Need help deciding between MSU, College of William & Mary, Kenyon College and Grinnell College

College Search & Lists
1

Hello all,

Given the importance of GPA, MCAT score, reasearch opportunities, and recommendation letters to get into medical school. Please help our DS decide between the following 4 schools for which he has received acceptances for.

Would appreciate it if you can give this a thought and provide your recommendation with a reason.

DS Credentials:
GPA 3.3 in Magent school
National Merit Finalist

Here’s what each college/university has offered him so far:

  1. Michigan State University (State university): Accepted into Lyman Briggs college as Honor role student Research assistant for 2 years. After scholarships, costing upto upto 10K/year Distance ~ 5 hrs away
  2. Kenyon College (Liberal Arts college) After scholarships, costing up to 53K/year Distance ~ 6 hrs away
  3. Grinnell College (Liberal Arts college) After scholarships, costing up to 47K/year Distance ~ 7 hrs away
  4. College of William & Mary We are looking at out of state tuition, yet to receive merit scholarship Distance ~ 15 hrs away

Thanks in advance for your time and support.
Regards,
InfoRequest

2

I’m not sure there is a right answer here. To get into medical school, you will need to have a high GPA, high MCAT, and likely some relevant extracurriculars and experience. This is true regardless of where you go. First and foremost, you need to go to a school where you will be comfortable and thrive.

As I’m sure you know, these are different schools. Michigan State is very large, William and Mary is closer to midsized (although pretty small compared to MSU), and Kenyon and Grinnell are small midwestern LACs. I’d focus more on fit.

3

If you can afford them all without loans, then the latter becomes one of “fit”.

4

I am guessing that you got less merit from Kenyon and Grinnell than you hoped. If he actually goes to medical school, the extra $150k is a tough pill to swallow.

5

That being said, I’m from Grinnell (so I am biased) and our Med school acceptance is pretty high. Also, there’s a super active pre-med community here with lots of mentorship from alums in the medical field. If you can afford it, I’d say Grinnell or W&M, but if not MSU is fine. Also, if he’s fine with large, MSU is probably a better place. Grinnell is small and it’s all about community, so if he’s not looking for that close community, it probably wouldn’t be a great place for him. If he is looking for one-on-one mentorship in a small environment, there’s no place better than Grinnell.

6

@IzzoOne and @starjoy8, yes, overall, MSU is very large, but Lyman Briggs College, a residential college where freshman and many other LBC students live, and where program classrooms and faculty office are, holds around 1,900 students, tops. While it’s true up to half of LBC students’ classes are elsewhere on campus, the College is still LAC-like and a small home where student-faculty and student-student interaction is strong. LBC is challenging to begin with, but @InfoRequest’s DS’s admission into the Honors College would make his/her academics all the more challenging, as well as personal.

7

That $150k or so difference could make a significant reduction in medical school debt if the student does go to medical school.

However, most frosh pre-meds do get weeded out before applying, and more than half of medical school applicants get shut out. So the college and major need to be those that the student will be satisfied with graduating from in the non-medical-school case.

8

To me, Michigan State seems like the best option. It is a great school for the money, and in my opinion it would be wise to save the money on your undergrad, especially if you plan on going to Med school. You should have a great shot at med school acceptance from any of these schools, though, as long as you apply yourself and work hard.

In the end, however, you have to go with what feels right. If you use your brain, listen to your heart, and follow your gut, you will know what the right choice is. Good luck!

9

I somehow missed the price line first time. The price differential looks quite substantial (unless you got something quite good from W&M). I think this would favor MSU if it seems like a pretty good fit.