Preparing yourself as early as you can is the key to getting accepted into med school.
If you’re based in Connecticut (or interested in going to school there), choosing one of the best pre-med schools in the state can also help.
In this article we’ll cover:
- The best pre-med schools in Connecticut (based on reputation and alumni)
- How important it is to attend a good pre-med school in the state
- What pre-meds in Connecticut can do to be more competitive
Being a med student myself, I know how valuable it can be to think about these things.
Getting into med school is tough, the right information can help give you a small advantage.
Ready to learn more? Let’s go!
Before we get into the best pre-med schools in Connecticut, you might be interested in what’s on offer in the surrounding states. Check out our guide; Best Pre-Med Schools in the USA for more information.
Best Pre-Med Schools In Connecticut
Yale University
Location: | New Haven, CT |
National University Rank: | 5 |
Average SAT score: | 1460-1580 (ACT 33-35) |
Acceptance Rate: | 7% |
Tuition: | $59,950 (tuition and fees) |
Private/Public: | Private |
Undergraduate Enrollment: | 4,703 |
Student-faculty ratio: | 4:1 |
Founded in 1701, Yale is one of the oldest undergrad colleges in the U.S. (and the 6th oldest medical school!)
Successful pre-meds at Yale are free to choose any major. Typically they excel in biology and the physical sciences, have highly developed communication skills, or have a good background in social sciences and humanities.
90% of Yale’s undergrads gain acceptance into medical school (Source).
Although Yale offers each of its pre-health students a career advisor, it is also recommended to consult a health professions adviser in the Office of Career Strategy. Kristin McJunkins, the college’s most senior and experienced advisor, is tasked with leading career workshops and strategic planning for students keen on careers in STEM and health.
Related: Is Yale Good For Pre-Med In 2022? (Everything You Need To Know)
Yale’s Health Professions website offers ample opportunity for pre-med’s interested in research, volunteering, and clinical experience. Their Pre-Health Studies Overview, contains many resources/links that students can use, including guides on volunteering or shadowing at Yale New Haven Hospital.
Event programming at Yale is also exceptional. Recent opportunities include virtual student neurosymposiums, individual medical school information sessions, externship program information, and more.
Successful Yale graduate, and gastroenterologist MD Dean Chang, recommends applying for the Freshman Summer Fellowship or STARS summer research projects during the summer between undergrad years (Source).
Stella, a pre-med studying Computer Science at Yale, has some great advice for interested pre-health students here.
DETAILS
- Name: Yale University
- Location: New Haven, CT 06520, United States
- Phone: +1 203 432 4771
- Website: yale.edu
University of Connecticut
Location: | Storrs, CT |
National University Rank: | 63 |
Average SAT score: | 1170-1390 (ACT 27-32) |
Acceptance Rate: | 56% |
Tuition: | $18,524 (in state)/$41,192 (out of state) |
Private/Public: | Public |
Undergraduate Enrollment: | 18,917 |
Student-faculty ratio: | 16:1 |
The University of Connecticut was founded in 1881. Like Yale, they also use a semester-based academic calendar.
Students can partake in over 450 clubs/organizations on campus; including Pre-Medical, Pre-Dental, local American Medical Student Association (AMSA) chapters, medical specialty interest groups, and more (the full list is available here).
There’s no dedicated pre-med major but some of the most popular majors for pre-health students include Economics, Psychology, and Registered Nursing.
The University of Connecticut’s Pre-Medical Office provides resources and advises students wishing to pursue careers in the health professions. The advisors focus on competency-based advising, encourage students to self-reflect, and pursue varied extracurriculars. Learn more about the advisors here.
UConn has a newsletter for pre-health students which is great for staying up to date about opportunities and events on/off-campus.
The school’s Health Research Program is something that may be of interest. It offers undergrad research opportunities for students interested in health and biomedical science throughout the academic year and the summer.
The Pre-Medical Office also has a useful Shadowing Guide to find opportunities throughout Connecticut to help build out a competitive application and score important letters of recommendation (LOR’s).
The undergrad school’s connection to UConn Health makes it, like Yale, an exceptionally well-positioned school for getting into medicine.
There’s a lot of great insight into pre-med life at UConn in this video…
DETAILS
- Name: University of Connecticut
- Location: Storrs, CT 06269, United States
- Phone: +1 860 486 4900
- Website: uconn.edu
Wesleyan University
Location: | Middletown, CT |
National University Rank: | 17 |
Average SAT score: | 1340-1520 (ACT 31-34) |
Acceptance Rate: | 21% |
Tuition: | $61,749 |
Private/Public: | Private |
Undergraduate Enrollment: | 2,852 |
Student-faculty ratio: | 8:1 |
Wesleyan University, founded in 1831, is a private liberal arts university based out of Middletown with a good reputation for research opportunities and other extracurriculars.
Here’s their track record when it comes to Health Professions Admissions…
Over the last five years (2016 – 2020 entering classes), acceptance rates at U.S. medical schools for all applicants with a Wesleyan BA has ranged from 55% to 77%**. The national average is 41 to 44%.
(Source)
Wesleyan graduates with GPA’s above 3.6 have an acceptance rate that’s even more impressive, averaging between 71-87%.
They boast alumni at Columbia and Columbia Dental, Jefferson, Harvard, Stanford, NYU Dental, Emory, UCLA, and more.
Their Health Professions Office, centered at the Gordon Career Center, serves students with individual advising, workshops, information sessions, personal statement reviews, and mock interviews.
According to their students, there are plenty of opportunities to join labs for research, while the academic environment is friendly and welcoming also (Source).
Here’s a snapshot of how undergrad life can be at Wesleyan…
DETAILS
- Name: Wesleyan University
- Location: 45 Wyllys Ave, Middletown, CT 06459, United States
- Phone: +1 860 685 2000
- Website: wesleyan.edu
Fairfield University
Location: | Fairfield, CT |
National University Rank: | 3 |
Average SAT score: | 1190-1340 (ACT 27-30) |
Acceptance Rate: | 56% |
Tuition: | $52,870 |
Private/Public: | Private |
Undergraduate Enrollment: | 4,354 |
Student-faculty ratio : | 12:1 |
Fairfield was founded in 1942 and offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and advanced degrees, including those in the Dolan School of Business and its nursing school. It actively encourages students to explore the arts by bringing performers to campus annually.
The Health Professions Program guides pre-meds to select an appropriate major, review the academic standards needed for applications and identify volunteering opportunities in the surrounding Connecticut area.
Students will receive tailored advice with regular program meetings with other pre-health students as well as one-on-one program advisors.
Geoffrey Church, PhD, Biology, gives more information on the timeline and course of study for hopeful med students here.
Vice President of the Pre-Med Club at Fairfield, Alexandra Filipkowski, gives further insight into what’s offered for interested students…
DETAILS
- Name: Fairfield University
- Location: 1073 N Benson Rd, Fairfield, CT 06824, United States
- Phone: +1 203 254 4000
- Website: fairfield.edu
University of New Haven
Location: | West Haven, CT |
National University Rank: | 55 |
Average SAT score: | 1050-1220 (ACT 22-28) |
Acceptance Rate: | 91% |
Tuition: | $42, 898 |
Private/Public: | Private |
Undergraduate Enrollment: | 5,097 |
Student-faculty ratio: | 18:1 |
UNH was founded in 1920 and currently offers around 100 undergraduate majors and 30 master’s programs.
To graduate, each student must do one form of experiential learning; either an internship or a faculty-mentored research project (very useful for med school applications).
They have medical school alumni at Penn State School of Medicine, Kansas City University, University of New England, Kent State University, and more.
Students can explore more than 100 campus organizations.
UNH’s Health Professions Advising Centre, spearheaded by director Ashish Upadhyaya, recommends pre-med’s to work to the following schedule:
- Coursework to help complete your science prerequisites for MCAT/medical school
- Being assigned a university alumnus to mentor you through the process
- Winter bootcamp to prepare for MCAT
- Receiving training on how to interview for medical school
- Letter from the faculty committee evaluating how prepared you are for medical school.
See their website for more information.
DETAILS
- Name: University of New Haven
- Location: 300 Boston Post Rd, West Haven, CT 06516, United States
- Phone: +1 203 932 7000
- Website: newhaven.edu
All admissions data is taken from the American Association of Medical Colleges (Source). Ranking data is taken from U.S. News.
Final Thoughts
There are several options to choose from when it comes to choosing alternative pre-med schools in Connecticut.
Aside from the recommendations above, other schools that came up during my research, that also may be worth looking at, include:
- Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
- Connecticut College (New London, CT)
- University of Saint Joseph (West Hartford, CT)
- Qunnipiac University (Hamden, CT)
- Eastern Connecticut State University (Willimantic, CT)
- University of Hartford (West Hartford, CT)
- Albertus Magnus College (New Haven, CT)
Whichever major you choose, the connections, experiences, and opportunities at these colleges will give you all you need to help put together a competitive application.
You’ll still have to put in the time of course, but you’ll have lots of support to help you along the way.
Related Questions
Is It Important To Attend A Good Pre Med School In Connecticut?
Having a reputable school on your med school application can look good. Performing well during undergrad, at any of the colleges recommended above, is a strong indicator you’ll fit in studying medicine.
How much an individual school actually contributes to your chances of becoming a doctor is open for debate, however.
The biggest factors, in terms of competitiveness, are your GPA score, your clinical experience (shadowing, working, etc), and extracurriculars, and how well you present yourself in application essays and interviews.
To say the strength of your candidacy comes solely down to where you studied for pre-med would be a stretch!
What College In Connecticut Has The Best Medical Program?
The best medical school in Connecticut, according to U.S. News Ranking (Source), is the Yale University School of Medicine. You’ll need an average GPA of 3.85 and an average MCAT of 519.
Other high scoring med schools in the state include:
How To Improve Your Medicine Application As A Pre-Med In School In Connecticut
A great way to make your med school application as competitive as possible is through extracurriculars.
In Connecticut, you have a lot of clinically relevant medical/hospital volunteering opportunities to take advantage of.
These positions are organized and very useful for obtaining letters of recommendation (LOR’s), shadowing, and other important networking connections.
You can also look into relevant pre-med jobs like scribing, EMT, and phlebotomy available in the state for extra clinical experience.
What Is The Hardest/Easiest College In Connecticut To Get Into?
Based on the data above, the University of New Haven appears easier to gain admission into as an undergrad. Their admission rate is the highest and their average SAT scores are lower than rival colleges in the state.
Yale University is the most competitive college to matriculate into as an undergrad in Connecticut.
What Major Should I Choose As A Pre-Med In Connecticut?
The standard advice is to choose a major you feel you can do well in. Your GPA will be possibly the biggest differentiator between you and other pre-med candidates.
Related: What’s The Easiest Pre Med Major?
Here’s what you should consider:
- How motivated you’ll be to study (choose something you’ll enjoy)
- How “suitable” you are to the subject (maximize your chance of a high GPA)
If you did well in a particular subject in high school, or find something relatively easy to get good grades in, that could make for a good pick.
Something else to think about is the MCAT. Sometimes life science subjects can be a good fit as they’ll help you in the preparation for this key med school exam. They also may cover many of the prerequisites.
One thing is for sure though; you don’t need to be on a pre-med track at a Connecticut-based college to get into med school. Your GPA, your MCAT, and your extracurriculars are what count!
If you found this article useful, make sure you check out the rest of our pre-med guides…
- Best Pre-Med Schools In North Carolina (Costs, Extracurriculars & Admission Info)
- Best Pre-Med Schools In Michigan (Costs, Extracurriculars & Admission Info)
Hey guys, I’m Sumran. I’m a British 5th-year international medical student at the Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria. I transitioned straight from completing my A-Levels into university. Currently, I have interests in Psychiatry and Gastroenterology. Outside of medicine, I enjoy reading crime novels and visiting art exhibitions.