Premed Need Help Choosing a University

Compare College Acceptances
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Hi there!

I am a premed student looking to choose a university that would provide the best resources for prepping my med school application, provides the most opportunities for collecting clinical and research, and easier to get a high GPA at.

So I got into the following colleges and with these prices -

GW - 42k - Cognitive Science

Pitt - 56k Public Heath

Hofstra - 28k Health Science with a minor in Health Law

Penn State - Premed 60k

U Conn - Cog Sci 61k

JMU - Psych 36k

VCU - Bioinfomatics - 13k

Rutgers - Public Health - 68k

U Minn Twin - 43k

Considering these acceptances, I would really appreciate any advice on which school would be the best.

U Minn Twin v Pitt v GW v Case Western
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How about statistically it’s unlikely you will go to med school so finding the school best for you - that you’ve decided. Why ?

  1. If you’re happier, it’s likely you’ll do better
  2. If you decide like many/most that med school is not for you, you’ll be at a happy place
  3. All the extras - can be done anywhere - yes some easier than other

So first start with budget Can you afford 4 years of medical school ($400k+) and four years above (those #s are without annual inflation).

If no, you have to look strongly at cost you can federally borrow only $200k for undergrad + med school. So can you afford both?

If you later decide med is out and can want to do a Masters, that # is $100k. That’s undergrad and grad - that’s it.

So that’s question #1. Now all these school send kids to med school you might contact admissions at each and ask them to connect you with a pre med student ambassador so you can ask questions. But you are not precluded from med school by choosing one vs the other.

GW barely has a campus Pitt is urban. Uconn is more isolated. So where do you belong. Yes Pitt is a medical powerhouse But U.S. it worth $175k more than VCU - which if money is an issue, will buy you 1.5-2 years of med school tuition. Your major is different there - does it interest you ?

There’s no wrong choice here but likely one or two might stand out better for you personally.

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There is NO college that is going to prep you for completing your medical school applications. That’s on you.

The required courses for medical school applicants will be the same difficulty regardless of where you go to college. Simply put…there aren’t easy OChem courses.

Most colleges do not place students in shadowing situations, and they don’t arrange patient facing jobs, and they don’t set up volunteer opportunities. But these would be available at any of the colleges you have listed.

Research is fine if you get it, but it is not required at most medical schools. Is there a specific reason why you want to do research?

Are you able to fund these undergrad schools without federally funded loans? Keep in mind, the new total limit is $200,000 and that also includes any federally funded undergrad loans. Med school (should you get there) will likely cost $100,000 per year.

Please choose an affordable college that you can see yourself at for four years, and where you will be happy. Happy students get better grades, and you will need those…from your work…not because the courses are easy.

I am not meaning to be critical here…but these are the realities, IMHO.

Congratulations on lots of great acceptances.

@WayOutWestMom what did I miss?

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You don’t need your undergrad institution, or indeed the area where that institution is physically located, to be where you do your clinical and volunteer experiences. It can be a convenience but it is not at all a necessity.

You do need it to be where you do your courses and get your grades. And you are right to think about doing well. The problem is these classes are pretty standardized and hard anywhere.

So . . . choose somewhere you are relatively well-prepared, but then otherwise where you are likely to be happy overall. Because generally happy people tend to do better in school.

Finally, make sure you have a realistic financial plan that takes you all the way through your medical education. For most families, saving on college so as to have more available for med school is a concrete benefit.

And it remains a concrete benefit even if you decide not to go to medical school. Which is what ends up happening with most people who start premed even at the most selective “good for premed” sort of colleges.

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I would consider finances, especially given the new student loan structure and cost of medical school. I would also consider where you would be happy for 4 years. Your success will depend on you and what you take advantage of- not whether you choose Rutgers over GW (for example).

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Research is not required, but some research exposure is expected for traditional pre-meds. (those who take all/most of their pre-reqs in undergrad and plan to apply within 2-3 years of graduation). But research is 4th or 5th down the list of importance for pre-med ECs. Patient-facing experiences and community service are much more important than research–even if you plan to to apply to research-intensive medical schools.

See the FAQs about pre-med ECs–
https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/faq-pre-med-extracurricular-activities/3702805/8

My $0.02–take pre-med out of the equation.

Which school offers you the best cost, best fit and best breadth of opportunities, including the opportunities to study something beside pre-med.

(Depressing fact: only 17-18% of freshmen pre-meds actually finish all their pre med coursework, Between half and 3/4th of those who finish the pre-reqs have a GPA strong enough to apply to med school. Of those who actually apply, only 40% get an acceptance.)

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As @WayOutWestMom has correctly pointed out, the very large majority of students who start university thinking “premed” end up doing something else. Some cannot keep up a “medical school worthy” GPA in the tough premed classes. However some students, including some students who maintain very high GPAs in tough premed classes, just decide that they want to do something else. You will be exposed to a lot of opportunities in university, and may very well find other opportunities that are right for you.

One big question therefore is: Which of these schools, and which of the possible majors that you have been accepted into, would provide the most likely “plan B”? Of course all of the schools that you have listed are very good for many different majors, which might make this a difficult question to answer.

Another issue is that if you do stick with medical school as the goal, 8 years of university are very expensive. You do not want to borrow the cost of medical school as debt, and it is not completely clear whether it will be possible for you to borrow the full cost of medical school. As such keeping some college money in the bank or 529 plan is a good idea if you want to keep alive the option of ever making it to medical school. To keep medical school open as an option you should budget for 8 years of university. If you decided to do something else, the money you save may still turn out to be useful. As another answer has already suggested a master’s degree is for example a possibility for multiple possible “plan B” options, and master’s degrees are usually not funded.

I have consistently heard that students in very good MD and DO programs come from “all over the place” (an exact quote from a doctor I know). One daughter who took a slightly different path and is now a veterinarian has said the same thing. The other students in her DVM program came from a huge range of undergraduate colleges and universities. Our other daughter who is studying for a biomedical-related PhD has said the same thing. I can see where other students in her program got their bachelor’s degree and again it is all over the place.

And students are likely to do better when attending a university that is a good fit for them. Of course what is a good fit for you and what was once a good fit for me are likely to be two completely different things. This leads to the question: Have you been able to visit at least a few of your top choice schools?

The good news is that you are comparing 9 very good universities. Congratulations on getting this very good list of acceptances!

It is also not completely unheard of for a student to get into a research lab, discover that they love it, and not want to leave. I think that it is good to get some research experience partly to find out whether or not this is right for you.

I would take the cost of attendance into consideration unless your family can support the full cost of your bachelor’s degree plus another at least $400,000 for medical school without taking on much debt. I would at least try to keep the total debt for all 8 years down to $200,000 if possible, and if not then try to save money now in picking an undergraduate school rather than hope to save money by picking an affordable medical school – getting any medical school acceptance at all is difficult enough.

Unfortunately we are not telling you which of these very good universities to attend. Hopefully we are giving you something to think about.

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Please keep your posts on topic. This thread is comparing the acceptances listed in the OP. If you would like to discuss other schools, in the US or other countries, it would be more appropriate to start your own thread. Thank you for your understanding.

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Take medical school out of the picture. Do you like rural? Urban? What can your family afford, keeping in mind that you might be in med school or some type of grad school? Do you prefer a well defined campus? How do you feel about a big school with a bus system? Is there a school you prefer, or one that you don’t think you do?

A school like Pitt is in a walkable city with a very good bus system. UConn is very rural- do you need a car or can you get to a volunteer opportunity without one (I don’t know the answer)?

Which school is a better fit for you socially? Have you spoken to students at these schools? Have you visited?

Have you spoken to students about their experience regarding research?

I would take med school off the table right now and figure out which school you like and can comfortably afford. Opportunities are available at all of these schools. As far as gpa- you will need to put in the work, study, go to office hours etc. The work is intense, and the reality is that some students might find it “easier” than others.

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I agree…for now, take medical school and put it on the back burner. You can apply to medical school after undergrad from any of these colleges. Really!

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I recommend VCU for several reasons. First, it is one of the most affordable options, allowing you to complete four years of school at a significantly lower cost than a “brand-name” institution. Second, the undergraduate campus is directly adjacent to and integrated with the VCU Medical Center in downtown Richmond, making clinical and research opportunities highly accessible.

Even if you decide to pursue a different career path, VCU still offers a strong, high-quality education. Several of my friends’ children have graduated from VCU and gone on to successful careers ranging from medicine to software development.

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I would suggest picking the school with a price in mind. Stay on the cheaper side.
I will also comment on two schools on your list.

  1. Penn State. Very expensive and limited options to build resume because it is completely in the middle of nowhere.
  2. Pitt. Also expensive but located in an area with multiple opportunities to build resume. Also, I have heard of huge weed-out in the science classes (happens everywhere but that college is known for that)

I vote for VCU :-).

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