Choosing a college

Hello I am interested in pursuing a career in medicine and I want to know if it more reasonable to go instate for undergrad because it costs less, or to go to a school with a very good reputation and opportunities. Should i choose Florida State University over Penn State or UC Davis?

Yes in general. Medical school is very expensive. Being closer to home and travel for the current health reasons and costs as well.

All the schools are your list are excellent.

You want to make sure that the other potential interests are strong within your school in case you pivot away from pre med. It happens often when you are exposed to new topics and areas of study.

Importantly, you should be happy with the location, activities, weather and living arrangements. Plenty of affordable off campus housing, Greek life or on campus etc.

“All the schools are your list are excellent.”

Exactly. In terms of the quality of the schools you only have good choices here.

Saving money for medical school makes sense. Most students who start off as premed end up doing something else, and it also makes sense to save money for whatever that might be (eg, I recently talked to a lawyer who was premed when they first arrived at university – that didn’t last long in their case).

I have heard that some public medical schools give preference to in-state students. My understanding is that this is best if you are in-state both in terms of residence and also undergraduate school, but I am not sure. Someone can probably clarify this.

While it does not change our recommendation I am curious, which of these very good schools is in-state for you?

All universities you listed are excellent and equivalent. Go to the one that’s in-state for you.

Your UG university does not matter that much but your UG GPA and MCAT score matter. These are used as initial filter. Go with the university which is the cheapest and you can do well, probably in-state option. (Guess here UC davis ?).

I would say go wherever is paying for it, so that could take the form of going to FSU with Bright Futures, or having an OOS college give you scholarships/grants. I was in a similar situation between going to UCF on Bright Futures or UMiami (which doesn’t accept BF b/c private college). I only decided on UMiami after they gave a better aid package and scholarships, but UCF (and FSU) have equally as great programs!

All of the school you mentioned have great medical programs, you can’t go wrong!