I’m a senior applying to colleges. I have a 3.4 GPA and a 1420 sat score. I was applying to more prestigious schools like Penn state, and University of Michigan. But I want to attend a college that’s very popular in my family. All of my family members who graduated from college graduated from this school (Clarion university of Pennsylvania) . My guidance counselor told me it was a weird choice for me, especially since I have pretty good grades and a good sat score. The college has a 93 percent acceptance rate, so almost everyone gets in. I want to experience all of the traditions my family experienced while at this school. They tell me all of these stories and weird traditions that occurred at this school. I want to experience the same thing. What should I do? My two best friends will also be attending this college. I feel like I will be missing out. Any advice? The school has a pretty good pre-med program (which is what I want to study) so there is a plus.
The good news is it doesn’t matter at all where you went to undergrad for med school admissions. So unless you really want to be able to have the prestige associated with a Penn state degree or a Michigan degree compared to A Clarion one, it won’t make a difference. In fact, it will be easier to earn a higher gpa at clarion and therefore get into a better med school. If you intended to do literally anything else besides pre med I would’ve suggested the others but in this case, Clarion seems like a good choice if you are fine with it.
I’d suggest going to good school, at least as good as Penn State, your flagship state school, or Michigan. They will prepare you for the rigors of the MCAT, and your GPA will also be taken more seriously.
You’ll need to up your game, as you’ll need to worker harder if you want a Med school acceptable GPA. If money is an issue, community college -> good state school (>= UMass, Rutgers, UF, etc) -> medical school is a fine path. But you’ll want to be at the top of your game everywhere.
You should go to the school that feels right to you. The sole reason for selecting (or not selecting) a college should not be that family members attended – neither one of my kids went to my or my H’s college. They also did not attend college with friends. Both of them experienced different traditions at different colleges and it worked out great. If Clarion is the right school for you, then fine, but don’t feel you need to attend that college for your family or your friends.
lol
go where you want. prestige means nothing! find the best fit! there are a handful of people who play the prestige game…the majority of people do not thankfully. your mission when looking for a school to attend is find the best fit for you at an affordable price. wherever you go be proud of it.
Plus, you may be eligible for some very good merit money. It seems joining your family traditions has lots of value to you. That’s completely legitimate. Best of luck to you.
I would apply to Clarion as well as to Penn State, U of Michigan, etc. (assuming they are all affordable for your family). This will give both options and time to reflect upon them in the months ahead. Your thinking might be very different in the Spring if you limit yourself now and you don’t want to have any regrets. I strongly suggest that you visit Clarion and Penn State in-depth, maybe with an overnight with a student, certainly to sit in on a class or two. Then you can make a decision based on your own observations as well as family stories about fun traditions.
If Clarion turns out to be the right fit for you, that’s great! You’re the one that’s going to college; try not to care what other people think! Good luck.
Your chance at getting into any US med school will be depend almost entirely on your efforts, not where you attend. Pretty much any US college, certainly the ones mentioned above, will offer the classes and access to resources/opportunities (eg ECs) both on and off campus to help you produce a competitive application.
You want a colłege that’s a good fit and you’re happy at because if you’re happy at your colłege, you’re more likely to do well GPAwise which will be very important. Choose a colłege where you can graduate with as little debt, if any, as possible as most med students borrow their way through med school and it is expensive. Have a Plan B in mind from the beginning as most premeds will in fact change their mind as to med school for many reasons. Pick a colłege where you can have a great colłege experience. Good luck.
I echo most of the others. You want to be happy. That’s the most important thing. The happier you are, the better you will do. so choose the school that you love : )
Best of luck and stick with what you love.
Clarion isn’t a bad school. I agree, go where you’ll be happy!
Well, I’ll be a dissenting voice here. Clarion, like most PASSHE schools, is a mess. There’s a strike looming because the state government hasn’t funded the school properly, there have been erratic leadership choices (cutting popular programs, weird agreements with unions, changing campus focus every other year it seems), with cuts to academic facilities and building of “fancy dorms” instead, which students often can’t afford. They’re down to pretending 12 credits being the minimum full time for FAFSA, “extra credits” (ie., 15-16 students need to graduate within 4 years) will be charged extra, on top of the tuition students have to pay. In addition, students would have lower-motivated peers (the kind who don’t bother showing up to labs or exams, or even to their final), lower-quality facilities, and almost zero chance at doing research.
For a bright student such as the OP, it’s not a good choice. It used to be an okay choice, it’s not anymore.
OP can attend a LOT of colleges with strong support for premeds, such as Muhlenberg, Allegheny, Ohio Wesleyan, Juniata, even Washington&Jefferson, Lebanon Valley, or Moravian. Penn State main campus would be another possibility, or Schreyers Scholars at one of the better branch campuses (Behrend, Harrisburg, Altoona).
Among the PASSHE school system, there’s West Chester, perhaps Cook Honors at IUP.
There are literally dozens and dozens of better choices than Clarion.
Check out the clarion and lecom connection!
I’d strongly suggest not going to Clarion. The interquartile range of SAT scores (out of 2400) is 1220 - 1520. Your peers certainly influence who you become, and so I’d suggest you surround yourself with more intelligent students. You can do much better. And for the LECOM connection; if you do well at a place like Penn State, you can get into a good allopathic medical school like Penn State medical school.
I don’t look down on Clarion (or any other grads). And you can appreciate the college for the connections to your family. But I’d strongly suggest going to a better school.
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@frontpage Universities do NOT prepare you “for the rigors of the MCAT.” Universities don’t prepare you for the MCAT. Universities don’t prepare you for med school.
And GPAs from any good school that include the premed prereqs will be taken seriously.
And that is precisely the problem. Frankly, Clarion is not considered a good school. It is an unknown regional school with a likely poor reputation. @MYOS1634 has some good suggestions. Penn State is also well respected.
I have no skin in this game and I’m not looking to start an argument. I’m just very curious about how serious people are when they say that the school you go to doesn’t matter for Med School admissions.
For example, I just looked up a college where the average HS GPA is 2.64, the CR 25/75 range is 330 - 450, and the Math 25/75 range is 310 - 400.
Would the people here who are advocating “any school that’s a fit” advise a kid to attend this school if they have their heart set on med school and they feel the college is a great fit, but they have the grades and scores to get into much more selective schools?
I’m just wondering how low people think you can go before med schools start holding the school against you. Or is there really no limit, and the school I mentioned would be perfectly acceptable to all, or most med schools?
The college doesn’t have to be a 'top school ’ but it does need to offer classes that target a group where the average is sufficiently solid for the med school to not suspect a watered down curriculum.
Another issue of course is peer effects. Problems such as not doing work, not turning in lab reports, etc, affects the student experience, their mindset, work ethics, and ambitions.