Need Help!

[Questi4110]

I'm a senior in high-school and i am trying to decide which college to go to but i am having a hard time. I definitely want to become a doctor but i dont know the route. I have narrowed it down to Penn State (normal) and Widener Medical Scholars (competitive - only 8 accepted) . Widener Medical Scholars is an early assurance program where if i get a 3.3 and 9,9,9 on mcat, i will get into temple university automatically. There is no such thing at psu. However, i dont really like small schools like widener and i think i would enjoy myself more at psu. I got a 1330 on my SATs and i am fearful that i wont get high enough on the MCATs if i choose PSU. I dont' hate widener but i do prefer psu over it by a little bit. What would you do and do you think that i could get a high enough MCAT after looking at my SATs?


THANKS

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[QHamp]

lemme see if I can confuse you some more


I would really advise you to visit each college. Sometimes that really helps in the desicion making process. You might be surprised at how much fun a small college can be.

Secondly, I would lean towards the one with a better program. If, however, you're not happy with the college, the quality of its program will not matter as you will not be able to study efficiently.

 

[lola]

i think if you really want to go to penn state, you should go to penn state. who knows, you may decide medicine is not for you while in undergrad. if you are only 95% certain about medical school and won't be happy at widener, you should just go to penn state and take the mcat. it will be a pain, yes, but 4 years is a long time to spend somewhere you might be unhappy. if you are 100% certain about med school, it is a tough call if you think you might be happy at widener. i went to a small school and absolutely loved it! also, do you want to go to temple med school? it is my understanding that it is in a very rough area of philly -- something to consider.

there is really no way to predict what you will get on the mcat based on your sat. i mean, if you got a 1600 or something on the sat, it might be safe to say you are quite brilliant and an excellent standardized test taker. however, a 1330 is good but not phenomenal. there is no telling what that will translate to in mcat score. it could translate into a 25 or a 35 -- it depends a lot on how much you study & understand concepts in undergrad, how good your reading comprehension is, and whether or not you have a good day while taking the test. it is likely you could get a 30+ on the mcat with that sat score and a good deal of studying, but there is no way to guarantee it. the mcat is a weird test and unlike any you have probably seen before or will ever see again.

 

[Questi4110]

Thanks for the input. I'm still confused (and yes, I did visit both campuses and liked both). Btw, widener does not lock you into temple but only allows the 27 mcat thing with temple.


THANKS