Can anyone tell me what some of the best universities are for Pre-Med? (Omit obvious answers like Harvard, UPenn, etc)
I’ve heard UNC Chapel Hill gets 90% of its students into medical school, is this true?
Thanks
Start here:
IMPORTANT: Don’t believe any number about the percentage accepted into med school. The numbers have been manipulated by the college/university to make it look good. There is no uniform way that these numbers are calculated so they really don’t mean anything and should never be used to compare schools.
tl;dr – Choose the college that offers the best combination of affordability, fit and opportunity.
It’s the student who gets him/herself into med school, not the school.
“Can anyone tell me what some of the best universities are for Pre-Med? (Omit obvious answers like Harvard, UPenn, etc). I’ve heard UNC Chapel Hill gets 90% of its students into medical school, is this true?”
- I would not recommend choosing UG based on this statistics. It is greatly influenced by pre-med committees and just like with the software, statistics is working like this: garbage in, garbage out. Another huge factor that is overlooked in this statistics is that students at places like Harvard and such are pre-selected on admission. As you may read many times here, the student will determine the success and not the place. Which is also proven by another anecdotal fact that D’s Honors college at in-state public also claimed the 100% acceptance to Med. School. And the reason is…they accepted the top 200 kids, most of whom were valedictorians (I bet that out of these 200, pre-meds were in fact ALL valedictorians with the huge percentage from the best private HSs in our state). And then, in the first semester of the freshman year, they put them thru weed out killer Bio class and many of these very high caliber HS kids just drop out of pre-med right after this class, leaving only the most determined to continue as pre-meds.
I showed you how statistics really works thru real life example at in-state public where competition may still be less severe than at Ivy /Elite colleges.
So, be very careful with statistics that you find on the internet, it is by far NOT as straight forward as any high schooler may believe.
OK, then how you choose your college if you are planning for a Med. School?
Pre-meds are under a lot of pressure to graduate with the very high college GPA. Many classes are very challenging. There are additional requirements for medical ECs. Given all of these, you should minimize the stress by looking for a college that fits your personality and wide range of interests the best. YOUR own criteria is the most important in this search. Make a list of all important things that you are looking forward to have at college, do not overlook anything. This list should be your guide, not anything or anybody else. Opportunities are absolutely everywhere, just do not pass by them like many do, learn to grab them.
Also, keep in mind that Medical Schools do not care about the name of the college that you attended. And later, when you apply to residencies, they do not care either. So, select what fits YOU the best and work very hard there. You will have to work hard at absolutely ANY place, including the lowest ranked. Attending UG tuition free or cheaply is also very desirable when planning to go to a Med. School.
Yes, agree 100%, “It’s the student who gets him/herself into med school, not the school.”
I would view stats about the percentage of med-school acceptance with a fistful of salt. We have a local school nearby that is known to make boasts similar to that. This is obviously anecdotal, but the two kids I’m familiar with who went on a pre-med track here both didn’t make it, and from what they said, they weren’t the only ones. I’m sure schools cook up who they put in the denominator to come up with their percentages since, after all, there isn’t a major of “pre-med”.
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This is obviously anecdotal, but the two kids I’m familiar with who went on a pre-med track here both didn’t make it, and from what they said, they weren’t the only ones.
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@Dadof3 Did these students apply to med school and fail?
One went to a masters program, and at our last get-together was discussing med school strategies with others, while the other is doing research, and her parents said she plans to apply after a year or two. Neither family explicitly said they applied and failed and nobody pressed.
The % of med school admittance is “supposed” to reflect the % that applied and were accepted to at least one MD school…although schools can manipulate the numbers a bit.
Obviously, the % is meaningless to an incoming frosh because 75% of premeds never apply to med school.
I think many high school students hear numbers like 75% or 85% of premeds get into med school, and they wrongly think that they, as an incoming frosh, will have such good odds.
If a school has 400 premeds frosh year, then likely only about 100 will still be premeds by junior/senior year.
Bio and Chem weed out frosh
Orgo weeds out sophs
MCAT scores weed out Jrs and Srs.
So, each year, the number of premeds at a school drops.
Sounds like the two that you know have GPA issues and are doing some sort of repair.
We think that my H’s niece needed GPA repair and maybe a borderline MCAT. She was premed all thru college, applied, failed, and then did a SMP. Applied again, failed, and now is in Pharm school.
@Dadof3
^^ v good analysis.