Running Out of Time

[Wheat]

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I'm not sure what to do. I'm currently a seniour in high school, and I've got a deadline of 1 May to decide where I want to attend for undergrad. I only applied to two schools, and was accepted to both; Eastern Michigan University and Wayne State University. Eastern is offering me full tuition, whereas Wayne State is giving me nothing. I want to transfer elsewhere for my second year onward; hopefully to an Ivy. I know Wayne State is much more well-versed in research, but I think I could always do that in my latter three years. Wayne State is also located in the worst location possible: Detroit. It probably sounds like I already know which one I want to choose, but I am unsure. I need to know in the next few days.

When applying to medical school with one year at Eastern and three years at an Ivy, will adcoms take a negative note of Eastern? I've been told that small schools like Eastern get you deferred from top medical schools like Mayo or Harvard.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

IMO, take the full ride. Not tacking on UG debt to med school debt will be huge for you if you end up going that direction. Can't comment on adcoms caring if you spent one year at a lower ranked school, but I highly doubt it.

 

[teenyfish]

No brainer - take the full tuition, you'll thank yourself later.

 

[Pattycake25]

I'm not sure what to do. I'm currently a seniour in high school, and I've got a deadline of 1 May to decide where I want to attend for undergrad. I only applied to two schools, and was accepted to both; Eastern Michigan University and Wayne State University. Eastern is offering me full tuition, whereas Wayne State is giving me nothing. I want to transfer elsewhere for my second year onward; hopefully to an Ivy. I know Wayne State is much more well-versed in research, but I think I could always do that in my latter three years. Wayne State is also located in the worst location possible: Detroit. It probably sounds like I already know which one I want to choose, but I am unsure. I need to know in the next few days.

When applying to medical school with one year at Eastern and three years at an Ivy, will adcoms take a negative note of Eastern? I've been told that small schools like Eastern get you deferred from top medical schools like Mayo or Harvard.

It's pretty extreme to make major decisions like where you attend UG based solely on Ivy league expectations. And other schools won't really make a distinction between these two schools. Really, the singular best advice here is to attend the school where you will put forth your best work, because it is your mastery of classwork that will be the major determinant of where your med school application is viable.

Congratulations on what sounds like a stellar high school record, by the way! =D

 

[Redpancreas]

I'm not sure what to do. I'm currently a seniour in high school, and I've got a deadline of 1 May to decide where I want to attend for undergrad. I only applied to two schools, and was accepted to both; Eastern Michigan University and Wayne State University. Eastern is offering me full tuition, whereas Wayne State is giving me nothing. I want to transfer elsewhere for my second year onward; hopefully to an Ivy. I know Wayne State is much more well-versed in research, but I think I could always do that in my latter three years. Wayne State is also located in the worst location possible: Detroit. It probably sounds like I already know which one I want to choose, but I am unsure. I need to know in the next few days.

When applying to medical school with one year at Eastern and three years at an Ivy, will adcoms take a negative note of Eastern? I've been told that small schools like Eastern get you deferred from top medical schools like Mayo or Harvard.

Woah dude, slow down. You're not even in college yet and you're talking Mayo and Harvard?!?!?! I thought about those things too until I got to college and realized how competitive this stuff is. One good sign though is that you're already on SDN...that'll help for you if your a hard worker and up to it so I'm not saying you won't get into Harvard or Mayo. For undergrad, as long as you go to a decent school (preferably Wayne over Eastern-I'm from MI-PM me if you want more, have a lot of friends at Wayne) you'll have all you need.
Here's the scoop though. I don't know how hard of a worker you'll be but if you're organized, focused, and start things early (forum is good for this) you're putting yourself in a good position. For me, however, I came in hoping for UMich, Duke, Mayo, Case Western as choices but now after seeing so many going through the process, I realize I'd be happy with any mid-tier MD school. I feel it's a good way to go as you learn the same stuff anyways and a great doctor can come from any university. Your coming from high school so it's understandable that your all into the Ivy League hierarchy but with medical school it's not as big of a deal. Most people care so much about undergrad school prestige because they plan to get a job outside of college. With medical school, a 3.8 at MSU vs. UMich is treated the same for the most part (I just asked a question about it today). Also I'm not trying to make you reconsider your life but think carefully about your motives for transferring to an ivy. Do you really need to?

My vote is for Eastern if you plan to go ivy but Wayne State is a good research school with a great pre-med community. My friends say their classes teach perfectly for the MCAT and I know several 35+ students coming out of Wayne State (my entire PR teacher roster). Also, I see all of them hooked up with research somehow. I don't know what's up with Eastern though. It may be good.


Also; the Detroit location is not really as bad as it sounds. Of course you're not going to have a lot of scenic and full of culture stuff but it's not dangerous

 

[tiedyeddog]

Take the full ride. If you're going to transfer after the first year then you won't get any research done in only one year before you transfer. You can join a lab after you transfer to a school with more research going on.

 

[pineapplepancakes]

Definitely take the full ride. I chose between a top university and my state school as a senior because the latter offered me a full scholarship, and I am SO happy I did. Now I have no debt, have been able to travel and work without worrying too much about money, and can move on to my medical training with no prior financial obligations. I think you are much more likely to be happy four years from now if you choose the free education.

 

[Acerbus]

My sister goes to Eastern Michigan and loves it. I would go to a school that makes you feel more comfortable and would allow you to do your best. Your experience at a school is what you make of it. Personally, I would take the full ride because not having to worry about money leaves you a little less stressed, less in debt and possibly gives you more time to focus on your studies. However, that is me. Ultimately, only you can make the decision on where you want to go.
P.S. If you decide on EMU you might meet my sister, she's an RA.

 

[McNCheese]

Take the full ride at Eastern. You can do research at other universities during the summers. I am from Michigan, and I never felt that there was much difference between Wayne and Eastern. I also wouldn't worry about transferring to an Ivy if it means paying more than what you will at Eastern. Going into medical school with as little debt as possible is a big deal, and you will thank yourself later.

 

[survivordo]

Do your 35 year old self a favor and take the full ride and stay there for as long as you can manage it! It really doesn't matter where you go to undergrad, you will have a fun time if you make it a fun time and I am sure you can find a research opportunity. Please, please, please don't waste your money just for a name on your undergraduate degree.

Survivor DO

 

[sliceofbread136]

Your undergrad really doesn't make much of a difference. Especially not to the extent that it justifies paying a boat load more of tuition. Take the full ride for now, if you want to transfer then do when u are a sophmore.

 

[Wheat]

Thanks for the quick replies, all!

It looks like Eastern is a unanimous decision! I've been told, though, that applying to schools like Harvard and Mayo will prove useless and result in an instant deferral even with perfect statistics from a place like Eastern. Will transferring change that, or is what I said not even true?

How will I know if my Eastern credits will transfer elsewhere, as well?

 

[amazing tekkers]

Thanks for the quick replies, all!

It looks like Eastern is a unanimous decision! I've been told, though, that applying to schools like Harvard and Mayo will prove useless and result in an instant deferral even with perfect statistics from a place like Eastern. Will transferring change that, or is what I said not even true?

How will I know if my Eastern credits will transfer elsewhere, as well?

Hearsay.

Work on your ec's, do extensive shadowing, research-even publish, along with a good mcat score and you can get in to top tier schools.

 

[Wheat]

Last-minute pathetic bump of desperation! I don't even know anymore; I've been having mixed feelings. Ignoring the money aspect, which one would be the superiour choice for undergrad? I've only got one day left and I'm so stressed!

 

[slz1900]

Full ride, no question. This isn't Stanford vs. Eastern Michigan, and even then the 200k in debt would likely not be worth it. There should be ample research opportunities at Eastern, if you do choose to stay there, and transferring to an Ivy is far from guaranteed so you might end up staying wherever you choose to go now.

 

[Wheat]

Full ride, no question. This isn't Stanford vs. Eastern Michigan, and even then the 200k in debt would likely not be worth it. There should be ample research opportunities at Eastern, if you do choose to stay there, and transferring to an Ivy is far from guaranteed so you might end up staying wherever you choose to go now.

That's why I've been giving this a second thought. A poster above said even said that Wayne State is more top-tier in terms of pre-med than Eastern, and I've heard similar things from others. Put their research on top of that, and it just seems like the better choice. Even given the full ride from Eastern, the financial difference isn't that large.

 

[sector9]

Moving thread to hSDN

 

[slz1900]

That's why I've been giving this a second thought. A poster above said even said that Wayne State is more top-tier in terms of pre-med than Eastern, and I've heard similar things from others. Put their research on top of that, and it just seems like the better choice. Even given the full ride from Eastern, the financial difference isn't that large.

I'd be surprised if going to Wayne State earns you bonus points in applying to medical school. It has more name recognition, but that doesn't mean that anyone will be especially impressed that you went there, and that's a lot of $$ just on the off chance that someone will view your application in a slightly more positive light four years down the road.

As for research, I think you are underestimating the research opportunities that you're going to find in any graduate degree granting, science department. A school doesn't have to be an NIH funded powerhouse to have opportunities for undergraduates. I go to a small school, even smaller than Eastern, and finding research is easy. Eastern also seems to have a ton of faculty that are actively publishing, + a few masters programs, so I would think that there would be opportunities to get involved.

Now, I'm not trying to sway you either way, just clearing up what seem like misconceptions. You seem like you would be happier at Wayne State, and that's worth something. There are likely more premeds and better support, but I really doubt that there's any added 'prestige'.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

Coming from a guy who attended a top 20 undergrad and is in the hole for $40,000 of debt because of it, take the full ride. Unless your choice is between Eastern Michigan and HYPSM, it's not worth $200k. While school name can mean something in some cases, the prestige difference between EMU and Wayne State simply does not exist.

A lot of kids make the mistake of attending expensive schools because of perceived prestige (I was one of them). Do not make that mistake. A school just gave you a full ride scholarship, that is the school you are going to attend, no more questions.