Johns Hopkins vs UCLA vs UCB vs USD vs Pepperdine - Advice?

[ekraft]

Hello everyone,

I'll be brief-- I attended a high school in a very small town with a mediocre sciences program. For reference, I kept a 4.0+ GPA taking the most strenuous courses available (only 4 APs - Calculus AB, Government, Studio Art 3D and English), scored a 2230 on the SAT (800 Critical Reading, 660 Math, 770 Writing), took two SAT IIs (Math Level 2 and English, 770 on both), and scored a 33 on the ACT (36 English and Writing, 33 Science, and 32 Math).

My dilemma is the choice between a more prestigious, academically rigorous school (Hopkins) and two schools which are less so (Pepperdine and USD) but may allow me to keep a higher GPA. Keep in mind that I am from a small community and may be at a disadvantage compared with students at, say, Hopkins (hence the consideration of Pepperdine and USD). In addition, all schools have offered substantial scholarships, though Hopkins's is somewhat less so. Paying its tuition remains a challenge. I was also admitted to UCLA and UCB, but their large class sizes and lack of advisory committees for pre meds makes them significantly less attractive to me.

I intend to major in Philosophy. I am confident in my ability as a student, though I have had little exposure to students from more prestigious high schools and consequently do not know whether I can compete with them at Hopkins, UCLA, or UCB. Bearing all this in mind, I would appreciate the advice of the forum in selecting the school which would make me the strongest med school applicant.

EDIT: Whoops, didn't realize this forum was for medical school applicants. Sorry, mods.

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[cyberchicken001]

Go wherever you want for undergrad, it doesn't matter.... Btw this forum is meant for asking about med schools, not colleges lol. I won't tell anyone don't worry

 

[jturkel]

undergrad does matter. a 4.0 at hopkins or ucla is not seen the same by medical school adcoms as a 4.0 from UCB or USD or Pepperdine. you have to work that much harder going to the lesser prestigious undergrads to get into medical school.

i personally dislike baltimore and would choose UCLA in this matter, but if you aren't going to be happy there, then don't go there

 

[pyrrion89]

I majored in philosophy at UCB---Very easy to get a B/B+, challenging to get an A-, incredibly hard to get the solid A in the philosophy department. But you seem pretty smart, based on your scores. All those schools seem pretty solid for reputation, with USD/Pepperdine being a bit lower. UCLA may also be slightly lower among East Coast schools. UCB has the strongest international/academic rep., but JHU might have a slight advantage domestically in perceived prestige (a la USNWR).

I'd probably just pick the cheapest+best quality of life option among UCLA/JHU/UCB. If you're smart and motivated, it will be possible to go any school no matter your undergrad. Some of the biggest superstars I met on the med school interview trail got into Stanford/JHU/Duke from undergrads at UC Davis, UC Irvine, USC.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Moving to hSDN.

 

[Apollo1]

Hedge your bet in case you don't get in anywhere or have a change of heart down the road; plus, there's no reason to pay a markup for "Composition I" for "The College Experience" when you can get the same thing for pennies on the dollar at a CC...

Community College for 2 years ---> College transferred to for 2/3 years ---> Gap Year(s) then/or Med School

 

[thethethe]

go to the school with the most prestige that you think you can still be happy at. pedigree matters.

 

[unexpected_medicine]

Ok the above advice is sort of going all over the place and for some reason is focusing on grades. Note that you are in a premed forum so the answers you find will be very professionally focused.

If you want medicine go to hopkins. Philosophy/politics definitely go to UCLA. Academic prestige through rankings is a terrible way to compare schools. Sure harvard is godly at everything since they have unholy amounts of money but everyone else specializes. There is so much political awareness and social activism at UCLA and so many people follow philosophy religiously. For you that is the perfect haven to develop your skills. I can't speak to the other schools unfortunately (i don't know enough about them) but the best advice I can give is visit the schools and pay attention to their culture. Go to the computer clusters and see what the students are talking about. That will do more for you than any premed or long out of undergrad MD advice.

 

[Arayh]

Med schools generally don't care about your undergrad as much as your GPA + MCAT scores, but some prestige does matter. Pick where you will be happy, if money is an issue, pick a cheaper school, medical school loans will be more expensive than undergrad.

That being said, more rigorous schools may prepare you for the MCAT better than the "easier" undergrads.