Princeton vs. Penn for Pre med focus

econgirl2014
Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:59:40 +0000

I’m biased.

Having said that, I got this from Princeton’s website in the grade deflation FAQs:

MEDICAL SCHOOL ADMISSIONS*

The Office of Health Professions Advising supports the application process of nearly all Princeton undergraduates who apply for medical school admission. The table below reports the medical school acceptance rates for Princetonians applying for matriculation in 2004–2010, as follows:

Year Percentage Acceptance Rates
2004 92.0
2005 92.1
2006 94.7
2007 93.1
2008 91.2
2009 93.0
2010 92.5

It is important to note that Princeton undergraduates continue to have a very good record in winning admission to the most selective medical schools in the United States. The number of Princeton students applying to Top 10 medical schools is just as strong as it ever was (in 2005, for example, there were 410 applications submitted to Top 10 schools; since then, the number of applications has ranged between 373 and 443). In 2008 and 2009, Princeton students who applied to a Top 10 medical school were offered admission at a rate more than three times the overall admit rates at those schools. Moreover, both before and after the institution of the grading policy, between one-quarter and one-third of the Princetonians going to medical school in any given year have elected to enroll at one of the Top 10 schools. Put simply, the number of Princeton students attending Top 10 medical schools has not changed since the institution of the grading policy.

*One caveat to this is that some schools, I’d say probably both UPenn and Princeton, have really tough early pre-med classes to “weed out” the less capable students so that their admissions stats look higher. But I don’t think that’s different at any schools.

So, if you want my advice, I’d say pick the school you think you’ll be happiest at and don’t worry about the med school stats, because it really just depends on how successful you are in your classes once you get there, grade deflation or no.

P.S. Go to Princeton ;)