I’m a rising senior & I want to be a pediatrician but I’m not sure what type of undergrad college I should attend. I have decent grades (Top 10% out of 800+) to easily get me into a good state college like A&M …but I would love to play basketball in college which I’d probably have to go to a D2 or D3 school to do. I love basketball but I don’t want to go to a worse college and end up not getting into med school. What should I do/consider?
A D2 or D3 school is not by definition a lesser academic school. Seek to find the right blend of sports and academics. It might be playing club basketball at a school like A&M or it might be finding a smaller school with strong academics where you can play on the team. Keep in mind that if you are a serious pre-med student the course of study will be rigorous so club team or a D2 or D3 team may be a good answer.
Many small private colleges combine high-powered academics and Division III athletics. Such schools are less common in Texas than in some other parts of the country, but consider (for example) Trinity University in San Antonio, with an enrollment of about 2500. Compare their SAT and ACT ranges to the top state flagships:
SATs (CR+M, 25%-75% range):
TAMU: 1070 - 1310
Trinity: 1160 - 1370
UT Austin: 1140 - 1410
ACTs (Composite, 25% - 75% range):
TAMU: 24 - 30
Trinity: 27 - 31
UT Austin: 26 - 32
So the academic standards are quite comparable. However, it’s probably going to be a lot easier to make the basketball team at Trinity (which plays in the D3 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) than at TAMU (SEC) or UT (Big 12).
Small private colleges often do very well at placing graduates into medical schools. Trinity claims 90% medical school placement for students with a 3.6 or better GPA.
https://new.trinity.edu/academics/departments/advising-programs/pre-medical-and-health-professions
D2 schools aren’t always lesser in academics. Colorado School of Mines is D2.
What are you planning on studying?
Academics comes before sports. Plus, if you’re planning to go to medical school, it’s very difficult to maintain a top GPA while traveling for basketball games. I would go all in at Texas A&M. They have a huge student gym there with a basketball court. Grab a ball and a few friends and play.