My kid got accepted to Brown (Health & Human Biology) and UPenn (School of Nursing) for undergrad starting Fall 2024. We are looking for some guidance in choosing one of these schools. His final goal is pursue Medicine in US, and kid is US citizen.
Can someone guide us, Thank you
I would go with Brown, I don’t think nursing necessarily fulfills pre-med requirements @wayoutwestmom?
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Nursing is different than doctor. Unless your student wants to be a nurse, I am not sure this option is the better choice.
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Typically nursing students have their own sections of basic science classes that have different curricula and emphases than the same classes for science majors. (This may not be true at Penn, but I would check to make sure. Pre meds need to take biology classes for biology majors and chemistry classes for chemistry majors. )
Science classes that are for nursing students only will not be accepted as fulfilling admission requirements for med school.
Additionally, new nursing graduates are expected to have several years of actual job experience as nurses before they will be consider as strong applicants for med school. Adcomms want to see that you have given nursing a real chance as a career because there is a desperate nursing shortage right now and adcomms are very reluctant to poach students from other badly needed healthcare professions.
Nurses transitioning to medicine will be asked to explain why they are leaving nursing and why they pursued nursing in the first place if they actually want to be doctors. Transitioning nurses will need VERY good explanations for both questions.
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But if your student is really interested in nursing, they could then do an APRN program and really do a lot in providing medical care. There are APRN specialties also.
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Penn Nursing means she will be a nurse (with high likelihood of career advancement) - but won’t be a doctor, at least not for a while.
Brown premed means she has a chance at becoming a doctor but there’s no guarantee she’ll get there.
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Does your student want to be a nurse? If not, I would choose a different major.
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I would 100% not go to the nursing option if the goal is pre-med. some of the required classes might be different than the ones the premeds are taking and might be looked at unfavorably. now if the plan is to actually work as a nurse before applying to med school, then sure. I’m sure that would be a nice thing on a resume.
and of course nursing is a wonderful goal itself.
but really if the goal has is med school it seems weird to go to a nursing program.
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Upenn’s chemistry and bio courses in the nursing school are not the same as the general chem semesters that the CAS and Engineering students take. Orgo and most of the rest of the premed courses are not a part of the nursing curriculum to get that degree . It does not make sense to start off in the wrong direction of he really wants med school.
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Brown does not admit by major, so your son will be able to choose any major at Brown that he wants, or change to one that he wants, if that is important. He can fulfill premed requirements with any major.
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They can’t just choose a different major. Applicants to Penn must select one of four undergraduate colleges when they apply: the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), Wharton, and Nursing. If the student wants to leave nursing for a different major, they would need to apply for an internal transfer to one of Penn’s other schools or colleges. Most pre-med kids are enrolled in CAS.
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Ok oops I did not realize.
I would go to Brown. If he wants to be a nurse then go to Penn.
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Penn nursing is a totally separate school. It does not offer the premed prereqs. If he wanted medicine and went to penn nursing, he would have to do a postbac program afterwards. He should go to Brown if he wants to become a doctor.
How did he come to even apply to Penn nursing?
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Go to Penn Nursing if wanting to be a nurse.
Go to Brown otherwise (including pre-med).
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I would put aside the college decision right now- and STRONLY encourage my kid to find an RN or two and an MD or two to shadow ASAP.
There is overlap between the two career paths for sure- especially the parts about body fluids and dealing diplomatically with patient’s families at very stressful times and understanding human anatomy. But there are substantial differences, and I’m wondering if your kid’s ambivalence reflects the fact that he doesn’t know enough about a career as a nurse vs. a career as a physician to make a choice.
Don’t do Penn nursing if med school is the goal. And although a lot could be said for getting a broad education BEFORE nursing school (i.e. Brown), there are more direct routes to nursing.
So I’d suggest figuring out what the goals is and then moving forward appropriately. If there is a free clinic or medical facility in your town that serves the indigent, homeless, etc. start there. On TV medical facilities are places where upscale looking people are recovering from accidents which are rarely disfiguring and they get released to go home to a loving family. Reality of practicing medicine or nursing is quite different, and in order to make an informed decision, your son might benefit from some reality.
Good luck- nice choice to have!
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Thank you all for your valuable insights, they have really helped in guiding us towards our final decision. I will reach out to you all in case I have any further questions. Thank you!
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still curious why this kid applied to Penn nursing if the goal was pre-med.
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