Is going to a T25 that great of a plan?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Hey,</p>

<p>I’m in the process of considering where I want to go for my undergrad studies, and I’ve been pondering about whether or not I should even apply to a T25. </p>

<p>Here are my pros to going there:
-The education quality will of course be MUCH better.
-Closer interaction with teachers
-Bragging rights :stuck_out_tongue: (wrong reason, but hey, its a plus)
-Great prospects in case I don’t get into med school
-Able to go into I-banking, which is something along with law I am considering as well.</p>

<p>Cons:
-Super Expensive, and may not be needed.
-May not get as good grades.
-Might get “scared” (as in being awed by so many geniuses that I may give up unconciously)</p>

<p>Although the cons are few, they’re things that I have to seriously consider. And I’m not talking about attending a HYPS because I know I won’t, but I’m thinking more along the lines of Emory or something for my T25, which is known for grade delation (correct me if I’m wrong). So what would you do if you were in my situation? Go for the top school, or go for a large public such as Texas-Austin or University of Washington-Seattle? </p>

<p>Also, does anyone know about the advising at these schools?</p>

<p>thanks</p>

2

<p>come on, anything would be great</p>

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<p>UW is cool…Med school and a hospital nearby. The pre-med advisors are helpful but not top-notch.</p>

<p>By the way…what is T25?</p>

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<p>top 25 …</p>

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<p>Well, I don’t know about that. The quality of the actual education as well as the interaction with teachers is, at best, only mildly correlated with the ranking of the school. Let’s be honest. There are a lot of profs at the top schools who are just terrible when it comes to actually teaching the subject. They’re great researchers, but terrible teachers. Moreover, many of them simply just don’t WANT to be good teachers. The truth is, being a good teacher doesn’t gain you much recognition in the world of academia. You are judged primarily on the quality of your research & publications, not the quality of your teaching. Hence, many profs at the top schools deliberately spend as little time as possible on their curricula and lecture notes, preferring to instead spend it on their research. </p>

<p>Moreover, when it comes to interaction with teachers, again, many profs at the top schools are simply not interested in interacting with their undergraduate students, preferring to spend their time on research. Many highly ranked schools but large schools like Berkeley, Michigan, UCLA, and the like are notorious for huge classes with limited personal interaction with profs. </p>

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<p>Oh, I don’t know about that. That generally seems to depend on your personal circumstances, notably your aid situation. I know people who have actually found that Harvard was their * cheapest * option once financial aid was factored in, as Harvard is notably generous and aggressive when it comes to financial aid. My brother received only minor merit aid offers from his state school, but got a full ride + stipend from Caltech. </p>

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<p>Again, this is questionable. If anything, I would argue that it may actually be EASIER to get good grades at many of the top schools. The truth is, many of the top schools, especially the Ivies as well as Stanford and other top privates, are grade inflated and therefore rarely give out truly bad grades. As long as you do the bare minimum of work, the worst you will probably get in a class is a ‘C’. Contrast that with many lower-ranked schools that will not hesitate to flunk you out. In fact, I would argue that a case could be made that you might easily end up with WORSE grades if you go to a lower-ranked schools. I know one person who transferred from a state school to Stanford and was laughing at how much easier it was for him at Stanford - that was actually getting * better * grades while doing * less * work. </p>

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<p>See above. I would argue that, if anything, you might be more scared at a lower-ranked school. Like I said, at one of the top-ranked schools, you stand a very good chance of getting quite decent grades even if you’re only in the middle of your class. Contrast that to what happens at many lower-ranked schools where good grades may be few and far between and where you need to outperform everybody in order to get one of those rare good grades.</p>

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<p>About the expensive part:
Most people, including myself, have no shot in hell at HYPS, which, I would agree, are generous. And even these schools are strictly need-based, so for most middle-class people, like myself, we are going to get screwed over on that. Other schools such as Northwestern, Duke, etc. are too competitive for me to get need-based aid.</p>

<p>Not get as good grades:
Sure there is a fair amount of grade inflation, but still, it depends on where you stand compared to everyone else. For example, at Duke, I’d fit into the lower 25% since my ACT = bottom 25%, and thus, especially in classes that are curved, I will have a MUCH lower grade than others. So lets say I put in a fair amount of work, I’ll still mostly end up with Bs, and finish college with around a 3.2-3.4, which is bad for med schools. So my med school career is already finished before it even started and I’m not going to med school, and I have a TON of debt now since I didn’t get any aid :(</p>

<p>correct me if I’m wrong on any of that</p>

7

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<p>Even if you have to pay full fare for a T25 school, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be paying that much (relatively speaking). Certain T25 schools such as Rice, are fairly cheap, even if you don’t get any financial aid. Going to a T-25-ranked public school such as Berkeley or Virginia may be eminently financially sensible if you’re a resident of that state and you don’t get any significant financial aid elsewhere. </p>

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<p>Well, let me put it to you this way. At least you would have graduated. There are plenty of people who attend lower-ranked schools * and flunk out *. Keep in mind that not everybody who goes to college will do well. Some people will flunk out. </p>

<p>This seems to be far less common at the top-ranked private schools. Let’s face it. At those schools, it is nearly impossible to actually flunk out. Even if you’re the worst student in your class, you will still pass, albeit with mediocre grades. Other schools, however, have no reservations about flunking you out. </p>

<p>I know a guy who went to a state school and flunked out who could have probably graduated if he had gone to an Ivy or other top private school. Yeah, he might have graduated at the bottom of his class. But at least he would have graduated. He chose to go to a lower-ranked state school in order to save money, and ended up with no degree at all. What’s worse?</p>