but it doesn’t look like St Johns have any pre-med required curriculum, he would have to supplement and it loo’ks like very few people get into med school from St. John’s
There’s Public Health & Medicine Pathway discussed on the SJC website ( Career Pathways at St. John’s College — Internships, Graduate Prep & Career Planning ).
Have a look at their fellowship program:
It looks like the prerequisites can be done over the summer using the fellowship program.
I understand it, but I just cant grasp the appeal of not being in a research university to begin with, except if it can be a pathway to JH Med School, which is free. But I cant find any stats on how many students from St John’s get into John Hopkins Med School.
FIU is 67% Hispanic and gives 100% of tuition, fees, and housing for national merit finalists. However, it is a large school with a large greek percentage (although the honors college can also act as a social hub)
University of Rochester has a nerdy/academic reputation and has 23% international students. It meets 100% of need of admitted students. It also has a medical school nearby, so shadowing and clinical research experience can be obtained locally, which can be an advantage for a minor who might not be able to drive for a while. Because it is home to one of the most competitive BSMD programs in the country (REMS), he will be able to find a cohort of highly motivated and talented future physicians. It also has a very flexible general education system.
If your sone is interested in medical school, I would recommend your son learn the basics of Anki (e.g FSRS, the difference between cloze vs basic cards, and the pros and cons of different MCAT decks) over focusing on MCAT prep. MCAT prep that isn’t CARS prep is unlikely to yield good returns, (unless you consider learning fundamental biology/chemistry/psychology/sociology to be MCAT studying) because he will be learning these subjects in greater depth in university, so IMO the best thing for him to do know is learn study skills (e.g. Anki, memory palaces, prestudying, the importance of active recall and spaced repetition). I can recommend some resources on this if he’s interested.
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Thank you for your help! I did add University of Rochester to our list!
We are not considering Florida due to climate. Will be hard for him. I know that Florida is fantastic in terms of merit aid.
I am very interested in Anki, please share the resources, but he seems to be very good at remembering stuff-he recites books word by word during our car drives, he memorizes entire chapters of Dostoyevsky and Lermontov novels just for fun. His grandma is a university professor teaching Human Anatomy, she told him to start with Anatomy, and he is now studying it with her and she is testing him.
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He is already driving, he has his permit and taking Driver’s ED. He will have his DL in August.
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Okay, to keep things on topic (the mods are scary!), I will PM you.
As I said, it’s a niche-type school; all subjects are taught by discussion, and there are no exams. Everyone does the same curriculum. For some, it’s the only school - end of story. For others they dont see the point. There is no right or wrong answer. I think people like your son, and, from what you say, your daughter should be aware of the school.
I studied only math at university (except for the compulsory Professional Communication A and B), which included some computer science because, even way back then, you needed it for applied math, such as numerical analysis and stats. These days, even more so. I thought it was the way to go. I now believe a broader-based education, without the stress of exams, taught through discussion, would have been a better choice, especially if I had been admitted, say, at 16. The boredom of years 11 and 12 was, for me, excruciating. So excruciating, I did no work except in math and, to some extent, physics, where I forged ahead of HS at the expense of other important areas such as communication.
My daughter was a biology major at UNC. There was a system in place for shadowing at the hospital - it was not given to everybody who wanted it. She was told to begin at home with her pediatrician, which was a very good idea and worked out well. Just keep in mind that wanting to shadow at the campus hospital may or may not happen.
She was a bilingual patient navigator at the hospital. That interview took several weeks - it is not something that students can just sign up for. The fact that your son speaks several languages is a plus.
I think your son sounds mature and he has an interesting story to tell, but keep in mind that he will not turn 18 until after one full year of college. These positions might require students to be 18.
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Apparently cold emailing physicians is recommended at UofR: Reddit - Please wait for verification :
Same advice [cold-emailing] for shadowing. Physicians affiliated with a university are generally involved in MedEd and are more open to taking on students than those in private practice. Reaching out to younger physicians also helped since they aren’t as far removed from the application process as other attendings
Yes my daughter did that at home and it worked out well. She did not try it at UNC.
Volunteering at the hospital might require the student to be 18 (not sure).
If you are researching U Rochester, it may also be worth running the NPC for Case Western in Cleveland. The schools have similar vibes. Case also has some big competitive merit scholarships. The university is situated near a number of hospital systems -University, Metro, a large VA, and of course the main campus of the Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland also has a fairly sizable Eastern European community and the cost of living is much lower than on the coasts.
If after researching Case goes on your list, be aware that they track demonstrated interest so take official virtual tours, have your son message admissions with question, follow them on social media and however else you can show them you are actually interested.
Your son would find his people at Case. Intellectually curious is the vibe!
As others have said, I think your child has a very compelling story and he may be accepted at some of your top schools but the age piece makes it more difficult to predict.
My D had a peer that sounds much like your son. His family kept him in HS until 18 but he took advanced college courses through the state’s dual credit program and did research at a local university. He was later awarded a prestigious full ride Stamps scholarship to an excellent flagship.
I wish your son all the best and kudos to you for working to learn more about the convoluted US process! It’s a lot!!
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I’m very confused. Earlier in this thread, you said your now 15 year old graduated two years ago from a Russian High school, and that you then enrolled him in a U.S. high school for two years.
Now you are saying he lived in Turkey the last three years.
Please clarify.
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The undergrad school your son attends will not guarantee an admission to JHU, or NYU or any other medical school that has free tuition. Please remember that.
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Have you considered Bard? It’s not near a hospital, but as noted above, students can shadow, etc during school breaks. Please explain why you want this kid to do research as an undergrad. Yes, for some medical schools, research is needed. But at most, this is very low on the food chain in terms of what the medical school admissions folks consider.
During the academic year, your son could do volunteering with disadvantaged groups (that can be found just about everywhere).
Bard has its share of younger high school graduates in attendance. It’s located in a gorgeous area.
Has anyone else suggested University of Pittsburgh? Your son would need to apply as soon as the applications come out to maximize his chances for merit aid. In terms of you relocating, Pittsburgh is less costly than Palo Alto or Boston…and is a great city.
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Agreed. Prioritize direct patient care over research (generally).
IMO in the big picture it is much too early to be talking about med school admission for this student.
Adding that even schools that publish med school acceptance rates…they tend to not be transparent about what they are including in the numerator and denominator. These numbers can be easily gamed, and it’s impossible to compare across institutions unless you have data that is apples to apples.
One can ask if the numbers include MD and DO programs, applicants who applied out of undergrad/applicants who applied 5 years post undergrad, applicants who did an SMP or Post-bacc, etc.
Also find out if the school uses a committee process for those applying to med school, and whether that committee limits the number of students who can apply…some do, some don’t.
IMO OP’s S might avoid schools where the committee limits their recommendations to only those with the greatest chance for admission, because it may be less likely they would recommend a 20 year old coming directly out of undergrad. It’s difficult enough to be competitive for med school admission directly out of undergrad and a young age can make it relatively more difficult.
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Even without all the barriers you mentioned, financially doing medical school in the US and then working in the UK would be a nightmare. Medical training is much more expensive in the US and salaries in the UK are drastically lower. A quick Google search shows that the average US surgeon (and these average estimates are always low based on our region and salaries) makes over $400,000 a year and the average UK surgeon makes less than £30 an hour, or £58,000 pounds a year. Unless you go to college and medical school for free that seems completely unworkable.
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Don’t just depend on the Net Price Calculators. You will need to be looking at the merit aid/scholarship pages. Some schools offer limited amounts of scholarships that will create a dent in the cost of college, but not a very significant one. Other schools have very generous scholarships that may not be automatic, but that your son could be competitive for that would provide free tuition or a full ride altogether.
So U. of Minnesota has scholarships that might bring the cost to about $25 or 30k for out-of-state (OOS) students which might still be too much for your family, but Ohio State has full rides available. So maybe one might eliminate U. of MN but not Ohio State. Or if your son was going to be living at home, he could attend UMN and then after a year he would qualify for in-state pricing (and potentially more financial aid as an in-state resident).
I would look at how much more you would earn to be at an in-person branch and what the cost-of-loiving is for that particular area. NYC, Boston, and San Fran are way more expensive than Chicago, and the difference in salary may not necessarily pay off financially. It may, but it may not. Research it.
What is it that you’re confused about right now, @DiamondRoof5? If there are particular questions, folks would be happy to try and clarify things, if possible.
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Here’s another option to consider:
The Mayo Clinic is world famous and UMN-Rochester has full rides available:
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