My son has been admitted to both NJIT and Rowan for Pre-Med and is trying to decide which one is the better option.
At NJIT, he has got a free ride including full tuition, fully paid dorm and admission to the honors college (Albert Dorman). At Rowan, he has got full tuition and admission to the honors college.
My main concern is what happens if he joins either of these schools but is somehow not able to get into a med school later on given the 3.6 GPA, MCAT and other requirements.
In such a scenario, his choices would be to get a job or go to grad school for MS/PhD. For that reason, I am encouraging him to do a dual major in Biology and Information Systems (not Computer Science but Info systems/decision sciences).
Which school would be a better choice for job prospects after graduation? Which one would be better for going to a top notch grad school?
Congrats on the great scholarships. Honesty, I think your son’s academic record during his college years will be the most important deciding factor for future job prospects and grad school admittance. Both are good schools and I don’t think either significantly outranks the other. Both NJIT and Rowan are now on the US News National Ranking. (Rowan only recently joined the list as it has experienced tremendous growth recently.) Rowan is definitely a college on the move with undergraduate enrollment increasing by about 3,000 students in the last 3 years, and as you probably know they now have their own medical school. If the difference in cost is not an issue, I truly believe his decision should be based on which campus he feels is a better fit for him. They have different vibes with NJIT in an urban setting and Rowan suburban. Good luck. Your son has some great options.
I agree with the above poster. Both are great offers - congratulations! Room and board at Rowan will run $10-15k a year at Rowan, but if that’s not an issue for your family, I’d pick based on which feels like the best fit for him. Good luck!
The cheapest reasonable college so you/your parents can use the money for med school
The college needs to prepare you for MCATs but still allow you to get a good GPA
Access to volunteering opportunities (e.g., near a hospital)
Success in graduates getting into med school
Options if you don’t go to med school
Also think about his major. How are the departments for his major? Know that you can major in anything you want as long as you take the pre-med pre-reqs (Bio, Chem, Org Chem, Calc, Physics, etc) So he doesn’t have to major in biology.
He doesn’t have to major in biology at all and MIS is a great Plan B major. So I’d recommend MIS + pre-med pre-reqs with a couple extra lab sciences (biochemistry, neuroscience/neurobiology, cognitive science…) In particular, taking bioinformatics classes would be helpful and would complement his major. Being in the Honors college he should have first pick of his classe, ensuring he’ll be able to take what he needs.
Between both, I’d pick Rowan - definitely on the rise, well known honors college, nice campus but easy access to Philadelphia (plus cheap access to Cape May, and NYC by Megabus for a break.)