Disclaimer: this’ll be a long post. Well, maybe not. I have no idea what the average length of posts are here :P.
A lot of people looked at me like I was crazy when I asked this question. “The hell are you doing still debating? It’s obviously Carnegie Mellon - think of the prestige!” Maybe I’m wrong, but I’m fairly certain that the brand of clothing one wears says nothing about their character. However, I will concede that Carnegie Mellon probably earned that level of renown through the quality of their education.
First, some basic info: I’m currently enrolled in Dietrich as an Econ major, which I’m planning to transfer out of after first semester (if I go). At Northeastern, I’m listed as a Biochem major, which I don’t plan to change.
The main thing I’m juggling right now is the quality of said education vs. the availability of out-of-school options. From what I’ve gathered from various pre-health information sessions, medical schools are placing an enormous emphasis on internships, shadowing, etc. as opposed to the traditional GPA and MCAT score package. At Carnegie Mellon, I was told by the Director of Pre-Health that the best solution to this would be to search for internships, largely on my own, and eventually take a gap year and apply for Teach for America or Peace Corps. Meanwhile, in Northeastern, I was told that the Co-Op program would supplant the traditional gap year (if desired) and that they would assist me in finding an ideal spot at a company or hospital. Furthermore, I believe that the various affiliated companies and hospitals are more likely to take in students from Northeastern, thanks to their reputation as a solid sender of students (for lack of a better phrase). So, in the end I’m not really competing with other schools but instead just within Northeastern.
Another smaller issue (but still very important nonetheless) is tuition. I have received no financial aid from Carnegie Mellon. I have received the Dean’s Scholarship for Northeastern. While my parents insist that they can pay full tuition for Carnegie Mellon, I know for a fact they’ll be suffering for it and I don’t want to have that bearing on my conscience (love, and all that jazz). Adding to the fact that they won’t have to pay for the Co-Op semesters (and I’ll likely be making some decent money during those 6 months) and it’s a really hard sell for me. My parents really want me to take the higher-ranked college, but I see equal (in a different form) opportunity and a cheaper cost at Northeastern. What do you guys recommend I do?