Hey guys, I would love to hear your thoughts on these schools! I posted a few weeks ago but I’ve finally tuned in. Still trying to pick between them and although I’m leaning towards UNC (cost-efficient) I would still want to flesh out each option.
Major: Neuroscience + BME/CS dual major on the pre-med track. I’m aiming for an MD-PhD, and I would rather get a PhD than an MD if I can’t land a spot in a medical school program; therefore, the only cost would be in the bachelors.
Important factors: Cost, Placement into top 25 med school programs, Prestige/Name Recognition, Research output, student life
Note: I have a 220k college fund, and I also plan on becoming an RA to deal with cost. My family and I have the capacity to save ~20k/yr for 4 years for this as well.
UNC($60k/yr) → 47k/yr after RA position
Pros:
Accepted into the honors program + guaranteed spot in research lab
Personal connections and friends living there
Grade inflation
Renowned medical school placement
Pretty city
High amount of Fulbright and Rhodes scholars
Grade inflation(?)
Lots of opportunities for clinical stuff
Cons:
Not as prestigious as other schools (not a big deal, just worried about losing some opportunities on internships, programs, etc)
BME/CS not as highly ranked as other schools on the list
Didn’t love the campus
Cornell (87k/yr) - > 75k/yr after RA position
Pros:
Best pre-med program of schools listed
Great CS in the college of Arts and Sciences
Great name recognition
I like cold weather
Food is good
Great research output
Cons:
Very expensive
Grade deflation
Mental health concerns
Not as many pre-med opportunities
Carnegie Mellon (68k/yr) - 55k/yr after RA position
pros:
Amazing CS and highly-ranked neuroscience program
Although not known for pre-med, has a good placement
Honestly Pitt has a stronger Neuroscience program than CMU. CMU collaborates more with Pitt Neuroscience rather than vice versa. But that’s not your question.
You’ll have plenty of pre-med ops ie. shadowing, labs at the UPMC hospitals which sit on the Pitt campus.
You will deal with grade deflation at CMU. That is a fact.
That’s interesting you like Pittsburgh weather. It’s plenty dreary here. But even my S24 likes our cloudy days, lol. He’s going to Pitt
BTW, CMU sticker price is $82K a year without financial aid or merit (which they don’t give)
Unless you have been guaranteed an RA position, please don’t assume you will get one…at ANY college. These are competitive positions, and NO ONE should just assume they will be hired for a position.
Your final colleges are three very expensive colleges. You had other less costly acceptances. Remember, medical school…should you get accepted…Will cost you likely $100,000 a year. It would be nice if you didn’t have to fund that totally from loans.
I won’t try to convince you that your costs are very high…so I’ll suggest you choose CMU. I’m not sure who you think doesn’t know about this school, but it is quite well known. In addition, it’s an excellent college. Even without that RA job…it’s your best price. I think it’s at least as good as the others, and especially if you consider affordability.
I’m not sure what you mean by “best premed”. Fact is…you can take the required courses for medical school applicants at just about any four year college in this country, arts conservatories excluded.
Here is your other recent thread with all of your acceptances. I’m not sure why Pitt or Temple aren’t in contention. But I guess they aren’t.
Hi!
The three schools I listed were ones that I were genuinely interested in. Yes I understand that RA positions are not guaranteed I just wanted to clarify that was something I was interested in pursuing.
In terms of price, yes I understand, but UNC and CMU are ultimately affordable for us. I really wanted to know if Cornell was worth taking on the debt.
By best ‘pre-med’ I mean schools with superior placement and connections.
Undergraduate debt will add to the debt that you will take for medical school if you get admitted. Medical school is expensive, with some listing costs of around $110k per year now.
Undergraduate debt will also be a burden if you become a PhD student living on a PhD student stipend.
Do not take on debt for undergrad if you are planning on med school. Of the remaining two listed, UNC would be my pick, based on cost. But I agree with @caz0743 that Pitt should be given serious consideration. Neuroscience at Pitt is top notch!
I am not sure that I understand the “mental health concerns”. Otherwise these con’s for Cornell are all quite compelling. I think that Cornell is just too expensive and not worth it for you. The grade deflation is real. “Pre-med opportunities” are very important for a premed student.
I have consistently heard that students in top MD programs come from “all over the place” (this quote is from a doctor I discussed this issue with). The percentage of undergraduate students who get into an MD program from any particular university can be a very misleading statistic for several reasons.
From your other thread, these are not the three schools that I would have recommended. I would be trying to save some more of that college fund for an MD, or possibly for some other graduate degree in case plans change (and they usually do change for students who show up at university intending to be premed). You have some other options that are very good universities and that are less expensive than these three. Of these three schools, I would tend to go for UNC, or maybe CMU.
Very true. There are lots of advantages to graduating with a bachelor’s degree and no debt. One of them is that for students who go on to a PhD, the associated stipend is typically enough to live on, but only just enough to live on (and to cover required expenses such as purchasing books and other supplies). A PhD program also takes many years, and you will want to go into it without additional burdens such as debt. Some money in the bank would be even more helpful.
So let’s look at your list - and you are going for pre-med, so debt matters.
I wouldn’t say UNC isn’t as prestigious, and frankly, for med school, I’m not sure that prestige plays a part. Look at the drs. at the practice you - I looked at mine. Schools like Southern Missouri State, Lipscomb, Arkansas, etc. Your MCAT and other activities are what matters.
But UNC is a top public school - and you’re comparing it to an Ivy and CMU - a fine school mostly known for tech but strong in other areas too.
You cannot count on an RA position anywhere - so take that out. So UNC is $60K. I also wouldn’t worry about the research lab although it’s nice you have a guaranteed spot. You can do research anywhere.
Cornell - why is the pre med program the best? It’s advising - is the advising the best?
I wouldn’t worry about grade deflation - graduate schools will know these colleges - I’m sure they produce grad school students.
Can you afford all three plus another $400K?
If you can, great - but that you need an RA tells me you might not be able to?
Are you taking on debt? If so, you might look at another school - to save money for your MD or PhD.
I’d say UNC - just based on it sounds like costs matter - and with Honors, you’ll get enrichment. But if you’re truly doing pre med and that you got need aid - so if you have cost concerns, your in state public might be a smarter choice than UNC.
Based on the above, I’d say UNC although there’s no grade inflation; it’s where your positives are the strongest and most personal and Honors makes a difference in perdonal attention&advisibg at a large university filled with top students.
(Not sure why CMU and not Pitt?)
I do not understand why CMU and not Pitt. That doesn’t make any sense to me as Pitt is top notch and I assume less money. Honestly…Pitt screams “pre med/pre health” and is truly a powerhouse.
Cornell, while certainly an outstanding university, should be removed…since you asked if the debt was worth it. The answer is no. As for “superior placement and connections” which you feel are better at Cornell…I would absolutely not underestimate Pitt…or other schools.
Now back to UNC:
I mentioned there is no grade inflation.
Having a guaranteed spot in a lab is nice, but anybody who wants research will get research. Everybody. My daughter began in the fall of her freshman year and continued for all 4 years. She also had an opportunity to do summer research at a renowned research hospital. She received an email and applied.
With regard to “lots of opportunities for clinical stuff” I will say the following:
When my daughter met with a premed advisor she was told to start with her pediatrician and go from there. She did, and then she moved on to teaching hospitals while at home during breaks. While it is possible to shadow at UNC, it is not guaranteed (maybe this changed). Shadowing at home was easy and teaching hospitals were happy to have her.
She volunteered at the UNC hospital- for 2 years. This is not guaranteed and requires a lengthy interview process (unless it changed). She speaks Spanish - that helped a lot (raised in a home where only English is spoken).
She was paired with a current medical student and they met monthly.
There are many, many opportunities to work in underserved communities, serving the community etc. You will need that.
There are many clubs, students are very involved, and there are leadership opportunities on campus.
Getting to know your profs is not hard if you try. My daughter tutored their kids, traveled with one, went to dinner at their home, and remains friends with 2.
UNC is a great school- it truly is. I call it a powerhouse, along with Pitt. But…she got a great price at UNC and she loved it. Still does- it’s an amazing school. If she didn’t get a good price she would have gone to Pitt, where she got full tuition.
A word about Pitt- do not ever underestimate the brilliance of the students and the opportunities that are available. It is one of my favorites.
I linked it above for reference. Both Pitt and Temple were almost half the costs of the schools listed here. I’m curious why Pitt isn’t a finalist for this student.
IIRC the student says they need to cover about $10,000 a year.
Note that this is contingent on me working a job and making ~10-20k / year through internship and work study as well as my parents saving some extra $$
And I’ll correct my recommendation. UNC is the best cost choice of your final choices…not CMU.
If your parents can save an additional $20,000 a year, that’s about $1700 a month. Do they understand they will be doing this in addition to paying your college costs?
There is no guarantee you will get accepted to medical school from any of these options. 60% of applicants receive zero acceptances. Picking an undergrad thinking it’s going to help you get accepted to medical school is folly, in my opinion.
And lastly, medical school is funded largely through loans, loans and more loans…and help from the bank of mom and dad. You won’t be able to work during medical school at all.
I work in an academic neuroscience research lab and I read a lot of resumes for research techs applying for jobs. They are virtually all pre-med, pre-PhD or pre-mdphd. I read several Cornell transcripts from pre-med students this year and I can tell you that I don’t think there is much grade deflation. Cornell transcripts include median grade for the course and most courses had a median grade of A- or A.
For pre-MD/PhD though, I’d lean towards UNC. Opportunities to shadow doctors, participate in clinical research, volunteer at the hospital etc are pretty important. And of course there are plenty of lab-based research opportunities as well. Cornell is going to have plenty of research, but without a major research hospital on campus you’ll miss out on the medical part of it. Though…now that I’m writing that I’m realizing you could definitely do that during the summer so maybe it’s not a negative for Cornell.
Just make sure you do some clinical and some lab-based research. You’ll need some of each for MD/PhD and you’ll need lab research for PhD programs. The PhD programs want applicants to have an independent research project that they saw through from beginning to end (and presented at a meeting or ideally published).
