Some Great and Not-So-Great Colleges for Pre-Health Students

By Katherine O'Brien, MA CCPS

 

Choosing the right undergraduate college is even more important when you hope to attend medical or dental or other health profession schools after you graduate. 

These schools have everything you want as an undergrad preparing for medical or dental (etc.) school: small class sizes, great pre-med/pre-health advising, and a stellar success rate in getting students into medical school (often better than the traditional “pre-med power schools.”)

Bates College (ME)

Bowdoin College (ME)

Carleton College  (MN)

Claremont McKenna College (CA)

Colby College (ME)

Davidson College (NC)

Grinnell College (IA)

Hamilton College (NY)

Haverford College (PA)

Middlebury College (VT)

Pomona College (CA)

Scripps College (CA)
Swarthmore College (PA)

Vassar College (NY)

Wellesley College (MA)

Whitman College (WA)

Williams College (MA)

The following schools are ranked highly by the US News and World Report but don’t offer very much in the way of support for students applying to medical or other health profession schools.  These aren’t terrible places for pre-meds (etc.), but they’re not good, either.

Boston College (MA)

Boston University (MA)

California Institute of Technology (CA)

UC Berkeley (CA)

UC Davis (CA)

UC Irvine (CA)

UCLA (CA)

UCSB (CA)

UCSD (CA)

U Michigan (MI)
UNC, Chapel Hill (NC)
U Pennsylvania (PA)

U Virginia (VA)