LACs / Universities for Pre-med

I agree with other posts above. Cost, and where you will be comfortable, are key issues.

Medical school is expensive. Funding 8 years of university in the US is expensive. There are some families that are comfortable funding $800,000 per child, but there aren’t very many such families (even among millionaires, given that most millionaires are barely millionaires). Even doctors do not make enough money for it to be easy paying off medical school debt. I know a few doctors who are paying off debt at least into their 40’s or 50’s.

I have a daughter who took a similar but not quite the same path. Her patients are furry and most walk on four legs (she is studying to be a veterinarian). Both daughters had majors that overlap a great deal with premed requirements, so they have both completed the premed classes and they both know quite a few premed students (a few of which are either in medical school now or have just gotten their MDs). Premed classes are tough. Exams will be tough. There will be a lot of homework. This is a path (whether MD or DVM) that takes quite a bit of determination and a lot of hard work. However, it is a great path for some very strong students.

In terms of getting accepted to medical school, all of the schools that you mentioned are very good. So are at least 100 and probably closer to 200 other universities and colleges in the US.

If you are sure that your parents are fine with funding $800,000 to cover 8 years of education, then you might want to visit both schools and attend the one where you would be most comfortable (assuming that you get accepted to both – neither is likely to be a safety given that they both have acceptance rates under 20%). Otherwise, you might want to also seriously consider your in-state public university (or universities).

I might add that one daughter attended a small university and I have become a big fan of smaller schools such as Haverford. However, I used to live near Tufts and had a girlfriend who lived about a block from the campus, and I like that area quite a bit also. I do think that these are both very good choices, as long as finances are not an issue (or the NPC shows a LOT of financial aid).

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