Rutgers vs. UVermont vs. Michigan State

[yumyumfun]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hi, I'm of class of 2012.
Very difficult classes, all AP and honors. Tons of extra ECCs. Worked in the labs of the local University. Live in New England. Only con is I have a semi-low G.P.A and I don't have a whole ton of leadership experience. However, I attend a very prestigious school and I'm still in the top 25%. I'd post all my stats up here, but no one cares and I'm afraid of being ripped apart like I was in the CC forums.
I w ould like to go in the pre-med track, looking for a school with great research opportunities, strong advisors, good labs/up-to-date technology, and etc. I would like to say I'm looking for a school with a low stress/anxiety environment (But is that even possible for someone on the pre-med track?)

Anyways, early action so far, I've gotten into:
Michigan State
University of Vermont
Rutgers.
I got into all these schools with scholarships ranging from (6,000 - 11,000)

Deffered from:
Tulane
Northeastern
Fordham

Denied:
UWisconsin-Madison

Applied:
Carleton (Super reach)
Lehigh
Boston University
Loyola Chicago
UFlorida
UMiami

Will Apply:
St. Olaf's
Rollins
Mulhenberg

Axed:
Occidental
McGill
George Washington
Holy Cross

Wish I applied to:
UMassAmherst
Clark University

Anyways, the likelihood of getting accepted from any of my regular decisions and the rest of the schools I haven't heard back from is kind of iffy. I like Loyola Chicago. So I was wondering what the feedback was concerning LC. I'm looking for a school that's well rounded, sports aren't important, and fit the above criteria mentioned. Also if Rutgers, Michigan State, and Vermont end up being my only options, which school is fits most or all the above criteria? Which school would you pick over all three?

 

[AHossain]

I've talked to so many people about going to Rutgers and most have said that its a really good university and is great in the sciences. I also got accepted to Rutgers( Main Campus), and was wondering between UPitt and Rutgers, but people barely know what UPitt is and a lot know what Rutgers is academically. That's basically what I can tell you about Rutgers.

 

[yumyumfun]

I've heard a ton of great things about Rutgers as well. As for Pitt, I know they have an awesome medical center. I know their med school is strong, as for undergraduates, I don't know. I was going to apply to Pitt but the school did not appeal to me.

 

[I'm No Superman]

If you're not bothered by the fact that Rutgers payed Snooki $32,000 last year to "speak" at the college, then go there.

 

[AntiHouseMD]

If you're bothered by Snooki 🙂)), I would take a close look at UVM. There is a hospital that is directly connected to the college, and you can take some undergrad classes through UVM's medical school. UVM is known as a great school for scientific research, at least according to people I have talked to. Burlington is a nice college town, and the campus looks really good. Bit pricey, but you'll have to decide whether the cost is worth it.

 

[aSagacious]

Wow, no love for MSU huh? Well, I'd say that Rutgers and MSU are on par as far as academic quality and opportunities go. The big difference in my opinion is location. Rutgers is in the middle of a booming metropolitan area while MSU is your typical college town. Which you prefer is simply a matter of preference. I might add that MSU is affiliated with 1 MD school, 1 DO school, 1 vet school, 1 law school, and a bunch of grad schools (should you change your mind along the way).

 

[ksmajmudar]

If your goal is to get into medical school, as a Rutgers alumni, I would advise you not to go to Rutgers University. It's a good school, and will provide you with a good education, lots of partying, and great football games. The con - and this is a major one - is that there are an absurd number of pre-meds. The competition is incredibly thick, because you will be 1/7,000+ pre-meds. Granted, this is filtered as you get closer to graduation, but even my senior year, there were still thousands of pre-meds. And many of these students will be incredibly intelligent - students who gained admission but could not afford Johns Hopkins or Yale and choose to attend Rutgers for free. That's not to say that will be more intelligent than you, but rather to say that the competition is tough.

I think there are several important factors that should be taken into account. First and foremost - if you are taking out loans, go to the cheapest undergraduate school. That is without a doubt. Medical school costs a fortune and as I prepare to take out $264,000 in med school loans, I am glad that I don't have any pre-existing loans.

If you aren't taking out loans and cost is not a factor to you and your family, the next thing to look at is how likely you are to get admission to medical school? Go to the easiest school, get a stellar GPA, study like crazy for the MCAT, and do well. From there, it's just the normal things that you can get anywhere - shadowing, LORs, volunteering, leadership. If you're worried about research, you can do a summer research fellowship.

On the other hand, if you want a well-rounded college experience, Rutgers is one of the best places in the country for it, IMO. Great parties, plenty of Greek life, great athletics atmosphere, lots of on-campus activities, near NYC, and just overall a lot of fun.

Just my $.02. Good luck!

 

[yumyumfun]

Thanks for the input! I'll be waiting for all the FAFSA packages and see if I get any good money anywhere else!
I would go to my state school if it wasn't so awful...University of Rhode Island is great for pharmacy, chemical engineering, but absolutely awful for bio...I worked in the labs and it was terrible!