Science/Pre-med programs

[Marker13]

<p>What schools have the top pre-med/science programs? Top 20?</p>

[happymomof1]

<p>You should take this question to the Pre-Med forum. Click on “Discussion Home” in the upper-left of this screen, and scroll down to find it.</p>

[vonlost]

<p>Here’s a list of schools known to provide good undergrad prep in the sciences:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/965093-how-swarthmore-amherst-williams-dartmouth-haverford-science.html?highlight=ipeds+science#post10869949[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/965093-how-swarthmore-amherst-williams-dartmouth-haverford-science.html?highlight=ipeds+science#post10869949&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[mikemac]

<p>To a very large degree, how successful you are in applying to med school depends on what you do in college and not some magic the college has with regards to preparing students for med school. So if you want lists of “top 20” someone will supply it, but I doubt such rankings are that meaningful. There are hundreds of colleges that can give you the opportunity to be a strong med school candidate.</p>

<p>There is an excellent online handbook at Amherst I recommend you read to get an understanding of the process and what really matters

What does elevate a student’s chances is to go to an institution (1) that energizes and challenges that particular student academically, while providing good teaching and academic support so the student can meet the challenge satisfactorily; and (2) that provides opportunities for accomplishment and leadership in extracurricular areas. Of course the student must take advantage of these educational and extracurricular opportunities - in the end it’s the student’s accomplishments that count, not the name of the institution.
[Amherst</a> College Guide for Premedical Students](<a href=“http://www3.amherst.edu/~sageorge/guide1.html]Amherst”>Amherst College Guide for Premedical Students)

</p>

[mom2collegekids]

<p>Keep in mind that if you go to a super-competitive undergrad, you may not emerge with a GPA that med schools will expect you to have.</p>

<p>In the Pre-med forum, we see kids posting that their GPA at their TOP school is not as high as they need for med school. Some are getting 3.0 or lower their first year…that is hard to bring up to the 3.7 that med schools like to see.</p>

[vonlost]

<p>If you attend a school known for grade deflation, the corresponding lower GPA may not hurt; Princeton says it doesn’t:</p>

<p>[Admins:</a> Data suggest law, medical school admissions unaffected by deflation - The Daily Princetonian](<a href=“http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/11/17/24452/]Admins:”>http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/11/17/24452/)</p>

[warblersrule]

<p>

@Daily Princetonian

So far, grade deflation has not adversely affected graduates’ chances of admission to the most selective professional schools…Statistically, graduates from all Ivy League schools have seen a decrease in admission to law schools.

Who are they kidding? The number of Princeton graduates at Yale Law has more than halved in the last 5 years, whereas other schools have actually increased (e.g. Dartmouth and Brown went up 140% and 166%, respectively). I’ve calculated elite law placement before, and Princeton dropped like a rock with the implementation of its grade curbing policy. </p>

<p>You also have instances like MIT, where the average GPA of successful pre-meds (3.73) is actually higher than the national average (3.67) – despite being fairly grade deflated.</p>

[vonlost]

<p>Why would Princeton continue the grade deflation policy if it prevents admission to desired grad schools?</p>

[haavain]

<p>Principle. Or at least the appearance of principle.</p>

[warblersrule]

<p>

@vossron

Why would Princeton continue the grade deflation policy if it prevents admission to desired grad schools?

By that reasoning, they may as well give everyone A’s in everything and call it a day. The policy was intended to curb grade inflation that was running rampant at Princeton, as at other schools. As an example, here’s the number of Princeton graduates at Yale Law relative to some of its peers, factoring in size (# of law students / arts & sciences enrollment x 10,000):</p>

<p>1) Yale 156.4
2) Harvard 93.2
3) Columbia 61.3
4) Stanford 59.0
5) Williams 44.3
6) Swarthmore 40.8
7) Amherst 34.4
8) Brown 34.2
9) Princeton 33.7
10) Dartmouth 33.4 </p>

<p>This is more significant for Princeton when you realize that:
[ul][<em>]It outperforms most of the others on the LSAT. Harvard (166); Princeton, Swarthmore, Yale (165); Amherst, Stanford, Williams (164); Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth (163). ([source](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/8641687-post1.html]source[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/8641687-post1.html)</a>)
[</em>]Unlike most other top universities, Princeton does not have a law school of its own, and its undergrads are forced to apply elsewhere.[/ul]</p>

<p>More pertinent to the OP, here is some data from enrolled medical students at Hopkins (# of medical students / arts & sciences enrollment x 10,000):</p>

<p>Yale 82.0
Stanford 65.9
Harvard 59.7
…
…
Princeton 15.5</p>

<p>Now, Princeton is of course not a bad place to be pre-med. It is still reasonably grade-inflated, and most of its students do get into law or medical school. For students aiming for the very top schools, however, it could certainly make a great deal of sense to choose a school with more lenient grading policies.</p>

[vonlost]

<p>“By that reasoning …” </p>

<p>By what reasoning? It was a question. :)</p>

<p>“*As an example, here’s the number of Princeton graduates at Yale Law … *” </p>

<p>Don’t we also need to know the number who applied?</p>

<p>“It is still reasonably grade-inflated, and most of its students do get into law or medical school.”</p>

<p>Does Princeton’s grade deflation not hurt grads, or is its grade deflation not real?</p>