<p>i am down between rice/baylor which means i have automatic acceptance at baylor med school after i finish my undergrad; also means i dont have to freak out so much about MCAT scores/GPA/ teacher req's at rice univ.</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>stanford pre-med....</p>
<p>is it a benefit to go to stanford bc everyone i have talked to say they went to baylor after stanford...so does it really matter.....
but then again don't undergrads from stan have a higher chance of getting into better med schools</p>
<p>i would take baylor direct med over stanford pre med if i had the chance =(.</p>
<p>but i guess it just depends on how much you want to be a doctor. if you're absolutely positive, then go with baylor, if not, then go to stanford and explore your options.</p>
<p>i dont think i need to explore my options all that much, its just that dont i have the potential to get into a better med school by going to stanford?</p>
<p>weighing the costs and benefits
working but off at stan = beautiful campus/amazing experience</p>
<p>Err, not to sound all old and whatever, but honestly, knowing for a fact that you want to be a doctor as a senior in high school is ridiculous. Explore a bit, I mean, that's what college is for. I'd never have found about my interest in microfinance if I'd gone to Brown's PLME program or other similar programs around the country and locked myself into that track.</p>
<p>And I'd encourage a more in-depth look at pre-med in general. It's no longer the glory field it used to be, it's not the money-maker everyone thinks it is. Typical debt coming out of med school is around 200 grand, which takes almost a decade to pay off, if you're good with your money. The suicide rate for those in the healthcare profession is the highest out of all other professions. The only student to ever complete every rotation with honors at Harvard Medical school committed suicide a few years after graduating--incredibly successful, but just not happy.</p>
<p>Not trying to discourage you or anything, just saying that now is hardly the time to decide on the pre-med. Really explore and make sure you'd be happy being a doctor.</p>
<p>I totally agree with jwj...speaking as an "old parent", you need to explore all the options in the beginning of college. Don't let others (parents?) force your hand.You don't realize it now, but after graduating from all your schooling, you will have the rest of your life to work at your profession. ENJOY your college experience and open your mind to all possibilities out there.</p>
<p>I think something like 33% (maybe it was even 50%, but I don't quite remember) of Stanford students come in premed. Needless to say, many do not leave Stanford as premeds. I suspect that's true anywhere, which is a good indication that you should not be locking yourself into that track so early.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly from talking with one of the pre-med advisors, of each incoming class...
~75% express some interest in pre-med
~50% put a "pre-med major" as one of their three potential concentrations on the college app (biology, hum bio)
~25% of the 75% graduate having fulfilled pre-med requirements</p>
<p>And some people stay around after graduating to finish up the reqs. I know one person who did a major in French but stayed around over the summer to finish up a few courses in chemistry or something.</p>
<p>Anywho, the point is, leave yourself open to the possibilities. It's one of the reasons Stanford is so awesome--this place is chock-full of them. :-)</p>