Please help!! Does where you go for your undergrad really matter!?!

[fotolilith]

Besides, University of Texas is nothing to be sneezed at. It is pretty well-known around the world. I believe it even ranks in the top 30 schools in the world. Your school has provided you - it appears - a very strong foundation to go out into the world and bring home the spoils. You shouldn't give weight to other people's perceptions of your school. It's served your purpose quite nicely. Besides, whatever else that can be said, your chances of becoming a physician are greatly enhanced now that you've been accepted at a great school. Be happy and let go of the acrimony.

Seriously. UT Austin is very well respected by med school admissions committee members (both in and out of TX), as are a good number of other public schools. Most adcom members I've talked to say that undergraduate school doesn't matter.

Of course, adcoms and their PR ppl are notorious for saying one thing ("we want well-rounded students/ we think carefully about every applicant") and doing another ("okay, it's time to decide who gets in...who wants to pull the first name out of the hat?"), but in this case they might be right.

However, your real probably might be it's harder to maintain good grades/ stay premed a public school - MOST of the undergrads that I knew who went through UT Austin's pre-req weed out courses dropped premed afterwards. In comparison, I knew a LOT of people who went to private schools, got good grades, stayed premed AND got med school scholarships for doing so well in undergrad. It's a small sampling of students, and I can't say private schools are easy, but there is a lot of pressure in public school.

Beyond that, public schools are a great deal, both financially, educationally. Furthermore, when you're applying for residencies/ jobs you're more like to find potential bosses that are alumni from public than private school (just because of sheer numbers) - and being alumni at the same school can often help.

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[civic4982]

Woot! Hook 'em!!!
Class of '04 baby.

 

[civic4982]

MOST of the undergrads that I knew who went through UT Austin's pre-req weed out courses dropped premed afterwards. QUOTE]

werd... 10% of my friends from freshman year are actually applying...

 

[freaker]

Having attended both an elite-type undergrad and also having taken coursework at a standard state U, I can attest to several things.

1) Your undergraduate experience is what you make of it. I had numerous friends at Emory who essentially never took advantage of the opportunities in front of them. Don't think you're going to get some amazing educational experience at an elite school just by being there. There will certainly be those times, those great lectures, but more often than not, you have to take advantage of them. I had a great experience at UT, as well. I found mentors at UT, but I had to work at them more than I did at Emory.

2) Your undergraduate school will come into play in the admissions game. I have had numerous interviewers bring up the fact that I did well at Emory, which is kind of known as a pre-med factory with a lot of competition. I was thus a bit hesitant to bring up what I'm going discuss in my next point in my interviews.

3) I don't know if it's worth all the money. Honestly, I loved my experience at Emory. I had so many opportunities there, and Atlanta was a great asset. With that said, I almost enjoyed the kids more at UT-Knoxville. More of them worked on the side, they were more down to earth, more modest, and in part, more genuine. The kinds of people I'd like to call friends. Going to football games all 4 years would have been awesome. Was Emory worth all that $$$? I don't know. If I had to do it over again, I might have gone to UT, knowing what I know now. But certainly Emory contributed quite a bit to what I know now...so I go around in circles.

4) A-s were harder to come by at Emory than at UT. There was just that much more competition. There were definitely loads of intelligent people in Knoxville; it's just that there weren't as many study animals, and many of them were done with education after they finished undergrad. Grades didn't define them to the same degree.

Right now, I guess it's kind of humerous in that I'm really, really hoping to get into either Emory or UT-Memphis. We'll see if I'm lucky enough to be in the position to make a decision.

Bottomline: OP, don't think your life hangs in the balance over this one. There are far more important things in this life than where you went to school. Good luck. I'm sure you'll make the best decision for you and your family.