Medical T20 full-tuition undergrad vs BS/MD program?

[GoSpursGo]

Hey guys,

I am a high school senior who was recently admitted to Notre Dame on a full merit tuition scholarship with a 12k enrichment fund. All books and personal expenses are covered, and I could not be more grateful. I was also admitted to UIC's GPPA program, which is an 8-year BS/MD program that guarantees acceptance into med school with a 513 MCAT and 3.5 GPA. Since I would be commuting to UIC, the cost of attendance is essentially the same for both UIC and Notre Dame (around 10-12k/year). Pros and Cons are below for each school:

UIC pros:
- No plus/minus grading scale (easier to maintain a higher GPA)
- Great mentors
- Diverse school and city (more opportunities in Chicago)
- Lots of resources for GPPA students

UIC cons:
- Larger class sizes (harder to connect with profs)
- I've lived near campus my entire life
- I would be missing out on the typical college experience
- Student life is lacking compared to ND

Notre Dame pros:
- full tuition stamps scholarship creates a national network
- better known university
- Part of the honors program
- Student life, school culture & spirit is strong
- Lots of research opportunities around campus
- Strong alumni network (Does this even matter??)
- Strong advising for premed/not as competitive as other T10 schools I got into

Notre Dame cons:
- Plus/minus grading scale
- PWI (less diverse)
- South Bend pales in comparison to the opportunities in Chicago
- Would have to work harder to maintain a strong GPA and grind in EC’s
- Spend thousands of $$ to go through the med school application cycle again (no guarantees of getting in)

What would be the better choice? Please help!

Congrats, these are two amazing options.

You can’t lose here. I think you’ve done a great job of laying out the pros and cons for each choice, and it really comes down to a personal decision. I tend to advise folks that you have to be really, really sure that you want to do Med school to choose a bs/md over a traditional undergrad. If there is some chance in a year that you’re going to find that you want to do something else with your life, then I think the choice is clear. Otherwise it all comes down to how you want to spend the next 4 years.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

By the sound of it, I don't think you would have trouble doing well in undergrad. If this is the case, you will likely get a high GPA. What do you mean by enrichment fund?

Have you done any medical volunteering yet? How are you 100% sure you want to be a doctor? I sorta lean towards ND here since I feel you would do well and likely have a good shot at medical school regardless. Also, you are kinda on the hook with the MCAT. If you don't get 513, from your post it doesn't seem like the guaranteed acceptance is there.

 

[GoSpursGo]

The enrichment fund could be used for study abroad trips, funding research projects, etc. Basically 12k to do whatever I want, which is insane. I have volunteered at hospitals before, and am 95% sure that being a doctor would be a great match for my future profession. The other 5% of me would like to pursue a PhD and become a professor.

Also, how hard is it to get a 513? Is that a competitive score when applying to med school?

513 is slightly above average for med school matriculants. It certainly isn't an "easy" bar to clear; it's doable. But bottom line, you still have to study for the MCAT and it's not like you're going to aim to "just clear the bar," you're going to do your best so I'm not sure you gain a ton there. In my mind the biggest advantage to the BS/MD is that you don't have to jump through all the other hoops like volunteering/shadowing/etc. But it sounds like you could probably use a little more exposure to make sure you really are sure about medicine.

And honestly, that enrichment fund is indeed insane. As long as you pick some project that is medically related in even one of those years, you will undoubtedly be able to check those boxes. Unless you suddenly academically underperform I think you would set yourself up to have an extremely competitive med school application.

You would never be wrong to do UIC if you're 100% sure about medicine and you want to stay close to your family. It's definitely the safe choice. But this ND offer is really unique, and ultimately I would make this decision based on how you want to spend the next 4 years rather than what you might want to do further down the line. If there's even a 5% chance that you won't want to be a doctor, I'd really think long and hard about the ND offer, as I think the worst case scenario is that you take the BS/MD only to find out that you actually don't want to go to med school.

 

[MusicDOc124]

I'm leaning toward ND with the full ride and enrichment fund.

With the requirements for >513 and >3.5, you'd have a good chance of getting into med school on your own merit outside of the guarantee. You wouldn't have gotten that kind of scholarship to such a school if you weren't capable.

This will give you a more "college" experience than staying where you've already been as you said.

Does the scholarship include room/board too? Or is that what the enrichment fund is for?

One thing to note here though about plus/minus system:
This can also be a less good thing in some cases too. Even though it was mentioned above that you likely have a great work ethic and all, theres always that chance you get a B"+" which would lower your GPA more than somewhere that does +/- grading. So just something to keep in mind.


Honestly, you can't go wrong with either choice. I would weigh out: 1) which feels better - that gut feeling and 2) which will have the least cost in the end (ie living at home free, but paying tuition vs free tuition, but paying for all of your living costs/food - unless thats covered too).

 

[Goro]

Always go for the full ride