I’m currently a junior in highschool and application for college is right around the corner.
I have always aspired to become a doctor and I feel that an excellent pre-med program is an essential catalyst to medical school acceptance.

Please tell me which of the following universities has the best pre-med program. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Cornell University
Washington University (St.Louis)
University of Pennsylvania
Northwestern University
University of Chicago
University of California (Berkeley)
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)

A top three would be very helpful.

All those schools are great. I know Berkeley has over an 80% acceptance rate into med school, and I suspect the other schools will all be similar so it won’t make much difference really which you go to. The trouble is getting in – they are all well known difficult schools.

My top 3 would be a little different:

Cal-tech
Harvey Mudd
Rose Hullman.

Harvey Mudd would be my early decision. It actually has more graduates doing post-grad study than just about any school in the US including ivies, MIT etc, and, IMHO, will prepare you for medical school even better than all the (excellent) schools you mention.

Thanks
Bill

these are the schools i plan to apply to.

Vassar, NYU, Northwestern, Brown, Dartmouth, Middlebury, Williams, Tufts

I know that only applying to very selective schools such as those is a big risk, but my philosophy and my dad’s philosophy is that i should only apply to schools i would be happy and proud to go to. I don’t believe applying to a safety school i could get in to, but would hate is a good idea. That being said, this is what I have to offer…

I am hoping to major in music as an undergrad, but i am planning to go into medical school
My High School Courses:
FROSH: Spanish 1, Integrated Math 1, Pre-AP English 1, honors Physics, World History
SOPH: Pre-Ap Spanish 2, Pre-Calc (i took alegbra 2 over the summer as an independent study), geometry, Pre-AP English 2, Honors Chem, World Studies
JUNIOR: Pre-AP Spanish 3, AP Calc (2 on exam, didnt study:-/ ), AP Bio (4 on exam), AP Lang/Comp (5 on ex), AP U.S. history (5 on ex)
SENIOR: AP Music Theory, AP Calc BC (online course), AP Env Sci, AP Spanish 4

EC: Vice Prez of class 3 times, teach hebrew to children/teach torah trope (how to read and sing from the torah) for bar/bat mitzvah kids, Prez of Civil Rights team, Math Team 4 years (i won 5th place and 3rd place in the Maine Central Math League for frosh and soph years respectively), I have been playing guitar for 12 years and write my own music, i have worked on the 2004 and 2008 democrat campaigns, i work part time as a grocer, i am on the board of directors of my synagogue as a youth representative…there probably are some other things here and there i am forgetting.

My SAT scores were in the mid 600s so i am taking them again and i haven’t taken my SAT 2 tests yet.

I realize that none of these schools are even close to easy to get in to and that they look for uniqueness, not just numbers. What would you say my chances are for each school and which would you recommend?
i'm also taking AP Eng Lit in my senior year
I won the Williams College book award at my school and i won the AMC 10 (national math exam) in my school as well. I have a 3.8 gpa. Thought my grades might be important
In response to jb. Obviously I am going to be defensive as I want you to say want i want to hear even though it's better to hear criticism. Regardless, I appreciate it . However, i believe your analysis of SAT scores and whatnot is slightly misguided. My brother is at Dartmouth and statistically speaking I have better numbers than he did. Can anyone give me an answer that isn't solely based on Sat scores, which are considered to a lesser degree every year (so says the admissions officers when i visited)?

The strategy you and your father have decided to embark on is foolish. You are under the impression that your future success is dependent on going to a top school. It is not. It is only an indicator on how your will do in your career, and every single college resource out there advises that the college experience is what YOU make of it, not what US and World News report decides is a good college. You are throwing the dice with your college future. So be it. You might get lucky. Or you might get screwed. And how in the world do you expect to major in music, then go to medical school?

You probably have a fairly good chance of getting into the less prestigious schools on your list, assuming the 3.8 is unweighted. However, your SAT scores are not good, and will bring you down.

Based on your SAT scores alone, you probably have a 50/50 chance that you will not be attending college next fall.

Gahh. I know that there are so many of these out there, but I was wondering how I'd stand if I were to apply to Universities such as Northwestern, Washington University in St. Louis, John Hopkins, UofC and such. My dream would be to go to Stanford, but I know it'll be extremely difficult.

My Scores:
I took the SAT once and got a 2030 which isn't that great, so I'll be retaking it
and I just got my ACTs and got a 33 composite score (E34 M35 R33 S30, essay 10)
-i have yet to take SAT II exams

My extra curriculars:
-Reporter for the school newspaper, going to be an editor next year
-on the girl's tennis team
-Medical Careers Club
-NHS junior officer
-Math Team
-Speech Team, two time medalist
-Indian classical dancing for 8 years
-Piano for 10 years
- Business Professionals of America

Other accomplishments:
-I published a book sophomore year for a semester project
- I attended NYLF (National Youth Leadership Forum)
- Currently ranked 4/654 with a 4.8335 weighted GPA (3.89 unweighted)
-A honor roll, presidential awards, foreign language honor society, awards for tennis math dancing and speech

I'd really like to pursue something in the medical field.
help??

girl youre good dont even worry about it
the 2030 isn't too great but my score went up 150 points the second time i took the SATs and i doubt they'll even care based on your gpa and extracurriculars

these are the schools i plan to apply to.

Vassar, NYU, Northwestern, Brown, Dartmouth, Middlebury, Williams, Tufts

I know that only applying to very selective schools such as those is a big risk, but my philosophy is that i should only apply to schools i would be happy and proud to go to. I don’t believe applying to a safety school i could get in to, but would hate is a good idea. I’ve done lots of research and these are the schools i like. That being said, this is what I have to offer…

I am hoping to major in music as an undergrad, but i am planning to go into medical school
My High School Courses:
FROSH: Spanish 1, Integrated Math 1, Pre-AP English 1, honors Physics, World History
SOPH: Pre-Ap Spanish 2, Pre-Calc (i took alegbra 2 over the summer as an independent study), geometry, Pre-AP English 2, Honors Chem, World Studies
JUNIOR: Pre-AP Spanish 3, AP Calc (2 on exam, didnt study:-/ ), AP Bio (4 on exam), AP Lang/Comp (5 on ex), AP U.S. history (5 on ex)
SENIOR: AP Music Theory, AP Calc BC (online course), AP Env Sci, AP Spanish 4, AP English Literature

MY GPA is 3.8 UNWEIGHTED

EC: Vice Prez of class 3 times, teach hebrew to children/teach torah trope (how to read and sing from the torah) for bar/bat mitzvah kids, Prez of Civil Rights team, Math Team 4 years (i won 5th place and 3rd place in the Maine Central Math League for frosh and soph years respectively), I have been playing guitar for 12 years and write my own music, i have worked on the 2004 and 2008 democrat campaigns, i work part time as a grocer, i am on the board of directors of my synagogue as a youth representative, I won the Williams College Book Award, I won the AMC 10 (top score on the national math exam) in my school, i was 6th in my state on the national spanish exam,…there probably are some other things here and there i am forgetting.

My SAT scores were 690, 640, 600 SO I AM TAKING THEM AGAIN and i haven’t taken my SAT 2 tests yet.

I realize that none of these schools are even close to easy to get in to and that they look for uniqueness, not just numbers, so i’d appreciate if you’d make a good judgment call rather than say my SAT scores are below “X” so i won’t get in anywhere. What would you say my chances are for each school and which would you recommend?

Looking at the of courses taking and your ecs. It looks pretty good. All the extras count but really aren’t TOO benifical. I mean sure colleges look at that but don’t think too much of them other than that you were an involved person. I big factor actually is your essay that you are sending in. SATS look good, GPA looks find, my guess is that you will get into some of those colleges up there not the whole list. My guess is that you will get into NYU, VASS, TUFTS, and Northwestern. Northwestern I am postive actually. ALSO, another thing that they look at is where you are coming from. If you are in the state that the college you want to go to is in, then its a bit easier than out of state. Remember that there are loads of kids out there with 4.0’s and higher and have just as many credentials as you do. Some advice to you is be unique in all of your application and essay! THEY LOVE THAT. Not just one college but ALL. Try your hardest and things might go your way.

I have higher than a 4.1 GPA and got a 35 composite on my ACT.
I am looking for colleges strong in science (considering medical school in the future) around the area of PA, OH, NY, IL, IN, MI.
I am also hoping to get financial aid.

The colleges I have in mind right now are Northwestern, Kenyon, and University of Notre Dame.

Any other suggestions?

Just so you know, Kenyon isn’t *that* strong in science.
The best schools for science (pre-med) are Princeton (about 90% of grads get into med school), U Michigan Ann Arbor, U Chicago, UPenn, Johns Hopkins (I know, in MD but still), Penn State, and Cornell

SO I will be a senior in high school next year my ACT is a 33 my SAT is a 2170. I live in Illinois, I am in the top 5% of my class my weighted GPA is a 4.5 and my non weighted GPA is a 3.85. Also I have some extra-curricular activities and I run cross country. I placed 4th at state for a club called DECA. Also I have taken a lot of difficult and AP classes. Some colleges I've been thinking about include University of Chicago, Northwestern, and the GPPA straight medical program at UIC; however, I am open to other suggestions out of state as well. Also I want to look into colleges that will increase my chances of getting into medical school. For example I know some schools have more grade inflation than others and I want to know how that would affect me as well? Also what are my chances of getting into some of the colleges i mentioned above? I really appreciate any and all help!

It sounds like you are competitive with your grades so I would suggest you research the colleges you wish to attend and see how it feels to you. Go to each site and look at the admissions page and the student pages and find out as much information about campus life as you can. Look on the internet for the top medical colleges in the US,

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/mdr/search

Talk to your parents. Then, take that next step. Apply to a college and work with a counselor. Apply yourself and work in the field. Just go for it.