<p>Okay, so I was lucky enough to get accepted to WUSTL – but I’m not entirely sure it would be the smartest idea to go here for pre-medicine for the following reasons:</p>
<li><p>GPA – GPA is a MAIN component of med school admissions, and I would be much more likely to get 3.7+ at the state university compared to WUSTL b/c the average WUSTL pre-med student will probably be more driven (and more academically inclined) than that of my state university. That is not to say getting a 3.7 GPA is easy anywhere, b/c it’s not – but I would have an even harder time getting a 3.7 at WUSTL.</p></li>
<li><p>Cost: Although my family income is ~300K, I have a sister at another top school (50K per year) and two younger sisters that will matriculate to college within the next 5 years. The 200K cost of all 4 years at WUSTL on top of medschool is a large sum on money for anyone. At Rutgers (my state univeristy) I received a scholarship and will only being paying a relatively little sum of money. </p></li>
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<p>I know how amazing WUSTL’s med school and hospital affiliates are, and how phenomenal the pre-med program at WUSTL is. But to those who are current pre-med students – is it really worth it, and were any of you in the same predicament I am currently in?</p>
<p>WashU has a very hard pre-med school. The chemistry department is designed to weed out pre-med students. On the other hand, research is easy to find since the medical school is very willing to take on undergraduates. If you can make it through WashU premed then you will be set for applying to med school. If money is a big factor, then go to Rutgers, as long as you think you can excel there. Many pre-med students do choose to go there state university because it is "easier" and cheaper. In the end, go to where you think you'll be happy since if your miserable for 4 years, it not worth it.</p>
<p>theindividual: Were you accepted at Rutgers Honors for pre-med? If so, we have been told that med school acceptance is basically a lock and that the program is amazing....Your decision, but without any $ from Wash U, that's insane....</p>
<p>Now, if you are desparate to get out of NJ, that's a different story......</p>
<p>rodney -- I was accepted to Rutgers Honors, although I haven't heard it was a "lock" for med school.</p>
<p>I think I would be happy at both Rutgers Honors and WUSTL, I'm going to visit the campus next week, and if I 'fall in love' with WUSTL, my choice may be even more difficult.</p>
<p>sure you have to work ur ass off here to get even above average on some of our science exams (oh btw, bio is also a weed-out class), but then again, those who survive do really really well on the MCAT compared to state universities.</p>
<p>I don't know about bio being that big of a weed-out class. In the intro class, 1/3 of the class gets A's. With that said, there are some tough courses here. However, Wash U has really great advising and awesome resources. I don't think you would be able to find these at Rutgers. Also, I dunno about Rutgers's atmosphere, but you may find yourself to be less than motivated when surrounded by people with similar attitudes.</p>
<p>I'm in the same position as you, TheIndividual. I also got into Rutgers Honors and WUSTL, and I'm in pre-med, but Rutgers has offered me enough scholarships that I will only pay around 10,000$ in all. On the other hand, WUSTL, without scholarships, costs around 200,000$. Rutgers is clearly the better choice, especially if you're thinking of going on to med school, which willl cost a good deal more.</p>
<p>Yeah I'm kinda in the same boat as you guys. I got into UMD honors with a good chance at a full ride (they would actually be paying me 3k/yr). I'm not entirely sure I want to go to med school, but I will definitely be doing some sort of school after ugrad. I'm not sure if I want to go to a top private for premed and pay 250k or just go to umd and get paid.</p>
<p>It's a difficult decision. I want to reap the benefits of working VERY hard during high school (i.e. matriculating to a top university like WashU.) But at the same time, I don't want to hurt my chances of getting into Med School -- which I'm afraid will happen at WashU (by getting a sub-par GPA). A close family friend is on the Harvard Med Admissions Committee, and he's really pushing for me to matriculate to Rutgers as well -- I assume he knows what he's talking about!</p>
<p>thanks for the help guys, this isn't going to be an easy decision (but I guess it's better than not getting into a top university at all!)</p>
<p>Well I think it's all a matter of opinion. I have distant family member on the WashU medical school admissions committee, and he would say to go to WashU for undergrad as well, no doubt about it, which is what I'm doing. </p>
<p>If you work just as hard at WashU as you would at Rutgers, the medical school is not going to see any difference - after all, in that case, you will have the same MCAT score. This is just like the getting an A in non-weighted class vs. getting a B in a weighted class debate for high school. I would rather take the weighted class, because then at least I have a chance to work harder and get an A in the weighted class - the same principle applies for WashU vs. Rutgers. Maybe if you go to WashU, you will excel, maybe not, but if you go to Rutgers, you've already set a ceiling for yourself that can't be surpassed at that university.</p>
<p>You should also consider if you would be happy at WashU - that is just as important as the difficulty of the classes. If you are not happy at WashU, you will find it difficult to perform well, regardless of how easy/hard the classes are.</p>