Need help: Need to decide on one undergrad school for Premed- Penn, Williams or Amherst?

[bermudagrass]

Hello, high school senior here asking for help choosing a college to attend in the fall.

These are my narrowed down choices: U of Pennsylvania, Williams and Amherst. Penn is of course an ivy, Williams and Amherst are top liberal arts colleges which I also like very much.

Please help me to make a decision on which one would be the best school to study premed! Thank you!

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[LizzyM]

Flip a coin. Heads, you throw out Amherst. Tails you throw out Williams. Now toss again, heads you go to Penn, tails you go to the LAC that won the first coin toss. If that leaves you unsatisfied, you'll know in your heart what the right answer is for you.

Good luck!

You can't go wrong with any of those choices. Congratulations!

 

[frosty42]

I was accepted to an Ivy and top tier LAC, as well. I chose the LAC, just graduated, and absolutely LOVED it! No regrets about my decision whatsoever.

For me personally, I preferred the smaller classes, broader, and more interdisciplinary education that I felt I could get at the LAC. I proudly tell people that I don't have a single friend who is premed and almost none of my friends are in STEM. LACs allow you to interact and work with people coming from so many perspectives, which I LOVE.

Not saying you can't get that at Penn, but in my view, large research universities tend to restrict you more to your major and to interacting with people on a similar path to you. There's nothing wrong with that and of course you can meet friends anywhere - this is just part of how I made the decision myself.

I went to a prestigious high school and was really sick of everyone being cutthroat and obsessed with big name colleges. I felt that the culture of the LAC I went to was way more collaborative and relaxed than it would've been at the Ivy I was accepted to (not Penn).

I also wanted to go to a school with a strong campus culture that wasn't in a big city so students were forced to spend more time with each other and at campus events. This was a major factor for me and I am so glad I chose the smaller school because there was so much to do on campus and events were always well attended.

Again, I don't know much about what Penn is like and the Ivy I was accepted to is probably very different. Just providing my reasons to hopefully give you some insight!

You really can't go wrong with any of these three! Congrats!

 

[Test Boy]

I was accepted to an Ivy and top tier LAC, as well. I chose the LAC, just graduated, and absolutely LOVED it! No regrets about my decision whatsoever.

For me personally, I preferred the smaller classes, broader, and more interdisciplinary education that I felt I could get at the LAC. I proudly tell people that I don't have a single friend who is premed and almost none of my friends are in STEM. LACs allow you to interact and work with people coming from so many perspectives, which I LOVE.

Not saying you can't get that at Penn, but in my view, large research universities tend to restrict you more to your major and to interacting with people on a similar path to you. There's nothing wrong with that and of course you can meet friends anywhere - this is just part of how I made the decision myself.

I went to a prestigious high school and was really sick of everyone being cutthroat and obsessed with big name colleges. I felt that the culture of the LAC I went to was way more collaborative and relaxed than it would've been at the Ivy I was accepted to (not Penn).

I also wanted to go to a school with a strong campus culture that wasn't in a big city so students were forced to spend more time with each other and at campus events. This was a major factor for me and I am so glad I chose the smaller school because there was so much to do on campus and events were always well attended.

Again, I don't know much about what Penn is like and the Ivy I was accepted to is probably very different. Just providing my reasons to hopefully give you some insight!

You really can't go wrong with any of these three! Congrats!

If the only Ivy you were accepted to was Columbia, you definitely made the right choice.

 

[Banco]

Do you want the LAC experience or big research university? Go from there.

Id personally go for Penn because having Penn Hospital/Med School would give you unlimited opportunities for research/clinical exposure as a pre-med. If you decide that’s not what you want, you can easily pivot to another field.

 

[Detailsmatter]

Do you want the LAC experience or big research university? Go from there.

Id personally go for Penn because having Penn Hospital/Med School would give you unlimited opportunities for research/clinical exposure as a pre-med. If you decide that’s not what you want, you can easily pivot to another field.

I personally agree with this and I'd go to Penn. But I think its worth at least keeping in mind the difficulty of the classes at Penn and the competition among other pre meds. Some friends that have gone their were truly miserable and while obviously that's not the case for everyone its something to consider. Looking back on everything I would probably try to go to the least competitive school that still had solid opportunities to take advantage of and be much less stressed

 

[MediocreClimber]

I absolutely loved my experience at a top LAC. Your opportunities will be limitless at any of these schools so just go to the one you vibe with the most.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Hard to argue against going to an Ivy, especially one with such medical opportunities like Penn. I went to a LAC pre med mill. It was challenging, but small. We had essay organic tests. Then, going to a large med school with all multiple choice K questions, I found it was a completely different way to study to excel. One you needed to clearly understand and be able to explain concepts. The other required that and memorize minutiae. First semester of med school was a big adjustment for me. YMMV. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[deleted1100653]

I would go to Penn if I were you. I personally preferred a large student body and a vibrant city with lots of restaurants and bars when I was in college. If you're thinking about medicine, it will be much easier getting research and letters from an institution linked to a medical school. Also, many med schools like to accept their own. But I'm sure there are plenty of people who have done well coming from LACs. First and foremost you should consider the culture, if you'd be okay with such a small class size, and location.

 

[LunaOri]

Where are you from? Do you want a rural or an urban location? If you're an outdoorsy type, Williams or Amherst is a better choice than Penn. If you love the city, Penn is a better pick. All 3 schools are tops academically and have good premed advising departments; you will have no trouble finding research positions, shadowing opportunities, and summer fellowships. There are some differences in the atmosphere at the schools--for instance, sports/athletics/outdoor activities are a big part of campus life at Williams.
I've had personal experience with Williams, and that would be my pick, but you can't go wrong with any of these schools, and I think they're equal with respect to getting you into medical school.

 

[pazzer2]

Small LAC over UPenn in a heartbeat. Especially if the price is cheaper. But definitely keep the costs as low as possible. Med school is expensive.

 

[IlDestriero]

if you don’t have strong feelings about which school is a better fit, just go to the one that will cost you and your family the least.
I would not want to go to that small a school, in that small a town, so Penn would be an easy choice for me out of those 3. Though living in the city of Philadelphia wouldn’t be my dream location either.
Start by considering urban vs rural and go from there.

 

[solitarius]

Different stroke for different folks. There is no objective right answer, only the right answer for each person.

I myself would have felt claustrophobic at a small LAC, and essay o-chem exams sound awful.

 

[MediocreClimber]

Thank you very much for sharing your experience and impressions of studying at the LAC. I'm interested to know what else was interesting and cool in the LAC and what are you doing now after the graduation?
Thanks in advance for the answer!

Feel free to message me. Went to a top LAC and am now in medical school.

 

[frosty42]

Thank you very much for sharing your experience and impressions of studying at the LAC. I'm interested to know what else was interesting and cool in the LAC and what are you doing now after the graduation?
Thanks in advance for the answer!

If you want to DM me, I can answer any questions you have and talk more specifically! I personally toured a lot of the LACs on the East Coast so I'd be happy to comment on particular schools if you're interested.

Being at a LAC is also really nice for getting into research because there are no grad students taking priority over you. I personally worked for 3 years performing clinical research at a psychiatric hospital with direct, one-on-one contact with patients and it was amazing!

I love that so many people at my school had such extremely different interests and they were able to study very diverse topics. For example, one of my close friends double majored in Neuroscience and Theater and is now pursuing a degree in drama therapy. My school had a completely open curriculum with no gen eds at all so I was able to explore every class I wanted to.

My takeaway from all the schools I toured while looking at undergrads was that almost every large university explained how they make their school "feel small." My thinking was, if everyone wants their school to "feel small," why not go to an actual small school?

I have nothing against large universities and I have friends who went to Penn and loved it. You just have to figure out which is a better fit for you personally (easier said than done, I know).

I took 2 gap years after undergrad (class of 2020) so I am currently in the process of applying to med school for entry in 2022 and I just received my first 2 interviews so so far so good!
I am serving in AmeriCorps at the moment.