Which is best for pre-med? UPitt, Baylor (Waco), UW Madison or SLU

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Since 60-75% of freshmen premeds change their mind about med school, I suggest taking pre-ned out of the equation. Now which school do you prefer?

Note that most premeds change their mind about med school not because they don’t have the grades for med school --they do-- but because they find different interest and passions in college or decide they really don’t want to postpone starting their life for another 7-14 years post college graduation while they finished their medical training. (Becoming a physician requires not just 4 years of med school, but another 3-10 years of residency & fellowship training following med school. That’s a long time to postpone getting married, buying a house or starting a family.)

I advise pre-med to consider 3 factors when choosing a undergrad:

  1. fit–because happier students earn better grades. Also undergrad is 4 years of your life you’ll never get back–you should enjoy it.

  2. opportunity– this includes the opportunity to get involved with campus activities (adcomms are looking students who are interesting & well rounded individuals who have leadership experience); the opportunity to get to know your professors and find mentoring (Because it’s those professor who will write your LORs for med or grad school); the opportunity to explore other potential careers and find new interests (even if leads you away from medicine); the opportunity to meet new people from diverse backgrounds (because physicians deal with all kinds of people); to grow and develop as individual (because academics is only a part of what adcomms look for in potential med students)

  3. cost– because med school is horrendously expensive with little FA except for loans, loans and more loans. Premeds are strongly advised to minimize undergrad debt since you will be taking out around $400K (or more) to pay for med school. Also as a resident and fellow you will not be earning much for all those 80 hours/week you’re working. (Your HS teacher makes more than a medical resident.)

So which college is the least expensive? What’s your home state? (There are advantages to attending your in-state flagship when it comes to gaining an acceptance to your state med school.)

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