Which school for Pre-med?

[Alan135]

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I have heard so much that the undergraduate school you go to will not matter a whole lot. I constantly hear that the post important thing is to pick a school you will like going to. Through research I have brought up 3 schools instate for me, and 3 out of state that I would be interested in. Correct me if I am wrong but these schools are pretty good when it comes to pre med, not the best, by far not the worst. And I seem to like the schools according to location.

If you guys could answer some questions for me I'd really appreciate it, depends if you guys have this information or not, but any opinions you would like to share would be great.
3 instate: University of Florida, Florida State University, University of South Florida.
3 Out of state: Boston University, University of Pittsburgh, New York University.

These Florida schools were listed because the financial coverage will be amazing, as I am a high school IB student in FL.

So what reasons do you have for me going to one of these undergrad schools?

1. Academic reasons?
2. Location reasons?
3. Social reasons?
4. IB reasons? ( I am in IB and wondering what benefits I would be able to get from whichever school you speak of.)

Not exactly the most fun questions to answer, nor is it very easy so I really appreciate your answers.

Thank you 🙂

 

[Heavens Cloud]

The cheapest one.

 

[Slack3r]

FSU, hands down.

 

[Alan135]

FSU, hands down.

Any reasoning behind this?
Specifically, academic, social, location?

 

[ppfizenm]

I think the only real difference it makes is if the school itself has a med school because it would give you the chance to meet the professors (for LORs possibly)/maybe get some shadowing at their hospitals/make a good impression on the right people ahead of time.

 

[Isoprop]

One that does not have a pre-med committee. Trust me, you want to handle your LORs yourself and not through some B.S. committee.

 

[Slack3r]

Any reasoning behind this?
Specifically, academic, social, location?

Mostly social. FSU has good football, good weather, and excellent looking girls.

Academically, all the state schools will be similar. I'd stay in-state cus it'll be cheaper. Of those choices, I'd pick FSU, although you can't go wrong at any of the FL schools.

 

[postbacpremed87]

One that does not have a pre-med committee. Trust me, you want to handle your LORs yourself and not through some B.S. committee.

AGREE 100%! If you are proactive and have your app and secondaries done by July, then you should be able to submit. BUT NOOOO! Some committees don't meet until August which means the letters aren't submitted until September.

Epic failure.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Unless the bottom 3 are giving you scholarships I would avoid them. Boston & NYU are incredibly expansive and graveyards for many premeds. Pitt I hear is pretty nice, but it's still probably pricey.
Out of the In-state schools you should decide on which one is giving you the most money. Then you should look at their programs/majors, so if you're interested a biology major go to each schools biology department and scope out the curriculum.
Finally, and I'm going to likely be flamed for this... consider going to the school which you hear might be easier to get a 4.0 in. I can you tell this, it's better to be a big fish in a small pond... the curve will work in your favor and in the end a 4.0 from Podunk State will be better than a 3.6 from BU or NYU. It'll also be beneficial because it'll give you more time for EC's and Mcat study time.

 

[Alan135]

Unless the bottom 3 are giving you scholarships I would avoid them. Boston & NYU are incredibly expansive and graveyards for many premeds. Pitt I hear is pretty nice, but it's still probably pricey.
Out of the In-state schools you should decide on which one is giving you the most money. Then you should look at their programs/majors, so if you're interested a biology major go to each schools biology department and scope out the curriculum.
Finally, and I'm going to likely be flamed for this... consider going to the school which you hear might be easier to get a 4.0 in. I can you tell this, it's better to be a big fish in a small pond... the curve will work in your favor and in the end a 4.0 from Podunk State will be better than a 3.6 from BU or NYU. It'll also be beneficial because it'll give you more time for EC's and Mcat study time.

A girl who graduated from the same program I am in right now got a full ride to BU, literally everything and more.
So that should be fine. I'd really like to go out of state but it seems that you are right about the big fish in a small pond thing.
Oh well... It will all be evident in the future.

 

[miui]

What major are you considering in pursuing?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

A girl who graduated from the same program I am in right now got a full ride to BU, literally everything and more.
So that should be fine. I'd really like to go out of state but it seems that you are right about the big fish in a small pond thing.
Oh well... It will all be evident in the future.

Hmm, well if you get a full ride that might change things up. Anyways, out of curiosity what are your stats?

 

[paul411]

Pick the most affordable school with the best social scene (that fits you).

Also, make use of those IB credits and go to a college that will give you credit for them. If you can get enough credits that way, plan for a semester our a year off and enjoy the time before you start med school.

 

[ponyo]

AGREE 100%! If you are proactive and have your app and secondaries done by July, then you should be able to submit. BUT NOOOO! Some committees don't meet until August which means the letters aren't submitted until September.

Epic failure.

This is really school dependent and you should actually look into the school before assuming that all committees are bad.

 

[Isoprop]

This is really school dependent and you should actually look into the school before assuming that all committees are bad.

Sorry, but they are bad. It's an added deadline/requirement/step in an already complicated process. I can't think of one thing a committee can do for you that you couldn't do yourself FASTER and BETTER.

 

[Hotshy]

Yeah don't shoot down committees outright. My school doesn't have a committee exactly we have two advisers that create composite letters. I have a really great relationship with mine and he was the former dean of admissions at a med school. To have someone like that writing your letter is incredibly valuable.

 

[Isoprop]

Yeah don't shoot down committees outright. My school doesn't have a committee exactly we have two advisers that create composite letters. I have a really great relationship with mine and he was the former dean of admissions at a med school. To have someone like that writing your letter is incredibly valuable.

A pre-med advisor is different. Advisers can be hit or miss, which is fine. But premed committees that come together and look at your application to send our a "committee letter" are terrible.

Some committees have ridiculous deadlines--and if you miss that deadline, you can't apply that year. Tough luck. Some require a personal statement, which might mean that you have to write ANOTHER essay or write your med school personal statement EARLIER. Some committees want interviews (another hoop to jump through). Some won't send in your LOR until later in the application process, keeping you at a disadvantage compared to other applicants.

Without a committee, you can send your LORs directly to AMCAS (or whatever letter service you choose). There are no extra steps or no extra deadlines. You are left with the flexibility of submitting as early or as late as you want.

 

[miui]

Also, don't pick a school solely based on premed. Consider the possibility that you might actually enjoy your major beyond premed/med or maybe half way decide to switch majors, better be in a school that can accommodate more things than just one pathway.

 

[kpcrew]

A pre-med advisor is different. Advisers can be hit or miss, which is fine. But premed committees that come together and look at your application to send our a "committee letter" are terrible.

Some committees have ridiculous deadlines--and if you miss that deadline, you can't apply that year. Tough luck. Some require a personal statement, which might mean that you have to write ANOTHER essay or write your med school personal statement EARLIER. Some committees want interviews (another hoop to jump through). Some won't send in your LOR until later in the application process, keeping you at a disadvantage compared to other applicants.

Without a committee, you can send your LORs directly to AMCAS (or whatever letter service you choose). There are no extra steps or no extra deadlines. You are left with the flexibility of submitting as early or as late as you want.

took the words right out of my mouth

 

[orthomyxo]

Unless your parents are going to pay for everything, go to the cheapest one. Even if they are paying for everything, it's still probably a good idea to take cost into consideration for their sake.

 

[ShockDoctrine]

The only criteria I used for choosing my undergrad institution was:

1. it was overall a decent school in a decent location (western US for me)

2. Whichever school that fit #1 and gave me the most financial aid

 

[kpcrew]

NYU's campus is in the middle of the city, so it may not give the best college experience. There are many things to do and tons of people you can meet so it's very easy to distracted from your studies.

I would avoid BU, their grading is really harsh, especially in the sciences. Needless to say, GPA is really important when applying to medical school and you want it to be as high as possible.

Personally I would go with a state school for the lower tuition since BU and NYU aren't exactly cheap. I don't have any experience with the others though so I don't have a proper frame of reference.

 

[CodeBlu]

one that does not have a pre-med committee. Trust me, you want to handle your lors yourself and not through some b.s. Committee.

+1

 

[PantherPride]

I got into a few top 20 undergrad schools but in the end I chose not to go to them because of the price. They have great opportunities for students as far as academics and research goes, but I wanted to accumulate the least amount of debt before med school. Go to a school with a balance between pricing (especially if you got scholarships), academics, and location.

 

[Morsetlis]

I got into a few top 20 undergrad schools but in the end I chose not to go to them because of the price. They have great opportunities for students as far as academics and research goes, but I wanted to accumulate the least amount of debt before med school. Go to a school with a balance between pricing (especially if you got scholarships), academics, and location.

Why did you even apply if you wouldn't go because of the price 😕

I only applied to three undergrad schools and got into my second choice.

 

[PantherPride]

Why did you even apply if you wouldn't go because of the price 😕

I only applied to three undergrad schools and got into my second choice.

I wanted to see what kind of financial aid they would offer. Not to mention I was able to apply for free so it would have been lazy of me not to try

 

[Barcu]

I second the cheapest school, as well as schools that will take your IB (probably the state schools). I ended up entering as a sophomore, which allowed me to schedule earlier to get the classes I wanted, and I could take more classes that I wanted to take since many of my requirements were covered by AP. Plus, I was able to take the minimum course load senior year, which was nice.

One that does not have a pre-med committee. Trust me, you want to handle your LORs yourself and not through some B.S. committee.

I don't quite get the committee hate. Yeah, I had to have my personal statement done earlier and my application was later. Despite the earlier deadlines and the extra stuff, I didn't feel like it was some crazy burden.

And with the popularity of these letters (as LizzyM has posted the reasons), more and more schools are offering them. So you probably can't escape it.

And all that I just said doesn't really matter too much because not choosing a school solely for this reason is pretty ridiculous no matter what your opinions about the letters are.

 

[DrStraggler]

Honestly, you should really think about which school has a good financial package! All of the schools you listed are pretty well known and I doubt that adcoms would treat your app differently if it was from one or another.

Four years from now, you'll have a billion great college memories, and if there's a chance for regret, it'll be that you payed too much and now are burdened with even greater financial worries for grad school!

I had to make a similar decision last year, choosing between a state school and a great Boston Uni! I chose the state school, and honestly, I couldn't be happier with myself.