Easier college for future MD?

happy1
Wed, 02 Nov 2016 13:51:31 +0000

Unless a student has absolutely unlimited source of funding (and few do) I don’t think anyone here would argue that it would be wise for a pre-med to spend an extra $160K to attend Rice over a school like UTA with huge med school costs in the future.

However, in the case of the two LACs, I would be very careful about what numbers actually go into those med school matriculation rates. At many schools these percentages are done based on the number of applicants to med school supported by the school. So that would beg the following follow-up questions…1)What does it take for a med school applicant to be supported by that particular LAC (and when in the process are they selected?) and 2) on average how many students per year does the school support the applications of. In addition, more and more (certainly not all) med school applicants work for a year or two prior to applying to med school so I would also want to know if the school would support students who go that route as well.

And agree with above, that many people do switch out of pre-med while in college so having other choices available might be a consideration when choosing a school as well.

In the end it is your choice, but just be sure you have all the facts.