Hi! I recently got into both Rutgers and Texas A&M and am planning on going to med school. I can afford both. Which has a higher rate of med school acceptances, has more resources for those who want to go to med school, and can maintain a good gpa?
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wow - thereās a lot involved there.
A good GPA will be based on you - your mindset, happiness, etc.
Where do you prefer - because youāll do better where you are happy.
Pre med is not a major - what will your major be?
While you can afford both, how bout another $400K for med school - can you afford that?
If youāre like most and med school never happens, what major and school would you want to best prep for your future.
The answer lies in - where would you rather spend four years, day after day. They are not the same school.
You can look up pre med advising and stats - although different schools report these differently. So theyāre not necessarily apples to apples.
Best of luck.
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Hi! Iām majoring in neuroscience so thereās not rlly a backup option if I donāt get into med school.Based on what Iāve read, I prefer one environment over the other. I really want to know more about Rutgers. Thereās 13 MD schools in Texas while I think in New Jersey thereās fewer and med schools prefer in-state applicants.
Yep - likely grad school or something not great paying.
What have you read - which do you prefer? Sounds like A&M.
Others can respond to your question about placing in public med schools.
PS - NJ is smaller than Texas so less schools make sense.
Have you looked at LECOM guaranteed admission schools?
Iām sure someone will be on to give you better advice - but Iād personally choose the school you feel most comfortable. But if you can afford both, than you can afford to visit both - so go see them. Theyāre likely very different. A&M is huge - and the area is quite nice. Iāve visited many times for workā¦
Best of luck.
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Personally Iād really prefer somewhere that isnāt super conservative but if itāll help me further my career then thatās def more important
Great grades, great shadowing opportunities, etc. and a great MCAT.
If you want an assured admission to med school, look at the LECOM list I just sent.
This is going to be about you - not A&M vs. Rutgers.
I canāt tell you how your experience will be - but area wise, obviously NJ is far less conservative (or the opposite) than Texasā¦but thatās more societal.
Youāre trying to put the ability to get to med school on the schools - and itās not. You will be the facilitator of your success.
Best of luck.
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You can Google med school acceptance rates for both schools but a huge factor in choosing where you will be happiest and therefore have the motivation to continue on your course to Med school is the actual environment you will be in day in and day out. Visit both. Iām sure the differences are huge as far as location, size of school, social and political atmosphere. These are all factors that will affect your mental and emotional state which will in turn affect your success. Iām very familiar with A&M and the opportunities and resources associated with the school in general are top-notch. The premed coursework is extremely challenging as would be expected from a top-ranked institution but because they are large, the resources available are unimaginable - they will do everything in their power to help you succeed. If there is a need there is a program for it. The Aggie network is the main reason most people choose to go to A&M because everyone knows Aggies hire Aggies and will do everything they can to support another Aggie. Thatās the honest truth. Even after you graduate A&M has a huge nationwide support network. The Aggie network extends way beyond college and into future job opportunities. Their career center is amazing. At the end of the day you have to decide if you just want a great degree or want to be part of something bigger. But thatās coming from an Aggie here. Best of luck to you on your decision!
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You arenāt wrong. I like to say itās a cult 
I went for a business grand opening - and every dignitary, from the owner to the politicians, introduced themselves as A&M class of ______ and with some type of grunt (I canāt recall).
I think the GM of the organization felt out of place
Theyāre an alumni network like none Iāve ever seen.
@WayOutWestMom can help
I would think that both schools are perfectly fine for premed and it depends on where you would be happy. Have you visited both schools?
Premed will be competitive and you will be in class with many very smart students. Getting a good gpa is on you.
What will you do with a neuroscience degree if med school doesnāt work out, you change your mind etc? You donāt have to decide today but I will assume some type of grad school.
Unless things have changed (wowmom can clarify) I do think that public med schools give preference to their residents, so you may find yourself back in Texas. Understand that many, many applicants take time āoffā between college and med school. This could be 1-2 years or even 3-5+ years. During this time you can work and strengthen your application, and even try to get instate status depending on where. My daughter is a grad student and is able to qualify for instate status and tuition next year.
Good luck!
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@BlueSkies21 curious when you got admitted to Texas A&M? Full admission or a pathway?
Are you a Texas resident?
Congrats on the two great admits.
Rutgers pre-med is very competitive. Something to keep in mind.
You should explore both schools and pick the one that suits you best.
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Are you a TEXAS resident now?
@texaspg can explain medical school and potential acceptances in Texas.
Find a plan B. Remember that less than 40% of medical school applicants receive even one acceptance. EVERY pre-med needs a plan B. No exceptions.
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That may be trueā¦but it wonāt help with medical school admissions.
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Your home state of residence matters a lot in this decision. Are you a Texas resident, NJ resident or neither?
Reason is that medical schools like to accept students who are bonafide residents of their own state. With the exception of private medical colleges. Your chances of getting into medical school are dependent on two main factors: GPA and MCAT score. So go to a place where you can get as high of a GPA as possible. Youāll need a GPA of 3.7+ to be competitive.
Texas medical schools go through their own match for admissions (TMDSAS). No such similar thing in NJ.
If youāre shooting for private medical colleges then state of residence doesnāt matter much. But note that youāll be paying a lot more. Medical school debt can be crushing, especially since residency pays so little.
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So the short answer to your questionāwhich school do you prefer? Both schools will offer you the basics in terms of coursework, opportunities, and advisement that you need to get into med school. But actually getting into med school is entirely on you.
For med school, the undergrad you attend matters not much at all, particularly if you are talking about state public universities.
What matters is:
- GPA/sGPA (your bio, chem, physics and math grades)
- MCAT score (and thatās entirely on you. Undergrad does NOT prepare you to take the MCAT)
- ECs including-- clinical experiences that include direct patient contact; physician shadowing including primary care specialties; hands-on community service w/ disadvantaged populations; leadership roles in your activities; and research lab experience (the first 4 are more important than the research)
- LORs from your professors
- your state of residence (TX med schools are required by law to admit 90-95% TX residents so unless youāre already living in TX, donāt plan on going to med school in TX)
- your personal statement about why you want to be a physician, your secondary application essays
- your interview performance
Neuroscience does not have especially good employment prospects post college graduation. (One of my daughters was a neuroscience major in undergrad. ) A plain, vanilla bio degree has better job opportunities than neuroscience does.
BTW, jobs for PhDs in biological sciences, including neuroscience are also scarce and hard to get. A PhD isnāt a great back-up career if you donāt get into med school.
What would you consider doing if you donāt get into med school?
(And most freshmen pre-med will not end up in med school. Only 16% of freshmen pre-meds actually finish all the med school pre-reqs. Only about 1/3-1/2 of those who complete the pre-reqs have a GPA high enough to be competitive med school applicants. Of those who do apply, only 35-40% get a med school acceptance. Or out of 2.4 MILLION college freshmen, only about 23,000 get a med school acceptance.)
So consider which university offers majors that you might like as a second choice for a career?
I have a friend who is Texas A&M grad (meteorology). She says the school has a very definite, strong and unique culture and itās not for everyone. If you havenāt had a chance to visit both campuses-- A&M and Rutgers, do so if you possibly can.
ETA: https://www.aamc.org/media/9636/download?attachment
Texas A&M had 594 students apply to med school last year. (7th largest supplier of med school applicants in the US.)
Rutger had 423 students apply. (#17 supplier)
You will have LOTS of competition for A grades in your pre-reqs at both schools.
The pre-health advisement offices at both colleges will have plenty of experience advising pre-meds/
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From what I have been seeing on SDN, the current count seems to be 17 med schools in Texas.
Baylor (2 campuses but single admission)
UTSW
UT Dell
UT Riogrande
UT Tyler (smallest at 30 students)
TCOM (DO)
UT Houston (McGovern)
Univ of Houston (Fertitta)
UTMB
UTSA Long
A&M regular
A&M EnMed - separate app and school
Texas Tech Lubbock
Texas tech El Paso Foster
Sam Houston (DO)
UIWSOM - DO - private
TCU - Burnett - Private
A&M does have a great alumni network but wont help with med school admissions. In fact many top students in A&M dont even get interviews from their own school (know someone with 4.0 and 515 who is MS1 at UTMB who never got an interview). They do have a couple of BS/MD programs already and so dont feel the need to add more is what I am guessing. An Engineering student probably does the best since they have about 20 seats reserved in their BS/MD for enmed. If someone is admitted to BS/MD, they are expected to become residents if admitted as non resident.
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TAMU: close to 60,000 ubdergrads, 594 applicants (ie., met all the requirements - does not mean admitted)
Rutgers: under 37,000 undergrads, 423 applicants (same thing: met requirements to apply - doesnāt mean āadmittedā).
In terms of ratio it sounds like Rutgers has the clear upper hand.
Did you get into Honors at either?
Is one more expensive than the other ?
What other choices do you have?
For a plan B, you could add Statistics/biostats or Data Science as minors.
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Rutgers typically announces honors acceptances at the end of Feb/early March.
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I agree with a biostats or data science etc minor as a plan B. This will make you more employable than neuroscience aloneā¦although your neuroscience degree alone could lead to jobs along the lines of a clinical research coordinator and similar gap year positions. I agree that biology might be the better choice, but at the same time I think it is important to study what interests you.
Keep in mind that many HS students and premeds change their mind/do not attend med school because they either do not get in or realizeā¦with exposureā¦that their interests are elsewhere. if you decide to pivot a few years from now to a degree other than med schoolā¦ā¦ it will not happen overnight and many of these degrees are also competitive. They often require additional prerequisites, volunteering, interviews, demonstrated interest, etc. There are often way more applicants than available spots. This does not mean you wonāt get in, but it does mean that the pivot comes with a planā¦and time. This is very common in recent grads and young adults.
Right now you are only 17 or 18 and still in HS. You have a long road ahead. I would choose the school you like better (assuming affordability) and would think about adding a minor. The rest will follow as you move along in college, begin classes, gain experiences etc. Maybe you will attend med school, and maybe you wonāt.
Good luck with your college decision!
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Hereās the answer to your question. Go to the one thatās in-state. If neither of them are in-state, the you should go to neither of them. Donāt mean to burst your ābubbleā but of all the āpremedā kids coming out of high school, very few of them actually go to medical school. This is because as kids mature, they find where their real passions are. NEVER choose a school based on āpremed prestigeā coming out of high schoolā¦especially when itās triple the tuition.
Your best chance for medical school is in your home state. Go to an in-state university. You canāt go wrong. If you choose medical school, you have low debt. If you donāt choose that route, you have low debt
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