How to choose the best premed college
“I have wanted to be a doctor since I was born.” How many students have uttered these words? In today’s medical school admissions environment, the path to becoming a doctor is not an easy road. Depending on the road a student takes, he/she will need to complete approximately 25 years of education. On a road that long there are likely to be unexpected and frequent changes in direction. How can you find the right undergraduate experience that will help you explore and build on your interest in medicine?
So what are the 4 things a student should evaluate in an undergraduate institution for a future premed?
Academic Climate and Culture
Engagement and opportunity
Pre Medical/Pre-Health Advising
Cost/Benefit Ratio
Academic climate and culture
Premed is not a major - it is a set of requirements and recommended courses. The required (or recommended) courses include one year each of general bio with lab, general chem with lab, organic chem with Lab, and general physics with lab. In addition, biochemistry, sociology, psychology, English or writing intensive, and math including calculus/statistics are strongly recommended and helpful in preparing for the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test). The average science/math GPA for accepted students now hovers at 3.76, and medical schools calculate a separate BCPM (biology, chemistry, physics, math) GPA which they expect to be similar to the overall GPA.
The school a pre-med student chooses must offer excellent science classes. How do you define excellent science classes? Depends on the learner. Ideally, there should be small, academically challenging (but not too difficult) classes. A student should aim for science courses at a level where they are challenged but can still get an A/B. There should be breadth, depth, and rigor. Preferably class sizes would be small enough to allow student-professor contact.
Questions to ask when evaluating academic culture:
Will there be access to interesting or advanced science courses? Will there be sufficient professor contact for a future letter of recommendation (medical schools require at least one science letter, sometimes two)? Do premedical students have the opportunity to diversify their academic interests outside of the sciences or are the premed requirements difficult to schedule? Lastly, what is the “premed culture”? Collaborative or cutthroat? Which one will push your student to achieve?
Engagement and Opportunity
Many medical schools have shifted to “holistic” admissions. They are looking for students who have pursued experiences and developed attributes that reflect the competencies expected of a future physician. How can a student demonstrate interpersonal and Intrapersonal competencies such as service orientation, social skills, cultural competence, teamwork, oral communication, integrity and ethics, reliability and dependability, resilience and adaptability, and capacity for improvement?
Typically, this is demonstrated outside of the classroom by engagement in activities that allow development and growth. You want to be sure the school offers a diversity of activities to show up for - and not just show up for, but allow for leadership and innovation. Medical schools are looking beyond academic competencies for “passion”, the “x” factor, authenticity and distance traveled. You want to have the ability to show commitment and the ability to leave some sort of impact. This is not about passive participation.
How do you evaluate a school for engagement and opportunity?
Is there an active student activities office? More importantly, are there opportunities for community service and leadership? Is there access to physicians and clinical shadowing? Is it facilitated? Is there research opportunities for undergraduates that allow “active” participation and mentoring by the principal investigator (rather than graduate students)? Is there funding for independent research? Is there opportunity to work with underserved and diverse populations? Is there an EMS program or scribe program?
Other opportunities might include an early assurance program (where you can apply to the medical school after sophomore year) or other types of medical school linkages, or an honors program that gives a student priority access to courses and experiences and 1:1 mentorship. Ultimately, the presence of something like a premed club or fraternity is not the best marker of available opportunities for pre-health students. The presence of a BA/MD program is not necessarily a marker for support of students who are NOT participants in that program, similar to an honors programs, the resources are sometimes allocated to the BA/MD students only.
Pre-Medical and Pre-Health Advising
As previously mentioned, for most students there will be many twists and turns on their path to a health-related career. Some students discover that basic science classes are not their strength or that their true interest lies in public health. A good premed advising program should be able to proactively guide a student through the process and ensure their students’ success and catch them if they are falling through the cracks.
Questions to ask about Pre-Med Advising:
Does the school identify and provide support for students interested in health specialties? When does advising get involved - do they start freshman year with appropriate guidance on course selection? Do they offer academic health for struggling students? Who is providing the health advising - is it a biology professor overwhelmed with the classes or a dedicated educational professional? How extensive are the services: course selection, application services, committee letters, exposure to “other” health professions? Do they facilitate clinical exposure? Do they offer relevant programs and workshops? Is there alumni support and networking?
Keep in mind, admission statistics published by pre-health offices are not an accurate marker of success for every student attending that school. Often schools will publish only the statistics of students they encouraged to apply and do not factor in the data from students they discouraged from applying to medical school.
Cost/Benefit Ratio
Debt is not an insignificant factor. In 2016 nearly 74% of new medical school graduates had education debt. The AAMC annual survey of medical school students also found that median education debt levels for graduates rose from $125,372 in 2000 to $190,000 in 2016. A physician can be in their 30’s when they start earning a living wage. It can be difficult to start off with a huge debt burden over your head. You need to factor in the amount of undergraduate debt already accumulated. Job satisfaction seems to inversely correlate with the level of debt. Nobody likes feeling trapped in a specialty or job to pay off massive educational debt.
The best pre-med school is the school that is the BEST academic and social FIT for each individual student. The undergraduate experience should allow that student to get A/B grades in their sciences, adequately prepare them for the MCAT, provide opportunities for research and curiosity, develop their ideas of what it means to be a doctor through healthcare-related experiences, and allow a student to build competencies such as leadership, advocacy, and service through community activities.
