University of Pennsylvania vs Illinois Wesleyan University

[R_J_123]

Ok, so I am currently a high school senior and when I applied to schools, I was between NP or MD. Now, I've decided that I want to do MD, but some of the schools I applied to were nursing programs. I'm mainly between University of Pennsylvania and Illinois Wesleyan University, so here are the pros and cons of each. And I know I should take pre-med acceptance rates with a grain of salt, but I included them anyways.

Illinois Wesleyan University Pros:
I know I can afford it
I would be able to swim there
I'm already in the biology program
Closer to home
Possibly better for my GPA, I'm not sure
Good advising and 80% med school acceptance rate
Illinois Welseyan University Cons:
Doesn't have a lot of prestige
Less research opportunities
Not as many clinical opportunities
University of Pennsylvania Pros:
Elite School with a good pre-med reputation
Lots of research opportunities
Really good clinical opportunities from their hospitals
75% pre med admit rate
University of Pennsylvania Cons:
I'm in the nursing program, so I would have to switch out to bio or something, which might make pre med more difficult
I don't know the cost yet, but I will probably need to take out some loans
I would need to be in the nursing program for my freshman year
Much farther from home
I'm worried that it might be too competitive to maintain a high GPA

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[Cheezin]

I would consider loans imo because medical school attendance is generally between 60k-100k, (50k being a cheap state school) and I would avoid piling on further undergrad debt onto it. just my 2 cents

 

[AllBleedingStops]

State that you live in and where you do your undergrad can improve your chances to get into a medical school in that state, given you do well in undergrad. Just a consideration. That isn't to say you can't go out of state for med school. It is just something to think about. My vote is for Illinois Wesleyan - close to home, less money, ability to swim, entry straightaway into the bio program? All very positive things. UPenn probably has a better reputation but I would argue that they school you go to is far less important than the effort you put in and grades you get (unless the choice is community college vs anything else).