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<p>Sadly, your parents are misinformed. Prestige of undergraduate institution has very little to no bearing on med school admission chances. It might hypothetically matter if you’re comparing a candidate from an ivy to a candidate from Podunk U with the same GPA, but even then I am hesitant to say that it would really make a difference. However, I can say with certainty that in this case, the slight difference in prestige between Pitt and UNC would have ZERO bearing on medical school admission chances. Hands-down THE most important factors are grades and MCAT score, followed by clinical experience, research experience, and extracurriculars. At either institution, you’ll have ample opportunities to become involved with research as an undergraduate. Pitt is a veritable mecca for gaining clinical experience. I’m sure that clinical experiences abound at UNC, too. I’m going to go ahead and anticipate your parents’ next assertion: UNC will do a better job of preparing you for the MCAT. This one’s also false. The only person who can prepare you for the MCAT is you. The basic science curricula are pretty much the same everywhere, especially in the case of established schools like Pitt and UNC. A respectable MCAT score is primarily attained by substantial independent preparation.</p>
<p>Given that both institutions would allow you to do what you need to do to gain a highly-coveted med school acceptance, the only difference I can perceive between the two is cost. And I think you’d be <em>extremely</em> foolish to turn down a full ride when you’re potentially going to be faced with hundreds of thousands of dollars of medical school debt. Plus, you can always add that full tuition scholarship as a line under the Honors/Awards section on your resume and medical school application. That’s actually something that medical schools WILL care about.</p>