Looking for some guidance on college selections

DadTwoGirls
Fri, 02 Apr 2021 19:12:21 +0000

If your son is seriously interested in medical school, then you need to budget for eight years, where the last four years are expensive (think over $80,000 per year at current prices, plus 5% per year inflation). Avoiding debt for undergrad is essential.

What @dimkin said about Cornell is approximately true at other universities: Most students who start freshman year as “premed” end up not applying to any medical schools. Most students who do apply to medical schools do not get in anywhere. Getting accepted to medical school is tough.

No one in my family applied to or went to medical school. However, both daughters had majors that overlap a lot with premed requirements (one starts a DVM program in September, the other has been doing medical research). They have plenty of experience with premed classes. The classes are going to be tough at any university. The classes are going to be full of very strong and very serious students at a very wide range of universities. If you want to end up in the top 1/4 of the class, there is something to be said for attending a university where you show up in the top 1/2 of all accepted students. There will be exams with the class average in the 40’s among many very strong students. There will be students who get 80’s or 90’s on the same exam. Some premed students are really amazing. I want them as my doctor when they get older.

Experience working in a medical environment will also be very important. It will be very useful if your son can get some opportunities to volunteer at a hospital or similar environment.