<p>Can you research the track records of the schools you’re considering for post-graduate admissions into medical schools? If your academic preparation or the prestige is better at one college than another, it might help you get the preparation you need to gain admission to medical school. I am sure that it;s possible to get to medical school from any undergraduate start-point, but the odds might be improved with some of the schools you’re pondering, compared to others.
I believe that you’ll be a person and not just a doctor, so you want simply to find the best possible undergraduate education your family can afford. Be a well-educated person, and don’t think only about “getting into medical school.” The doctors I know I see around town at symphonies and community activities. They help support arts programs. These indicate passions outside of medicine. Remember to learn about all kinds of things, not just pre-med things, and go to where you can get that foundation.</p>
<p>This is off-topic to the issue of private v. public…but I wanted to pass along this idea as well: It’s valuable to take some undergrad classes in psychology and communication if you want to be a doctor. Developmental psych would be interesting if your goal is to work in pediatrics (how old is the time for certain developmental milestones in children). Communication because many doctors are faulted for poor communication with their patients. Few are great in both technical and human (bedside manner) skills. Undergraduate years might be the time to explore those other dimensions of working with patients and their parents. This is beyond the scope of your question, I realize; and these are all courses you could take in either a public or private institutions. I will always be grateful to one of my kids’ pediatricians who diagnosed a vital health problem in ME because he had the wisdom to look outside of the file and stare at the mother’s face to realize there was a serious problem. “Baby’s fine, but YOU need to get these tests immediately…” and he was right. WOuldn’t you love to be that kind of humane pediatrician someday?? A course in art, poetry or music that stirs your soul is just as “relevant” to practicing medicine as other obviously relevant courses in the sciences. Enjoy your undergraduate years!</p>
<p>Compare the % of students at your top choice public & private that graduate within 4 years… in many cases, the public school turns out not to be an appreciably better bargain. Even for the serious and dedicated student, graduating from a large public university can be a chore, simply from the perspective of wading through the bureaucracy and getting into the courses you need.</p>