<p>Thank you in advance for reading my long-winded story, but I felt it was necessary to give you the scope of what I'm dealing with. I have received all of my decisions already and I am deciding where I should spend the next few years of my life. I am very confused because I never even thought I was going to apply to USC, but here they are, offering me some wonderful things.</p>
<p>I was accepted into some great schools and need to decide what to do. I have narrowed it down to Wash U, Berkeley, Emory, Michigan (w/ Honors), and USC. I am planning on studying Neuroscience as a pre-med and pursuing Neurosurgery in the future. However, this is not the path I planned on taking (undergraduate-wise). I applied early to Stanford and was rejected, and was killed by the 3 ivies I applied to in the RD round (except for a waitlist at Dartmouth). </p>
<p>I know that Wash U, Berkeley, Emory, Michigan, and USC are all great schools, for which I am very happy for my admission, but I am confused as to where I should attend. I know Wash U's reputation for Biology/Neuroscience is superb, but I have heard that it is very competitive and cutthroat. As for Emory, I have heard that NBB (Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology) is a great program if one wants to pursue Neuroscience as a career.</p>
<p>However, the biggest dilemma of all has been USC. I initially applied to USC as a safety school, but they have captured my interest as they throw money and opportunities in my face that I seemingly can't refuse. I was accepted as a Trustee scholar (full scholarship for undergrad) and was recently accepted into the Bacc/MD program (1 of 30 students who gets guaranteed admission into medical school assuming GPA is above 3.0 and MCAT is 30+). Also today, I got an email from a doctor I worked with at an internship who now works at USC that wants me to help pilot a research program for all 8 years. I feel like all the stuff that USC is giving me is unbelievable and that I am being given an offer I can't refuse. I had a preconceived idea that I was going to go away for college (whether it be northern California or the east coast), but it looks like my best offer is still in SoCal, even though USC is not the most highly ranked/prestigious school on my admitted list. Can any of you guys give me some guidance as to what I should do?!?! I am confused and need some advice. Thank you!!!</p>
<p>I feel like you shouldn’t have even made this thread because USC is way too obvious of a choice. The acceptance rate for MD/Bacc is almost Harvard’s acceptance rate and I don’t even see how it is debatable which is the better choice since you have not only a full ride to USC but also guaranteed med school admission and research opportunities. I don’t think it could be any more obvious.</p>
<p>Congrats on everything. Amazing stuff. It seems like you are pretty set on medicine. If I were you, I would take the USC BS/MD program. You are getting a great opportunity to go to a california med school. I am pretty sure you are smart enough to get a 3.0 and 30+ on your MCAT. I know a few kids here that have near 4.0 GPAs and 31+ MCATs that go rejected from Keck after interviews. Get involved in a research project that will interest you. Probably some project that will take long or has a start up potential. You have 8 years to work on it. That is more than enough time to get a good 3-4 publications out. Assuming you start publishing around junior year, which is what I am doing right now. </p>
<p>Hahahahaha thank you for your input anyway g0ld3n. I am just looking for people’s perspective from each of the schools I mentioned. I realize that the USC opportunity is unique, but I don’t want to make my final decision without some outside opinions. :)</p>
<p>Haha you’re options are so amazing some people I know would kill just for half of the offer you got from USC and your other colleges. Personally though I don’t think you can beat USC since I’m from SoCal myself and UCLA and USC are the two big Goliaths here in my home area.</p>
<p>Go to USC. Besides the great weather and great social life, you are getting free tuition! That is HUGE! You’re saving yourself 100K+.</p>
<p>Also, not having to stress about a 3.5+ GPA will reduce your levels of stress in college, and increase your happiness. And if it so happens that you do remarkably well during undergrad, you can apply to better medical schools. </p>
<p>In the meantime, enjoy the opportunity to research and not have to a pay a dime for tuition. BTW, if by any chance you do change your major, you will still have remarkable career opportunities as USC’s alumni network is next to none. You will get a job if you seek one.</p>
<p>Oh and did I mention that USC has the most international students of any US college? Something else to look forward to ;)</p>
<p>If you are worried about prestige, don’t, their difference in rankings, especially between Emory, USC, and Berkeley is negligible. </p>
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<p>I think this is one of the first times I’ve seen in awhile where having $$ has complicated the college decision rather than simplified it. I would personally go with USC not because of the full scholarship, but because you are basically guaranteed acceptance to their medical school. You’ll enjoy your undergrad experience way more than others because unlike the other pre-med/biology majors you won’t have to stress about whether your grade in the class is a B+, A-, or A.</p>
<p>a. Full scholarship => no dragging undergraduate debt through medical school.</p>
<p>b. 3.0 GPA + 30 MCAT => medical school, much better odds than most pre-meds (most pre-meds do not apply because they know it to be futile after seeing their pre-med course grades, and most who apply get into zero medical schools; those who major in biology face poor job and career prospects at the bachelor’s level).</p>
<p>thank you guys for taking the time to evaluate my situation! I really understand that the med school acceptance in my pocket is a great opportunity. I’ve just never imagined myself at USC and have to shift mental gears.</p>
<p>There really is no need to bump this and your other threads. Everyone, yes everyone, is telling you the same thing attend, which is attend USC whether the reasoning behind that because of the trustee scholarship, pretty much guaranteed admittance to USC’s Med School, a chance to do meaningful undergrad research, or some combination of the former. At the end of the day you can always decide to opt out of the BA/MD and attend a different medical school.</p>
<p>Pros attending USC:
-full scholarship
-top 25 university
-very high chance of receiving admittance to USC’s Medical School
-undergrad research
-USC Trojan Family (it really is a family)
-D1 athletics if you’re a sports guy</p>
<p>Cons attending USC:</p>
<h2>-not as prestigious as the Ivies, Stanford, or Duke</h2>
<p>Keep in mind medical schools care more about undergrad GPA, undergrad research, and internships as opposed to undergrad college name.</p>
<p>P.S. Good luck with the Dartmouth waitlist. Although if I was in your position I would still attend USC. ;)</p>
<p>thanks avidstudent. I don’t mean to be a pain by bumping all the threads, but I’m just trying to get as many opinions as possible (even though they seem unanimous at this point :p). I know it seems like the right decision to go to USC, but for some reason I’m still fighting it in my head.</p>