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The best pre-med schools for minorities provide the best opportunities to minorities to fulfill their dreams of becoming medical doctors. Many people wish they could break barriers and make it to the medical school, but most never make it because they do not know how to choose the pre-med school that best fits them. I was one of those people who wasn’t set on “impossible” dreams, but rather just thought about my future.
Collegelearners Website will provide informations you are looking for on Best Pre Med Schools For Minorities Best Pre Med Schools For Minorities, Overview of Best Pre Med Schools For Minorities and Requirements for Best Pre Med Schools For Minorities.
Overview of Best Pre Med Schools Program for Minorities
The best pre-med schools generally offer a four-year undergraduate program and prepare you for pursuing medicine. There are no official majors offered by even the best colleges for pre-med. Students have the option of majoring in subjects of their choice at the best pre-med schools.
International students must complete their pre-med in the USA to be eligible to apply to a medical school in the USA.
The study program at the best colleges for pre-med generally comprise:
- One year of general chemistry with lab
- One year of organic chemistry with lab
- One year of biology with lab
- One year of physics with lab
- One semester or more of math (calculus and statistics)
- One year of English
- Courses necessary for MCAT preparation
MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) scores are mandatory to apply to pre-med schools. Your scores will reflect your aptitude in different subject areas.
These are just the basic requirements to apply to medical school. To enhance your profile and chances of being accepted at the best medical schools, you must take more classes to meet the requirements of your chosen major. To support your intent and interest in pursuing medicine, you must include classes in genetics, public health, microbiology, human physiology, psychology, sociology, and more.
Pre-med, while it sounds like a major, is actually a college track that is made up of specific courses that you agree to take as prerequisite courses for medical school. Students can major in any field they want, but will have to take all of the required pre-med courses so that they stay on the pre-med track.
If you do know that you want to be a medical doctor while you’re still in high school, you should look for colleges that will prepare you well for the career ahead of you. But as you sift through potential colleges, keep in mind that your pre-med experience should ultimately set you up for a bigger goal: med school. An ideal college will have a pre-med track that can guarantee success in these four crucial aspects of a medical school application:
- Getting a high GPA
- Scoring well on the MCAT
- Finding meaningful activities and building a strong resume
- Completing the application (including rec letters and essays) and interview, though you should note that these are mostly independent of the undergraduate school you choose
Picking a College as a Pre-Med: Factors to Consider
GPA
When it comes to med school, your GPA is vital. You should be looking for colleges where you can score well, as a strong GPA is so important for medical school applications that it even supersedes class rank. The reason is that most medical schools use a mathematical formula that takes in the numerical value of GPA to assess students. For example, having a 3.5 GPA and being #18 in your class at one college is often worse than having a 3.9 and ranking #35 in your class at another for the purposes of medical school admission.
While GPA is often more important than rank, you should still aim to be amongst the strongest students on campus. Most college classes are graded on a curve, and being at the top of the curve translates to a high GPA. For example, you’d be much better off with a 3.95 at Bates College than a 3.35 at Princeton. Additionally, you want to avoid schools that have grade deflation (very difficult curves) and instead, look for the schools that have moderate to strong grade inflation (easier curves).
Although your science GPA plays a significant role in med school admissions, the rigor of your major is just as critical. Having a high GPA in an “easy” major won’t cut it; you need a rigorous course load to validate a high GPA.
It’s also important to note that you should generally try to avoid your state’s flagship university. These universities have many academically competitive students who didn’t have the extracurricular resume or financial means to attend top-tier universities. So it’s a lot harder to get As in your pre-med classes.
MCAT Score
A good MCAT score is also essential to med school admissions. You should look for a college with a curriculum that will prepare you well for the exam. Most colleges will cover the science material on the MCAT through their pre-med classes. However, you should also ensure that your college has good psychology, sociology, and even general education English classes that cover critical reading techniques. Attending a college that reinforces these other MCAT components will yield you a much better score overall.
Extracurricular Activities & Letters of Recommendation
Having a good resume isn’t just about loading it with generically impressive activities and awards. It’s important to have activities that are specifically meaningful and relevant to you as a potential med school student. You want to have plenty of patient care experience, ideally through shadowing or formal internships, though volunteering is okay if you can’t find one of the other options. Biology-specific or medical research is also a critical addition to your resume. And it’s beneficial to work or volunteer in the local community. If possible, try to work with diverse groups of people from varied socioeconomic backgrounds as that can be helpful experience for essay and interview questions.
Being able to fill out your resume with the right activities is another benefit to being at the top of your class. As one of the best students on campus, you will have easier access to better opportunities through professors and other health professions advisors.
When picking a school, you should also think about location. A college next to or in a city that has a robust medical industry, like Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham, or Houston, will have far more opportunities. By having access to major hospitals and private companies, you will increase your chances of getting valuable patient care experience and/or research.
Getting good rec letters comes down to, once again, being at the top of your class. Being a big fish in a small pond will help you gain the attention and favor of your professors, employers, and lab directors.
Saving Money
Med school is a substantial commitment for not just the student, but also for their family. Many families want to save money on undergrad so they can afford to pay $200,000 for four years of med school. Fortunately, top-tier colleges usually grant great financial aid, generally offering at least some assistance to families with under $200,000 per year in household income. Beyond that, you may want to stay away from flagship state schools because of the competition factor mentioned previously. Instead, you can look for private schools that will offer you a strong merit aid package.
Commitment
Becoming a doctor is not for everyone. The 10-12 years of commitment to school, residencies, and fellowships is tough for even the most passionate and driven students. If you’re still a little unsure by the time you apply, look for schools that allow you to easily switch majors and programs without having to apply internally. In these cases, you might want to apply to the most competitive school possible; that way, you’ll be at a good school regardless of whether you’re on the pre-med track.
Pre-med, while it sounds like a major, is actually a college track that is made up of specific courses that you agree to take as prerequisite courses for medical school. Students can major in any field they want, but will have to take all of the required pre-med courses so that they stay on the pre-med track.
Most pre-med students choose to major in something related to the medical field, such as Biology or Chemistry.
If you do know that you want to be a medical doctor while you’re still in high school, you should look for colleges that will prepare you well for the career ahead of you. But as you sift through potential colleges, keep in mind that your pre-med experience should ultimately set you up for a bigger goal: med school. An ideal college will have a pre-med track that can guarantee success in these four crucial aspects of a medical school application:
- Getting a high GPA
- Scoring well on the MCAT
- Finding meaningful activities and building a strong resume
- Completing the application (including rec letters and essays) and interview, though you should note that these are mostly independent of the undergraduate school you choose
Want to know your chances at the schools you’re applying for?
Picking a College as a Pre-Med: Factors to Consider
GPA
When it comes to med school, your GPA is vital. You should be looking for colleges where you can score well, as a strong GPA is so important for medical school applications that it even supersedes class rank. The reason is that most medical schools use a mathematical formula that takes in the numerical value of GPA to assess students. For example, having a 3.5 GPA and being #18 in your class at one college is often worse than having a 3.9 and ranking #35 in your class at another for the purposes of medical school admission.
While GPA is often more important than rank, you should still aim to be amongst the strongest students on campus. Most college classes are graded on a curve, and being at the top of the curve translates to a high GPA. For example, you’d be much better off with a 3.95 at Bates College than a 3.35 at Princeton. Additionally, you want to avoid schools that have grade deflation (very difficult curves) and instead, look for the schools that have moderate to strong grade inflation (easier curves).
Although your science GPA plays a significant role in med school admissions, the rigor of your major is just as critical. Having a high GPA in an “easy” major won’t cut it; you need a rigorous course load to validate a high GPA.
It’s also important to note that you should generally try to avoid your state’s flagship university. These universities have many academically competitive students who didn’t have the extracurricular resume or financial means to attend top-tier universities. So it’s a lot harder to get As in your pre-med classes.
MCAT Score
A good MCAT score is also essential to med school admissions. You should look for a college with a curriculum that will prepare you well for the exam. Most colleges will cover the science material on the MCAT through their pre-med classes. However, you should also ensure that your college has good psychology, sociology, and even general education English classes that cover critical reading techniques. Attending a college that reinforces these other MCAT components will yield you a much better score overall.
Extracurricular Activities & Letters of Recommendation
Having a good resume isn’t just about loading it with generically impressive activities and awards. It’s important to have activities that are specifically meaningful and relevant to you as a potential med school student. You want to have plenty of patient care experience, ideally through shadowing or formal internships, though volunteering is okay if you can’t find one of the other options. Biology-specific or medical research is also a critical addition to your resume. And it’s beneficial to work or volunteer in the local community. If possible, try to work with diverse groups of people from varied socioeconomic backgrounds as that can be helpful experience for essay and interview questions.
Being able to fill out your resume with the right activities is another benefit to being at the top of your class. As one of the best students on campus, you will have easier access to better opportunities through professors and other health professions advisors.
When picking a school, you should also think about location. A college next to or in a city that has a robust medical industry, like Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham, or Houston, will have far more opportunities. By having access to major hospitals and private companies, you will increase your chances of getting valuable patient care experience and/or research.
Getting good rec letters comes down to, once again, being at the top of your class. Being a big fish in a small pond will help you gain the attention and favor of your professors, employers, and lab directors.
Saving Money
Med school is a substantial commitment for not just the student, but also for their family. Many families want to save money on undergrad so they can afford to pay $200,000 for four years of med school. Fortunately, top-tier colleges usually grant great financial aid, generally offering at least some assistance to families with under $200,000 per year in household income. Beyond that, you may want to stay away from flagship state schools because of the competition factor mentioned previously. Instead, you can look for private schools that will offer you a strong merit aid package.
Commitment
Becoming a doctor is not for everyone. The 10-12 years of commitment to school, residencies, and fellowships is tough for even the most passionate and driven students. If you’re still a little unsure by the time you apply, look for schools that allow you to easily switch majors and programs without having to apply internally. In these cases, you might want to apply to the most competitive school possible; that way, you’ll be at a good school regardless of whether you’re on the pre-med track.
What are your chances at these pre-med schools?
Our free Chancing Calculator uses your GPA, extracurriculars, testing and more to tell you your real chances at Cornell, Emory, and other schools with a pre-med program.
Calculate your chances now — it’s free!
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These are just a few factors to think about as you build a school list. As you may have noticed, many of these factors are broad and subjective. The “best” pre-med school will vary widely for each individual. However, if you want to look at the absolute best pre-med programs in the country, here are a few:
Colleges that offers Best Pre Med Program for Minorities
- Harvard College
Location: Cambridge, MA
Acceptance rate: 4.5%
U.S. News Ranking: 2
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1460-1580 SAT, 33-35 ACT
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,788
As of 2012, Harvard reported an extremely high med school acceptance rate of 95%. With some of the smartest students in the world, a great location among the numerous Boston medical facilities, and groups such as the Harvard Premedical Society, Harvard offers a plethora of invaluable resources to its pre-med students. The college is also known for its rampant grade inflation, with the median grade being an A-, so that’s good news for your GPA.
- Duke University
Location: Durham, NC
Acceptance rate: 7.8%
U.S. News Ranking: 10
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1500-1560 SAT, 33-35 ACT
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,682
Duke, while very academically competitive, still boasts a high 85% med school acceptance rate. Students at Duke also have access to a wide variety of resources, from personalized advising to research and internship opportunities provided by Durham and Duke’s prestigious School of Medicine.
- University of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Acceptance rate: 7.7%
U.S. News Ranking: 6
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1460-1550 SAT, 33-35 ACT
Undergraduate Enrollment: 10,183
UPenn is one of the best pre-med schools in the nation, boasting a 76% med school acceptance rate. UPenn’s core pre-med courses and suggested courses both prepare students well for the MCAT by emphasizing all aspects of the test. UPenn is also in an excellent location for pre-med students, with facilities like the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia nearby.
- Washington University in Saint Louis
Location: St. Louis, MO
Acceptance rate: 14%
U.S. News Ranking: 19
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1480-1550 SAT, 33-35 ACT
Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,751
Pre-med students at WashU not only have access to a four year advising program, but also to MCAT prep classes, mock interviews, writing workshops for med school applications, and two local hospitals. WashU ensures that their pre-med students are on the right path by providing constant hands-on assistance and meaningful research and internships.
- Rice University
Location: Houston, TX
Acceptance rate: 8.7%
U.S. News Ranking: 17
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1470-1560 SAT, 33-35 ACT
Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,978
The Office of Academic Advising at Rice provides extensive resources to pre-med students, including a database of relevant research and internship opportunities and pre-med advising orientations. Additionally, Rice’s Joint Admission Medical Program helps low-income Texas students afford med school. Houston is also a town with many large hospitals that provide research, shadowing, and volunteering opportunities.
- Stanford University
Location: Stanford, CA
Acceptance rate: 4.4%
U.S. News Ranking: 6
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1420-1570 SAT, 32-35 ACT
Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,087
Stanford offers a variety of extracurricular and research options to their undergraduate students. Their Stanford Immersion in Medicine Series (SIMS) Program gives sophomores, juniors, and seniors the opportunity to shadow doctors at Stanford Hospital, Palo Alto VA Hospital, and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.
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