This is probably true. Nonetheless, significant differences may arise in other aspects, such as in how many students in courses such as these publish their findings.
Publication in a well-known, refereed journal is rare for undergraduates. And certainly not expected for med school admission. Not even for MD/PhD candidates. (Only about 1% of matriculants have first author journal publications.)
W/R/T to journal publications. Only 1st author and senior co-author status is considered significant. Junior authors frequently make only a minimal contribution to the project or are included as a courtesy.
Also how frequently a research lab publishes is often a factor of what area they work in. Some projects require years of data to merit publication; in other fields can gather sufficient results in a few months. Fellow scientists and researchers are acutely aware of this.
@merc81–and oh pleez… both my kids had multiple semesters of Research credits from their undergrad. And one was at ~200 ranked state U. Almost every college offers independent research for credit as an option. I haven’t seen one that doesn’t. Even I had a research credits on my transcript when I was an undergrad and dinosaurs still roamed the earth—and I was an English major!
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You phrased this with a gratuitous embellishment. Nonetheless, if you read further, you should have noted that I acknowledged that opportunities for research credits may be fairly common.
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Our D, a 2021 graduate of Hamilton with a BS in Science /Neuroscience major, is now doing neuroscience research at a Harvard hospital - all of the top undergraduate schools funnel into the top PHD research institutions and med schools.
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Students at Columbia have to take core courses freshman year. Between that and the required premed classes, your student probably won’t have much academic freedom at Columbia. Is that OK with them?
FWIW, our HS GC, who was excellent, recommended both Rochester and Hamilton to us for pre-med. Obviously, saving so much $ at Skidmore is pretty attractive with med school costs looming on the horizon. Good luck with your choice!
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How much of a difference does $80k or $100k make to you (as the parent)?
- Would it impact your retirement?
- Would it impact funding for younger kids’ college?
- Could it be used to help pay for medical school if the student in question gets in?
Consider your answers to these questions when considering whether the more expensive colleges are “worth it” if the student prefers them.
Of course, another factor to consider is whether you made any previous agreements or understanding with the student on promises to fund college to whatever amount. If you promised to fund college to $150k and all of the colleges are below that, then breaking that promise may lead to unpleasantries. But if you only promised $40k and only one college is below that, then there is more room for parental discretion at this stage.