This is very important. Keep your eye on the goal. In this case the goal is being able to complete 8 years of university and graduate with your MD or DO. The last 4 of these years (medical school) are likely to be expensive. However, you can attend any one of at least several hundred universities and go on to medical school (assuming that you can afford medical school).
Of the long list of very good universities that you have already been accepted to, I doubt that it will make any significant difference which you attend in terms of your chances of getting accepted to medical school, or doing well once you get to medical school. Yes, some highly ranked universities do get a higher percentage of their graduates into medical school. However, a lot of this, and some might speculate all of this, comes from the consistent high caliber of students who start at those highly ranked universities.
Budget matters. Finding a school that is a good fit for you also matters.
However, you can come to the east coast for medical school, or you can first get your MD and then come to the east coast for residency.
UC Riverside is a very good university, with a very good premed program and a very good medical school (even if you might not be going there for medical school if your are from a different part of California).
The last three schools on your list are relatively reasonably priced, and are also very good. They are a long way from California. There will be travel costs. In the winter (such as around Christmas/New Year’s holiday) there will most likely be a few days when travel does not work out due to snow. We live in the northeast, and both daughters did have some trips to or from school put off by a day or two at some point.
I do not think that I would spend anything more than the price of UC Riverside. It sounds like you have a few very good options that are in fact slightly less than this. These are the schools I would choose from.
I visited SBU ( normal tour)and Hofstra (admitted student day) They have a Nor Cal reception this week and I am planning to go to that as well. I am not particularly interested in Midwest/south . My older sibling in NYC. That’s not the main reason though
Thank you. My sibling went to school in NY and now lives there. That’s not the main reason I want to go to the east coast but I am somewhat familiar with all the travel issues etc. so I am considering all that. I think I prefer small class sizes and being able to discuss with professors etc but don’t know if I should put any weight on that. I probably would be ok with large classes of UCs
Clark and Hofstra seem like your best choices to me given your desires. Clark will feel overall more residential. It’s also quite a bit smaller if you prefer that.
Hofstra will give you access to the city and family. It is, however, a commuter school, so the campus will feel quite a bit less lively on the weekends. You can, of course, join them in not being on campus and go to visit your sibling occasionally as well.
“Demonstrated commitment to practice medicine in Inland Southern California” is one of the criteria for the UCR medical school early assurance program.
It is likely that those from or with significant ties to that area are more likely to be able to demonstrate that level of interest.
An important consideration: how would each school be for you if you do not go to medical school? Most entering frosh premeds do not even apply eventually, and only 40% of those who do get any admission.
Technically, students do not have to be from the Inland Empire area to apply, but in recent years only 2 students not from the IE have been accepted.
The Haider program actively selects for students who have demonstrated a commitment to staying and practicing medicine in the IE. First gen, low income and URM applicants get special consideration for acceptance.
My daughter is a UDel honors graduate, can’t say enough great things about this school. Beautiful campus, great Main Street, very happy students with school spirit, great location (hour to the beach, 1 1/2 to Philadelphia, 2 hours to nyc, 3 hours to DC). My daughter was a health science major so pre-med classes. She got into every DPT program she applied to and got her doctorate at Boston University in May. She graduated UDel in 3 years, they accepted all 9 of her AP classes. Her first choice was Villanova but not the price tag. Her friend who was salutatorian of their class was a DuPont scholar so it was pretty inexpensive. We are from NJ so merit was needed to go oos.
Don’t go into debt. That’s the most important piece of advice I can give you.
Medical school is expensive. And, as a CA resident attending an OOS college, you’re at a big disadvantage for admission to one of the CA public med schools. You should probably assume you will need to go OOS for med school.
Going OOS for med school means you’ll likely be attending a private med school ($$$) or an OOS public where you’ll be paying the high OOS tuition costs ($$$).
So don’t borrow money to pay for undergrad. Save as much of your 529 as you can to help pay for med school.
Pick a school where you will be happy to attend.
Don’t pick a school just because you think will be good for pre-med. Find a school where you’re genuinely glad to be there. Your life is only so long and you’ll never get a chance for “do over” for your college years. You don’t want to be miserable for 4 years.
Attending a large state U is not the kiss of death for pre-med aspirations.
You don’t automatically get to know your professor better just because the class size is smaller. You have to make the effort. Go to office hours. Ask thoughtful questions during class. Actively seek out chances to interact with your instructors. Do well in the class. (Professors tend to remember their top students.) You can do this at a big school or a smaller school.
Bigger universities offer more opportunities for students to get involved in research labs.
Bigger schools will offer a greater breadth of courses and activities. This may be important because the vast majority of freshmen pre-meds never actually apply to med school. Most change their minds along the way. They change their minds not just because of the tough classes they need to take, but from being exposed to other careers that are a better fit with their interests and abilities.
If you know the story of both my daughters, then you know it really doesn’t matter much where you go to undergrad if you want to go med school.
Becoming a viable med school candidate is a responsibility that rests squarely on your shoulders. You can do it at UCR or UR. Or at any of the schools on your list.
Since you already know that you want an advanced degree, I do think your priority should be to minimize any debt in undergrad. Remember that especially for doctors, in addition to the pile of med school debt, unlike many careers you may immediately have the costs of liability insurance depending on the type of medicine you practice. Don’t dig too deep of a hole.
My D28 is two years behind you, but we are already having that same conversation. Even with two other siblings in college, your family’s income is high so while you can seek need based aid, it’s unlikely. I know it may not seem high living in the Bay Area, but to my knowledge colleges aren’t factoring in regional COL in evaluating that income.
Take the least costly option and focus on maximizing your gpa to set yourself up for med school acceptances.
Some do. (UCD, UCR, UCSF) Other don’t officially….. but if you look at where the incoming students come from, nearly all of them are UC grads.
One of the issue is there are just so many qualified CA med school applicants. So many that every single public and private med school seat in California could be filled with UCB applicants alone and still have UCB applicants left over.
Adcomms won’t rule you simply because you attended an OOS university, but adcomms also won’t be as familiar with the rigor of an OOS college’s program or the strength of an OOS letter writer’s endorsement. Because you’re an unknown quantity, you need to have an application that makes you stand out for them to take a second look at you.
Not answering the question - but I found this for UCR (not the schools). It’s amazing how localized it is and how - hmmmm - maybe someone from $$ is at a disadvantage….or maybe just less interested in medicine.
