This is worth thinking about! The Bham airport is an hour drive, and can be significantly more expensive to fly into than Atlanta, which is about 3-3.5 hours away. Not sure how bad the Tulsa airport is.
I’ve heard no, but that’s more because of how insanely good it sounds on paper, not because the program is bad or anything. Still a great program. Main thing I’ve heard is the community and networking with professors is great, the seminars/classes not so much, but most think it’s worth it for the networking, both with peers and professors. Lets you meet likeminded people and find research opportunities more easily! I think nearly every McCullough scholar from last year (if not all of them) either got into med school or voluntarily took a gap year, which is incredible!
When I went, Tulsa itself was very fun and had an artsy vibe, but also hosts one of the biggest gun shows lol. Tuscaloosa is a typical southern medium sized town, relatively similar to my hometown. Not a ton to do or a ton going on, but you’re close enough to Birmingham if needed. I went for a Valentines date because our food scene is abysmal, and a lot of people go to shop or for concerts. Tulsa will probably have more varied influences because of more young professionals moving there than to Tuscaloosa, but both are in very red states.
I toured both schools and ultimately decided on Bama because Tulsa felt a little too small, and I was drawn to Alabama’s sports and student life. Also, while I’m sure the academics are comparable, no one had heard of Tulsa and assumed it was a local college type place, whereas everyone recognizes Bama as a state flagship. Being a state flagship, Bama has more research funding and different professors doing different types of research. However, I must say that Tulsa seems like a much more fun college town, and in hindsight, I may have liked the smaller school. McCullough should definitely help make Alabama feel smaller!!
For perspective, I got so annoyed when people told me this when I was a senior because I was sure I’d be a doctor. Now, sure enough, I’m no longer 100% set on being premed
I do think it took my daughter longer to acknowledge it as she too hated when people said - most premeds don’t go to med school. She also had to get through the year of organic chemistry so she knew that she COULD get through the prereqs. She didn’t want to be one of those premeds util orgo people. In hindsight she sees how ridiculous it all was, but she needed to forge her own path her own way. Keep exploring and find the right fit for you!
Just too add to the anecdotal information, my GD is doing data analysis for a medical technology company, and getting well paid for it. Meanwhile she is waiting to hear from med schools.
—Transportation: S25 would likely drive to Tuscaloosa—it’s about 6 hrs from here and he has a buddy he could carpool with. Tulsa is a 10 hr drive but pretty quick/easy/inexpensive by air. The Tulsa airport is clean and a short Uber away from campus.
—McCollough: While I find lots of rave reviews online for Witt Fellows and Randall Research, I can’t really find any for McCollough on social media—just “DM me if you want to know more about my experience.” Between that and what you said, Elise, it makes me feel like the program is likely just okay. And then what if he drops pre-med? I do like that he’s be starting off in a cohort though—but it’s pretty small (30-35 people).
—Size: He’s coming from a school of 800, so UTulsa will still be considerably bigger. And I think (hope?) he’ll find lots of stuff to do (hiking club, undergrad research challenge, honors program, study abroad) and people to be friends with. That said, I do worry that he’ll get bored as time goes on and the novelty of college wears off.
—Location: He liked the vibe and accessibility of Tulsa. He wasn’t keen on Tuscaloosa, so thanks for pointing out that Birmingham is another area he could explore!
—Name recognition: If I’m honest, that’s something I’ve considered, too, Elise! Everyone here in Kentucky knows Bama, but UTulsa? Not so much. If he goes to med school, I don’t think that’ll matter that much. If he doesn’t go to med school, I don’t know. I know so many great people who have amazing jobs who went to lesser known colleges here in Kentucky though!
Edited to add: That turned into more than a couple point.
Personally, I wouldn’t let name recognition stand in the way.
Tulsa is a fine school - historically where Rice turndowns might end up.
People tend to know schools based on sports - but you have zillions of top flight schools - from Washington & Lee to Colby and Bates to Macalester, etc. that likely few know either.
Even schools like Rice and Wash U, etc.
So while one school might be better for you than another, I wouldn’t make a decision based on name recognition. And Tulsa is definitely a known quality. That 1/4+ of their student body is NMF says a lot!! In the end, you will be on campus, four years, day after day. You want to be at the right place - assuming there is a right place.
As for McCullough - the curriculum seems pretty cool - mostly it’s medically focused electives.
I would definitely reach out and ask to speak to a student or two - and not rely on online reviews. The reason - the program is newer so they’re likely not there yet.
You might also ask for your son to speak to a recent alum.
We did the webinar for this program last year. If I remember correctly, the first 3 years are standard and the 4th is abroad. You return for year 5. While abroad you pay 1 semester at the regular tuition rate for the fall semester. In the spring while interning, you pay for 1 credit only, but also room/board. During the 5th year, you pay the fall semester (which is now your 8th semester of payments plus 1 credit). And to finish, the tuition for the final semester is free. So the extra cost over 4 years is 1 credit tution and 2 semesters of room/board.
Investigate the 100% med school placement claim. If true, then this should be given substantial weight in the decision making process.
Not sure that Birmingham, Alabama is an attraction as it has a very high violent crime rate. For exploration beyond Tuscaloosa, consider the Gulf Coast (Gulf of America) beach towns. (Gulf Shores is about 4.5 hours drive from UA as is Pensacola Beach, Florida. Two of the most beautiful beaches in the country).
Depends on what they want to do - Bham has lots to do - nature, city stuff, auto museum, etc. Lots of golf and nature nearby.
I’ve stayed downtown in both.
Here are the actual outcomes - not all seem MD - but I can’t 100% say it’s right or not but the the first says Masters…but I guess they are doing what they want to do.
I can’t find a whole lot of specific info that backs up that claim. And on closer look, it appears to be 100% post-grad acceptance rate of the kids that still remain in the program by senior year. For example, the class that entered in 2020 started with 18 kids. The 2024 press release says they had a “100% acceptance rate for medical and graduate school” and includes a photo of eight students and leaves it unclear how many of those went to med school vs grad school. (Both great options, of course!)
Not sure if you saw this on the bottom of the link i posted above. Might be another question for your son to ask - how many started (vs. finished).
In the end, i’m sure it’s a fine program - it should come down to, do they want to be at Tulsa or Bama - and they can get to both med school and / or a CS job at both i’m quite confident - if they deliver GPA, test (for med school), and otherwise…
It’s likely a heads you win, tails you win situation.
I toured UTulsa with my D24 her junior year - it is a beautiful campus and everyone was so friendly, it felt like it would be a very personalized experience and easy transition to adjust to college life away from home. It also has a heavy STEM focus with research opportunities. I left very impressed. My focus would be the ease of adjustment to college life, especially as a pre-med student needing to focus on grades. Since he found a great fit there during his visit, UTulsa would be my vote. Good luck!
This has been discussed in previous threads, and I could have sworn it was confirmed that the NMF package covered all five years, but I can no longer remember where that confirmation came from. Perhaps from @PresCarsonTulsa ?
Thank you! It looks like they provided more details for the group that graduated in 2023. That’s helpful! (A big congrats to those kids! ) And this conversation thread has really helped me feel confident that we can’t really make a wrong decision here—which relieves a lot of the mental load I was feeling!
That’s exactly the kind of visit my husband and son had a couple weeks ago—those are all the same things they said. That’s a great point about the adjustment to college life being important. Tulsa does a full week of orientation activities—which I think is awesome. He’d also likely do one of their JumpstartTU programs—week-long study abroad programs the summer before college to help kids bond and start the year off with shared positive experiences.
I am very jaded that any institution that says 100% med school acceptance rate and then says: “The McCollough Institute’s impact goes beyond just its exceptional medical school acceptance rate. Graduates of the program who are not going to medical school are pursuing diverse career paths, including law school, various healthcare-related employment opportunities and graduate studies.” annoys the crap out of me. It’s utterly misleading. It’s no different than the institutions who puff their stats by limiting who they’ll recommend.
) And this conversation thread has really helped me feel confident that we can’t really make a wrong decision here—which relieves a lot of the mental load I was feeling!