<p>I personally would take Ohio State.</p>
<p>Not only do you have the school itself, but you have OSU Medical Center where you can build relationships with doctors if you choose to shadow them and with other people who work there if you choose the time to do so. With the extensive expansion and such going on, it’s the best hospital in Ohio - and it’s basically on campus. The amount of money OSU has for research is completely endless too. Get involved EARLY, do it for all four years, and it will help you. Look at some profiles of people who have gotten into top medical schools, and their extracurriculars, and you’ll know the path you need to be on in terms of GPA, EC’s, clinical shadowing, and MCAT scores.</p>
<p>There’s no committee at OSU but it just goes to show that like at most big state schools, there’s no hand holding. </p>
<p>The vast amounts of resources that are available at the school are numerous, I’m going to be Pre-Med at OSU in the Fall, and I can tell you that if you’re dogged and resourceful, OSU is going to do great things for you - there’s kids from there that have gone onto great med schools (HMS, for example) but it’s all about what you accomplish, not what is handed to you. You have to seek out the professors to build relationships, you have to do the research about what extracurriculars and classes to take, and be dogged in making sure you get everything you can out of the experience. It’s completely possible to get a good LOR if you take the time to go to office hours and get involved with research with professors you’re interested in your freshman year. Question and challenge your advisors to meet your interests. It’s totally possible to do great things there, a lot of people just don’t seek out the resources. At private schools, it’s more “handed” to you, whereas you have to seek out at OSU. That’s the bigger difference. You’re probably the best judge of which type matches your personality.</p>