<p>^many others’ “med school dreams were squashed” at every UG in the country including the lowest ranked ones. It is NOT walk in a park for anybody, including the very top kids from rigorous private prep. HS’s who decided to go to state schools. However, being at the place that you feel is the best fit for you will make a difference. Go for it!</p>
<p>I’m aware that both schools are equally academically rigorous.</p>
<p>so what I’ve got so far</p>
<p>Prestige… tied?
Rigor…Tied, maybe Vanderbilt is slightly less rigorous.
Atmosphere- depends on what I like (I’m going to have to visit).
Research Opportunities- Vanderbilt, the med school
other points??</p>
<p>Well, since the decision is imminent, I’ll just say that Davidson grading makes me wonder about chosing them for pre-med. hg was well-prepared for med school (and did superbly) but his acceptances were limited due to GPA. </p>
<p>If not for that, I’d pick Davidson. I love the vibe of the school.</p>
<p>thanks for the info curm.</p>
<p>If quality of girls plays a major role in your decision (I think it should), I’d pick Vanderbilt any day. lol.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/20583-davidson.html?highlight=hubbellgardne[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/20583-davidson.html?highlight=hubbellgardne</a></p>
<p>Wow, hubellsdad. I’m old. 
Really, really old. 2004? Jeebus. But thanks for the link. My positive opinion hasn’t changed about the school, nor has my concern about the grading for a pre-med.</p>
<p>Here’s a comment from hg that I was remembering. I found it by searching on hubbellgardner’s posts and the search term “Davidson” . </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Another post said that he had a 35 MCAT and a 3.2 overall , 3.5 BCPM (BMCP whatever ;)) and that his C+'s/B-'s all came in Humanities courses.</p>
<p>^That seems to be very rigorous grading, since one with 35 MCAT should have much higher GPA than 3.2. I do not know tuition situation, but it seems kind of foolish to pay much for UG to get GPA= 3.2 which might completely crush prospects at Med. School. I do not recall anybody with this low GPA at current cycle. Even 3.6 seems to be on a lower side. MCAT=35 is very good, you will not have it from thin air, got to have awesome academic background and still work hard.</p>
<p>he did end up with a 4.0 in medical school. a #1 class rank(out of 220) and step scores of 257/272, AOA etc… and he will admit that being the social chairman of his college fraternity came at a price GPA-wise. All’s well that ends well. Ironically, he is going to Vanderbilt University Medical center for his residency. One of the reasons he chose Vanderbilt for his residency was the large number of Davidson graduates amongst its present residents and faculty. One of the ICU/research fellows was a Davidson fraternity brother of his and took him around when he interviewed.</p>
<p>Neither.
Go to where you are most happy and you think you will get the best education. That will show in your application four years from now!</p>
<p>Going to “top 10” college or medical school does not correlate to the education.</p>
<p>For example. At Stanford, alot of chemistry/biology majors had Linus Pauling and Paul Berg teach them. Nobel Prize winners. Neither could lecture and said so. They stated read the book and come and discuss things (eg Pauling gave his daughter the “false thought” on DNA as she was dating Watson - and it turned out to be the double helix. Watson says similar in his book). State schools usually have fantastic teachers - who have to look up the “why”.</p>
<p>With the possible exception of going into academic research, it makes no differance</p>
<p>*because i want the absolute best education i can get for myself? because i dont want to settle for a lesser education that i know im better than? because im actually going to try in college, unlike high school, and im going to want results for my work.</p>
<p>like idg what the question is?..why WOULDN’T i want to go to a top 10 school? haha. That had nothing to do with my question btw, sooo thanks? *</p>
<p>There are things that go into rankings that have little to nothing to do with academics at the school. </p>
<p>And what you going to do if your “top 10” school drops to - say 15 - while you’re there? Change schools? LOL</p>
<p>Seriously, you need to get a grip. There are awesome med schools that are not Top Ten.</p>
<p>hubbelsdad, where did your son go to med school if you dont mind sharing?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
Jeebus. :eek: Maybe I understated. ;)</p>
<p>son went to UTHSCSA (ie University of Texas -San Antonio). We are from San Antonio and he was born and raised here, so he came home for medical school(he lived in an apartment near the medical school). There were 5 Davidson alumni in his class. He chose UTHSCSA over his other acceptances(Emory, USUHS and Texas A&M) because I made him an offer he could not refuse…</p>
<p>hubbell-corleone? hahahahahaha</p>