How do I convince my parents that my local 4 year University is good enough...

[hs2013]

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So basically I am a junior in high school and am done with high school. I could get a 4.0 if I tried but I HATE HIGH SCHOOL!!! Right now through my first 2 years I have a 3.85 but now am just taking a downward spin as damn, I don't want to try. But my parents are getting angry and worried because now I am saying I want to go to my local university to stay home(more comfortable for me than dorm) and save money. UW-Oshkosh, the local university, in my opinion is good enough to get into Med or Dental school with as long as I keep my grades up and get a good MCAT/DAT score. But they think going to UW-Oshkosh I won't get anywhere in life... Here is the link to the schools site if you want to look more into it, I mean they even have a pre-professional page for medical and dental...

http://www.uwosh.edu/home

pre-professional link:
http://www.uwosh.edu/healthcare/quicklinks.htm

 

[NeuralNetwork]

So basically I am a junior in high school and am done with high school. I could get a 4.0 if I tried but I HATE HIGH SCHOOL!!! Right now through my first 2 years I have a 3.85 but now am just taking a downward spin as damn, I don't want to try. But my parents are getting angry and worried because now I am saying I want to go to my local university to stay home(more comfortable for me than dorm) and save money. UW-Oshkosh, the local university, in my opinion is good enough to get into Med or Dental school with as long as I keep my grades up and get a good MCAT/DAT score. But they think going to UW-Oshkosh I won't get anywhere in life... Here is the link to the schools site if you want to look more into it, I mean they even have a pre-professional page for medical and dental...

http://www.uwosh.edu/home

pre-professional link:
http://www.uwosh.edu/healthcare/quicklinks.htm

I guarantee you that people will tell you that your university doesn't matter, but it does. The same discussion comes up for residency matching and what school you went to, but if you look at the statistics, you see it is a legitimate factor in their considerations of applicants. I went to a public university (still a very good school), but everywhere I interviewed at, it was all Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, etc along with me in the waiting room. Go to the best college you can get in to and don't aim for comfort. Taking the easy route won't work for this path.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

go to the best school that you can.

also, i hate to inform you but life is a lot like hs. why do you hate it so much

 

[hs2013]

go to the best school that you can.

also, i hate to inform you but life is a lot like hs. why do you hate it so much

7 hours a day, 5 days a week. Pointless classes. Waking up early. Homework.

With college, I can at least schedule my classes around a time that fits me better and that 7 hours spent in school seems to me like in college I could use that 7 hours just for class AND studying instead of addition studying and homework outside of the 7 hours. I know I will have to buckle down more and try but I am willing to do that if I don't have to go to high school.

 

[Cinclus]

I go to a school that's not well-known, and I'm doing fine this application cycle. I don't think undergrad school matters too much, as long as you do well.

 

[NeuralNetwork]

Also, for what its worth, my local community college has pre-health advising too..

 

[Stumpyman]

Name doesn't matter way too much. Better schools tend to have more opportunities for their students though.

 

[azerkail]

1. make the arguement its probably cheaper for instate tuition.
2. make the arguement you ultimately want to go to professional school afterwards and now can probably afford it without affecting their pension/401(k)
3. make sure to apply to 'good' med schools (johns hopkins, harvard med, hogwarts, etc.) since you can now
4. ????
5. profit?

 

[Snuke]

7 hours a day, 5 days a week. Pointless classes. Waking up early. Homework.

With college, I can at least schedule my classes around a time that fits me better and that 7 hours spent in school seems to me like in college I could use that 7 hours just for class AND studying instead of addition studying and homework outside of the 7 hours. I know I will have to buckle down more and try but I am willing to do that if I don't have to go to high school.

So you think. I think my classes are largely pointless at this place in time, and I've never been able to schedule my classes around times that 'work' for me. Just my experience.

College does have a lot more freedom than HS, but the stakes are higher as well, especially if you're looking towards medical schools. Sure, you can skip class a few times, but if you don't ace that test or lose points from not attending (some classes do, others don't) then you start to screw yourself. Once you're in college no one cares how you did in high school, and once you're in medical school, no one cares how you did in college, but you can sure bet the med schools care how you do in college.

HS, though it seems pointless at this moment and IS pointless in the long-run, is still important. You can start learning habits that will carry with you through college and make life easier. That doesn't mean it's fun, only necessary.

As for local vs prestigious university, go where you will be most happy and can get the best grades. You'll probably miss out on opportunities at your local school that you would get at a better school, but you can also create your own opportunities. It just would be more difficult. Going to a non-Ivy in no way precludes you from getting into medical school, but if I could redo it, I'd shoot for them. I wish I had tried.

tl;dr - HS helps you for college. College matters somewhat to medical schools. Shoot for as high as you can where you will be happy and get good (good = 3.7+) grades.

 

[jcruiser]

I guarantee you that people will tell you that your university doesn't matter, but it does. The same discussion comes up for residency matching and what school you went to, but if you look at the statistics, you see it is a legitimate factor in their considerations of applicants. I went to a public university (still a very good school), but everywhere I interviewed at, it was all Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, etc along with me in the waiting room. Go to the best college you can get in to and don't aim for comfort. Taking the easy route won't work for this path.

Like this guy said, go to the best university you can.

By best, I mean personally to you. If university A is 3 hours from your home but university B is only 20 minutes, then you're probably more tempted to go to Uni B. Uni B might have a plethora of problems that Uni A doesn't. If you get homesick easily, get over it.

So look at the bigger picture; the price; living at home or dorm (this is a gamebreaker for some people. There are people who simply can't study at home.); the education; average GPA for fresh/soph/junior (this is a good indicator of three things, are the professors really hard on grades, are they good teachers, or are the professors grade inflators?); the location; and the facilities.

These may seem like trivial things but they are very important. If you hate high school, it'll be high school all over again, except more flexibility in your schedule. Anyways, if your parents highly suggest going to a top 75-50 university, at least do the effort of looking into the universities they want you to go to.

 

[alexandertg6]

I go to a school that's not well-known, and I'm doing fine this application cycle. I don't think undergrad school matters too much, as long as you do well.

you also have a 4.0 and a 39 MCAT 😉

 

[promethium]

They probably have more of a problem with your attitude than anything. You are basically resigning yourself to a sub-par fate (relative to what you are capable of).

Tell them you are changing your attitude and want to aim for the top schools. Legitimately try your best, but odds are on your side you won't get into a top school and will indeed end up at the local state school.

Nothing to worry about. Do what they say and stay the course.

 

[Cinclus]

you also have a 4.0 and a 39 MCAT 😉

I added the "as long as you do well" part. 🙂

 

[arfc6]

I'd say go where you think you'll be happy. Try your hardest (or don't, god knows I didn't in high school) so that you have options, but if UW Oshkosh is the ticket so be it. You will probably be at the slightest of disadvantages when you apply to med school, but it really doesn't matter. I went to a tiny no name rural college and have a few acceptances, some at top 20 schools. However I almost definitely will not be going to a top med school in favor of my local state school. That's because it's cheaper, and my ultimate goal in life isn't to win a nobel prize by the age of 40 and to have as many nature publications as I do bowel movements.

 

[gettheleadout]

To reiterate what others have said, go to the best school you can that you think you'll be happy at and can reasonably afford (i.e. You don't want to start med school with $100k of debt), also taking in to account other factors. If you want to be close to family or friends or have other personal reasons YOU feel are worth considering in choosing a school, then you should not ignore them simply because of fear that your school won't be good enough to get you into medical school. Where you go to undergrad alone won't get you in and it won't keep you out. Some schools provide better opportunities than others for you to gain valuable experience or stand out, but that's just another factor to consider. Will you have an advantage over the average applicant coming from a top school? Most likely. Will you be at a disadvantage coming from an unknown school? I'd argue no, you won't be looked down on for where you go, you just obviously won't get any extra credit for your undergrad's name.

 

[STAYpRoToNaTeD]

Please move out of your parents house. If your primary reason for wanting to go to your local 4 year is to be comfortable, you're going to miss out on a lot of personal growth that living away from home would allow. Money shouldn't be a big issue with your grades.

 

[theseeker4]

7 hours a day, 5 days a week. Pointless classes. Waking up early. Homework.

With college, I can at least schedule my classes around a time that fits me better and that 7 hours spent in school seems to me like in college I could use that 7 hours just for class AND studying instead of addition studying and homework outside of the 7 hours. I know I will have to buckle down more and try but I am willing to do that if I don't have to go to high school.

To reiterate what others say, none of these things are limited to high school, or even school in general. Whether you eventually make it to medical school and become a doctor or choose another career path, pointless tasks, waking up early, 5 (+) days a week, working at home and 8+ hours a day are all guaranteed. I know that you are in high school, but you will keep a lot more options open for yourself if you get rid of the attitude that not liking something is sufficient reason to quit it (or quit trying at it, as you are in high school).

Enjoy yourself, especially your college years, but don't lose sight of the fact that the purpose of college is to get an education, which is used to either obtain further educational opportunities or to build a career. If you fail to take every step of the way seriously, you will look back a decade or less from now and want to smack that short-sighted ***** you were in high school (trust me, we were all short-sighted *****s in high school, so no insult is intended😉). Take this as that smack coming at you from 10 years from now, wake up, realize slogging through crap you don't want to do is a necessary part of life, and get it done. You will be much happier with yourself, whether or not you ultimately apply to medical school.

 

[Sephiroth]

If you live in Wisconsin, you should be working hard to get into U Wisconsin-Madison. I wish I lived in a state that had a high ranked state school for me to go to without having to take out tons of loans for undergrad tuition (which I seriously considered doing for a while). Sure your local school is good enough to get in somewhere, and if you do really well, even some better med schools. But going to a better undergrad can help as well. With med school admissions as crazy as they are, you should do everything you can to stack the deck in your favor (without breaking the bank of course).

 

[candav]

Undergraduate institution matters, but I think more so in terms of the opportunities the best institutions offer, rather than simply the prestige of the name on your transcript. I mean, the best schools are also host to the most leading edge research, and the most publishable faculty and students. Plus, many of my friends who went to Harvard/Princeton/Yale tell me about how easy it is to secure institutional funding for independent research or international work -- this is something totally foreign to me, as someone who attends a public university in Canada and has had to fight for every $$CAD of research funding.

Moral of the story: go to the best school you can find, but be ready to take full advantage of the opportunities it offers.

PS: Early morning classes don't end with high school 😉

 

[alexandertg6]

Undergraduate institution matters, but I think more so in terms of the opportunities the best institutions offer, rather than simply the prestige of the name on your transcript. I mean, the best schools are also host to the most leading edge research, and the most publishable faculty and students. Plus, many of my friends who went to Harvard/Princeton/Yale tell me about how easy it is to secure institutional funding for independent research or international work -- this is something totally foreign to me, as someone who attends a public university in Canada and has had to fight for every $$CAD of research funding.

Moral of the story: go to the best school you can find, but be ready to take full advantage of the opportunities it offers.

PS: Early morning classes don't end with high school 😉

This. To reiterate what someone else said, most people in the many interviews I have been in this cycle and last do come from prestigious schools: Duke, Vanderbilt, Harvard, Yale, etc., and a lot come from high ranking state schools: UNC, UMich, UVA, etc. I think it is fair to assume that as many people in lower tier undergraduate institutions have good grades, yet I have seen far fewer of them in interviews. That could be for any number of reasons, but the observation remains.

 

[NickNaylor]

You should go to a place that 1) is a "real" school and 2) is cheap. You'll be kicking yourself if you go into medical school with $100k+ of debt. I don't care if it's Harvard. If you go to a reasonably large institution, it won't hold you back.

Ultimately it's your decision. Unless your parents are paying everything, I would respectfully tell them that you appreciate their opinion, but it's your decision.

 

[ponyo]

So basically I am a junior in high school and am done with high school. I could get a 4.0 if I tried but I HATE HIGH SCHOOL!!! Right now through my first 2 years I have a 3.85 but now am just taking a downward spin as damn, I don't want to try. But my parents are getting angry and worried because now I am saying I want to go to my local university to stay home(more comfortable for me than dorm) and save money. UW-Oshkosh, the local university, in my opinion is good enough to get into Med or Dental school with as long as I keep my grades up and get a good MCAT/DAT score. But they think going to UW-Oshkosh I won't get anywhere in life... Here is the link to the schools site if you want to look more into it, I mean they even have a pre-professional page for medical and dental...

I actually agree with what everyone else has said here, but just a slightly different point:

I too absolutely loathed each and every one of my HS classes and did poorly in quite a few of them. There were literally classes during which I would just get up and leave and the teacher would try to get me in trouble, etc. So I know where you're coming from. But what I don't understand is why you resign yourself to what the HS people tell you to do. If you hate the HS classes, take as few of them as humanly possible and then take college classes on the side, or just study subjects on your own and take some APs to get credit for them without going through the BS that is HS classes. Go get a couple of jobs or volunteering gigs. Become certified in something you like, whether it's racing bikes or programming or translation. Learn a language. Volunteer online for the UN. There are SO MANY THINGS to do and they're so easy to find. And then once you hit Sr year, beast the SAT to make up for the ****ty gpa and then write about all the crazy **** you did outside of class. You'd have way more fun and just as much of a future.

Oh yea and please don't live with your parents. Do you not have... needs?! lol

 

[Jarudy]

Protip: don't be the loser that stays at home, live in the dorms and you won't regret it (at least your first year)

 

[kduck]

UW-Oshkosh is certainly a fine school, but I agree with other posters that you should try to leave home and have more experiences during college. Why not try for UW-Madison? It's a great school where I'm sure you'd have lots of opportunities. It's still IS, so not too far, but you might do better with a little space.

 

[JSU]

turn 'em loose on SDN

 

[Buttermilk]

Go to the school where you'll be happiest. Undergrad institution matters, but I think doing well (good grades and MCAT) is more important in the end. So doing well at an Ivy League > doing well at a good State school > doing well at a bad State school. But doing poorly at an Ivy League < doing well at any State school.

Pro-tip: If you don't like high school because of homework and early hours, you will not like (the academic part of) college for similar reasons. And it may be harder to enjoy the non-academic (read: partay) parts of college if you're living at home.

 

[topherP]

Go where you'll be happy. I went to my local 4 year school, and am coming out debt free. Whatever you put into it is what you're gonna get out. I went to my local, came out debt free, pushed myself, did well on the MCAT and am interviewing at schools where every other interviewee is from Harvard, Yale, Columbia... etc. If you push yourself and do well your undergrad institution isn't going to matter. Once you get into college its on you. I'm not much of a fan of the people who get into a great undergrad college, and think they're entitled to going to a great medical school because of it...

 

[Tin Man]

Both sides are right. Your university only matters depending on which medical schools you want to go to.

If you want to go to an upper-tier medical school, or a specific state school, then you'll need to plan to go to a college considered compatible with the admissions standards.

If you want to be a doctor and have a good education that will make you into a good doctor, then what college you get into doesn't really matter, because almost any medical school is going to give you that opportunity, and not all good medical schools care about what university you attended.

Get good grades in whatever college you attend, and you'll be competitive at good medical schools somewhere. If that's all that matters (which is perfectly fine), then don't worry about where you get an undergrad. Just aim for the ones that are accredited. No one with a 4.0 and standard EC's are going to have to worry about resorting to the Caribbean.

 

[Brachyury]

OP, at the very least, aim for UW-Madison. If that's not your thing, UMN-Twin Cities is also excellent (do WI and MN still reciprocate in-state tuition?). If you want to try a higher ranked university, there's always UChicago, Northwestern, WashU, and ND, and if you want something smaller and more intimate, there's always Carleton and Grinnell.

College, however, isn’t just about developing a pedigree, and it’s not just a steppingstone on your way to medical school. College is an opportunity to learn/try new things and to mature into an adult. Attending a school that has extensive resources and attracts people from all over the world and country will not only make you a more interesting and educated person, but it will give you knowledge and skills that will make you a better physician.

 

[woo]

Really I think if you do well in your studies (and MCAT) you'll do just fine anywhere. Sure, I think going to a big university is great and all, but if you'll be happier at your local school and will save a nice buck (What is a point of taking out massive loans for undergrad, when you'll end up in basically the same medical school if you have the stats - then take out MORE massive loans for med school), I totally recommend it.
I took the route of going to the best school I could go to and took out loans and such out. I DONT regret it at all, im so glad I went to my school and would never take it back. However, looking back in a medical school aspect - I would have been fine at my state school and would have definitely gotten in to same medical schools (at least I think so). I didn't go to an ivy school however - so not sure how that "could" help you out as other posts above have kinda mentioned - although I think their prestige is overrated a bit (no offense). I just grew up in the south and wanted to stay here.

 

[hs2013]

See for me I don't want to live in a dorm, and with in apartment it would just cost too much. I know my parents already have enough saved up in my college fund for UW-O and then some. I know some of you have brought up UW-Madison and while yes I agree it would be the better school or medicine, I just don't want to go there. I would much rather go to UW-O for a few reasons...
1. UW-O will cost me 30,000 for 4 years and that is without any scholarship money, whereas Madison will be about 25,000 a year and though I think I might get more financial aid going to Madison it won't be much
2. I don't want to live in a dorm LIS, I would be more comfortable staying at home and sleeping in my own bed. And to make up for the so called loss of maybe social interaction from living in a dorm I would definitely try joining more clubs and such at UW-O
3. I know I can make it on the tennis team at UW-O and I enjoy playing tennis and that would be a good thing for an extracurricular for Med or Dental school as well

Though there is one downside, a lot of people from my high school will go to this school and trust me, I HATE a lot of those people, just stuck up think they are all that people. I really wished I lived in Madison so I could stay at home and go to the school, but you can't have everything your way in life...

 

[liveoak]

go to the less regarded school. you'll have this huge chip on your shoulder and you'll be a better human being.

The problem is if you want to go to top schools...guess who is on those committees? Whorebags from the same old prestigious/rich/lame schools. Guess how they view what school you went to? Yup, to them prestige is life and death. If you truly want top 20, ***** yourself to a big-time school. 👍

 

[Barcu]

See for me I don't want to live in a dorm, and with in apartment it would just cost too much. I know my parents already have enough saved up in my college fund for UW-O and then some. I know some of you have brought up UW-Madison and while yes I agree it would be the better school or medicine, I just don't want to go there. I would much rather go to UW-O for a few reasons...
1. UW-O will cost me 30,000 for 4 years and that is without any scholarship money, whereas Madison will be about 25,000 a year and though I think I might get more financial aid going to Madison it won't be much
2. I don't want to live in a dorm LIS, I would be more comfortable staying at home and sleeping in my own bed. And to make up for the so called loss of maybe social interaction from living in a dorm I would definitely try joining more clubs and such at UW-O
3. I know I can make it on the tennis team at UW-O and I enjoy playing tennis and that would be a good thing for an extracurricular for Med or Dental school as well

Though there is one downside, a lot of people from my high school will go to this school and trust me, I HATE a lot of those people, just stuck up think they are all that people. I really wished I lived in Madison so I could stay at home and go to the school, but you can't have everything your way in life...

I'll side with many people and say that you don't necessarily have to go to the best college available (especially if you take on too much debt), but there is a real problem with shooting too low. You want to go to the best place that will set you up for med school, and "better" schools are truly better at that (for the most part).

Yeah, don't live at home. Step out of your comfort zone. Even if you do end up choosing UW-O, do not live at home.

You will NEVER make up the social interaction that comes with living in the dorm.

 

[kduck]

I'm not really sure why you wouldn't want to move out for college.. 😕 Do you have any desire to have a normal college social life? Being a commuter student can never replicate the experience of living on campus/in an apartment within a couple blocks.

Eventually, your bed wherever you live becomes "your own bed." You place is your home at school. If you live at your parents' house the entire time, how do you expect to grow into an independent adult? Part of being at college is learning how to be self-regulated, and able to take care of yourself without your parents looking over your shoulder all the time.

Get a job to pay for an apartment/dorm room, man up, and leave the nest for college. If you do go to Oshkosh, move out! 😎

 

[hs2013]

I'm not really sure why you wouldn't want to move out for college.. 😕 Do you have any desire to have a normal college social life? Being a commuter student can never replicate the experience of living on campus/in an apartment within a couple blocks.

Eventually, your bed wherever you live becomes "your own bed." You place is your home at school. If you live at your parents' house the entire time, how do you expect to grow into an independent adult? Part of being at college is learning how to be self-regulated, and able to take care of yourself without your parents looking over your shoulder all the time.

Get a job to pay for an apartment/dorm room, man up, and leave the nest for college. If you do go to Oshkosh, move out! 😎

If you didn't get it from my OP, why would I want to work and pay for my own apartment and such while going to college and work hard like that? I am extremely lazy and that is most definitely not something I would be up to. I am not ready to accept that kind of responsibility quite yet. I do have a job right now where I work 8-10 hours a week for just some side cash but no way I work in college...

 

[kduck]

If you didn't get it from my OP, why would I want to work and pay for my own apartment and such while going to college and work hard like that? I am extremely lazy and that is most definitely not something I would be up to. I am not ready to accept that kind of responsibility quite yet. I do have a job right now where I work 8-10 hours a week for just some side cash but no way I work in college...

😆 🤣

 

[NeuralNetwork]

If you didn't get it from my OP, why would I want to work and pay for my own apartment and such while going to college

You don't think your parents would help you out since its their incentive to get you somewhere else?

I am extremely lazy and that is most definitely not something I would be up to.

As mentioned in the posts above, going to a weaker undergraduate college will mean that you will have to work even harder to assure you are one of the top applicants for your school. Lazy time is over.

 

[STAYpRoToNaTeD]

If you didn't get it from my OP, why would I want to work and pay for my own apartment and such while going to college and work hard like that? I am extremely lazy and that is most definitely not something I would be up to. I am not ready to accept that kind of responsibility quite yet. I do have a job right now where I work 8-10 hours a week for just some side cash but no way I work in college...

It all makes sense now... This is why your parents are pushing you to go elsewhere. 🙄

 

[Tin Man]

If you didn't get it from my OP, why would I want to work and pay for my own apartment and such while going to college and work hard like that? I am extremely lazy and that is most definitely not something I would be up to. I am not ready to accept that kind of responsibility quite yet. I do have a job right now where I work 8-10 hours a week for just some side cash but no way I work in college...

Wut.


You don't just wake up one day more responsible and ready for more work. It takes practice and experience. How in the hell to you propose to gain the necessary work ethic to survive medical school if you refuse to push yourself even a little during college?

 

[kpcrew]

I actually agree with what everyone else has said here, but just a slightly different point:

I too absolutely loathed each and every one of my HS classes and did poorly in quite a few of them. There were literally classes during which I would just get up and leave and the teacher would try to get me in trouble, etc. So I know where you're coming from. But what I don't understand is why you resign yourself to what the HS people tell you to do. If you hate the HS classes, take as few of them as humanly possible and then take college classes on the side, or just study subjects on your own and take some APs to get credit for them without going through the BS that is HS classes. Go get a couple of jobs or volunteering gigs. Become certified in something you like, whether it's racing bikes or programming or translation. Learn a language. Volunteer online for the UN. There are SO MANY THINGS to do and they're so easy to find. And then once you hit Sr year, beast the SAT to make up for the ****ty gpa and then write about all the crazy **** you did outside of class. You'd have way more fun and just as much of a future.

Oh yea and please don't live with your parents. Do you not have... needs?! lol

hey hey
my mom is really good at cooking okay?

 

[mishaS]

You should go to a place that 1) is a "real" school and 2) is cheap. You'll be kicking yourself if you go into medical school with $100k+ of debt. I don't care if it's Harvard. If you go to a reasonably large institution, it won't hold you back.

Ultimately it's your decision. Unless your parents are paying everything, I would respectfully tell them that you appreciate their opinion, but it's your decision.

I'm guessing actual medical students, not premeds, will be more inclined to give this advice. For everyone who says that you should get into the best [ranked] university possible because adcoms care, this may be somewhat relevant when we're talking about a top ranking school, but even then it will still fall bellow your MCAT score and GPA in importance, and very likely bellow your extra curricular activities. As far as real advantages of higher ranking universities, as far as I can tell, are limited to 1. Research opportunities and access to brilliant faculty, 2. being surrounded by smarter and more motivated peers (also more competitive which can be a bad thing for GPA), 3. as mentioned earlier, you would get a life experience.

I did pretty much what you want to do, I stayed at home and went to a nearby school even though I got accepted into a better, more well known, state school that was a few hours away. I did it to save money (parents covered my undergrad and home expenses, they wouldn't have covered dorms and living away expenses), and stay with my close friends, who all also stayed in town. As others have said, you will be missing out on a life experience - living away from home, dorming, and for a while I did have doubts, and regret over my decision, but I see a lot of reasons now why staying was a good thing. I didn't have trouble doing well on the MCAT, or getting into my top choice (not a top ranking medical school).

I had never intended to be an MD/PHD neurosurgeon who went to Harvard medical school and did my residency at John's Hopkins. I don't have a competitive personality, and even though I might want to do a competitive residency (ophthalmology), I certainly don't need to get into a top residency program to become one. The ophthalmologist residents who are at my school's residency program largely went to my school, and they made a point to say that in deciding who they take, they can care less about what school you went to, they only care to see how interested you are, and how competent a doctor they think you will be. If however you do want to do neurosurgery, or derm, or go into academia, it would be very beneficial to go to a top school, and get into a top medical program, and then go into a top residency program, all while getting published under brilliant (and well known) researchers. Frankly, the attitude some people have here screams gunner, and if that's you, then you shouldn't hold yourself back, but if you're laid back like me, and don't need to be a super star, then don't feel pressured to go to the best schools and be the best student.

 

[gerdman]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203733504577023892064201700.html

NOVEMBER 8, 2011
Is an Ivy League Diploma Worth It?
Fearing Massive Debt, More Students Are Choosing to Enroll at Public Colleges Over Elite Universities
By MELISSA KORN

Daniel Schwartz could have attended an Ivy League school if he wanted to. He just doesn't see the value.

Mr. Schwartz, 18 years old, was accepted at Cornell University but enrolled instead at City University of New York's Macaulay Honors College, which is free.

Mr. Schwartz says his family could have afforded Cornell's tuition, with help from scholarships and loans. But he wants to be a doctor and thinks medical school, which could easily cost upward of $45,000 a year for a private institution, is a more important investment. It wasn't "worth it to spend $50,000-plus a year for a bachelor's degree," he says...

 

[Stumpyman]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203733504577023892064201700.html

NOVEMBER 8, 2011
Is an Ivy League Diploma Worth It?
Fearing Massive Debt, More Students Are Choosing to Enroll at Public Colleges Over Elite Universities
By MELISSA KORN

Daniel Schwartz could have attended an Ivy League school if he wanted to. He just doesn't see the value.

Mr. Schwartz, 18 years old, was accepted at Cornell University but enrolled instead at City University of New York's Macaulay Honors College, which is free.

Mr. Schwartz says his family could have afforded Cornell's tuition, with help from scholarships and loans. But he wants to be a doctor and thinks medical school, which could easily cost upward of $45,000 a year for a private institution, is a more important investment. It wasn't "worth it to spend $50,000-plus a year for a bachelor's degree," he says...

Read that this morning. Man, the middle-upper middle class of America has it pretty bad.

 

[Chrome19]

Go to the cheapest school possible. Unless you want to do research, top schools are overrated at the undergraduate level. The rankings of top schools are usually linked to research. If you are motivated, any decent 4-year college will do. The real advantage with top schools are the research opportunities and networks you'll build. But you will be going to medical school anyways.