<p>Hello All,</p>
<p>After being caught up in the yearlong college admissions process, I have just received the last of my college decisions. I have been admitted to some instate schools (Univ. of Florida & Univ. of Miami) but am mainly considering my out of state options: UCLA, Duke and Washington and Lee. </p>
<p>I received the Johnson Scholarship at W&L which covers 100% of tuitions, room, board, books personal expenses, etc. for four years. I have also received generous financial aid from Duke, which make an undergraduate education completely affordable for my family. UCLA is a bit more pricy, but there is a possibility of receiving a scholarship later on...</p>
<p>Given this, I am trying to decide on the best school at which I can pursue a pre-med undergraduate major. While I ultimately want to get into medical school, I also want an enjoyable and balanced four years of undergrad education. What are your thoughts on this and what school would you recommend?</p>
<p>Pre-med Duke wins. University of Florida if you want cheap. But Duke is like the best for pre-med.</p>
<p>Duke for 12,000/yr. or W&L with a full ride… I think I’m leaning towards Duke given it’s reputation etc. But the scholarship at W&L is hard to turn down. Hmm who’d have though picking a college AFTER getting in would be the harder part of this whole thing?!</p>
<p>Will your parents be paying for Duke or would you take out loans? Do you have alot of siblings?</p>
<p>Definitely go with Duke, especially since it’s affordable for your family. They have the best premed program (other than Hopkins)</p>
<p>Med school is extremely expensive, with little or no prospects for financial aid.
For med school admission, your GPA + MCAT + interview performance are most important. I doubt the Duke v. W&L brand would make a significant difference, all else being equal in your qualifications. </p>
<p>The “pre-med program” covers pretty much the same curriculum everywhere. Significant variations include grade inflation/deflation (and weed-out rates) at some schools, or the massively large intro classes at some state universities. At Berkeley, for example, one General Biology lecture has a 408-student limit; one General Biology lab shows a 763-student limit. Not nearly all Berkeley classes are that big … but at W&L, NO classes have more than 49 students; very few have more than 29. If you think you can place out of all intro courses, this might not be an important distinction. Otherwise, I can’t see paying more for pre-med at a state school than for a selective private school like W&L or Duke.</p>
<p>timetodecide12: My parents will pay most of it, although I’d rather not make them spend the money unless Duke absolutely is the better choice in this scenario. I have a little sister who is a freshman in high school.
SupremeHapa: Thank you for response! I am definitely considering Duke and am visiting in a couple of weeks : )
tk21769: At Duke there seems to be more security for a pre-med student, but when I visit Duke, it would be hard-pressed to top my experience at W&L. When I was at W&L I fell in love with the place, the people and the Honor system. After receiving the Johnson, I felt like I would go there in a heartbeat. However, my only hesitation is that W&L is a liberal arts college with limited opportunities for a hard science/math major (at least less than what’s available at Duke)… or am I wrong in thinking that?</p>
<p>If money is a concern, go for the free ride. Congrats!</p>
<p>As everyone else said, Duke is superior by almost every measure. </p>
<p>UCLA has a much less elitist atmosphere, but it’s much more competitive.</p>