grateful for your reply..

bluebayou

just so you are aware, very few US med schools accept international students, so even with great grades, your chances of admissions to US Med are extremely low.

But take the $$ at NE.

mehta93

I know about the "extra" edge that the international students need.. I might be getting permanent residency before I apply, but then if I don't I will have to take my chances as an international..

Can more people tell me about NEU for pre med..?

phuynh94

I am currently a senior in high school and am planning on attending medical school in the future. Right now, I'm still trying to decide which college to attend. My heart is set on USC, but that would mean paying $36K/year. My parents want me to attend UCI for $25K/year because they would not be paying for R&B. I toured both schools and loved 'SC and despised UCI for a variety of reasons, including major offerings, curriculum flexibility, class sizes, social life, and extracurricular programs. My back-up option, should I not be able to attend USC, would be to go to UHouston on a full ride. However, UHouston isn't as well known as USC or UCI; how would reputation play into this? Would doing relatively well in an unknown college for free actually hurt my chances when it comes to medical school admissions? In this case, would spending an additional $12K/year be worth it if I want to attend USC?

AceAites

@Mehta93: As long as you enjoy NE, it should be great. Full ride? That's awesome!

@Phuynh94: Prestige of the school matters very little. Just go to University of Houston. You will be glad when it's time to apply to medical school and you have 0 debt.

Princess'Dad

Phuynh
Go to the school that you will enjoy that you can afford. You will be happier and that usually means better grades.

LSalazar12

Can someone give their opinions on the medical school preparation that Cornell and Johns Hopkins give to their undergrads (and possibly compare the two), please? Additionally, would participating in a Dual Degree program (@Cornell) or the concurrent BS/MSE program(@JHU) make one more competitive as a med school applicant...or would it be more useful to emphasize other aspects of one's interests in academia in general (e.g.sociological studies of the human condition)? I heard that medical schools have lately become more interested in the well-rounded applicant (is this true?)

Thank you very much for your help!

WayOutWestMom

Both JHU and Cornell will adequately prepare one to take the MCAT.

Dual degrees, double majors or combined BS/MS programs do not make one more competitive for med school admissions.

Med schools have always been interested in well-rounded individuals. This is not something new. This does not mean one cannot major in a science. It just means that science cannot be the only thing an applicant does.

Med schools expect applicants to have strong academics with a strong aptitude for science, strong standardized scores, demonstrated leadership skills, a sense of empathy, excellent communication skills, a sense of service to the community, a dedication to medicine, plus hobbies/interests outside of science & medicine.

You may be confusing well-roundedness with things you have heard about the new MCAT (which rolls out in 2015). The 2015 MCAT will include 4 sections: Verbal; Physical Science, Biological Science and Human Behavior.

The human behavior section will include material dealing with sociology, psychology, ethics and anthropology.

LSalazar12

@WayOutWestMom Thank you for all that information! The new MCAT seems interesting indeed. I will be sure to keep that all in mind.Thanks again!

Edreed20

How is the premed at Ucsd? I'm probably headed there majoring in Biochem.

2prepMom

LSalazar
The pre-med preparation you will receive at Cornell amounts to strong discouragement. I am a Cornell alum who recalls the opening statement Day 1 in organic chem "Look to your right, look to your left. In 2 weeks only one of the three of you will remain. Tomorrow there will be an exam on the structure of all the amino acids." End of class. They were right, 2/3 of the class dropped the course after getting 20s on the first two tests.

Pre-med counseling (after actually making it through all the pre reqs) was even more discouraging, and I believed it when they told me I was not a good candidate. It was not until years later (after receiving a PhD) that I finally had the confidence to apply to medical school, was accepted to most, and am now a very established surgical subspecialist/academic physician, trained in the top program in the country.

I have heard similar complaints from parents of students at JHU. It is to the advantage of the pre-med "factory schools" to say "80%" acceptance rate. They do not publicize how many students are so discouraged by the pre-med experience they they do not even try to apply.

Go to a small supportive undergrad and do research over the summer. Take an MCAT prep course. You will have a better chance.

earthwalker7

@COlsen573
quote: "theyre at harvard because of their ability to teach as well as their intelligence. not just their record. dont generalize something you have no idea about because you didnt make it there. "


As one of my profs at Berkeley said to me (a sentiment a few others shared but verbalized less eloquently) : "I'm here to do research. That's our priority. My teaching is a part of the cost, but it's not the reason I'm here. My teaching is just something that's expected. But the reason we're all here, is to do research."

NorCal's comments on the fame of professors and their ability hence to be at a highly reputed school does not necessarily mean that they are the best teachers. In many cases they may simply be the best researchers, and will teach you from the head of the class, with 300-500 people in that same room. At Harvard you may end up with class after class taught by Nobel laureate profs who have no idea how to teach, but are world famous for research. And at a small school you might get taught by someone who can really help you learn, but maybe isn't some world-famous researcher.

I can state that having attended at the best, and being somewhat let-down.

earthwalker7

I went to Cal. Grading was CRAZY tough. They failed half of each class! Cutthroat. How can you say it wasn't harsh grading? Did you attend there?

calicityboy

med student at top 20 cali med school...
went to a UCLA..my opinion..go to the best school possible that YOU CAN DO well in...basically...do not trade a 3.9 at UCI for a 3.5 at UCLA/Cal but if you can get a 3.9 at both places go to the better one it will serve you better...do super well, be passionate about what you do and you'll get into med school.

BE DIFFERENT...everyone volunteers, everyone does research, everyone going to a top 20 med school broke a 3.7 on their GPA most have 3.8+, most have MCATs ranging 30 to 40, the key is be different, have something unique to talk about even if it has nothing to do with medicine..my GPA was strong, mcat was on the weaker side (low 30s) but had a unique activity...

MiamiDAP

@Phuynh94, if your family concerns about financing your college education, why don't you check out publics and privates that give good Merit packages to top students? There are plenty,.....then you might be able to negotiate with them paying for your Med. School. Definitely worthwhile to look into.