Tough situation/serious decision.. input is welcome

[FRESH 12]

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Tough situation/serious decision.. input is welcome

If you have time, please read through my situation, and give me your input and ideas. I will greatly! appreciate it.

I am a pre-med student at a private Catholic university (let’s call it Joseph’s). My goal is to get admitted into the public Medical School, that’s the graduate school of the public state university. Because Joseph’s is more prestigious and respected I worked very hard in high school to have a great profile and get a huge scholarship to go there.
Problem is that I can’t afford to life on campus, however, 99% of the students here life on campus, making me feel VERY VERY left out.
I am a social person, and now during my second year at Joseph’s i still have NO friends!! making me very miserable. I am also not Christian, making it hard for me to function in a Catholic University Environment.

My option is switching to the public university in the city that has a good pre-med program, but with tougher classes(profs not as good, larger class sizes). I have a ton of friends at the public university who are all off campus, and going there I know I will have a great time with them every day.
Here's what I am thinking.
Staying at Josephs
Better education overall/ultimately higher GPA
More prestigious university
Good chance of getting into Joseph’s Medical school OR Public Medical school (goal is public medschool)
Having to pay 4,000 dollars every year (loans and payments)

Switching to Public university after second year of undergrad at Josephs

having friends
better college experience/memories
more comfortable environment
chance to enjoy life before med school?
not having to pay any tuition
able to afford summer school classes
but tougher classes (profs not as good, larger class size) and less prestige, ultimately causing me to have a lower GPA and hurting my chances of getting into medschool, public and especially joseph's med school.

I know I am the one who needs to make a decision. but give me your input please! Should I hurt my chances of getting into graduate school in order to have a pleasant college experience, or should I suffer and put my education first?

 

[JJMrK]

For me it would depend on what the public school is.

 

[Disinence2]

Dude.

Go where your happy.

But keep in mind that in medical school you will likely be thrown in with 150 people you don't know in a city your unfamiliar with where living on campus isn't really an option.

 

[Skrubs]

Sounds to me like you already know what you want to do. You just want somebody to agree with you. So I will. You should go to the public university. An education is an education so just do it. It's not like going to a public university hurts your chances of getting into a med school.

 

[not so calm now]

Tough situation/serious decision.. input is welcome

If you have time, please read through my situation, and give me your input and ideas. I will greatly! appreciate it.

I am a pre-med student at a private Catholic university (let’s call it Joseph’s). My goal is to get admitted into the public Medical School, that’s the graduate school of the public state university. Because Joseph’s is more prestigious and respected I worked very hard in high school to have a great profile and get a huge scholarship to go there.
Problem is that I can’t afford to life on campus, however, 99% of the students here life on campus, making me feel VERY VERY left out.
I am a social person, and now during my second year at Joseph’s i still have NO friends!! making me very miserable. I am also not Christian, making it hard for me to function in a Catholic University Environment.

My option is switching to the public university in the city that has a good pre-med program, but with tougher classes(profs not as good, larger class sizes). I have a ton of friends at the public university who are all off campus, and going there I know I will have a great time with them every day.
Here's what I am thinking.
Staying at Josephs
Better education overall/ultimately higher GPA
More prestigious university
Good chance of getting into Joseph’s Medical school OR Public Medical school (goal is public medschool)
Having to pay 4,000 dollars every year (loans and payments)

Switching to Public university after second year of undergrad at Josephs

having friends
better college experience/memories
more comfortable environment
chance to enjoy life before med school?
not having to pay any tuition
able to afford summer school classes
but tougher classes (profs not as good, larger class size) and less prestige, ultimately causing me to have a lower GPA and hurting my chances of getting into medschool, public and especially joseph's med school.

I know I am the one who needs to make a decision. but give me your input please! Should I hurt my chances of getting into graduate school in order to have a pleasant college experience, or should I suffer and put my education first?

I'm curious as to why you went to the catholic school in the first place, especially considering you're not religious.

 

[bellakk]

I'm curious as to why you went to the catholic school in the first place, especially considering you're not religious.

ditto!!

There is absolutely no point in going to a school you dont like. The fact that it is "more prestigious" is irrelevant. When people ask you about college, you want to be able to talk about how much fun you had and the stuff you were involved in. No one cares about its prestige.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Seriously, prestige doesn't matter in med school admissions; GPA and MCAT do, prestige is fairly unimportant. Furthermore, worse professors doesn't necessarily mean you'll get lower grades; at a public school, you'll also probably be competing against some less serious students, meaning you'll wind up higher on the curve.

 

[Eye Cue]

It sounds as though you are saying a lower GPA is inevitable. Maybe more likely, but not necessarily. Don't set yourself up for failure... although I do understand what you really meant by it. Based on what you said, I would switch schools, but that's just me.

 

[AlexMorph]

save money, be happy, you probably won't end up with lower GPA

you need to switch and watch out for your mental health

 

[Snowman334]

It sounds as though you are saying a lower GPA is inevitable. Maybe more likely, but not necessarily. Don't set yourself up for failure... although I do understand what you really meant by it. Based on what you said, I would switch schools, but that's just me.

I agree 100%. Switch to the Public School, just study harder to keep a good GPA.

 

[Alwaysbehopeful]

It college man! I LOVED college...all the late night chats, BBQs, frat parties, parties, parties, parties.....

Seriously, sophomore year and NO friends...You need to live life! Listen you have a lifetime of getting into medical school, your are only 18-21 ONCE in your life..have some god damn fun!

 

[Mobius1985]

Protecting your GPA is your first priority, along with getting a decent MCAT score. If you're miserable, it is harder to concentrate and get good grades.

Your second priority is to accumulate the extracurricular activities essential to a good med school application. These generally force one to be social, except for research. You need to join groups that have the potential to give you a leadership position, provide community services, tutoring/mentoring opportunities, and an expression of your hobbies or outlet for sports. You need to acquire clinical experience and find doctors to shadow. My guess is that all these things might be easier at a large public institution in a city (which is also cheaper).

In your place, I'd transfer.

 

[lstone13]

Dude.

Go where your happy.

But keep in mind that in medical school you will likely be thrown in with 150 people you don't know in a city your unfamiliar with where living on campus isn't really an option.

Agreed. There is no sense in being miserable.

 

[ziggydoc]

Being happier in life will lead to more productivity, which in turn will prob lead to higher GPA and ECs. Having a good support system around you is important when times get tough, and when you need to vent about stuff. "worse" professors does not mean they are worse teachers, they just may not have the same interest in research, you'd be surprised. My fav professor and the best teachers I've had in college doesn't even have a PhD, but she was simply amazing.

 

[NotSur]

what year are you?

 

[oaklandguy]

Suck it up and become a Catholic.

 

[JediZero]

I'll offer this: switching schools will not magically solve your problems and help you make friends, even if it means living on campus. Especially as a transfer, you may find difficulty finding a niche.

I'd recommend getting involved in some on-campus activities (clubs, intramural sports, volunteer center, etc.) or getting involved in some study groups or whatnot to get to meet people. Even at a Catholic school, I'm sure there are plenty of non-religious activities available to you.

Ultimately, though, you know your situation better than I do. My advice is with the rest of the posters: your school isn't a huge deal to adcoms. Go wherever makes you happiest, do your work and you'll be fine 🙂

 

[chman]

I am a little confused. You said you have a full ride to the private college, but then you say it would cost you nothing to go to the public school.

Anyway, is dose not matter, go where you will be happy.

Not happy = bad grades.

 

[chman]

I do think others might bring up a good point though. Friends don't magically come to you. One has to work at it. Have you joined clubs etc. to meet people?

 

[Exalya]

I would have a really hard time staying at a religious university, being non-religious myself. Why is that one public school your only choice? If I were you, I'd try to find another school that fit you both socially and academically. Also, name is not very important if you have the grades, so I wouldn't be worried about that.

I've personally ended up in a school where I have friends, but the class sizes are insanely big. I wish I would have researched other universities in the area more, but since I transferred for my junior year I kind of got stuck here. It's something I can suffer through... but it has taught me that I REALLY need to make sure that the med school I attend is the right academic environment.

Best of luck on your decision.

 

[Yudid]

If public school will make u more happy than switch, u live just once! 😉 So enjoy ur life, if public school has tougher classes, than it means u will just have to study more... Public school doesn't mean bad quality...

 

[FRESH 12]

Just to answer some of the points you guys mentioned


-The reason I went to the Catholic school in the first place was because everyone I know went to the public school, including 3 of my older siblings. Since I wanted to stay in the city, this was the highest goal I could make for myself in high school: the expensive private school. Making friends is not something I ever had trouble doing, that's why I didn't think it would affect me so much.

My grades here are doing good actually, mainly because staying focused on school distract me from the fact that I am a loner. HA. sad. lol 😉

It's not like going to a public university hurts your chances of getting into a med school.

Seriously though, what's REALLY holding me here is knowing that this degree will give me a GREAT chance to get into their Med school OR pharmacy school. My goal is to get into the public medical school, but the private one is my only back up right now, because I am very intent on staying in the city.

And thank you so much for the responses guys, I really appreciate it. 😳

 

[FRESH 12]

what year are you?

I started my second year, and I know I will go through this year, I am just not sure about the next two. Would spending two years at this school at least make a difference on my med school app?

I am a little confused. You said you have a full ride to the private college, but then you say it would cost you nothing to go to the public school.

They look at your high school record, so they are willing to give me a full ride + books

I do think others might bring up a good point though. Friends don't magically come to you. One has to work at it. Have you joined clubs etc. to meet people?

I tried, most meetings are at 9 at night (I have a part time job, plus i have to go home cuz i can't focus and study anywhere else)

 

[Moebius]

Tough situation/serious decision.. input is welcome

If you have time, please read through my situation, and give me your input and ideas. I will greatly! appreciate it.

I am a pre-med student at a private Catholic university (let’s call it Joseph’s). My goal is to get admitted into the public Medical School, that’s the graduate school of the public state university. Because Joseph’s is more prestigious and respected I worked very hard in high school to have a great profile and get a huge scholarship to go there.
Problem is that I can’t afford to life on campus, however, 99% of the students here life on campus, making me feel VERY VERY left out.
I am a social person, and now during my second year at Joseph’s i still have NO friends!! making me very miserable. I am also not Christian, making it hard for me to function in a Catholic University Environment.

My option is switching to the public university in the city that has a good pre-med program, but with tougher classes(profs not as good, larger class sizes). I have a ton of friends at the public university who are all off campus, and going there I know I will have a great time with them every day.
Here's what I am thinking.
Staying at Josephs
Better education overall/ultimately higher GPA
More prestigious university
Good chance of getting into Joseph’s Medical school OR Public Medical school (goal is public medschool)
Having to pay 4,000 dollars every year (loans and payments)

Switching to Public university after second year of undergrad at Josephs

having friends
better college experience/memories
more comfortable environment
chance to enjoy life before med school?
not having to pay any tuition
able to afford summer school classes
but tougher classes (profs not as good, larger class size) and less prestige, ultimately causing me to have a lower GPA and hurting my chances of getting into medschool, public and especially joseph's med school.

I know I am the one who needs to make a decision. but give me your input please! Should I hurt my chances of getting into graduate school in order to have a pleasant college experience, or should I suffer and put my education first?

I don't recommend you to switch. Social life is highly overrated anyways. It is tough and challenging to get introduce into a completely new setting. This is a poor analogy, but cancer cells from one part of the body usually doesn't do too well in another part.

 

[Rogue Synapse]

cancer cells from one part of the body usually doesn't do too well in another part.

Sure they do. De-differentiate and metastasize to the public school, buddy! You only get to do college once, and you will get the GPA and MCAT to get into your private or public med school of choice no matter where you go to college if you want it badly enough. Good luck, whatever you decide!

 

[FRESH 12]

Sure they do. De-differentiate and metastasize to the public school, buddy! You only get to do college once, and you will get the GPA and MCAT to get into your private or public med school of choice no matter where you go to college if you want it badly enough. Good luck, whatever you decide!

hahaha lmao that was great. lol

anyway, I am leaning towards the public school now. I will probably take the harder pre-med classes next semester at my private school, so hopefully that will help.