Hi guys - So I am currently going between VCU and PSU with the intention of going on either a premedicine track biology related track. I live in Virginia so the thing is VCU is obviously WAY cheaper, but Penn State has a way better undergrad and is overall a better school. I I got into DUS for Penn State if I went there, I plan to Major in some kind of biological science and work my way towards medical school if I wanted to. I would like to add that I like PSU quite a bit better than VCU, but the main thing is i’m wondering if it’s worth it.
For VCU, I got accepted on the pre-medicine applicant track and I would be working towards either the VCU medical school or I would apply elsewhere depending on my GPA/MCAT score once the time comes. I am currently still deciding between going to medical school or just majoring in a science and obtaining a masters degree afterwards, but leaning towards pursuing medical school right now. I do not dislike VCU and I still find it to be a great school, but I am a person raised in the suburbs who is not extremely urban oriented and that’s why not as comfortable on campus, but I love how much money i’m saving at the same time. I am having an extremely hard time picking between the two, so these are my pros and cons for each school:
VCU Pros:
Much cheaper ($70K cheaper approximately which is a HUGE deal)
Already on a pre-med track and VCU has a moderately ranked medical school
City of Richmond has a lot of opportunity
VCU Cons:
Not a huge fan of the campus
The school is ranked much lower than PSU as whole
Didn’t get the same feeling of belonging as I did with PSU
PSU Pros:
Great academic institution compared to VCU
Like the campus feeling much better
Overall feel more comfortable with the school
PSU Cons:
SOO much more expensive than VCU
Hard to justify the cost sometimes over VCU
Bigger school so i’m assuming bigger class sizes as well
PLEASE give me some advice on my current situation and what I should do, I am honestly extremely torn between the two because they both have their advantages over each other. If money was not an object, I would pick Penn State in a heartbeat but that is obviously not the case, which is why I am basically wondering whether spending the extra $70K on PSU is worth it or not. FYI: I do have the means to pay for PSU’s tuition, but it’s obviously going to be tighter. So my question is, is PSU worth going to over VCU despite the extra cost, or should I just reap the benefits of in-state tuition and just go to VCU? Any thoughts of advice are greatly appreciated.
@greencarrot01 If you are absolutely sure about going to Medicine, then would suggest go to VCU. To get in to MD both schools will provide what you need and it saves money which you need for your MD. If not, I don’t want to comment since don’t know much how PSU or VCU can prepare you for your career plan B.
Have you attended a Penn State on campus accepted student session? We had one in Fairfax county, VA but for spring break we are heading to University park to checkout the campus @greencarrot01
Save yourself the $70,000 and go to VCU. Your success as a premed is dependent on your academic performance.
Getting into any U.S. medical school is not guaranteed. Do best to graduate with as little debt as applying to med school and attending are very expensive. Many students take one or two gap years prior to attending medical school.
I’d go with VCU to save money. To me PSU and VCU have little difference as far as pre-meds concerned. If you are talking about W&M and UVa that is horse of a different color.
@airway1 Yes, I did attend the accepted student session at University Park back in February, I definitely got a good feeling about the campus and my whole family loved it as well. I also toured VCU, and I did like the campus and everything, just not as much as PSU. However, I did like it enough for me to put it into serious consideration against Penn State because of the advantages it offers.
The thing is while i’m interested in pre-med, I am not 100% sure about it yet. So I guess my question is, if i’m a student who is interested in Pre-Med but NOT completely sure and may end up majoring in something else, is VCU still the better option? From what everyone is saying though, VCU is clearly giving me more value for money, and will also com offe with less debt, so at this point the logical side of me is leaning towards VCU. However, I Just want to make sure that even if I don’t pursue pre-med, that VCU is still the better choice than PSU if that makes sense.
Edit: also wanted to thank all the responses so far, very insightful and helpful!
True the debt side I don’t like at all and that’s what I tell my kids… brand wise Penn State is better known globally and in the US (thank you football) and as in our area (Fairfax,Va) most are going to Nova, GMU, Vtech, VCU and JMU (don’t hear a lot of ODU)
If $70K is a HUGE deal, what is $250K? b/c medical school is even more expensive than undergrad. Save that $70K and put it to grad school. Because, if you major in biological sciences- a major that is way oversubscribed- you will need some sort of grad school, even if it doesn’t turn out to be med school. That $70K would pay for a year of med school, a Masters (with money left over), a professional training program- lots of choices. Penn State may be a better known name, but a BS in Bio from Penn State is not worth $70K more than one from VCU.
You describe VCU Medical School as moderately rated, which misrepresents the actual situation. Medical school is the major leagues of admissions compared to college. Getting into any accredited medical school is a significant achievement, and getting into Harvard, Hopkins, etc. is hugely difficult. William & Mary and UVA pre-med students in Virginia would generally be very happy with VCU med school. So if you have a pre-admit to VCU Medical School and you think you really want to be a doctor (many find they aren’t really cut out for it), then don’t discount that. Penn State, while a good school, isn’t going to come across as far ahead of VCU and you do not have the pre-admit.
As you can see, medical school is extremely expensive with limited financial aid beyond loans. So, if possible, save what you can on undergraduate education.
Yeah, not trying to discount VCU’s medical school at all, thats just what ive read places but I guess I was mistaken. I totally understand how hard it is to get into medical school, and I would obviously be grateful for whichever one I end up in. However, I do not have a pre-admit to VCU medical school. I am on the pre-med track, which basically puts me on the right track towards applying to medical school by placing me in the right prerequisite classes for it. Unless I somehow get into VCU’s guaranteed admission program that you apply to during sophomore year, I do not have guaranteed admission into the medical school. I do agree though that if I am pursuing medical school, then VCU is definitely the right choice.
Several years ago we looked at VCU. They have a great BME program. It would be beneficial to you if you got accepted into their Honor’s program. If you are instate VCU has a strong premed program as well as medical school. Any student from UVA, W&M, GMU, JMU, or VT would be fortunate to be admitted into their med school.
This is a repeat post from another thread, but I’d suggest that every medical school admissions committee does things differently:
I’m not on a medical school admissions committee, but a co-worker is a member of the admissions committee of our state’s medical school. She has told me that they use a point system for scoring applicants, and they are authorized to award addition points based upon the selectivity of the undergraduate school of the applicant. So maybe each state does things differently-I imagine each school in each state does things differently-but this is the case for this medical school in our state.
Appreciate all the help from everyone, committed to VCU today and I couldn’t be happier. After reading what everyone had to say in combination with my family and friends’ opinions, it was clear to me that VCU is the right choice. Looking forward to my next 4 years there and (maybe) my 4 years at medical school there!!
ps- check out the EMT thing- it’s a great way to get the hands on hours, everything you learn will be useful to your studies, and you will be making a difference right from the start.
While searching I found this and would like to get all your opinion in the same situation but slightly different. We’re from Ohio and are still working on our bs/md options and waiting for few good undergrads. I would like to get an opinion on the current Situation.
Upitt - $30k, OOS
OSU - $25k , in state
NJIT - $12k , OOS
VCU - FULL RIDE ($0), OOS
MY D definitely wants to go for medicine. Currently she’s prepared to even take a gap year and try for medicine. I really appreciate if I can get some thoughts on this.