<p>Alright, I applied to twelve schools, most of which were considered "Reaches" and "Super reaches" for me, yet I got into ten...so I'm lost. Orignally, I was content in going to U of Illinois, and I was almost set with this decision after getting waitlisted from Wash U... I didnt expect to get into these other schools and I don't know where to go now? I plan on majoring in biology with pre-med focus. Medical school is in my future, I'm a bit worried about maintaing a high GPA at some of these colleges...so, yeah. These are the schools:</p>
<p>Case Western PPSP (Interview next week, so I dont know)
Univ. of Illinois Chicago GPPA (Havent gotten accep/rej yet)
Northwestern
Dartmouth
Stanford
Vanderbilt
Notre Dame
Univ. of Chicago
Boston U
Univ. of Ill Champ. Urbana</p>
<p>I just need some input from people, since I'm not getting so much at home????</p>
<p>Stanford. It's the best weather, best academic reputation (about equal to Dartmouth) and it isn't so hard to get good grades that you'll be screwed for medical school.</p>
<p>I'm a physician and in charge of a residency program so commonly evaluate applicants. It's true that you need a good GPA to get into med school...no matter what college you come from. Med students come from all kinds of schools including some starting at community colleges! My advice if you're truly serious about med school is to go somewhere you can do well. You only need 1 year of Biology to go to med school. There's no need to major in it unless you really like it. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>I'd say Stanford if you think you can make it. That's really the best premed education in the country, in my opinion (but they can be a bit harsh with grades). Maybe look at some coursework or find some students there who you can talk to - it's probably worth spending the time to do so. </p>
<p>Otherwise, personally I'd go to Dartmouth, but I tend to like smaller, more intimate schools. It's another one of those "do what fits YOU" kind of things.</p>
<p>Stanford if you prefer a university setting. Dartmouth if you prefer a smaller LAC-like setting. I think I would give Dartmouth the edge over Stanford. I think you might get more personal attention from faculty at Dartmouth, but this is a hunch.</p>
<p>VANDERBILT, most definitely. The campus is beautiful, the city is a music mecca (not only for country), it's a very close community, professors are accessible, the quality of teaching is on a tier 1 level but without the hight-tension, overly competitive atmosphere at some of the other schools on your list. I got in there and also at BU (however, after an over night visit, I am vehemently opposed to attending). For me, its between Vandy and Brown (which I realize wasn't on your list)... but i'm an econ major on a pre-business track, so I can't really speak on the pre-med programs.</p>
<p>It is my first choice school, and I will be attending. It is the school if one wants to live the "life of the mind". . .and perhaps suffer in the GPA department.</p>
<p>To second deb1225, find out which school has the most forgiving grading system and go there. Many medical school dreams have been destroyed by matriculating at HYPSM.</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptances, and ah, in order to tidy up your incredible list, you might want to just forget about the U of Illinois-Chicago, BU, Case, and Illinois-UC.</p>
<p>A case could be made for all the others, especially when you consider the sage advice from a few of the previous posters about going to extremely competitive places where maintaining a med-school-friendly GPA would be tough.</p>
<p>deb1225-
This is a little beside the point but...
It seems incredible to me that med school admissions committees don't take into account the difficulty of the program from which the gpa was earned. Tell me it isn't true. Does a 3.8 from Podunk trump a 3.3 from MIT? In fact, does it EVER happen? That would seem like pure foolishness on the part of med school admissions. There is a perception that it is better for med schools to see an easy 3.8 than a hard 3.3. If true, so much the worse for the medical profession (and their patients)!!</p>
<p>Anecdotally, many more African American med school aspirants get to the top med schools in the country via UMBC and Xavier than from elites, while "smarter" URMs who go to HYPSM, etc, join the detritus of dashed dreams at the elites. At the lower-tier schools, they receive the handholding and nurturing that they will never get at the elites. They take tests over to get better grades, develop confidence, and go on to earn MD/PhDs.</p>
<p>"lol, you say that like it's a good thing."</p>
<p>it is. You get many more opportunities to study abroad, get internships, etc., at times when there is less competition. Plus, sophomore summer is great.</p>