The infamous question...

[Zubair]

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Ok, I have a situation on hand. I am wondering how much med schools really look at where you get your bachelors from. I have a choice to either get a degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I) (one of the top universities), or University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) (an OK university). I'm confused because UIC is right by my house, like a 20 minute drive but U of I is a 3 hour drive. I would have to live on campus at U of I. Does a more prestigious university mean better chances of getting into med school?

Please advise...

 

[Bluntman]

Ok, I have a situation on hand. I am wondering how much med schools really look at where you get your bachelors from. I have a choice to either get a degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I) (one of the top universities), or University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) (an OK university). I'm confused because UIC is right by my house, like a 20 minute drive but U of I is a 3 hour drive. I would have to live on campus at U of I. Does a more prestigious university mean better chances of getting into med school?

Please advise...

All else being equal, yes.

 

[cubbbie]

I don't think there is an enormous difference between those two schools. I don't think it would make a huge difference to med schools. I might be wrong.

 

[doctorsoph]

All else being equal, yes.

yes, but all else is never equal. if you go to the more prestigous university, it will be more difficult, you will live away from home, and your grades *could* suffer. If you go to the other school, it may have smaller class sizes, easier classes, you will be at home with a better support network, and you may fare better. Case in point: the other variables are never going to be equal.

 

[idandps]

I agree with cubbbie, unless you can get an engineering or an accounting degree from U of I. Otherwise, I would say there's not much a level difference between the schools.

 

[NapeSpikes]

I thought they were the same school until some fellow Rush interviewees set me straight.

 

[Whootman]

I'm from the Suburbs of Chicago and went to UIUC. I didn't even apply to UIC. A vast majority of students at UIUC are from the Chicago area. You would definitely not be alone. I really loved the campus feel of Champaign-Urbana, and I'm glad I did my undergrad work there. So, unless you feel the need to be in the city of Chicago, I say go with UIUC.

 

[Zubair]

do you guys think i should go for the top degrees, like the accounting degree from u of i? (it's rank 1 in the country for accounting). will that look good when i go to apply for med schools?

 

[Pewl]

Urbana-Champaign is garbage! They don't have any Jamba Juices! =P

Heh

Their engineering library is great though.

 

[hanjoko]

hm...I am from UIUC and I think its engineering program is pretty good. 😎

 

[Lilah]

do you guys think i should go for the top degrees, like the accounting degree from u of i? (it's rank 1 in the country for accounting). will that look good when i go to apply for med schools?

What will “look good” is if you study something you’re actually interested in and do well. Don’t choose a major based on what you think medical schools want to see. You risk being miserable, losing motivation and of course the opportunity to learn about things you like.

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

Ok, I have a situation on hand. I am wondering how much med schools really look at where you get your bachelors from. I have a choice to either get a degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I) (one of the top universities), or University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) (an OK university). I'm confused because UIC is right by my house, like a 20 minute drive but U of I is a 3 hour drive. I would have to live on campus at U of I. Does a more prestigious university mean better chances of getting into med school?

Please advise...

Pick a college where you will get good grades and courses that will prepare you to take your MCATs. A supportive and established premed board is helpful. Do the research. You do not want to do a post bac (if you don't have a competitive GPA) or go through the application process without counsel.

 

[stiffany]

do you guys think i should go for the top degrees, like the accounting degree from u of i? (it's rank 1 in the country for accounting). will that look good when i go to apply for med schools?

Pick a major and university based on your happiness and external factors unrelated to your chances for medical school. I know this may be hard to fathom, but you may not end up being premed by the end of your college career so going where you want and taking some classes that sound interesting regardless of whether they'll make you a "competitive applicant" will be much better than locking yourself into a path that may change. Plus, as other posters have mentioned, happiness in your college location and courses usually correlates quite well with GPA, especially during freshman year! I know that, for me personally, the second I stopped worrying about which classes to choose based on looking good to med schools, the happier I became (and the better my GPA started to look).

 

[Zubair]

Ok let me further explain my situation. I went to UIUC (champaign) spring 2005 semester for Computer Engineering. I took the hardest classes as a freshman first semester... (Calc 3, Thermal Physics (physics 3), Discrete Mathematics, Intro to electrical and computer engineering). I got a C+ in Physics 3 (that kinda affects my science gpa). Those were very tough classes and I made the mistake of taking all of those my first semester of high school. I got a 2.3 GPA but the good side is that, that those only comprised of 12 credit hours.

Oh ya and another thing, before I started college I took Chem 1 at a community college just to get it out of the way. I didn't really care about it that much back then so I ended up getting a B in that class.

After the Fall 2005 semester, I took the Spring semester off due to financial and other reasons. Spring semester just ended.

I decided not to stick with Computer Engineering and do an easier major so I can pull my GPA up to get into med school. And money is an issue too so I decided to go to a community college for a year to get all of my gen eds done and then go back to UIUC.

I know thats a lot of information, if you have any questions please ask me so I can clarify. But looking at that, what would you guys suggest I do? And what ECs should I do, (I haven't done any yet...)?

Thank you for reading this big ol' post...

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

Ok let me further explain my situation. I went to UIUC (champaign) spring 2005 semester for Computer Engineering. I took the hardest classes as a freshman first semester... (Calc 3, Thermal Physics (physics 3), Discrete Mathematics, Intro to electrical and computer engineering). I got a C+ in Physics 3 (that kinda affects my science gpa). Those were very tough classes and I made the mistake of taking all of those my first semester of high school. I got a 2.3 GPA but the good side is that, that those only comprised of 12 credit hours.

Oh ya and another thing, before I started college I took Chem 1 at a community college just to get it out of the way. I didn't really care about it that much back then so I ended up getting a B in that class.

After the Fall 2005 semester, I took the Spring semester off due to financial and other reasons. Spring semester just ended.

I decided not to stick with Computer Engineering and do an easier major so I can pull my GPA up to get into med school. And money is an issue too so I decided to go to a community college for a year to get all of my gen eds done and then go back to UIUC.

I know thats a lot of information, if you have any questions please ask me so I can clarify. But looking at that, what would you guys suggest I do? And what ECs should I do, (I haven't done any yet...)?

Thank you for reading this big ol' post...

I'm not sure why you have a Physics III unless you're on a quarter system. However, a C+ isn't a good grade to have as a prereq. You may want to think about taking that over again. The Gen Chem I at the community college is fine. Just make sure you retrieve a copy of the transcript when you apply. You seem to have had several obstacles that stagnated your education. It may be something you might want to address in your personal statement.

This is a lot of information to grasp, but in general, do well in the remainder of your prereqs. Find a major that you enjoy and do well on your prereqs. I'm not sure how many semesters you have left. For ECs, try research, volunteering, leadership opportunities, etc...

 

[Skaterbabe74]

I'm not sure why you have a Physics III unless you're on a quarter system. However, a C+ isn't a good grade to have as a prereq. You may want to think about taking that over again. The Gen Chem I at the community college is fine. Just make sure you retrieve a copy of the transcript when you apply. You seem to have had several obstacles that stagnated your education. It may be something you might want to address in your personal statement.

This is a lot of information to grasp, but in general, do well in the remainder of your prereqs. Find a major that you enjoy and do well on your prereqs. I'm not sure how many semesters you have left. For ECs, try research, volunteering, leadership opportunities, etc...

Many semester schools divide out the calc-based series into 3 classes. Physics 1 is mechanics/Newton/rotational motion, Physics 2 is E&M, and physics 3 is thermo, optics, and intros to nuclear/quantum/etc

To the OP - it sounds like you might have an easier time at UIC for many reasons. Closer to home so less adjustment needed to living on your own (or none if you'll stay at your folks); city life (although UIUC has a good night life too); smaller classes so easier to get the help you need, and stand out to the profs, etc. But I would double check and make sure that the physics series is set up the same at UIC. One C+ won't hurt really so I'd probably wait and see how I did in my other prereqs before deciding to retake the class. Find a major you enjoy and rock it and the prereqs.

FWIW I went to ISU for a year right after high school and ended up hating it. I didn't take difficult classes (I started out as a music ed major) but I had no clue how to live on my own, ended up hating my major, didn't have a clue what I wanted to do, and was forced to stay the full year instead of coming home (west 'burbs) at the end of the semester. My gpa there was so bad I wouldn't have been allowed to return for a second year even if I wanted to. I messed around a few more years with more artistic majors (theater, dance, etc) at the local CC and eventually found my way back to the sciences (I had planned on being premed til my jr. year of hs.) after moving to Colorado for figure skating purposes and being forced to give up that dream due to finances. The moral is to do what makes you happy. Find a major you really enjoy, but make sure you explore all of your interests before settling on one. Don't worry about "which school is better," and don't get sucked into the premed mentality. You'll be much happier and mentally healthier if you can avoid that.

 

[UIC Killa]

I got into UIUC but decided to go to UIC because UIUC is in the middle of nowhere. It seemed to me like the only thing to do was party (not really my style). UIC offered me a bunch of different hospitals for clinical experiences within minutes of the campus (UIC, Rush, Cook County, Stroger...). UIC college of medicine is also right on campus and UIC also has numerous research oppurtunities. UIC also had the best dorms of all the colleges I visited. Their South campus dorms are amazing...check it out yourself. What I am really saying is that if you do your research then one school should come out on top of the other. It depends on what you want out of your undergraduate experience. Both schools have their pros and cons. No matter what school you choose, it will come down to only two things...hard work...and of course the crapshoot MCATS.

 

[Zubair]

any more?

 

[cubbbie]

Pick a major and university based on your happiness and external factors unrelated to your chances for medical school. I know this may be hard to fathom, but you may not end up being premed by the end of your college career so going where you want and taking some classes that sound interesting regardless of whether they'll make you a "competitive applicant" will be much better than locking yourself into a path that may change. Plus, as other posters have mentioned, happiness in your college location and courses usually correlates quite well with GPA, especially during freshman year! I know that, for me personally, the second I stopped worrying about which classes to choose based on looking good to med schools, the happier I became (and the better my GPA started to look).

I don't see the point in majoring in accounting if you want to go to med school -- unless you were really interested in it for some reason. I'm 99% admission committees and the doctors reviewing the apps will not know or that this school was top notch for accounting, and even if they did, they probably wouldn't care at all.

 

[kevster2001]

Short answer: yes
long answer:
You would obviously need to be able to maintain similar GPA at UofI otherwise you'd just shoot yourself in the foot. By the way, given the high rate of premed drop outs, theres a chance you'll get to UofI and realize you hate science. So that's also a risk you run. But all else being the same I'd go to the better school.

 

[notdeadyet]

I have a choice to either get a degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I) (one of the top universities), or University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) (an OK university).

You'll probably find that for most outside of the Chicago area, we won't know one from the other.

Go with your gut as to where you'll be happier and get the better education.