WashU is definitely a great choice in your areas, great location in St Louis. I think Penn in Philly and Rice in Houston also stand out.
For additional ideas:
Case Western has a nice location in Cleveland, is generally a popular choice for pre-med among doctor families I know, and has a Cognitive Science department with a focus you might like (as they describe it, they are interested in the higher order capacities):
Tufts has a flexible major in this area, and is in Boston:
Vassar would be a great school for your interests, actually one of the pioneers in this area. It is in Poughkeepsie, which is a metro area of about 700,000 people, and it is about 2 hours train from New York City:
Carleton is also really good in this area and generally big on interdisciplinary STEM stuff. It is in a college town but only about 45 minutes from Minneapolis St Paul:
Macalester is actually in the Twin Cities, great location, and has both a more Humanities-centric Cognitive Science major and STEM-centric Neuroscience major:
I know you wanted primarily higher-ranked suggestions, but a couple that seem like incredibly good fits:
Marquette is in Milwaukee, also less than 1.5 hours from Chicago, generally a well-respected university, very good program in your interests:
GW has a cool Cognitive Neuroscience major, obviously is right in Washington, DC:
Understood. Right now, though, Iām looking more for colleges that fit my interests, and then Iāll look at cost and tuition. After discussing more with my parents and family, theyāre telling me that I shouldnāt worry about tuition so much right now - if thereās a school I really want to go to, even if itās expensive, I should at least apply. The budget constraints I came up with were my own estimates, but it looks like I may have more to work with.
Something Iām worrying a little about right now is that Iāll pick a major I donāt enjoy. For example, UW is a school Iām very likely to go to (in-state, many friends already there, great education). However, their Psych/Neuroscience and CS majors fall under separate colleges. Iām thinking of applying for their Neuroscience program, but I donāt have too much premed experience and am worried I might end up hating it - itāll be unlikely that I can switch to a CS/CE major with how competitive it is already. On the other hand, I donāt think I can see myself sitting in front of a computer for the rest of my life, even though I enjoy computer science conceptually. So, colleges with strong departments overall and allowing their students to explore their majors would be ideal.
Is it a bad idea to apply to UW as a CS major just because itāll be easier to switch out than to switch in? Or am I underestimating the difficulty of that, too? I also lower my chances of getting into UW by applying to CS over anything else. I know Iām overthinking this
I think it makes sense to prioritize colleges where you could easily switch between majors, including CS not being a restricted major.
But if for some reason you do need to put a restricted CS school on your list, the question is why you are doing that. And if it is to have a Likely, that could be problematic.
I note, though, there are lots of ways of studying some CS or Data Science or so on without actually majoring in CS. So if you are doing well at a good college, you will likely figure out something you both like and will get you the next step opportunities you want.
So so so many kids switch majors. Itās easier at some than other schools but youād be amazed at how many Cs majors will end up in business. Or sociology. Or religion.
You never know - but many will be vastly different four years later after walking in the door.
But maybe UW isnāt for you.
You really should take a look at Whitman - great school and theyāll give you a pre read - if for nothing else that you can use as a comparator vs others.
You can take the required courses to apply to medical school at just about any four year college in this country, arts conservatories excluded.
You can major in ANYTHING in undergrad school and take the required courses for medical school applicants as electives.
You can get an undergrad degree in something of interest, putting medical school aside, and take a gap year or two between undergrad and applying to medical schools. During that time, you can take the required courses for medical school applicants. You could also do a special masters or post bacc program but these do have high costs, and some risk involved with one of them. @WayOutWestMom can explain.
You say you donāt have much premed experience. What does this exactly mean? What IS premed experience? What makes you think you want to be a doctor?
I would suggest you find an undergrad school where you can do well, in a course of study of interest, where you would like to beā¦that is affordable without loans. Put medical school on the back burner for now.
Remember that any medically related things you do in high school wonāt matter at all for medical school applications. Soā¦if you really do intend to apply to medical school, have a plan for shadowing, volunteering with underprivileged populations, preparing for the MCAT (this does take time), doing some kind of patient facing experience (EMS, CNA, MA, you would need coursework for these)
It sounds as if you donāt really want a pure-CS major enough to attempt direct-admit to the major, but being shut out of the major sounds bad too. That may be enough to rule out UW, but before you give up on it, you may want to consider a few alternatives. My CogSci-curious kid was interested in both the Informatics major and the Human-Centered Design & Engineering major. Both are impacted but with your record, you could probably get the departmental admission you need if youāre sufficiently comfortable with the flexibility one of these majors would give you. It does seem as you may have other options that will give you enough aid and give you more freedom to explore majors, but it doesnāt hurt to apply to UW with the best-chosen major possible, in case it does end up being one of your top choices in the final analysis.
HCDE is very project-based and hands-on - perhaps the closest thing to a program like Olin thatās offered at a large university. Olin itself probably isnāt your jam but could be worth a look in case. Another interesting major could be the Engineering Psychology program at Tufts (Offered through A&S as Engineering Psych and through Engineering as Human Factors Engineering) in addition to the Cognitive & Brain Sciences major that was already mentioned upthread.
The important question is whether schools like Tufts and Northeastern and Rochester and etc. etc. etc. would give you enough aid, so run those NPCās and let us know whether there are affordable possibilities in this ātierā of schools, or no.
When I say I donāt have premed experience, I mean that I have not done shadowing, patient-facing work, etc yet. Iāve taken normal biology, no AP Bio but doing that next year. I like the human interaction side of medicine, and Iām interested in brain science theoretically, but I havenāt done much else apart from that. My ECs are a lot more CS-based, and Iāve enjoyed all the CS classes Iāve taken, but spending so much time in front of a computer is taking a toll on my body (wrists and neck) and I cannot see myself working in front of a screen for the rest of my life.
My biggest pros for UW were that I already have many close friends going there, their brain science and computer science-related programs are all really strong, and itās within reasonable distance of where I live, so I can visit my family at least 1-2 times a month, if not weekly. I will look into the other schools you mentioned. I will look into Informatics and HCDE.
All that being said, letās say I just go off my experiences and apply to UW Paul Allen. Iām not sure if anyone here knows, and Iām not expecting to get it, but it would likely be significantly easier to transfer out of UWās CS/CE program than in, right?
You donāt need anything in hs to be a pre med intention - anywhere.
Find the right overall program for you. Iāve recently been looking at Vanderbiltās radiology residents. They go to places like Kansas and Kansas State, Lipscomb, Tuskegee, Northern Illinois, Tennessee, Colorado and more similar.
This is one of the top hospitals in the nation.
You do need to pay for med school (in most cases) but the where doesnāt matter.
It doesnāt need to be top 20 or 50 or even close.
The NMSF at Tulsa or one of the others like Bama or UTD, would, in theory, save you hundreds of thousands to help pay for med school - money that wonāt have to be borrowed.
Choose whatās right - make a list of pros and cons - including your future. Whether U of Puget Sound or Princeton, Washington or Wyoming, you can get there.
I think you need to put med school on the shelf for now. Take the prerequisites if you wish to, but please take the time to understand what is involved.
Shadowing (including primary care), interviewing physicians, working in underserved communities, volunteering etc will help.
You may really, really love itā¦or you may change your mind as new interests emerge.
In spite of strangers wanting to push you towards discussing, worrying and focusing on finances, I would strongly suggest you listen to your parents advice.
Those advising you on CC donāt know you, your families priorities or your families finances. If your parents are telling you not to worry, donāt worry. Just make sure you communicate with them.
You were very clear! For some cheapest and best fit are different.
Wesleyan University is blocks away from a major hospital center:
Locally, we have two hospitals where you can seek out volunteer opportunities to gain patient interaction and to learn about the workings of a healthcare system. Middlesex Hospital is a ten minute walk from campus, and MidState Medical Center is on the outskirts of Meriden, which is about eight miles away at 435 Lewis Avenue, Meriden, CT, 06451. There are also several student organizations and clubs that serve the community and will provide you with transferable skills. Here is a list of a few of these student groups: Habitat for Humanity, EMT Club, WesGilead, WesAge, ASHA, WesBuddies, Food Rescue, Doula Project, Wesleyan Refugee Project, and WesInterpreters. Additionally, there is a year-long EMT course offered on campus through OnSceneTraining, LLC. For those of you interested in medical school, you may also want to read through the Official Guide to Medical School Admission. The Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Center with Michael Antunes, PT, DPT, DNT, and other health professionals also welcome volunteers. For dental and veterinary medicine consider: the Pieper-Olson Veterinary Hospital, and for dental shadowing Dr. Peter Gletzakos, DMD and Dr. James McGrath, DMD, both welcome students to their practice. Preparing for Admission through Wesleyan ā Gordon Career Center | Wesleyan University
Did you look into any of these options that were mentioned before? What were your impressions? That might help people fine tune their suggestions for your current request.
Yeah! Although I need to look into specific programs more, this is my updated college list. Iām gonna apply to the below schools for sure
Yale
Harvard
UPenn
UChicago
Stanford
UW Seattle
University of South Florida
UT Dallas
UW Bothell
Iām highly considering applying to Emory, JHU, Brown, Rice, and/or WashU because of their flexibility. USC is strong in Cog Sci and gives good NMS scholarships, and I also like Case Western. U Rochester seems to be a good fit, but less appealing location. Among LAC options, Macalester stands out (so does Vassar, but again, not sure if applying because of location). Among UCs, UCSD is a great target, and since Iām applying to one UC, Iām thinking of applying to UCLA and/or UCB. UMN is a good fit, too, but between UW Bothell, USF, and UT Dallas, I think I got safeties covered so Iām unlikely to apply there.
