Hi i am a high school senior. I have to decide between U Minn Twin (Neuro), Pitt (Public Heath), GW (Public Heath), Case (Neuro). I am currently ignoring the cost of all 4. I would really appreciate it if anyone knows about how hard it is to get a good GPA at these schools considering my major and how hard it is to find clinicals. Also are there any cons that I should consider for each school.
I know that each of these schools are competitive in their own right and finding clinicals is on me. But I would really like to know what the general consensus is so that I can make the right decision.
I agree we need more context. What is the end goal currently? Why Neuro and Public Health?
I will say if you are asking about clinical experiences for premed purposes, all four of those are very well-located for that purpose. So I wouldn’t see that as an important distinguishing factor.
Then if you are asking about grades for premed purposes, this may seem indirect, but I would think carefully about where you think you would overall be happiest with your four-year college experience. Because premed classes are hard everywhere (the content and pacing largely is what it is), but happier people tend to do better in school.
I think you built your list on the things you are asking about and are left with 3 really great choices. Go to the school that you think you will enjoy the most.
Tip: If you end up at UMN and are thinking of med school or public health, look into the Biology, Science and Environment major once you get to UMN. It’s easy to switch majors there.
Does this mean that your parents will drop a price limit on you just before the deadline to decide?
If you are premed, note that medical school is very expensive, so consider whether lower cost undergraduate will allows less debt by the end of medical school.
Apart from premed… What major you prefer? Dd is premed. She wanted Psychology, but program she is in forced her to Natural Science. So she picked Neuro. Guess what, in her school they had some issues with Neuro professors that year… As a result, she had no choice but become a Chemistry major… But Chemistry required a lot more Physics and Calc..
So think where would you be happier. Would you be able to change majors?
For premed there are only 3 things that are important: go to school that is cheapest (saving money for medical school), can get highest GPA, be relatively happy (if your are miserable, imagine what would happen during Organic Chemistry…).
You asked about GPA and I can only speak to CWRU. it’s actually set up in a way that helps freshmen succeed and especially challenge yourself. CWRU gives first-year students more flexibility than most schools. There’s an extended drop/add period, and you can drop one class as late as the day before finals. On top of that, there’s an extended option to switch a course to pass/fail, so you’re not locked into a letter grade early on before you really know how a class is going.
That’s very similar in philosophy to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where freshmen have pass/no record their first semester so they can take hard classes without worrying about damaging their GPA.
Bottom line: yes, you can absolutely get a strong GPA at CWRU. The system is designed so you can take rigorous classes right away and adjust if needed, rather than playing it safe out of fear of hurting your GPA.
When I see “best grades”, you act as if kids aren’t getting into medical school. All these will put kids in medical school. In the end, you’ll be a great student or you won’t. That’s a silly reason to pick a school.
Similar to last thread which I put below, while you don’t want to look at money, you need to budget including medical school.
I’m not sure there’s anything to add other than what you were told on your previous thread.
To me, GW is most different. Minnesota is the biggest followed by Pitt and CW. All are urban - but DC is different than everywhere else - campus wise and all the government and tourist stuff. And obviously your majors are different in each place.
Based on your other thread it looks like you are premed. Ignoring costs is not a good idea, as medical school is very expensive. Why isn’t VCU on this list? It is on your other thread and the cost looks affordable.
These are all very good schools. Getting a good gpa will depend on you- your study habits, willingness to attend office hours as often as needed, your personal strengths, interests, abilities, etc. All of these schools have very strong students who will be in class with you. When you ask how hard it is to get a good gpa- that is impossible to answer. Some students do very well, while others might struggle. Some students will get the A in organic chemistry, while others will not. That is reality.
You can volunteer and shadow at all schools, but that’s on you and many students shadow at home during breaks.
Choose an affordable school where you will be happy, and keep in mind the cost of medical school/grad school.
I literally know someone top 20 student at a top 20 university (US News), and they are concerned about getting into med school and working their butt off in a gap year post graduation to prep for applications. I mean, I guess they are pretty confident they will get in somewhere, but are still applying to a ton of places and assume they will only get in 2-3 if lucky. This is an absolutely elite student who has gotten through university with flying colors and it is not like they are like easy-peasy lemon squeezy here.
It isn’t easy for anyone, even with amazing grades, ECs, etc., etc., etc.
I’m not saying it’s not hard and most don’t end up going regardless. What I’m saying running away from a school - or it’s like the kids that go to college to learn but they just want easy colleges.
I’m simply noting to avoid certain schools, especially if they are your preference, seems silly. Every school I hear about - we are concerned with grade deflation - is sending kids to top law and med schools. Otherwise why not find a list of most grade deflationary or most rigorous and not apply.
Slightly less than a year ago we just finished going through something sort of similar, with our older daughter getting a DVM. Our younger daughter briefly thought about maybe being premed, for long enough for me to discuss the “where to go for undergrad” issue with two doctors that I know. Students in very good MD programs (and DO programs and DVM programs) come from a huge range of undergraduate universities.
Of the four schools mentioned in this thread, plus VCU from the other thread, I do not think that your chances of ever getting accepted into a very good MD program are going to vary in any significant way based on which of these very good schools you attend.
However, about the time that our daughter graduated with a DVM, my daughter, my wife, and I were all very glad that we had started with an undergraduate university that was affordable, and that we could help with the cost of the DVM. MANY of the other students graduating the same day had not been so fortunate. We intentionally did not mention finances during the entire several days of graduation because we did not want them to feel bad about it during a very joyful event.
One other thing that might be worth mentioning: Getting to the point that they call you “doctor” is going to take a lot of work and a lot of determination. You need to stick with it. There will be times when the work load is tough. There will be tough exams. There will be patients that are unpleasant to think about. There will most likely be some patients that will die (this is probably more common for a DVM than for an MD, but will happen for you too). You need the determination to stick with this.
Exactly. Students seem to vary in terms of which premed classes they find the toughest. Some struggle with math and physics. One daughter thought of the required math and physics classes as solid A’s to make up for the B and the B- in organic chemistry. Of three people I know who needed to take organic chemistry for their major, one called it “the only C I ever had in my life”. Another (after the first semester of OC) called it “the toughest B- that I ever had in my life”. The third said “organic chemicals fit together in ways that are logical, which makes it easier”. You might not know which of the premed classes you will find the toughest until you get into them and just see how it goes.
But you are trying to compare acceptances from multiple very good universities. I can see how this is a tough decision to make.
Me too. Sort of deceptively simple advice since you don’t really know what will make you happiest in college in advance. But you can do your best to know yourself and the sorts of environments in which you are most likely to thrive. Pick a college like that which is comfortably affordable, and you have done well.
My parents believe the can, but I don’t think so. I would rather not put any financial stress on them. When I say clinicals I mean medical volunteering and medical internships. I am looking for opportunities for public health but also general medical opportunities.
My only concern related to VCU is the environment. My sister is a student there and I have stayed with her a couple of times. I don’t feel very safe in Richmond and that might impact my academic performance. I don’t know whether this should be considered as a factor.
I visited GW and i think the area is pretty ok, i feel the same way about Pitt. I never had the opportunity to vist U minn or Case so i don’t know about them. I feel like JMU is pretty safe, Hofstra was not, Penn State and Rutgers are fine too. Should i consider JMU over the 4 I mentioned?