UIC vs. LUC

HoboSkillet

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I've searched many a forum and review sites such as yelp, yet I am having difficulty forming opinions on and distinguishing the differences between the University of Illinois at Chicago and Loyola University Chicago. See, I am interested in pre-med, and if I'm not mistaken, UIC and LUC both have their own medical schools and own sort of "unpaved yet trodden road" to medical school. These roads are UIC's gppa and LUC's ppp. With UIC's gppa I may be guaranteed a spot in med school, but do I have to go to their med school, can I go where ever I like? Is Loyola's path much different?

How do these schools compare to one another in academics, pre-med programs, faculty, and support (financial aid, scholarships, etc...)?

Another big factor for me is tuition and other costs, even though my dearest mother tells me not to worry about that, haha. I understand that Loyola is more expensive than UIC, but by how much? There are different numbers on different websites and I just can't trust what each college is telling me on their own websites. I've read this thread and there is a post explaining how Loyola is about 20k more expensive than UIC, but I'm assuming that is outdated info since it's back from 2008.

Additionally, I gain more credits from AP classes at UIC than I do at Loyola, though it isn't a significant difference... I think?...

I have yet to visit these colleges but will be doing so this year once school starts back up in the next few weeks (I've had experience on a more rural campus, so please no UIUC suggestions.). Also, if it's of any help to answer my questions, I have an ACT score of 30 and am involved in activities and AP classes and all that great stuff that every starry-eyed pre-med fanatic seems to be part of. Although, I haven't been to Africa and solved small community's health problems or have researched how to cure cancer, like some other fellas on here (slight exaggeration).

TL;DR: Which university has the better road to med school? UIC or LUC? Opinions are appreciated!

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It won't matter enough to be important in terms of medical school acceptance.

But from a college decision perspective, I'd go w/ Loyola for sure. It more name recognition (UI usually refers to the flagship campus UIUC, not UIC), a terrific campus/location, and is also a bit more selective. I cannot emphasize the campus aspect enough, even elite schools often have less than desirable locations.

Applying to UIC's GPPA is also not worth it, as there is no reason to try and lock yourself into one specific program so early on. If you're good enough to get into that, chances are you will have more options in the regular cycle of apps.
 
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regular cycle of apps

I'm not too enlightened on the whole process, so could you tell me what theses apps are and what they pertain to? I honestly don't know what you're referring to. >_<
 
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I'm not too enlightened on the whole process, so could you tell me what theses apps are and what they pertain to? I honestly don't know what you're referring to. >_<
Regular cycle of apps = the massive number of apps that rising college seniors send in order to hopefully start med school as soon as they graduate. The app process is known as a "cycle."

I'm saying that it is not necessary to attend a school (UIC) just for the chance at applying early to their med school. If you have the numbers for that program, you will probably have the numbers to go other places coming out of Loyola U.
 
I'm saying that it is not necessary to attend a school (UIC) just for the chance at applying early to their med school. If you have the numbers for that program, you will probably have the numbers to go other places coming out of Loyola U.

After reading some other threads about BS/MD programs and UIC, I'm seeing that the GPPA works somewhat like that in the sense that it simply provides garrunteed acceptance without the whole acceleration. I've also read that Loyola's program is less of a garunteed sort of thing, but it does provide great support, also, it isn't a binding program. However, I haven't been able to find a solid answer as to whether or not the gppa program is binding, meaning that if I take the gppa path, the only med school choice I have is UIC's med school.

Would you have any info as to whether or not the gppa program is binding? I've figured that if it isn't binding, then my main concern will be tuition, as both UIC and LUC programs allow for some exploration of other interests. I appreciate the responses you've been providing so far, thanks a bunch!
 
I think early acceptance, BS/MD programs in general are a bad idea.

Now that I've prefaced w/ that, I'd assume that if you were to get accepted to the GPPA program, you would not be allowed to apply elsewhere without forfeiting your acceptance there. So you could always say, "screw it, I'm good enough for a better school" and lose your acceptance there. From a cursory glance Loyola's programs just seems to be regular pre-med advising/a bit of homefield advantage. That's pretty run of the mill, nothing special there.

With that being said I think Loyola is a better school (ranked about 40+ spots ahead of UIC by USNWR) and has a better campus/environment.
 
With that being said I think Loyola is a better school

I very much appreciate your input! I suppose now most of my further searching will be of scholarships to lessen the threat of tuition, especially if I am to choose Loyola.

If anyone else has interest in this thread, I am more than open to further tips/opinions.
 
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