Brown vs. Uconn BS/MD vs. pitt vs. BU vs. Top Liberal Arts Schools

[squirrelnut]

Fortunately got admission to most schools applied. Difficult to choose among these top options:
1. Uconn BS/MD:
pro:
8 years to MD directly although GPA and MCAT requirements
In State low costs ~20k per year
Close to home
Could have research opportunities.
cons:
Lower rank than other choices
Large class size, in class requirement
rural campus, may stick to the local area for 8 years
May lose the chance to top medical schools.

2 Brown
pro:
Ivy title
visited school, like the campus, students are happier and friendly
Higher chance to get into top tier medical schools
endowment generous
Open curriculum
cons;
High costs: total ~90k per year. no FA.
pre-med, uncertainty for med application
away from home

3 Pitt
Pros:
Lower cost after FA ~60k per year
higher rank than other premed schools
Cons;
isolated city
away from home
not sure the premed education and med applications in the future

4. BU
pros:
in the big city of Boston
more chance for medical interns
better med / premed education
cons:
high cost after FA ~70k per year
uncertainty in future MD application

5. Other Liberal Arts Colleges
pros:
Admitted in the top LACs with FA ~65k per year
Good environment and quality of education
good attention in smaller classes and low ratios
cons:
have to apply MD or have gap year
hard to find summer medical experiences around the colleges

So far, Uconn has lowest cost and certainty of MD, but concerns about the class size, 8 years in the local areas, and possible loss of the chance to other med schools. Like Brown style almost everything, could not be happier, but costs are the highest. Not sure if worthwhile for the investments at the premed level and future med app
Pitt and BU have better ranks, slightly lower costs, good education and possible matriculation to better medical schools.
Not sure about LACs. definitely better class size and environments, but higher costs and uncertainty for med applications.

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[deleted1177770]

I'm assuming these are undergrad acceptances?

 

[squirrelnut]

That is correct. This is high school student application for premed and BS/Md program.

 

[ValPak00per]

What are the GPA/MCAT requirements for Uconn

 

[chilly_md]

Moved to hSDN.

 

[deleted1177770]

In my opinion, save money on undergrad. Med school is expensive (and this option will also save you money on med school). Having the BS/MD option might take a lot of stress off of going through the normal premed process, which might make your undergrad years more enjoyable. I think having the "name" of an undergrad school is overrated, especially if it is going to save you over 50k a year. UConn is a decent med school so having a clear path is something a lot of people would value. Location-wise Uconn isn't the best but you can also go to NYC/Boston on weekends pretty easily. Plus, it might not be as big of a deal in undergrad but having your support system close by in med school might make a huge difference. I think UConn is the best option.

 

[squirrelnut]

I agree with all considerations, just want to evaluate objectively about Uconn route. Here are Uconn requirements:

In order to matriculate into the School of Medicine, students must do the following during their undergraduate career:

• Maintain a 3.6 cumulative grade point average (4.0 scale);
• Achieve MCAT total score in the 80th percentile rank with no subtest scores below the 55th percentile rank;
• Complete course work in general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and biochemistry to fulfill school of medicine application requirements;
• Participate during matriculation > 100 hours in each of the following activities:
  • Clinical Service (e.g. health care observation, EMS activity, hospital volunteering, MD shadowing, hospice services, etc.)
  • Community Service
  • Clinical or Benchtop Research
• Have favorable interviews during the senior undergraduate year.

 

[chilly_md]

Have favorable interviews during the senior undergraduate year.

Any way to get more detail on this? Is the interview a formality or are you being actually evaluated?

An 80th percentile MCAT currently corresponds to a 511. Having to also do clinical experience, community service and research (even if it’s relatively minimal) effectively defeats much of the purpose of a BS/MD program, which is to limit the amount of stress in performing well stats wise while balancing extracurriculars.

You do save a lot of money though and if you are unable to reach that GPA and/or MCAT at another school, your best outcome would likely involve being accepted at either UConn or Quinnipiac anyways for med school.

 

[squirrelnut]

This is a vague requirement on interviews. I learned that about half of the pool actually applied out of the program.
These requirements are not hard to meet, I could be a little over optimistic. but I think about more opportunistic cost. Undergrad at Uconn vs. Brown or BU could lose the chance to get into some higher rank med schools. If the goal is to get out of the program, why bother to attend it? On the other hand, studying at Brown or BU for pre med, it could still end up at T50 med schools eventually. It is really a struggling decision.

 

[chilly_md]

Th cost is too high at BU and Brown in my opinion. A higher ranked med school is unlikely to affect you much but you’d end up north of 600k in debt by the end of it all.

 

[Tern]

Hey, I'm also choosing between Brown BS/MD and another school right now! Best of luck.