Big state school vs. Top 20 Private

Pre-Med & Medical School High School Student Topics
1

<p>UW or Wustl for premed. Read my situation please :)</p>

<p>Its my job to make the momentous decision of choosing where I will spend my next four years. I’ll type a short summation of myself and then provide a breakdown of the two institutions I’m choosing between (categories are by order of importance), with an analysis of each school for that category. I made this list partly for myself, as a way of organizing my thoughts, but I would also love any and all feedback. I’m sure there are things I forgot to consider, and my viewpoint will be changed as I hear yours. All thoughtful and logical responses appreciated. </p>

<p>I’m a premed student. I’ve wanted to study medicine for a long time. That doesn’t mean I don't have a variety of other interests, economics, math, environmental policy, biology, but none that meet my career goals and lifestyle choice I find attractive. I’m fairly intelligent (33, 2200 although these scores are low for my ability (didn’t study too hard, yes this is a parenthesis in a parenthesis), and I’m willing to embark on that long ass task, haha. </p>

<p>Cost:
UW: wins by far. Less than half as much as Wustl, and even less if I live off campus. With the money I save my parents have offered to pay 100-150k towards med school. </p>

<p>Wustl: Parents have offered to pay (didn’t get any aid) will be paying the full 62k per year. I dont know how much the added cost will stress them, but without getting into details my college education at 60k would be 30% of their post tax income (yikes)! This doesn’t account for any misc. costs like airfare, and anything else above the COA wustl has provided. And this assumes no tuition raises in the 4 years (lol). The one maybe plus side is that I could always come back to UWSOM for med school and get in state tuition (although the chance this happens is slim). </p>

<p>Premed Preparedness:
UW : Its a decent premed school. Lots of premed students means it can get competitive, and the large classes weed like crazy. I will be very independent at UW. If I find a studious peer group I think this could get a little bit easier, but without advising and a course to follow I’ll have to discover and motivate myself down the premed path. The one plus is that UW has good research and a top notch med school nearby, and if I utilize these resources I can bridge the gap with Wustl’s premed. </p>

<p>Wustl: takes this category. 90% of wustl’s premed’s who apply to med school get in somewhere (this could be an inflated/inaccurate number). Wustl is well recognized for its premed advising, and all the resources it provides to its premed students. Study groups, better professor relationships for letters of rec, and a host of other amenities that a big state school cant provide, and even an MCAT prep course offered at the college. </p>

<p>Academics(core classes, class sizes/ difficulty, :
UW: Very independent. No direction, megahugeass class sizes, but because they are teeming with kids, and I’ll be smarter than the average student there, I can pull a solid GPA easier than at wustl. Uw is also on quarters, which means a quicker pace, but more class variety. The depth of knowledge I’ll gain will not be as great as at wustl, and I probably wont be as intellectually stimulated, but it leaves moree time for my friend jose cuervo. Jk partying is bad, I’m a premed. </p>

<p>Wustl:
Everyone says these classes are hard as ****, but that they have every resource to be successful, and if you take advantage of them, you can succeed at even the toughest colleges. Ultimately this might correlate to a better MCAT score, and because schools acknowledge that wustl is harder, I can be successful with a lower gpa. Also smaller classes sizes mean I dont have to try to stick out. </p>

<p>Environment (city, college, dorms, student happiness, etc) :
UW: Mixed bag on this one. I love the city of seattle (born here!), I love the liberalism, and I dont mind the campus at all. The weather can get dreary as hell, but I’ve lived in washington for 10 years, so I’m used to it. Dorms are terrible, everyone says that, but I think I can find a decent place off campus and I can even leverage some extra money for a good apartment from my parents with the cost savings from Wustl, lol. I’ve got plenty of HS friends who will be going here so I’ll have a group joining, and that can provide both good and bad. Good because I can room with a nonalcholic, but bad because I wont branch out as much. Also my parents would be 3 hours away, and thats good for homesickness but bad when they are crazy and asian and helicopterish. Another plus is DI sports, not a big deal but I dont mind husky stadium at all :)</p>

<p>Wustl:
Dorms like palaces. I might get raped if I go into St. Louis, but everyone says the campus is safe and removed from the city life. I haven’t visited the college yet, but am planning on it next week. That will probably determine how I like the campus, but I heard its beautiful. Missouri has cold winters, but it snows (YAY) and I heard the transition months can be awesome too. And intelligent students! Being surrounded with equally intelligent peers would provide a springboard, and encourage my own success. Everyone at wustl says they have to work hard, but that they enjoy the work they put in and are happy with the school. What sports?</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1484178-if-you-high-school-please-read-before-posting.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1484178-if-you-high-school-please-read-before-posting.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1122176-bluedevilmikes-ten-step-guide-picking-premed-school.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1122176-bluedevilmikes-ten-step-guide-picking-premed-school.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>UW</p>

<p>Fine pre-med school, just head to the pre-med office and get plugged in with an advisor and touch base frequently. They will not hold your hand as much but advising is good. From your description, it will save your family 100K or more. </p>

<p>WUSTL not worth 100K more.</p>

4

<p>Go with UW. WashU is not worth 250K, and you could use that money for graduate school.</p>

5

<p>I’ve had this discussion multiple times, and what it comes down to is this.</p>

<p>Both schools will get you there. Both will have nearly identical resources (and U-dub is a great medical school). The difference is, that at UW, you’re going to have to do the leg work to make use of the resources that are there. At WUSTL, you’re likely to have everything placed at your feet.</p>

<p>Example: I went to a large state school in the midwest in a easily dismissed flyover state. BlueDevilMike (another poster on this board who is now a physician) obviously went to Duke. When time came to do interview preparation, Duke students had a scheduled mock interview set up for them if they wanted it. I had to go to the career services office and request a mock interview on my own. Same idea, just, if I hadn’t known it was available, I wouldn’t have gone through process and BDM would have because it was just taken care of for him. My school had a “med school” script so it wasn’t like I had to prepare my own question, I just had to ask. BDM and myself have several of these sort of examples.</p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong, there are some schools where it’s more difficult to be a pre-med, but usually your big flagship state schools will do okay.</p>

<p>So go where you actually enjoy it most! Forget about your med school aspirations and pick the school that speaks to you beyond being pre-med. Maybe getting out of Washington is what you really need, or perhaps you live for Saturdays in Husky Stadium (which is a phenomenal place - as a college football fan, I’m excited to see what the renovation turns out). If you are happy, it makes it significantly easier to succeed.</p>