Harvard, Stanford, or UT Austin

[Pythags]

Hi everyone! I'm lucky to have been accepted to these schools, but I'm torn in deciding. Upper middle class, pursuing a career in medicine, and looking to go to a T10 med school and become a surgeon. I also might be interested in the future of medicine technology, startups, etc.

Whichever one I choose, I won't be going into debt or taking out a loan, but I still want to choose the best one overall. I also might be able to negotiate with either Harvard or Stanford, but I will be able to afford it.

Harvard has quoted me 30k cost of attendance for the first year. I could study a combo of neuroscience (#1 in the nation) and computer science (interested in Neuralink) at arguably the best pre-med school in the nation. I could tack on any concentrations that I’m interested in as well.

Similarly at Stanford, it'll be 40k for the first year and I might study bioengineering, cognitive science, and human biology, at the second best pre-med undergrad.

At UT Austin, I have the Forty Acres scholarship, which is a close-knit community of the top students in the country. I’ll get a full-ride yearly scholarship for tuition and housing expenses and an additional one-time stipend of $20,000 to support research, study abroad and other academic pursuits. I’ll also get personalized mentorship from faculty. At UT, I'm majoring in Neuroscience and been accepted into Dean's Scholars honors program (natural sciences research) and the Plan II honors program (multidisciplinary, I can pursue almost any course of study I want in the liberal arts). Both will offer their own opportunities.

I want to choose the best one overall that gets me where I want to go (T10 medical school) with the best overall experience for the next four years.

Any advice? Which one should I choose?

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[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums and congratulations!

You can't go wrong with your choice, at face value. I can only surmise you are from Texas and finishing up at Austin.

Of course you don't have to be in surgery to be an entrepreneur.

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What is most important to you? The networks? Access to v-caps? Mentors?

 

[wysdoc]

I'm very familiar with UT and if that's the school you choose, I recommend sticking with the Dean's Scholars Honors program and not Plan II as it involves some extra work, mainly writing and thesis project, that med schools don't care about.

Harvard extra perk beyond its name is that you will be housed in a dorm for all 4 years and don't have to worry about moving off campus, cooking, moving furniture, etc. Food in the Harvard cafeterias is amazing.

At UT there is a paucity of dorm space and you will probably have to move out in sophomore year and pay high Austin rent, probably drive to/from school. UT premed advising is pretty minimal, mostly in the form of group meetings & seminars.

Stanford main perk I can see is the beautiful weather, the name of course, you need to investigate housing how much and where.

 

[jhmmd]

Hi everyone! I'm lucky to have been accepted to these schools, but I'm torn in deciding. Upper middle class, pursuing a career in medicine, and looking to go to a T10 med school and become a surgeon. I also might be interested in the future of medicine technology, startups, etc.

Whichever one I choose, I won't be going into debt or taking out a loan, but I still want to choose the best one overall. I also might be able to negotiate with either Harvard or Stanford, but I will be able to afford it.

Harvard has quoted me 30k cost of attendance for the first year. I could study a combo of neuroscience (#1 in the nation) and computer science (interested in Neuralink) at arguably the best pre-med school in the nation. I could tack on any concentrations that I’m interested in as well.

Similarly at Stanford, it'll be 40k for the first year and I might study bioengineering, cognitive science, and human biology, at the second best pre-med undergrad.

At UT Austin, I have the Forty Acres scholarship, which is a close-knit community of the top students in the country. I’ll get a full-ride yearly scholarship for tuition and housing expenses and an additional one-time stipend of $20,000 to support research, study abroad and other academic pursuits. I’ll also get personalized mentorship from faculty. At UT, I'm majoring in Neuroscience and been accepted into Dean's Scholars honors program (natural sciences research) and the Plan II honors program (multidisciplinary, I can pursue almost any course of study I want in the liberal arts). Both will offer their own opportunities.

I want to choose the best one overall that gets me where I want to go (T10 medical school) with the best overall experience for the next four years.

Any advice? Which one should I choose?

Go where you feel most comfortable. Forget about cost and all the other things that may or may not be at stake. Go to the school where you feel like you'll have the most friends. Trust me; that's more important than anything else. Medical school is tough and you want people you can talk to when you're stressed out/want to blow off steam.

If you got into these three schools, I have reason to believe that you'll succeed in medical school. Take my advice or leave it.