Good in the sense teaching, faculty, research, volunteering in Hospital, shadowing etc…
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any can get you there. So it comes down to cost and fit. Which is the most affordable? Which campus could you call “home” for 4 years?
btw: which Loyola? Chicago, I presume.
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yes Chicago
A Jesuit education is fantastic, but much different than the large state publics that you have listed. Is Loyola comparable in net expenses? Are you instate for any of the publics?
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There are good and bad instructors at all 4 universities. There are research opportunities at all 4 universities. All 4 universities have an associated med school. (Carle SOM is located within walking distance of the main UIUC campus. UW SOM is adjacent to the UW main campus. Carver SOM is adjacent to the University of Iowa main campus. Stritch SOM is about 20 miles/1 hour via car or public transit from Loyola’s main campus.)
Volunteering in the associated hospital or doing research with professor associated with a particular med school does NOT convey any advantage in getting accepted to the med school.
Hospital volunteering can be done anywhere, including during summers at home or elsewhere. (Also “hospital volunteering” doesn’t necessary need to be done at a hospital. It can be done at doctors’ offices, public health clinics, stand alone surgery/cancer treatment/women’s health center, nursing homes, hospice centers, etc. In fact, prospective med students would be smart to see a variety of different practice settings since not all doctors work at hospitals)
Same for shadowing. It doesn’t have to be done in a hospital or during the school year. (Pre meds are often advised to start their shadowing by asking to shadow their own primary care physician.)
Becoming a strong med school applicant rests solely within the control of the student. Opportunities are available everywhere. It’s on the student to seek them out.
Choose the school that offers the best combination of fit, affordability and opportunities.
Fit because happier students do better academically
Affordability because med school is already $100K/year at many locations and there is preciously little FA for med school except loans, loans and more loans or the Bank of Mom & Dad. Pre-meds are strongly advised to minimize any undergrad loans.
Opportunities include: the opportunities to explore interests and careers other than medicine (because research shows only about 16.5% of freshmen pre-med actually finished all the med school pre-reqs. Of those that finish and apply, <40% get an acceptance.) the opportunity to develop relationships with their professors (who will be writing LORs for grad or professional schools and for internships) the opportunities to meet and interact with individual who come from a wide range of backgrounds different from the student, including religious, ethnic, racial, socio-economic, cultural differences (because college is time to learn and grow as individual and because medical professionals will have patients who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and beliefs.)
tl;dr all 4 are fine for pre-med. Pick the one that offers the best combo of fit, affordability and opportunity
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In state to UIUC but got rejected in transfering to Sophomore DD is rising sophomore we are appealing to UIUC after the 2nd semester Grades come out
Is there a typo in this response? I’m having trouble understanding what you are saying.
Is this student a transfer or a first year college student?
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Transfer to sophomore
So your student is currently a college freshman who wants to transfer someplace else for their sophomore year of college?
Is your student currently attending a community college? If they are attending a four year college, why do they need to transfer?
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Maybe I’m wrong, but from what you have written, you are illinois residents. These other out of state public universities are going to be expensive. Are they affordable?
Did your student apply to any of the other public universities in Illinois (I say this as a proud masters degree recipient from Western Illinois University).
As noted above, the required courses for medical school can be taken at just about any four year college…arts conservatories excluded.
So…if your student is currently at an affordable four year college….why do they need to transfer at all?
ETA…has this student been accepted to UW Madison, U Iowa, or Loyola Chicago? And are they affordable options?
Your student wasn’t deferred or put on a waitlist for UIUC…they were rejected.
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How do you appeal a rejection?
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Due to Extenuating circumstances it was rough first semester, victim and survivor it was traumatic, due to which gpa was low about 3 her High School GPA was 4.0 also AP classes and good ACT score. Dont want to stay in the same 4 year University it was in out of State, Tuition is not an issue for us we can pay out of state UIUC rejected out right did not even wait till the second semester grades came out.
Does UIUC admit students for their sophomore year? Some public universities require 2 years before considering a transfer.
What major? (you can’t transfer to some majors) Or did she apply undecided?
A 3.0 in college is pretty good and shouldn’t be the reason she’s rejected unless she applied to a competitive major.
Did she include her HS transcript? Did professors at her current college send the proper letter of recommendation?
Was she admitted to the other universities you list?
Do they have transfer LLCs to help her transition (or did she apply&get into the honors college? This would automatically create a community to help her find a social circle.) Definitely check which ones offer housing to transfers.
It may be easier for her to try and apply to a smaller college - remember that premeds need to be among the top few students at their college. Btw they don’t need to major in Biology, they can choose whatever major they can do best in.
Gustavus Augustus has reopened its application if she wants to try, as well as Bradley, Knox, Marquette.
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Because??
Is your student a U.S. citizen or permanent resident?
What major did she apply to at UIUC?
Has she been accepted to Wisconsin, Iowa or Loyola Chicago. Presumably she applied to these others for a reason. If accepted…I would suggest choosing a place where this student has been accepted already.
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Admission of sophomore applicants is based on a combination of college and high school credentials, including ACT/SAT scores. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign considers transfer students for admission at either the sophomore or junior level.
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I went and checked too! 
There is an extensive guide. Basically if OP’s daughter applied to Biology or Biochemistry she would need a 3.2 general GPA, calc1+gen bio1+genchem1 with specific grades, be registered for specific courses. Then her HS transcript ans test scores would be factored in.
The system seems designed for instate transfers, either cc->uiuc or 4-year public UIUC, presumably to increase statewide access.
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Exactly…but these are Illinois residents (parent said they were instate for Illinois). Kid was rejected.
How likely is it that they will accept this kid on appeal. I would guess…LOW.
On the other hand, 3.0 is not a good start for getting a GPA worthy of applying to medical school.
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UIUC also uses SAT or ACT scores for transfer students.
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What will her second semester grades be? UIUC does have a well defined appeal process. I would expect she has a chance on appeal, but not a high probability of success…what major did she apply for?
To make her decision she should focus on the remaining options and choose which school she likes best, based on the factors that are most important to her. Since she had a somewhat shaky start to college, it’s important she goes somewhere she will be happy and comfortable. Premed considerations are secondary, and as others have said she can be a successful pre-med from any of these schools.
One additional note: Loyola has a pre-med committee (which supports only the strongest applicants for pre-health schools), U Iowa does not. It’s not clear to me how the UW Madison committee works, and the UIUC career website that contains the pre-health info isn’t working this morning…so look into the committee letter situation at those schools.
ETA: If she does choose Loyola, they have many partnerships with locally close hospitals for shadowing, patient facing opportunities, research, etc…there is no need for students to get to the Maywood west suburban campus to access these opportunities.
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