<p>“she doesn’t really know for sure if she’s going to med school so maybe she should go to a more prestigious (expensive) college.”
-The logic is in reverse actually. If one considers Med. School, then UG that they attend is NOT a factor at all. The Med. School adcoms are looking for the very high college GPA = 3.6+ (min. , there are stories of 3.5 not getting into Med. school), decent MCAT score, medically related ECs and somewhat social personality. Med. Schools DO NOT CARE what UG applicant attended. So, again, the logic in reverse, choosing the cheapest UG (for a aspecific student) has great advantages as it frees family funds for the Medical School. Yes, there are free or cheaper versions of Med. Schools, but the chances are that applicant will not have them as a choice.
My D. choose in-state public UG where she was on full tuition Merit award. She received a large Merit from one private but they did not accept her to the bs/md program, and this acceptance was her criteria #1. So, not only we did not pay tuition for her UG, but she had a guaranteed spot at Med. School after graduation. As she felt that she may try somewhere else, she applied to few other Med. Schools and had a great selection at the end. She was ready to choose the cheapest again, but we told her that because of her very wise decision for the UG, we will pay for her Med. School and we urged her not consider the price at all. This situation made her free to choose the best place for herself, not the cheapest one. She actually happen to choose the most expensive and has been happy so far, graduates from Med. School next year.
But she should like her UG, she should be able to feel that she can spend 4 most important years of her life there.</p>