yes
You are an academically strong student who can certainly succeed!!!
Others will chime in, but there are many successful applicants who attended state schools. Med school is costly.
IF you actually apply to medical school…you will find you can do so from any college where you have satisfied the required courses for medical school admissions. In my opinion, there is no advantage well defined to attending a private undergrad over attending a public undergrad (same goes for medical school, by the way).
But costs are high for medical school.
@WayOutWestMom might be able to discuss undergrad schools and the impact on which ones for medical school applicants.
1 Like
That’s a tough question - because there are varying levels of state schools and varying levels of private schools.
I’d say this - stud students are stud students - no matter where they go.
So more from Harvard will get into name your professional school than will from UMASS or UNH. But is it because Harvard is better? Or because it had students more likely to get into those professional schools to begin with - i.e. their overall class was of higher caliber.
This is why you can look at a Harvard law, as an example, and you see 147 schools represented and a who’s who of unranked public and even private schools. It’s because stud students are everywhere - but a higher percentage of them were at Harvard vs. U Kansas to begin with.
At least that’s my hypothesis.
I think you need to slow down - and find the right schools for you -it may or may not be Bowdoin. It may actually be a big school or a more urban school or a more rural school or a warmer weather school.
You will be the one going to class, taking the MCAT, doing shadowing.
I would focus on the right place for you, to develop and grow and succeed - vs. a statistic on a piece of paper.
That should not be guiding your decision IMHO.
1 Like
If you worry about passing pre-med classes, how do you expect to pass med school classes?
Granted they are not hard, but volume of information is still overwhelming.
1 Like
So what I’m getting is that I should def have a plan B at least by junior year of college (when majors are declared), apply to schools on the cheaper side that give me the warm and tingly home feeling, and start with premed and see how it goes. Thanks!
2 Likes
^^^ This. Sounds like you got this.
1 Like
There is no rush to have this all figured out now…on a predetermined time line. Some do, some do not.
Choose an affordable school that you like. Pick a major while taking your prerequisites. Think about what you may enjoy doing if med school does not work out, you change your mind etc.
But again - cheaper may be a large public or a Bowdoin (depending on your need profile).
But I personally think all kids should apply to schools they can afford - i.e. cheap - but that’s a discussion to have with your folks - what can they afford - and yes, plan all 8 years out when deciding!!
Also it’s not just what can they afford but what do they want to afford?
But again, some of the most expensive schools might actually be cheap - for you!!
That’s why you have to fill out net price calcualtors.
But after cheap, you still need the right school, environment, etc.
Good luck.
1 Like
This suggests that you are a very strong student. If you want to do it (particularly put in the effort for a full 8 years of university) it sounds like there is a good chance that you can succeed in whatever you decide that you want to do.
You sound quite a bit like one daughter who also had a lot of A’s in high school and not much else, and who also had a strong SAT (high, but not quite as high as you), and who also doubted her ability even to major in sciences in university. She started off as a languages major but got permission to take “biology for biology majors” as a freshman in university. The first mid-term was tough, but she did well and figured out that maybe she could handle it – something that was reinforced by the second mid-term and final exam. From your posts it sounds to me to be relatively likely that you also will find some science classes and premed classes in university to be academically demanding, but it also sounds likely that you will be able to handle them.
Do not expect to get all A’s in university. That is okay. There are plenty of doctors who had a B (or even a C) for example in Organic Chemistry as an undergraduate student. I have heard that there are some other tough classes as well (parasitology being one example, although I am guessing that it might be optional when you are an undergraduate student).
I do. The “nearly all A’s in high school” is encouraging (and one B in Chemistry does not seem that worrisome). The 1540 SAT is also encouraging. Most student just can’t and won’t get 1540 on their SAT regardless of how hard they try.
Whether BC or Bowdoin is the right fit for you is another issue, but you have time to think about this.
I think that the answer to this is most likely NO. It is hard to get into medical school from anywhere. If you look at the students who do get into medical school, they come from a very wide variety of undergraduate schools, and a LOT of them will have come from in-state public schools. One doctor told me that the other students in their MD program came from “all over the place”.
Top universities such as Harvard or Stanford (or Bowdoin) do get a higher percentage of their graduates into medical school compared to most state schools. However, a LOT of this, and possibly all of this, comes from the consistent high quality of the students who start off as freshman at Harvard or Stanford in the first place. It is not clear whether your chances of getting to medical school will be any different regardless of whether you start off as a freshman at Harvard arriving in the middle 1/3 of the incoming class, or start off as a freshman at U.Mass Amherst in the top 1/3 of the incoming class.
This might be somewhat helpful. You will have learned good study skills in the relatively tough classes in a good private school. You will be arriving at university well prepared. However, in university you will meet lots of very strong premed students who come from very average high schools.
In considering which universities to apply to, and where to attend, I think that there are three things to think about. One is cost. If you want to keep open the possibility of attending medical school in the future, then try to find an affordable university for your bachelor’s degree (more about this below). A second issue is fit: You should be looking to attend a university that is a good fit for you. Some students will prefer a large university, some will prefer a small university. Some students prefer to be in a city, some prefer a smaller town or suburban or rural area. Some students want to be near home, some do not. The third thing that you should pay attention to is to make sure that you apply to safeties. You want to make sure that you will get accepted to a good university that you can afford and where you will be comfortable attending.
Regarding the cost of university, which universities are most affordable for you will depend upon your circumstances. Some universities such as Harvard have no merit based financial aid at all, but have very good need based financial aid. I think that Bowdoin is probably in the same category. If you are poor, they can be very affordable. If you are upper middle class, they can be very expensive. Your local in-state public university is likely to be more in the middle, and relatively affordable for a middle class or upper middle class family. You can run the “net price calculator” (NPC) to see what any one particular school is likely to cost. You will need help and/or a lot of financial information from your parents to run the NPC. Some NPC’s accurately predict merit based aid, some do not.
One last thing to mention: There are lots of other options in addition to medical school. One daughter for example discovered that she loved lab work and was very good at it. She is currently doing medical related research at a biotech company. When you are in university you will be exposed to a lot of different options, and will have opportunities to think about which possible career paths might make sense for you.
We all figure this out over time. To me it sounds like you are doing very well and have a very good start on the process.
3 Likes
Here’s a question I have - had you had conversations with your private school guidance counselor?
They’ll likely be able to help you find the right fits, from what works for you academically but also affordability.
They’ll know you better than any of us can.
I suggest setting up time with them.
1 Like
Sounds like a plan.
State universities do just fine in medical school admissions. And a large state U may offer more opportunities (and a wider range of classes) than a smaller college like a LAC or private university.
Medical schools don’t really care where you went to undergrad.
To see what adcomm consider important in applicants, please look at p.15 of this document:
Using MCAT® Data in 2024Medical Student Selection
There is survey of adcomms and they ranks what qualities and achievement they use when selecting applicants to interview and accept.
Undergrad selectivity is ranked as being of the lowest importance (along with thing like undergrad major, having a non-science major, legacy status, gender and age)
5 Likes
A strong student like you can succeed from many different colleges. I went to a T10 LAC known for STEM while my sibling went to a regional LAC with a 90%+ admit rate not known for STEM. But both of us succeeded in college and got into med school on the first try.
Both of us were strong students (like you) going in, and both of us went to every class and every review session, and always did our homework, and made sure we actually understood all the problems on problem sets before handing them in. And both of us, as first generation Pell-eligible students, worked part time and did our best to live cheaply. Other students partied and went out a lot more than either of us did. So not having a lot of extra money helped keep us on track.
So it’s very doable. As long as you are diligent and don’t procrastinate, a strong student like you will do fine. So pick a school where YOU feel happy. Don’t overthink it.
3 Likes
Would you be eligible for financial aid?
Some colleges are very generous but also hard to get into - run the NPC on Smith, Yale, and your state school. You should get 3 different numbers… Is any result affordable without debt for your parents?
1 Like
Yale and my state school are fine…Smith is not, and Bowdoin is cutting it close. Honestly, most of the small, private liberal arts colleges I want to go to that are in the location I want are all so expensive, and I don’t know if I’ll get a merit scholarship at the ones that offer, so I’m thinking honestly my state school, especially if med schools don’t care about undergrad. Yale’s FA is honestly so good, but my chances are so low that ATP my state school is best even though I don’t really like the location or size.
1 Like
What is your state? Again, there are many schools - small and large - where you might shock yourself with the amount of merit aid you’d get - and that includes OOS publics.
@3by3matrix do you want suggestions of colleges where you possibly would qualify for auto merit aid?
Do you have a preference as to the location in the country?
Any chance you will be a national merit finalist?
1 Like
You have 20 slots on CommonApp - use several to have choices.
Colleges that aren’t as selective as Bowdoin yet very good for premeds and offer merit would include Mount Holyoke, St Olaf, Muhlenberg, you could also check out Bryn Mawr, Skidmore, St Lawrence (all different vibes). Juniata is known for its pre-health success and would likely be a safety for you.
Sounds like you already completed the 1st steps: see what your parents’ budget is, run the NPCs.
Then, you find 2 colleges you like, can afford, and are sure you can get into. Your state university (/ies) would be that for you, sounds like. Add the Honors college application as well as any other special program of interest.
Add 4-5 affordable colleges you like where you think your odds are 50-50.
Then, sprinkle reaches like Yale (if you’re within range for them, which varies depending on your circumstances.)
1 Like
Just a note. Private high schools can sometimes offer significantly more grant aid than colleges can award.
3 Likes
A note: state schools have fewer resources per student than wealthy LACs; because resources are important to premeds who will all need support and advice on building the best med school application foe them, and because state schools need to use weedout classes to cull all the aspiring premeds, it can be harder to get into med school from a state university.
An example would be summer grants that pay for housing, food, transportation and a stipend for an unpaid internship that can make a difference for your resumes but would be unaffordable otherwise, that you can use as a ladder to get a coveted, paid summer position.
(Since you’re at a private HS I’m sure you can see the difference with your local, public HS -even if the public HS is excellent, it doesn’t have as many GCs, college advisers, tutors, special opportunities to help you stand out, etc, as your current school.)
However some public flagships have special programs that can offer opportunities too (honors within honors type of thing; also, the quality of the honors college varies greatly.) You really have to look into it because not all flagships offer these.
So you’d need to balance your list so that you maximize places with strong FA and FA+merit aid and large merit scholarship opportunities (like Vanderbilt offers for instance). If you’re lower or middle income (family income under 100-125k) your state school may or may not be the cheapest for you. You’re going to have to run a lot of NPCs to establish your list.
1 Like