<p>I originally posted this under "College Search and Selection" but was told I'd probably have better luck here :)</p>
<p>So I have 2 colleges I'm considering right now: Campbell University and UNC Chapel Hill. Obviously, UNC seems like the better choice. However, I won a full scholarship for Campbell, and it's quite tempting.</p>
<p>Basically, medical school is my goal, but simply getting into one is what I want to do--I don't care as much about prestige. Is getting in even possible if I don't go to a "better" school like UNC? I want to minimize debt as much as possible, and I really don't want a big school anyway. Campbell is smaller, which is definitely my learning style, and from what I gather has an atmosphere more suiting my personality. Would it be worth it to attend UNC anyway for the name? Also, would I be able to do research/work in the medical field/have opportunities expected of "normal" pre-med students at top colleges at a small, more rural school?</p>
<p>Kind of as a side question, Campbell does have a top pharmacy school. Would some of that translate over into their other sciences/pre-med or are the two programs completely separate when considering the academic strengths of the two schools?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance guys! I've read a bunch of other threads on similar topics but there seems to be such a range of opinions.</p>
<p>Definitely, the one with full scholarship. College GPA and MCAT score are important for Med. School admission. Name of UG school does not matter too much. There is no problem getting to few top 20 Med. School after any state school if college GPA is high and MCAT is reasonably good. However, you need to feel that UG is a good match for you personally, for academic and non-academic reasons. You will spend 4 years of your life there, they better be happy years.</p>
<p>sry, can’t recommend it for pre-grad/professional school.</p>
<p>1) Campbell is a religiously-affiliated college (which has downsides with academic types).</p>
<p>2) Campbell has low admission requirements.</p>
<p>3) Campbell has a huge business program (close to half the school). Biz is also a a negative to grad schools.</p>
<p>4) Campbell has more ed majors than bio majors. Educ is another negative to professional schools.</p>
<p>[Academic types prefer liberal arts education to ‘vocational training.’]</p>
<p>5) Campbell has few bio majors, and fewer still math/physical science majors. Thus, classes AND opportunities in those areas will be limited, as will profs.</p>
<p>6) Ask to meet with someone in career services and ask to see their stats for med admissions to allopathic medical schools. (Note, do to extremely small numbers, their claimed ‘80% success rate’ is questionable. How many of those are DO or Caribbean? How many did a Special Masters after Campbell?)</p>
<p>Unless your religious ties takes you to Buies Creek, Chapel Hill @ instate rates for pre-grad school is a no-brainer.</p>
<p>Something to consider is the fact the vast majority of premeds never make it to med school. Or even to the application stage. They end up switching to another major for one reason or another. It would behoove you to go to an academically strong school in the event you do switch to another major.</p>
<p>*1) Campbell is a religiously-affiliated college (which has downsides with academic types).
*</p>
<p>??? What the heck?</p>
<p>Are you saying that students going to Notre Dame, Georgetown, Boston College or a number of other Catholic schools suffer some kind of “downside with academic types”? </p>
<p>No, but some religiously-affiliated schools have some peculiar ideas about commonly accepted scientific theories–like evolution and the scientific method.</p>
<p>I realize that some Christian groups believe that the earth is only like 6500 years old, but I don’t think that means that they can’t get accepted to med schools. I’m sure that there are doctors that hold those beliefs. I’ve met engineers who believe this. It hasn’t stopped them from being very good engineers. </p>
<p>I don’t think that belief in evolution should be some kind of litmus test. After all, Catholics can believe that the earth is billions of years old, but we have to believe that God was the uncaused cause. That belief doesn’t prevent Catholics from getting accepted to med schools. </p>
<p>I don’t know anything about this particular school, but if it’s not bizarre, and it has a fine pharm school, then I don’t think we should assume that its grads won’t get accepted to med schools.</p>
<p>I think the student should ask about their students’ success with the med school app process. If their grads have a reasonable acceptance rate, then what is the problem?</p>
<p>What I’m suggesting is that I believe that religious-affiliated colleges have a negative decrement to their PA, which impacts the colleges’ rankings. Academe is full of secular types and are not too impressed by say, philosophy at BC, in comparison to that of NYU. And of course, religious colleges oftentimes require theology, which is also not perceived highly in the secular/agnostic world of academe.</p>
<p>I believe that BYU, ND, GU et al are excellent schools, and might have higher PA’s (and be ranked higher) if not religious first. Just my speculation.</p>
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<p>Nobody is assuming anything of the sort. Indeed, the college’s own website said three “recent biology grads” are in med school:</p>
<p>Duke is religiously-affiliated. Let’s not paint with too wide a brush here.</p>
<p>To the original poster, both schools have some pluses and minuses, and your question is definitely legitimate. But I think that considering that one school is affiliated with a religious organization would be over-analyzing from the perspective of getting into medical school. Obviously, there are other good reasons for being interested (or uninterested) in a school with religious affiliations, but I think those considerations should be separate from any thought of your potential future medical school application.</p>
<p>While I disagree with some of bayous points, I also have to express my concern. Normally, I would whole heartedly encourage the op to go to the school that fit best. Unfortunately, I feel that campbell may not have the resources to adequately build a medical school application.</p>
<p>yes, Duke has “historic and symbolic ties to the Methodist Church”, but Duke has independent governance, unlike the other schools mentioned on this thread and Campbell. (Campbell requires that undergrads attend services.)</p>
<p>btw: Northwestern, Vandy, USC, & Syracuse had/have connections to the Methodist Church as well. But all have independent governance.</p>
<p>*Academe is full of secular types and are not too impressed by say, philosophy at BC, in comparison to that of NYU. And of course, religious colleges oftentimes require theology, which is also not perceived highly in the secular/agnostic world of academe.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>wow…how open-minded they are. LOL</p>
<p>Seriously, those who are agnostic/atheist should respect the views of others JUST AS THEY would want their views respected. They would not like it if they were denied admission or believed to be “not as smart” or deserving of “less respect,” simply based on their non-belief.</p>
<p>In the big picture it should not really matter if it is a small private schools (like Curm’s DD) or a big public (like my DD) if your school educates you well enough to do well on the MCAT and provided opportunities for involvement with profs and for ECs.</p>
<p>I do not know Campbell so cannot speak to is specifically, but in my DDs med school class, of the first 20 kids to get in, 2 were from smaller private schools with a religious affiliation (like Whitworth in WA).</p>
<p>Talking religion and politics is never easy, but I do think it is fair to say there are schools that were begun under religious principals-Duke, Ivies, etc, but which no current attendee would see as highly religious. There are middle of the road schools, like Whitworth/Chapman, where there are services available and being the religion of the school is the most common student profile, though others are not made to feel uncomfortable, and there is still a religious ‘feel’ to the college experience. Some of these may prepare you well, some may not.</p>
<p>The same can be said for big state schools, you can go to UCLA/Berkeley/UMich/UVA or you can go to Cal State Dominguez Hills. I suspect it is easier to get into med school from Whitworth than from many CSUs.</p>
<p>I looked on USNWR and both Whitworth & Campbell are regional universities. Whitworth/Chapman/Trinity are all in the top 10 list, Campbell is top 40. It says the admissions is selective. </p>
<p>My DD knows several students from Whitworth attended her highly ranked med school, and they do well and some got in early in the admit cycle. I don’t see why Campbell could not provide a sufficient education.</p>
<p>That being said, I know nothing about Campbell specifically, but i would certainly not rule it out because it has a religious basis.</p>
<p>The question becomes what can you afford and where will you thrive?</p>
<p>Those are some really legitimate reasons to choose a school for undergrad. An environment where you think you’d thrive, coupled with a full ride (thus removing almost all of the financial burden of college), seems like it would be nearly impossible to pass up.</p>
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<p>For just the name, unlikely. For the potential resources available, perhaps. I go to a big state school right now (not as high caliber as UNC though) and the plentiful resources have been remarkably helpful. At the same time, the impersonal environment means as an individual you’ll have to work pretty hard to find the small, closeknit environment it seems like Campbell has. Are you willing to work to create those relationships and make the big school feel small? It requires a lot of work and creativity (at least, in my experience). From what I’ve heard, it’s usually possible to make a big school feel small–whereas making a small school feel big (in terms of available opportunities and resources) can be a daunting challenge.</p>
<p>Looks like you have a major cost-benefit analysis to do. At first glance, it seems like the major things to consider are: Is the cost of potentially few opportunities worth the benefit of the environment I’m looking for? Is the cost of a big, impersonal environment that I don’t think I’d like worth the benefit of perhaps being more prepared for medical school? How do financial costs weigh in? I’m sure there are at least a dozen more to consider!</p>
<p>In the end, you’re the only one that can make this decision. Hopefully you’ll find some guidance here, with your family/friends/mentors/advisors, at UNC, and at Campbell to help you figure it out!</p>
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<p>I can’t speak to the specific surroundings of Campbell, but keep in mind that health care is everywhere. People are always getting sick. They always need someone to take care of them. Will you have a huge research hospital in your backyard? No. But will you find primary care clinics, public health departments, family-run pharmacies, local agencies that provide care for a variety of people? Probably. So if you choose Campbell, it’s unlikely that your experience will be similar to that of someone who goes to UNC. But that doesn’t necessarily mean yours will be less valuable because you will likely get to see elements of health care, health disparities, and health care delivery systems that peers in big state schools will not.</p>