<p>I recently got accepted into the Echols Scholars Program at the University of Virginia, and I also got accepted into the Honors Program at the University of Maryland. I ultimately wish to attend medical school, but according to various advice I have received, GPA is king in medcom's decisions. I do not know if I will be able to maintain a competitive GPA at Virginia simply because it is of a higher caliber and my peers will be as smart, if not smarter than me. However, in Maryland I believe that I will be able to maintain a relatively high GPA, but I don't know if letting go of the opportunity presented to me at Virginia is a good idea. For me, it seems like a shame.<br>
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>How much would each college cost per year?</p>
<p>Its never going to be an easy decision because there are competing factors to wrestle with. GPA is important, that’s for sure. But the trick to getting into med school is not to attend the college where you will be the smartest student. Nor do med schools simply care about GPA; they look at volunteer work (exposure to medicine is an unofficial requirement), research experience, your letters of rec, your MCAT scores, how you interview. </p>
<p>So you need to take into account the other factors that go into making you the person you want to be in 4 years. The interest profs take in undergrads. The availability of advisers. Peer effects are big; if your friends are very serious about their studies it is more likely you will be too than if most of them start the party weekend Thu nite. Seeing others do things like take part in research gives you ideas; you don’t need to come up with everything on your own. </p>
<p>Thanks for the advice mikemac.
Maryland would cost very little, but virginia would most likely be much pricier because of their lack of merit aid.
For Virginia, I would be around the 70% range and for Maryland I am around the 90% range (according to SAT, GPA stats and honors acceptance etc). However, I am not confident that paying the excess amount of money for Virginia will grant me a better opportunity at medical school. For this reason, I want to know more about the pre-med track at both schools and whether I will be able to succeed at Virginia or if I can do just as well at Maryland for a fraction of the price. This is assuming I put in the same quality of effort at both schools.</p>
<p>“However, I am not confident that paying the excess amount of money for Virginia will grant me a better opportunity at medical school.”</p>
<p>It won’t. Med schools will not give you any extra consideration or “bump” for going to UVA. NONE. </p>
<p>What better opportunity for med school are you thinking exists?</p>
<p>Having graduated from UMD, don’t be too confident that you will do better at UMD. Higher caliber schools weed out students at the application phase while lower caliber weed them out Freshman and Sophomore years. You might quickly find your Junior and Senior peers at UMD equal or even more competitive than the UVA counterparts. I attended medical school with a few UVA graduates. I thought we were all at the same level when we started.</p>
<p>To address your other concern, keep the costs low!</p>
<p>“I attended medical school with a few UVA graduates. I thought we were all at the same level when we started.”</p>
<p>I think this is often true pretty much no matter where you went. As you alluded to, the weeding forces the weaker students to move-on to other career goals. After frosh year (at nearly every school), probably about 25% of premeds have “moved on”, by the end of soph year, probably less than half of the original frosh premeds are still premed. Some low MCATs and low upper-division grades weed more out. Then the best apply to med school. </p>
<p>These are excellent points. Honestly, I was just at a loss for reasons to choose UMD over Virginia, maybe because of lack of knowledge regarding the whole process. Thanks for the advice.
Frugaldoctor, how did you like the pre-med track at UMD? Specifically, the advisors, research, etc.</p>
<p>“at a loss for reasons”</p>
<p>??? Really?</p>
<p>'at Maryland for a fraction of the price."</p>
<p>There’s a big reason.</p>
<p>WHAT are your parents saying? Would they happily pay more for UVA? If not, then why is there still a question? If your parents aren’t willing and happy payers, then isn’t the question moot?</p>
<p>And if your parents are affluent and won’t miss the money if you go to UVA, then go where you want.</p>