<p>Alright so the dust has settled from all my apps and my top two picks are UIUC and BC</p>
<p>my dilemma:</p>
<p>i'm from illinois so expense situation is about $30,000 total at UIUC but $52000 total at BC
but money isnt a huge issue for my family, and my dad is crazy about boston for some reason. alot of my friends are going to U of I as well, and i would be rooming with my best friend at a really nice dorm.</p>
<p>i plan to be a pre-med major of some sort, but i applied business as UIUC because their business program is more prestegious and at the time of application i was undecided. At BC, i can study in the liberal arts and sciences college all 4 years, but the college of LAS at UIUC for 3 years since i'm stuck in the college of business for the first whole year</p>
<p>i know this is only undergrad, but i dont wanna miss out on anything i'd regret giving up you know?</p>
<p>I would choose Boston College, mostly because of the prestige affiliated with the school as well as, well like ur post title states “cape cod” as opposed to a “cornfield”.</p>
<p>but are the kids who graduate from illinois that much smarter than the kids who graduate from BC?
is it that much of a difference in education that a potential employer would pick the kid who went to BC over the kid who went to UIUC with equal credentials?
or is there something else?
yes BC is located to a hub of resources in the new england area, but doesn’t UIUC have a great internship program?</p>
<p>Do you want to live in Boston or Chicago? Geography matters more than prestige. If you want to live somewhere else when it’s all said and done (NYC, DC, Atlanta, Denver, LA, Portland) whatever the difference between the two is not so great that it’ll make that much difference. Perhaps in New York and DC, BC will get you a little bit farther but outside of that, it’s really not going to matter. </p>
<p>If you’re interested in medical school or some other professional school (pharm, law, etc), what you accomplish will be of more paramount concern. Doing well is a panacea. The one thing to note is that Law is more prestige driven than other professional schools so geography once again comes into play, but a good GPA and a great LSAT is still the most important aspect.</p>
<p>I plan on getting a house in the Chicagoland area when all is said and done but im not nit pick about where i live. I feel like ive been cooped up in the midwest so long that a change would be interesting. however i dont know if college is the best opportunity to do that. I’m not familiar with the east coast nor do i have any relatives in the area. I feel as though i were a dog that hasnt been outside the fence. Many things lie outside the fence for me that may be exciting and frightening, but there isnt a strong reason to leave the fenced area since what i really need is already all around me.</p>
<p>also, does anyone know any factors that may include where medical schools give preferences to? I know that UIC gives some preference to UIUC grads, is this a huge plus for me?</p>
<p>thanks for any more advice, i appreciate this a bunch everyone</p>
<p>Med school admission is based largely on overall GPA, pre-med course GPA, MCAT, and letters of reference from your professors. You can major in anything you want to (business, classical languages, chemistry, theater) and still get into med school provided you take the pre-med courses and do well in them. I have a relative headed to med school this fall who was a math major at a LAC and then worked as a lab statistician for several years before taking the pre-med classes in night school.</p>
<p>Med school is hideously expensive. Who is going to pay for it? Your dad? You? 22k saved for four years is 88k which would make a significant dent in the first year or two of med school expenses.</p>
<p>But believe me, I get you about wanting out of the mid-west for a while. I grew up in Iowa and went to college near Philadelphia. It was a whole new experience. I had enough scholarship money to make it the same price as the schools I’d gotten into in the midwest so I didn’t have to factor that into my decision. If you just want out of Illinois for a while, why not take a Gap Year? Or, why not plan on a junior year abroad? If you talk to UIUC now, you may be able to start setting that up even before you get to school this fall.</p>
<p>I doubt that it is worth an extra $88,000 a year to see “Cape Cod.” And while I know you didn’t mean it literally, your chances of seeing Cape Cod would probably be better if you decided to major in Theater at Ohio University than if you enrolled at BC. Also, as others have said, “prestige” isn’t going to get you into med school. </p>
<p>Then again, if your parents don’t mind spending that extra $88,000 to give you four years on the east coast I wouldn’t argue that Boston isn’t a more exciting “college town” than Urbana-Champaign. Considering the academic profiles of UIUC and BC you can’t go wrong. It really comes down to a lifestyle choice and your family’s willingness to foot the bill.</p>