i agree with this but i forgot to mention up thread that D already completed several mandatory pre-health DE classes every year in her high school and has a very good understanding on what it would take to go the medical/dental program route (8-11 years grind post UG). For the last year or so, she has been shadowing at a dentist’s office watching up close the patient interactions and also doing front desk/billing tasks.
@blossom i really appreciate your advise on keeping the options open and have a well rounded/robust education in case the med/dental school doesn’t pan out. That is the reason why she wants to seriously consider a double major or a minor in humanities/business/data science etc.
Keep in mind that the college years are filled with all kinds of experiences and opportunities- internships, research etc. It is very possible that your daughter will still apply to med/dental school…but it is also possible that she will discover a new interest or career path that she never even knew existed. That type of exploration and change, discovery etc does not really happen (to the same extent) during the HS years.
While NJIT is coming in at a great price, I worry that it isn’t the best fit for your daughter (you mentioned limited opportunities, engineering focus etc). Of course I don’t really know for sure- you will get a better sense once you visit. The cost is great- especially if she ends up in med/dental school.
My favorite is Pitt. It’s just a great city, lots of opportunities, and very smart kids. It goes without saying that all of these schools will have exceptional students.
I know plenty of very successful UD grads as well. It is also high on my list.
Your daughter is in a great position and I wish her luck with her decision!
She does not need a premed or prehealth major! She can major in anything she wants, even dance, as long as she also does her prereqs, which virtually every school will offer. In fact, she might be a more attractive applicant as a dance major, than as a bio major or worse yet, prehealth major, which most schools dont offer, since it is just a mix of intro level courses.
If she is truly serious about med school, njit for cheap. Otherwise, a large school near hospitals.
Did she apply to any BS/MD programs at some of the schools on your list? Personally, I would choose NJIT for its cost, considering that graduate school will be expensive.
My daughter applied and was accepted to Pitt, Stony Brook and few other schools nearby three years ago. However, she ended up choosing our in-state school due to cost, location, and, most importantly, because she likes the school. I believe your daughter will do well at NJIT, or any school she chooses, as long as she wants to go there.
OP when you say NJIT has limited premed/prehealth options…what do you mean? You indicated feeling hesitant… I am not familiar with the school, but I am sure they have med school prerequisites. How much of an engineering focus is there?
She can just have one major in any of those choices, and still do the med school thing as long as she takes all the required classes that med schools want to see (although completing those pre-reqs could easily mean a bio minor, for example.) So, NJIT wouldn’t fall short of ‘premed/prehealth’ prep.
Will parents be helping out with med school costs (should that happen)? If so, does her undergrad selection impact how much parents have to contribute to med school?
No, we didn’t apply to any BS/MD programs as she wasn’t fully convinced that these limited BS/MD programs were the best path to med school(at that time).
Did she also apply to Rutgers?
Yes, she got into both Rutgers-Newark and NB but no merit aid or honors, so the COA would be similar to Stony Brook, Udel, Bing, UMass Amherst where she got both merit and honors.
You are correct. My D was a Dance major and was accepted to a Doctor of Physical Therapy program. She was a biology minor mostly on the strength of completing her prerequisites required to apply to DPT programs. The prerequisites are similar to pre med (though I believe medical schools require Organic Chemistry, PT does not).
I can’t really advise but many people seem to be under the impression that there is a pre Med major. There isn’t. What is required are the courses required by Medical schools to apply. There are majors where many (not all) of the courses required by Med schools are required for the majors. I think students and parents can get pigeon holed into a path that might not be the best journey towards their ultimate goal.
There are some majors that are difficult enough on their own that adding the prerequisite courses can be a challenge such as Engineering. There was a parent of a student on CC awhile back whose son was a Chemical Engineering major and ultimately ended up in Medical School. I’m sure he’s a doctor by now. There are others like Fine Arts majors that may offer both a BA and a BFA. normally if you are interested in another career the BA is the way to go as a BFA usually requires much more commitment.
In conclusion, most medical fields require an advanced degree. There are many paths to get there so you shouldn’t necessarily feel you have to major in a science or double major to be able to apply for the graduate programs. It may change the way you look at the schools you are considering. Good luck.
both the programs meet the med school requirements, but she hasn’t made up her mind yet. We are visiting NJIT in a couple weeks which should help her clear up things
Yes, we want to support her with the med school costs and that’s the reason why we want to keep the UG costs low(er) but as @beebee3 mentioned up thread, we as parents are telling her “You don’t need to pick the cheapest under budget school, unless it is your favorite”
Does she like those majors? Again, she can major in anything and meet med school requirements. Note with engineering…average GPAs tend to be relatively lower, with no special consideration by med school committees when assessing and comparing applicants. So…pick a major where she can get high cumulative and science GPAs.
I will say…your daughter should be choosing her major, not you. (My opinion). If she really isn’t sure she wants to remain in a tech field, perhaps a college with broader offerings would be a better choice. That way, she can switch majors without feeling she needs to switch colleges.
And …please take medical school out of the equation for choosing undergrad schools. You can take the required courses for medical school admissions at just about every four year college in this country, arts conservatories excluded.
Your daughter has some great options. Where does she feel she would like to spend the next four years. Where will she be happy, because happy students do better than unhappy ones in college.
Honestly…she has great choices, and it’s quite a nice thing that you aren’t requiring that she take the least costly option. With you saying you will help with grad or professional school, I’m sure that is tempting.
But remember, she could change her mind entirely about medical school.
If she is interested in exploring other health care professions, here is a good site. Everyone thinking about medical school should have a plan B.
I would caution against a “premed” major as med schools see that as a shortcut - they want a real major (Biochemistry, Spanish, Dance, Math, Environmental Science, Psychology, Economics, Philosophy, CS…) with As and all premed pre-reqs with good grades. Some students combine that major&pre-reqs with a minor in Medical Humanities, Global Health, Gender Studies, or Spanish. Because med school is so much more intense than college with little room for mistakes, they want to ensure students have the brain power it requires.
UDel sounds like the best fit for what your daughter wants (size, research, opportunities for leadership skills development and collaborative work through Honors, good residential dorms, excellent study abroad options) + good health-related opportunities and great college town.
Out of Stony Brook and Bing, I’d pick Bing because SB is still commuter/suitcase, making the Residential experience lackluster whereas Bing is the whole package.
I don’t think the 20k/year difference with Pitt is warranted but if costs are no matter, Pitt is a premed heaven and the city is great.
NJIT has stepped up security, its career advising, and its campus appearance in the past 5-10 years, but it doesn’t seem like the fit your daughter is looking for. It’s a fine choice if you can’t afford the others without loans but learning experience and environment will be quite different from uDel, Bing, or Pitt.
Add me to the chorus of those who have been saying that I suspect UDel or Bing would be the best options, or NJIT if she loves it.
To me, it sounds like her preference is for psychology and social and behavioral sciences. At NJIT, there is no regular psychology major…though there is a cyberpsychology one and a psychology minor. It offers a major in history, but nothing in political science, anthropology, sociology, etc. This raises concerns for me as to how good of a fit NJIT would be for her.
Also, the Science, Technology and Society major has a lot of free electives. I would have her look through the schedule of classes and course catalogs to see if she finds lots of classes of interest or if she’d be having a hard time finding classes she wants to take. I’d recommend she attend a college where she’d have a hard time limiting herself to the number of electives offered because there are so many classes she finds interesting.
^ also, OP should keep in mind that only basics are offered every semester (ie., Psych 1, Calc 1, etc.) Other classes are offered once a year, once every other year or… when an instructor is free to do so.
Checking out Spring semester offerings in subjects of interest is useful in that respect.
I wonder if med schools do realize that there has been less grade inflation in engineering. Years ago, i heard a med school dean who came to my colleges engineering school to speak to the bioengineers, ufging them to apply. He knew that the bioengineers would be the medical device inventors of the future.
For the Science, Technology and Society major, what are the “free electives” and is it easy to get them? There are quite a few of these courses in the schedule. I assume this where you would take your prerequisites?
Also, what is the coop work experience that is offered?
