Try to look into LACs for pre-med. The classes are generally smaller and the teaching quality is good without having that sense that professors are trying to weed out students.
Surprised that Emory wasn’t mentioned as a potential school-it doesn’t have the weed-out reputation of Hopkins or WashU for premed and it has the benefit of having a top medical school and the CDC. Case Western is also a top school for premed and it doesn’t have as much of a reputation for weeding out as other schools and is also associated with a top medical school.
The comment about Rice premeds bonding over the grind of science classes sounds almost exactly like WashU. My kid likes to say that all the premeds suffer together over General Chemistry and Biology without being cutthroat.
I think the weed-out/cutthroat reputation is from students who aren’t used to a style of learning in STEM classes that is completely different from the plug and chug style and teaching to the test in high school.