<p>Which school is better for Pre-Med and more supportive to pre medical students…University of Colorado Boulder or University of Alabama Tuscaloosa?? </p>
<p>I got accepted to both schools and am looking for the best positively influencing pre med environment at which to study. </p>
<p>Alabama seems to have a bunch of pre med resources and such like Pre-Med frat, Pre-Med living and learning community dorms, and such. </p>
<p>While University of Colorado Boulder offers the specialized dorms that offers students the ability to enjoy taking classes in their dorm as well as live with people taking the same courses and such, but doesn’t seem to have a pre med frat and specified pre med dorms, which Alabama has. </p>
<p>If anyone knows more in depth about each of these schools pre-med programs and their success, pros and cons, and such please let me know and give me all the information you could possible share about this topic because I am torn between both schools.</p>
<p>Pre-med committee was crucial in my D’s acceptance to Med. Schools. Specifically, the most significant was timely process. We did not investigate UG from this prospective, we had no idea, just pure luck.</p>
<p>I do not know anything about these UG’s. Just pointing to something very important. I am not sure how you would know, except for getting an input from medical students accepted from each of these UG. </p>
<p>Other resources could be found probably at any UG, even at those that do not have Medical Schools (example - D’s UG).</p>
<p>My son is Pre-med at Bama and is doing very well. Yes, there are supportive pre-med clubs to participate in. </p>
<p>Pre-med advising is very good. Bama also does Committee Letter packages, practice interviews, etc. There are two levels of pre-med advising. The first level is for frosh/soph and the second level is for juniors/seniors. </p>
<p>My son just got back from Nicaragua where he spent a week helping with exams, giving shots, and observing surgeries. He loved every minute of it. He went with an organized group of doctors and Bama students. </p>
<p>According to Bama’s pre-med advising…Bama’s pre-med students with at least a MCAT 29 and a 3.6 GPA (science and cum) have about an 85% chance for admittance to a MD med school. The admit rate for Bama OOS students is even higher in their own state’s ned schools. (Again, this is for MD admit rate…does not include DO or overseas schools).</p>
<p>I don’t know anyone personally who has been a pre-med at UC. (Atmospheric physics, econ, architecture, creative writing, but no pre meds… Also know a number of people who live in Boulder.) I can you tell some general info about the school and town.</p>
<p>According the 2009 data (most recent available), 73% of pre meds with 3.6 GPA and 30 MCAT were accepted into medical school. [Note: one of the reasons for the relatively low admit rate is that most pre meds are CO residents trying to get into Colorado SOM, which is a very competitive.]</p>
<p>CO has a very strong bio dept with an international reputation for excellence. It’s funding is strong and there are plenty of research opportunities for undergrads. (I know people in grad school there for bio and biochem.)</p>
<p>Colorado SOM is in Denver, not Boulder, but there is regularly scheduled transportation between the 2 campuses. (It’s a hour or less depending on traffic.) Boulder Community Hospital is 5 minutes from campus and allows pre meds to volunteer there.</p>
<p>UC is a pretty campus in a gorgeous location. Boulder is in the heart of the Rocky Mtns. Major ski resorts 30 minutes from campus. Hiking, kayaking, mountain and road cycling all within minutes. Boulder is a friendly, interesting town–funky, hip, alternative and very green in philosophy.</p>
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<p>On an entirely different note----UC is not especially known for offering generous FA pkgs to OOS students. Please read your FA pkg carefully. If you are seriously considering medical school in your future, you need to minimize your undergrad debt.</p>
<p>On an entirely different note----UC is not especially known for offering generous FA pkgs to OOS students. Please read your FA pkg carefully. If you are seriously considering medical school in your future, you need to minimize your undergrad debt.</p>
<p>Good question. Are these schools affordable?</p>
<p>Thank you so much guys for your responses =D all this information is very helpful and useful
More responses will be greatly appreciated too especially from people that know these specific schools. </p>
<p>CU having a prestigious biology department, can this help much? </p>
<p>And whats better, being in a “pre med” dorm and having the support of a pre med frat or being in a dorm that you can attend class in and collaborate with dorm mates?(iam not sure if CU has a pre med specified frat)? any resolution to this question would be great </p>
<p>MiamiDAP=Ya seems like having good pre med promoting groups such as the pre med committee can help a lot. Ya i guess but i dont really know any </p>
<p>Mom2collegekids=Wow that sounds amazing and ya Alabama seems like they offer a lot of Pre med support and organizations that help towards the pursuit of medical school. And I hope i could have the opportunity to do such a incredible event And thanks for those stats and info </p>
<p>WayOutWestMom=Thanks for that link btw I took a look at it and it was useful. Ohh ya true, but how many people apply to Colorado SOM? Thats interesting thanks. Ohh alright. Yes it is I love it, but ya the price is also a factor so </p>
<p>Well ya that is a good question. I got my estimated financial package and it was $13000 in grants, $1800 student loan, $5000 in interest free student loans and my parents got $29000 in parent loans. Assuming that I can make up $24,000 of $42,000 with the grants and some minor work pay and such then there would be 18,000 left to pay and my parents could possibly pay 10,000-15,0000. But the $42,0000 school price would only be for the first year and then i would try for in-state tuition. So :/? </p>
<p>Any input from anyone about any of this would be greatly greatly greatly appreciated?
And just wondering…What school would you guys pick based upon the information you know about these schools?</p>
<p>Considering both are big state schools, I bet they’re pretty similar in terms of overall experience. Plus, you have to realize that your college experience is primarily what you make it. That said, if I were in your shoes I wouldn’t hesitate at all to choose the one that is the least expensive. Medical school is tremendously expensive, so taking on considerable debt from your undergrad degree is pretty financially irresponsible if you have serious aspirations to attend medical school. Even if you don’t end up in medical school, minimizing your educational debt/loans is a good idea.</p>
<p>It’s unlikely that either program is so vastly superior to the other that it outweighs the financial considerations which should be at the top of your list. </p>
<p>I chose to pick the least expensive place possible for my undergrad degree, and made it a point to do everything I could to make my experience as worthwhile as possible. I’m proud of the things I’ve done and don’t feel like I missed out at all, and I can’t wait to be a medical student next year. Good luck!</p>
<p>You’re probably only going to live in the dorms for your freshman year. You’re probably going to be taking mostly gen-eds or easy prereqs during your freshman year. Most of the meaningful premed stuff you’ll do will be during your sophomore and junior years, so choosing a school based on freshman dorms probably isn’t the best strategy. If you’d go to that school anyway (if it’s the least expensive, in my opinion) then certainly having this reslife opportunity would be a plus. But in my opinion, not a reason to choose a school.</p>
<p>Another thing to keep in mind is that organizations like pre-med societies, pre-med clubs, pre-med fraternities, and honors fraternities are typically used as a way to figure out how to get involved on campus and in the community. They tend to hold a few one-day-long service events, host panel discussions with medical students, and participate in lots of campus activities. Their work is often broad and generic, but they’re great for exposing you to different resources on your campus. They’re going to be full of freshman (which is great–their primary purpose is to help you become a good premed), but they’re probably not the type of activity you’ll really stick with throughout college (unless you pick up a major leadership role), and once you get around to applying, you might not even list your involvement in them (I didn’t).</p>
<p>You will NOT get instate tuition at UC after 1 year unless you and your parents are moving to CO now. </p>
<p>Below is UC’s residency qualification definition:</p>
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<p>You’ll find similar or stricter policies at all other public universities.</p>
<p>And frankly, $29,000/yr in Parent Plus loans is way too much in loans. Your parents would need to take out over $110,000 in loans to pay for your UG schooling! That’s crazy!</p>
<p>If money were not a consideration, both my Ds would pick UC over UA in a heartbeat–but mostly because of personal preferences. They’re westerners and big time outdoor sports enthusiasts. (Climbers, hikers, cyclists) And they’ve both been to Boulder and absolutely love the town.</p>
<p>Take it from me. If you are planning on going to medical school, do not go to an oos state school. I did that at Chapel Hill and even though I graduated with a 3.9, good MCATS, research,etc-they gave me no more preference than any other out of stater. Plus my own state med school was acting like-why didn’t you go here to begin with for undergrad?</p>
<p>*Well ya that is a good question. I got my estimated financial package and it was $13000 in grants, $1800 student loan, $5000 in interest free student loans and my parents got $29000 in parent loans. Assuming that I can make up $24,000 of $42,000 with the grants and some minor work pay and such then there would be 18,000 left to pay and my parents could possibly pay 10,000-15,0000. But the $42,0000 school price would only be for the first year and then i would try for in-state tuition. So :/? </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Which school gave you that package?</p>
<p>I’m not even sure if I understand what you’ve written. What is the $42k?</p>
<p>kristin5792=Ya thats probably true haha. Thanks. But people seem to regard CU as the more superior university compared to UA academically. And yah I think the RAP dorm program would probably be better then the pre med dorms due to the fact that you can get more use out of the program because theres more classes that involve the program, most likely unlike the pre med dorms. And yes the orginizations and stuff I guess probably holds true to that too even though it would be kinda nice…I probably would only need to really have to use the pre med advisors mainly. </p>
<p>WayOutWestMom=Well no we wouldnt need to use the $29,000 parent loans, my parents would just have to cover the extra like 14,000ish in tuition left over that I couldnt cover. Ya thats the same with me I love all that and especially snowboarding! </p>
<p>Futureholds=I mean well if I got into a good Florida school then I would stay instate but i didnt and I rather go to a better out of state school even if It costs me a little or a lot more money, as long as It doesnt put me in too much debt or anything. </p>
<p>WayOutWestMom=Ehh ya thats ok but I think I would rather go back to florida after undergrad and do my medical school in Florida because theres a lot of good medical schools in Florida. </p>
<p>mom2collegekids=Florida. University of Colorado. 42k in tuition. The financial aid lady said I could by proving that I pay for my tuition independently. </p>
<p>But about the Instate tuition, the financial aid lady that me and my dad talked to said that I could try to get instate tuition if I “Showed that I am financially independent, by proving that I have to pay for school all on my own.” And she also said that you can get around this by having your parents secretly giving you the extra money you need to pay for school. Haha sounds a little crazy but thats what she said.</p>
<p>Sorry austin–it’s bit more complicated for that. The UC lady vastly oversimplified things. D2’s ex-BF attends a Colorado state university. He tried to get in-state residency status, but has been repeatedly denied. (And he even <em>bought</em> a house in his college town on which he pays property taxes and lives in 10-12 months/yr.)</p>
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<p>Additionally, you may not be claimed as a dependent on your parents’ tax return for at least 1-2 years before you petition for resident status.</p>
<p>You may not be included on any of your parents’ medical or car insurance policies. </p>
<p>You may be asked to prove your sources of financial support–including producing bank records to show you have sufficient monies in the bank to pay your own tuition. If your bank record shows large cash infusions from your parents’ bank, then you’re not self supporting and will not be considered for residency.</p>
<p>And if you do succeed in being coming a CO resident, you have surrendered your FL residency and will not be considered a FL resident when applying to medical school.</p>
<p>…ohhh well then… its seems impossible to get instate for me then…And a little to ridiculous. Hmm… Idk this is depressing… I am not sure what I can or am gonna do… because the plan was to get instate after the first year… And now we would have to pay $18,000 a year about… Hmmm Is the amazing University of Colorado environment like snowboarding and all the possible things to do around CU and the college itself worth the $18,000? compared to Alabamas (estimated) $10,000ish tuition? :/</p>
<p>Ugh wow thats so complicated and such a hassle and so frustrating haha… I dont understand why schools have to classify tuition as out of state and instate… its so dumb.</p>
<p>Is this not obvious to you? It’s because people who are in-state pay taxes in order to have the benefit of a university. Non-state residents don’t pay those taxes and therefore make it up by paying higher tuitions.</p>
<p>mom2coll…
" MCAT 29 and a 3.6 GPA " - based on on D’s applying this cycle, should not be a goal. Shoot for 3.8+ / 33+ and apply to wide range of Med. Schools. Medical EC’s are about the same for each applicants, there are stand outs, but it is not very clear how it plays out. Numbers are much more solid data to rely and some schools will not invite to interview unless applicant is above their cut. Interview skills are important but as long as kid is not an antisocial hermit, he should be just fine.</p>
<p>Iam not politician or whatever but people pay taxes in every state and I dont understand why they cant just take the taxes or whatever from florida and just credit them to another out of state school or whatever… </p>
<p>MiamiDAP=Wow a 3.8+ and a 33+ on the mcat? Those are pretty tough goals ha.</p>
<p>"Iam not politician or whatever but people pay taxes in every state and I dont understand why they cant just take the taxes or whatever from florida and just credit them to another out of state school or whatever… "</p>
<p>-First, it is not state’s responsibility to take care of all of that, governments are taking care of too much already, way overlown and in desparate need to be cu by some 90% (IMO).
No, 3.8+/33+ are not tough unrealistic goals, they are reasonable and much closer to the middle than you believe at this point. Consider that only about 43% get accepted to any Med. School, while most apply to very many (D. has met one applicant who has applied to most American Med. Schools although it takes huge amount of $$ and unbelivable time. Applying to about 30 is not that unusual). And remeber you should have this goal of 3.8/33 while being busy with various EC’s, including job, shadowing, volunteering, Research Lab internship, many people travel abroad, most are having minor(s) or double/triple majors (the last is not needed at all, but many have various interests outside of science and want to pursue them at college), Greek (again by choice) and having fun during weekends.</p>
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And thanks for those stats and info 
I dont understand why schools have to classify tuition as out of state and instate… its so dumb.</p>