<p>Hi there! I'm sure you are a high school student (or a parent of one) who is possibly interested in going into medicine at some point in the future and are faced with the agonizing decision of where to go to college. This is an exciting time, and I wish you the best of luck in your decision.</p>
<p>BEFORE YOU POST "SHOULD I GO TO X OR Y?" PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING:</p>
<p>1) Read the stickies at the top of the thread. I know you think they don't apply to you, and that your situation is unique and special...but the stickies still apply. There is some awesome info there that covers almost everything you're about to ask, I promise.</p>
<p>2) Keep in mind who you're asking here. While theoretically you could reach a person who faced the same situation of deciding between X and Y, that person would still be entirely different from you and probably have entirely different goals. The people who post regularly on this board (and whose advice you can probably trust!) have experience at precisely 1 (occasionally multiple, looking at you WOWMom) undergraduate school and precisely 1 medical school. Asking us to compare universities is really asking us to do a quick google for you and interpret what we read on schools' websites--which is to say, we're only doing what you're also already doing. Consider directing these questions to advisors, mentors, and dare I say it...parents...before asking a bunch of random internet strangers who have never actually faced the dilemma you're posting about before.</p>
<p>3) It doesn't matter what major you pick, you just have to like it and want to study it. You don't need to choose a medical specialty right now--and if you do, you'll probably be wrong*. You don't need to decide on a research lab right now. You cannot accurately predict that you'd have this GPA at X and that GPA at Y. You should essentially never retake a class, so do great on it the first time around, and don't take any prereqs over the summer--you're not fooling anyone! Your goal for this summer (and as many future summers as you can muster!) is to have fun and do something cool...yes, that's sufficient. If you have the chance to accept a huge merit award vs go to any other school, take the merit award--your bank account, parents, and future will thank you. The university name on your diploma is not as important as the tremendous life experiences you had working toward it--and yes, medical schools know this.</p>
<p>4) You should ALWAYS choose to do things because you think they are awesome and meaningful. If you're just doing them to "look good" or "check off the boxes" or whatever, anyone with a backbone will see straight through that.</p>
<p>** 5) This is an exciting time in your life for you to take some responsibility for your future and start to take ownership of where you go from here. That's such an awesome privilege! Don't give it away to a group of random folks on the internet. Have some courage to go with your gut and see what happens--that's not stupid, that's being an adult, and doing the best you can with what you have when you have it. **</p>
<p>PS: long-time CC legends bluedevilmike and iwannabebrown have posted similar topics in the past; bluedevilmike's 10 step guide to choosing a college is a great one to read!</p>
<p>*when I was in your shoes, I wanted to be an ENT; then a cardiothoracic surgeon; then an oncologist; and I've finally decided on pediatrics--and the vast majority of my friends in med school can tell you the same story.</p>