<p>Okay I know there are sticky threads and multiple other threads on picking a pre med school, and I have read most of them but I didn't feel like they gave me an answer.</p>
<p>I am a junior right now my GPA is really low but I have an upwards tend going. I did want to go to Johns Hopkins for pre med but then I was thinking if I should pay all that money if I have to go to med school and pay for that. I was thinking about just going to a state school (ugh) for pre med than going to a selective college for med school.</p>
<p>I want to do research for internal medicine, so is it worth it for me to TRY to get into Johns Hopkins (because I would have to apply ED) or should I just go to a state school?</p>
<p>I hope that you realize that your question is very confusing. You are stating that your GPA is really low and you are already choosing between JHU and state UG. It is contradiction that you need to clarify. However, for some people, having single “B” is a tragedy which might trigger self-evaluation of having very low GPA. How do we know what do you mean by “my GPA is really low”?
All I know is my D’s experience. She is in Med. School. She has never had a single “B” in kindergarten thru college graduation. She went to state UG and had no problem getting accepted to Med. Schools, including in top 20. She had no aspiration to apply to very top Med. Schools, she did not care to apply to selective UG’s either. She believed that she could do very well anywhere as long as place fits her, maches her personality and wide range of interests.
I do not know if her story is helpful for you. Apparently, you are very different person and your goals are very different. If you have stated your question more clearly, maybe you would have better chance at getting help here.</p>
<p>Oh I’m sorry. My gpa is like below 3.2 low (don’t want to give exact numbers). And I mean there are a lot of steps I planned out to help my chances at getting into JHU (test prep, extra work to go to nationals, talk to counselor about my situation, etc). I am saying I don’t want to take the time and money to do those steps to have a chance to get into JHU if in the long run it is not worth it since it takes A LOT less to get into the state school. I hope this clarifies my question more. Sorry.</p>
<p>please remember that college is not just something you have to do for 4 years to set yourself up for med school. It should be an experience in and of itself as well. Take that as you will to help you decide which path is right for you.</p>
<p>Extra work is always a plus as long as it does NOT affect your academics. It might help you to get some scholarships at state (if that is where you will be, which is the most likely at this point). As mmmsdowe said, if you want to be at JHU, apply, why not? Again, here is a difference between our family and yours. D. has never applied because of “why not”, we would not support it anyway. But again, you are a different person, so listen to our advice, but follow your own heart. If you are looking for 100% correct advice, that fits you perfectly, it does not exist. Everybody have their own circumstances and make suggestions only based on their own experiences, both of which are different from yours.</p>
<p>Your assumption that you will be able to get into JH for grad school is flawed. You should apply for undergrad, and if you don’t get in you try again for grad/med school. If you get in, you decide if your experience at JH is worth the price relative to the experience at your state school. This should be done after touring each and learning as much as possible about each. </p>
<p>The biggest favor that you can do for yourself is to not have any regrets when you start undergrad. I have a feeling you will regret it if you never find out if you would have been admitted to JH.</p>
<p>@MiamiDAP Well no offense but it seems like you D didn’t have the burden of worrying about money. I on the other hand have a different view, Money is #1 on the right college for me thing. And what practice is your D involved in?</p>
<p>@mmmcdowe I meant try to get into JHU grad school I know how hard it can be to get into med school esp top med schools. I’ve been at my state school many times (really don’t like it that much). I’ve researched a lot about what JHU is like but I can not afford to go visit or go to take a tour there. I guess your right…okay I guess I’ll apply thank you</p>
<p>Go ahead and apply to JHU if it’s your dream school, but make sure you apply to other schools which are both affordable and likely to accept you.</p>
<p>JHU does not guarantee to meet full need for its acceptees. And it does include a full complement of fed student loans in all FA pkgs.</p>
If this is the case, you probably should not go to any private college, considering your stats as of Today (unless you are a hooked student.)</p>
<p>Assuming that a studennt is not eligible for any significant break in FA (free money that he does not need to pay back, not loans) at his/her college, (s)he only has two choices:</p>
<p>1) Go to a private colleg and have a larger than usual debt (if you and your family are qualified) and pay back in your life time (for some schools, the debt for 4 years is like a morgage of a typical house), or</p>
<p>2) Go to the in-state public university and have a much smaller debt to pay back.</p>
<p>You could succeed by going either route, if you work hard and in a smart way.</p>
<p>My comment does not necessarily mean JHU. If money is so tight that going to JHU means you won’t be able to enjoy yourself (go out with friends, buy textbooks that haven’t been highlighted and torn up beyond recognition, etc) without taking on massive amounts of debt (and then probably still won’t enjoy yourself because you’ll be thinking about the massive amounts of debt), then that doesn’t sound worth it, right? My point is just that med school admissions is not the only thing to consider regarding whether JHU is “worth it.” No one but you and your parents can answer whether or not it’s “worth it.” JHU is obviously more prestigious than OU or OSU, but it’s not out of the ordinary for those schools to generate successful applicants.</p>
<p>Hopkins does not meet full financial need, so applying ED is probably not a smart move. Hopkins can be brutally competitive, and unless you feel that you will somehow start to pull A’s in that type of environment (when you’ve had mostly B’s in HS), The Hop is probably not a good academic fit. Even with a hook, you still will need plenty of A’s in undergrad to be competitive for med school.</p>
<p>If money is a consideration, look at Oxford-Emory. Emory meets full need, and depending on your family’s situation, could be cost-competitive with Univ of Ok. And, of course, Emory has a wonderful premed program (but it too, is academically competitive), with tons of research opportunities.</p>
<p>@Brown I’m not social though…and my school is poor so I’m used to messed up textbooks. EDIT:Lol never I looked to the left</p>
<p>@bluebayou Lol competitive that’s my thing. And no recently my grades have been really good but I had a horrible sophomore year. And thanks I’ll check it out.</p>
<p>“@MiamiDAP Well no offense but it seems like you D didn’t have the burden of worrying about money”
-She did not worry about money because she positioned herself certain way. She has applied ONLY to schools that are known for good Merit packages. Again, I am not saying that you should do the same. I am just responding to your statement. D. has recieved very good Merit scholarships at every UG that she has applied (including one private), as was planned. She choose to attend the state UG that gave her full tuition Merit award. Her UG education was free. That allowed her NOT to worry about cost of Med. School and NOT choose the cheapest one, but rather choose the one that fits her the best.
Again, I have no other way to advice except using my D’s experience. And again, it may not be applicable to your situation. You are the only one who can decide the best for yourself, nobody else can do it for you.<br>
Texbooks - everybody is buying them on internet, you can evaluate condition based on seller’s comment, but there is no quarantee. When you are done with them, you can sell them back on internet. D. is still selling her textbooks from UG senior year. Do not buy them at book store!! Not even used ones, they are more expansive than on half.com or other places. If you Googgle ISDN number you will see the prices and can choose. However, it is way too early for you to worry about price of college textbooks.</p>
<p>I got rejected from Hopkins ED and I had a 3.6 UW GPA. Although my SAT is probably lower than yours, the point is that your assuming you can get into Hopkins if you apply. It has become increasingly competitive each year, with almost double the applicants. I know someone who got a 31 ACT, solid GPA and got rejected. You can’t predict these things.</p>
<p>Med school is what really matters. That is what your residency hospital will pay attention to and your future place of employment. Try to apply for scholarships and financial aid at schools that are known for giving good financial aid so you can apply to private schools, but start researching schools in your range. Hooks can only take you so far.</p>
<p>“Med school is what really matters. That is what your residency hospital will pay attention to and your future place of employment”
-I heard otherwise. I heard that only your Board scores are important and for some very selective specialties (like Derm), it is important to have tons of research and publications (so it is advisable to have a gap year to do just that). But all of these info is of no use to high schooler who is applying to UG and who has very high chance of changing his mind to go to Med. School as most original pre-meds do.</p>
<p>@Mango15 When did I say I thought I could get in all confidently. I said I am going to “TRY” like so many times and I said I had a very small chance. </p>
<p>@MiamiDAP Well I want to do internal medicine research so I guess Board scores won’t matter much for me.</p>
<p>a) if you’re still in high school and think you want to do IM you’re probably more likely to end up doing something other than IM seeing as it’s very common for people to change</p>
<p>b) Not that this is even going to matter for you for at least 6 years, but board scores always matter. Maybe you don’t need to crush them, but they always matter, especially if you would like to have any say in where you do your residency (particularly with a field as large as IM). There’s a HUGE difference in scores between the kids at MGH (or any decent hospital in a major city) and the kids at bumble***** county hospital.</p>
thank you</p>