(Undergrad) Full ride to big state school? Good idea or no?

[ese2]

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[Symphonies]

General rule of thumb that's thrown around SDN is to go to the school that's the best fit for you/the cheapest school and to avoid student debt I believe. Arguably the top premed programs are filled with other driven premeds which cause a greater attrition rate as opposed to state schools, but also provide great opportunities. Granted, state schools are also competitive, but when comparing my state school (i.e.) to JHU/WUSTL, it's definitely not as competitive/opportunity rich. Why do you think going to OU/Alabama is a big risk? Plenty of people get into great med schools from state schools

 

[ese2]

General rule of thumb that's thrown around SDN is to go to the school that's the best fit for you/the cheapest school and to avoid student debt I believe. Arguably the top premed programs are filled with other driven premeds which cause a greater attrition rate as opposed to state schools, but also provide great opportunities. Granted, state schools are also competitive, but when comparing my state school (i.e.) to JHU/WUSTL, it's definitely not as competitive/opportunity rich. Why do you think going to OU/Alabama is a big risk? Plenty of people get into great med schools from state schools

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[efle]

Average grades are lower but the student bodies are also not at the level of academic ability and competition as places like JHU or WashU.

I'd take the full ride to a state flagship if the alternative is Grinnell though, they aren't a particularly strong premed option. State vs Ivy/Duke/WashU/etc is a much tougher decision.

 

[efle]

Wait do you already have these as your options for the autumn, or are you asking ahead of time about what to apply for during your upcoming Senior year of highschool?

 

[Symphonies]

I've heard that state schools have grade deflation, less individual advising/care, and overall hard time do well in. Do you feel like hard work pays off in a state school?

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Absolutely-- it's only second semester for me but I took my classes pretty seriously first semester and was able to get a 4.0. As efle said, granted there may be grade deflation, but the students here are definitely nowhere near the students who attend Hopkins/WashU. They're basically self proclaimed "physicians" since we have a physiology major that's under the college of medicine, but I feel most of them are pretty clueless in regards to a lot of the admissions process.

In regards to advising, I personally don't trust pre-health advisors. The ones at my school are full of crap, as the official dental advisor told me that shadowing hours don't matter. However, given that you're motivated enough and comb SDN enough over time, I think you can definitely bridge the weak advising gap easily.

I can't really say much for the opportunities lost though; I did turn down WashU to come here instead for the sake of money. Personally, I feel like I did get the short straw compared to the activities and ECs that many of my friends have going to schools w/ good premed programs, but efle can probably talk about that in better detail than me though

 

[efle]

Personally, I feel like I did get the short straw compared to the activities and ECs that many of my friends have going to schools w/ good premed programs, but efle can probably talk about that in better detail than me though

It depends where you went instead. I got very generous full-tuition need aid from a few premed powerhouses including WashU where I attended, while my sibling instead went to a rural small liberal arts college (for free). When sibling got interested in premed we discovered how stark the contrast can be: her advising was especially atrocious (they told her to take Physics abroad), there was no real nearby options for clinical exposure, only volunteerism was stuff on campus, not great options for research (ended up doing some stuff she found very boring with flies), the prereq science work rigor was like what we had in high school and missed huge parts of MCAT material, there were very few other premeds or science majors in general. You get the idea.

That said, tiny LAC is a far cry from a giant state flagship like Oklahoma or Alabama. At a place like that you will likely have to take more initiative to get ECs set up than at one of the private premed powerhouses, but the opportunities for research and volunteering and shadowing etc should be there. Use SDN to get an idea what you should do, ignore your advisors in most cases, and you'd be fine.

And if this is all being asked hypothetically in anticipation of an upcoming college application cycle, make sure you go ahead and apply for both the merit options and the competitive private premed feeders. You might be surprised at how much need-based aid you get from the latter.

 

[DiscusKeeper]

I went to an undergrad that no one has ever heard of. I got accepted to my top choice and interviewed at BU & Tufts. The interviews were filled with Princeton, Harvard, and Yale graduates. We were both in the same interview even though I went to a tiny undergraduate school that no one even knew existed.

The school you go to for undergrad matters such a small amount. What matters is your grades, MCAT score, and the work you put into the other components of your application, not the name of your undergrad institution. If you have a full ride, take advantage of it and graduate debt free. You'll be grateful you did when you have to start paying your loans back.

 

[efle]

The school you go to for undergrad matters such a small amount. What matters is your grades, MCAT score, and the work you put into the other components of your application, not the name of your undergrad institution.

See my signature AAMC survey - private med schools tend to rate "selectivity of undergrad" as a "highest importance" academic factor

There are always exceptions to be sure ! Even when interviewing at top 10s there were always people from state programs amid the sea of Ivy&co.

 

[Podstar]

Two fun AF schools, congrats with whichever school you choose.

 

[ese2]

Absolutely-- it's only second semester for me but I took my classes pretty seriously first semester and was able to get a 4.0. As efle said, granted there may be grade deflation, but the students here are definitely nowhere near the students who attend Hopkins/WashU. They're basically self proclaimed "physicians" since we have a physiology major that's under the college of medicine, but I feel most of them are pretty clueless in regards to a lot of the admissions process.

In regards to advising, I personally don't trust pre-health advisors. The ones at my school are full of crap, as the official dental advisor told me that shadowing hours don't matter. However, given that you're motivated enough and comb SDN enough over time, I think you can definitely bridge the weak advising gap easily.

I can't really say much for the opportunities lost though; I did turn down WashU to come here instead for the sake of money. Personally, I feel like I did get the short straw compared to the activities and ECs that many of my friends have going to schools w/ good premed programs, but efle can probably talk about that in better detail than me though

.

 

[ese2]

It depends where you went instead. I got very generous full-tuition need aid from a few premed powerhouses including WashU where I attended, while my sibling instead went to a rural small liberal arts college (for free). When sibling got interested in premed we discovered how stark the contrast can be: her advising was especially atrocious (they told her to take Physics abroad), there was no real nearby options for clinical exposure, only volunteerism was stuff on campus, not great options for research (ended up doing some stuff she found very boring with flies), the prereq science work rigor was like what we had in high school and missed huge parts of MCAT material, there were very few other premeds or science majors in general. You get the idea.

That said, tiny LAC is a far cry from a giant state flagship like Oklahoma or Alabama. At a place like that you will likely have to take more initiative to get ECs set up than at one of the private premed powerhouses, but the opportunities for research and volunteering and shadowing etc should be there. Use SDN to get an idea what you should do, ignore your advisors in most cases, and you'd be fine.

And if this is all being asked hypothetically in anticipation of an upcoming college application cycle, make sure you go ahead and apply for both the merit options and the competitive private premed feeders. You might be surprised at how much need-based aid you get from the latter.

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[efle]

Hey efle. I'm a junior. The situation isn't so hypothetical since I'm already guaranteed a full ride to the 2 state schools. Judging by my stats with a 35 ACT and 4.6 GPA, I'm assuming I can get into schools like Grinnell, case western, and university of illinois. Of course you never know for sure.

Also, my goal right now isn't a top 10 med school. I just want to go to an undergrad that gives me the best chance for any US med school, but preferably MD. I havent beard that going to a state school hurts your chances for every med school though, not just top 10. But Im sure that wherever I go, I will put in 100% effort.

If you have some interesting ECs to back up the stats then you will have success with some Ivy type schools, and unless you have very wealthy parents that are simply unwilling to help fund your education, then you should get very generous aid (they have all signed onto policies of meeting full demonstrated need). I'd apply to a dozen or so favorites from the top ~20, sounds like WashU and Northwestern and maybe Notre Dame in particular might be in an especially good location for you. If OK and 'bama have automatic scholarships you will 100% qualify for then you have your backup/safety option already in place (and might end up preferring them anyways if the aid from private schools is disappointing).

There isn't a divide between T10 med and the rest as far as where you should go for undergrad. The resources you'd have somewhere like WashU or Northwestern are hugely beneficial for someone aspiring MD, period. Even more beneficial if you did want to aim high, since the top med schools tend to favor top undergrad feeders and research-heavy applications, and research opportunities are plentiful at places like this. But if your dream is U Ill MD it is still beneficial.

So advising you at this point is easy at least - go pick some favorites from the top, apply, see where you get in, see what aid they offer. Then would be time to try and decide all this.

 

[efle]

What's the automatic scholarship options for, by the way? PSAT/National Merit?