Which college for an eventual career in medicine?

Question

I plan on becoming a doctor, but for undergraduate I want to double major in biology and either economics/international relations. I am looking at three schools, and I was wondering if you could tell me some information about one or all of them, whether it is negative or positive, in relation to my biology and economics/IR plan. The schools are Vanderbilt, U of Michigan and Tufts. Thanks!

Answer 1

All three of these schools are well respected and can give you a fine education in all the premed areas. They are quite different as far as a college experience is concerned, though. Tufts is in a close suburb of Boston - kids there are tied in to the whole Boston area student network. Vanderbilt is definitely a southern school. Different tone completely. Michigan is a giant state university school which could be daunting for someone who wants a more personal relationship with the college and other students. I think you would get much more personal attention from the faculty and staff at Tufts. Tufts is not as well know nationally, but it is certainly well known and respected in the northeast and among the admissions committees of the medical schools. I would be willing to bet that a much higher per cent of the kids who start in premed at Tufts actually finish as premeds, apply to med school and are accepted, compared to kids who start at Michigan as premeds. Michigan has way more who start, but way more who never finish their programs.

Answer 2

Tufts is actually a great school for the social sciences, minus Economics. If you are looking to major in biology, you might want to find an other school which will be more rigorous that Tufts. However, Tufts does offer an outstanding program in Psychology.

Vanderbilt is an amazing business school. It also has a strong Political Science department if you are wishing to take areas such as international law, business, or relations. It offers great programs in Risk Management, Insurance, Statistics, Accounting, Finance, Economics, and Business. However, if your primary goal is Medical School, you should choose to make Biology or Biochemistry your top priority. Vanderbilt does have a fairly good Biology department, however, there are much better schools.

The University of Michigan offers the most rigorous coursework in Biology and Biochemistry of the three schools you've listed. In addition, students from the University of Michigan have held higher MCAT scores on average, for 2004, 2005, 2006; compared to the other two schools you listed. The name recognition of the University of Michigan is also up to par with that of Vanderbilt if that is your primary concern. The University of Michigan also offers a very fine education in Economics; several leading textbooks in Economics have been authored by their faculty.

If you plan to move out of state, I would recommend the University of Michigan, only because it will not only better equip you for better Medical Schools, but also for better jobs in the Medical or Pharmaceutical industry. This will land you jobs in states like Texas, New York, Mass., Cali..

If you plan to stay in your own state, Vanderbilt is also a great college. Your understanding of economics could help you out when starting your own practice as you know how to price your services, market yourself, and maintain internal controls between your employees. The Biology department is not that far behind that of the University of Michigan, so you should still be able to make it to a great state medical school.

hope that helps. best of luck.