Any advice on which college would be better for Premed for my daughter who wants to go to Med school.
So far, she has been accepted to Pepperdine, LMU, UCR and USD.
Of course tuition and scholarships are a major factor into the decision, but money aside, any inputs or experiences would be appreciated.
Is she interested in practicing medicine in inland southern California? If so, UCR has this program: The Thomas Haider Program at the UCR School of Medicine | School of Medicine Student Affairs
1 Like
LMU and USD are Catholic, while Pepperdine is Church of Christ. How do the different religious denominations and their level of influence on campus life matter for the student?
Christian denominations shouldn’t be an issue.
I’m just not finding enough info for past examples of alumni that made it to med school after graduation from USD, Pepperdine or LMU, especially USD
I don’t know much about LMU or USD, but Pepperdine’s website says 85% of pre-health/medicine students attend med school after graduation. It doesn’t have alumni names, but it does have a list of the med schools the students attended.
UCR also has a great reputation for anything STEM-related. I believe they just built something new for the medical school, and there’s research coming out of there all the time. They have a lot of different emphases, and of course it’s a UC so you may have better access to UCLA. I would give UCR the edge for program strength.
Aside from that, does your daughter have any particular preference or would it just come down to the financial aid? How much would a Christian environment add to her experience? Have you visited all of these yet? (I hope so, those are some cool campuses.)
1 Like
Examples and admit percentages don’t matter. Any college in the country offers the dozen or so lower-division science and math needed by premeds and is capable of teaching those classes. And admit rates are easily manipulated by colleges that have committee letters; only back the strongest kids and your admit rate will be dazzling.
Whether a kid works for good grades, get to know some profs so they get strong recs, take part in appropriate ECs, and develops compelling essays is up to them. Twenty years ago attending a college with a well-informed premed counselor could be of great help instead of relying on rumors from college friends, but these days there is plenty of info online as well as advice forums so kids can be equally informed no matter where they go.
Your daughter should be thinking about why an M.D? When a lot of HS kids become interested in a career in medicine it becomes “I’m pre-med!” and they embark on a path that will take 11+ years of school/training plus enormous debt. Doctors are far from the only ones that help people. Physical therapists, radiology techs, nurses, speech pathologists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, to name but just a few. as you can see on http://explorehealthcareers.org Unless she’s carefully considered the alternatives and has spent time actually working in a health care setting (an unwritten requirement to get into med school BTW) its better to think of her as interested in exploring a career as a doctor rather than someone who has already made the decision.
5 Likes
Thank you for your input, it is very helpful
If all of these schools are affordable, I would take a look at where she would be happiest for 4 years. The advice you have been given is spot on, imo.
1 Like
And if you do find something…view it with a huge grain of salt. These statistics are not particularly accurate. Some don’t reflect students who apply several years after undergrad. Some don’t include DO schools.
Fact is…your daughter can complete the required courses for those wishing to apply to medical school at just about every four year college in this country…arts conservatories excluded.
She needs to look at finances. If she gets to medical school, costs per year will likely exceed $100,000 a year. And these costs are funded with loans, loans and more loans, or the bank of mom and dad. So…undergrad with as close to NO loans as possible is a good idea.
She should also choose a college where there is a variety of majors because most entering with a premed intention change their minds and never apply to medical school.
She needs a school where she will be happy to be for four year. Happy students do better in college than unhappy ones.
4 Likes
My daughter is currently a Biology (pre-med)major at Pepperdine. The class sizes and amazing professors in the science department have been incredible for my daughter. Something lacking is access to shadowing or rotating through a hospital- so you will have to find that on your own during breaks from school. Generally, they have a great research program, SURB, hosted at Pepperdine in the summer, which checks the box for research on your med school application, however, this summer it wasn’t able to be funded, so that option wasn’t available, but it has been for several years. Otherwise, they definitely have other research opportunities within the school year. Their track record for students getting into med school is great and they definitely will help your daughter get there. My daughter is finishing up her sophomore year, so I can’t personally tell you how it worked out, but her experience at Pepperdine has been great so far.
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. If you’d like to reply, please flag the thread for moderator attention.