<p>I am currently a high school senior living in Indiana. I have applied to the following schools:</p>
<p>University of Pittsburgh (Bioengineering, UHC, Full Tuition, Offered to apply for full ride) ACCEPTED
Purdue University (Engineering) ACCEPTED
University of Notre Dame (First Year of Studies) ACCEPTED
University of Miami (FL)
Duke University
Northwestern University
Harvard University</p>
<p>I believe my stats (34 ACT, 4.6 GPA) are good enough to get me into all of the schools, with the exception of Harvard. Sports has been my life for 17 years, and I do not want to sacrifice my love for sports for money or something else. Both of my parents are Purdue University graduates, but I feel as if everyone from my area goes to Purdue (We live about 1.5 hours away). I want to attend medical school after my first four years, and I am just left with a glorious heap of uncertainty. Would turning down a full ride or huge scholarship from any of these universities be stupid? I am just really confused. </p>
<p>If you could leave any guidance, I would be very grateful. I will also look into your posts and reply. Thank you in advance.</p>
<p>I do not plan on applying to more schools than I already have, but it was moreso a question as to whether one could deny a possibly amazing University of Pittsburgh offer for a more expensive Purdue University offer; if a school such as Notre Dame or Duke offered me anything close to a full ride, I would run to their campus. Harvard was mroeso just sto see if I could acquire an acceptance letter.</p>
<p>Apply to Pitt’s full ride and see what happens, then let us know.</p>
<p>As of now, how much more/less are we talking about? Can you parents pay it? Do they want to? Do you want them to?</p>
<p>But, yes, I would totally take a full ride at Pitt (meaning also Pitt’s great honors program) over Purdue at higher cost.
In addition, engineering at Purdue vs. engineering at Pitt will make no difference to your starting salary or your job offers. What will matter is how well you do in the program you choose.</p>
<p>Is full tuition + HC at Pitt more expensive than Purdue?
It sounds like ND would be a great “fit” for you but how much is it?</p>
<p>If you truly have your heart set on med school, then I would suggest going where you’re more likely going to get a very high GPA. You’re a strong student…obviously…but the higher up in rankings you go, the more “super students” you’re going to have in your crowded pre-med classes (even at the privates). </p>
<p>Schools heavily weed out their premeds to make sure that only the strongest survive. Usually the weeding is done by limiting the number of A’s awarded. YOU want to be the one who gets those A’s. </p>
<p>Med school admissions, while difficult, can be somewhat predictable because they’re so numbers driven…high GPA, high BCMP GPA, high MCAT, supportive LORs, volunteering, and research…and a smart app list can pretty much assure oneself of at least one MD acceptance. . </p>
<p>You’re lucky to be an Indiana resident since your state has a very large med school…and residents get priority.</p>
<p>It’s good to have such choices, OP! These are great schools you’ve worked very hard to be in a position to attend. Lots of students look back on their h.s. careers and wish they had done what you did. </p>
<p>This is not an either/or situation. It is not education OR money. It’s not Duke OR Pitt. It is: when all the factors are taken into consideration, including among other criteria money and educational experience, which is the best fit for you and your family?</p>
<p>To suggest it is an either/or situation is a logical fallacy AND it is a scapegoating: I HAD to choose [lesser educational experience] because [name your rationale; in your case, money]. Own up to your responsibility to make the best decision you can based on what you know now. Choices aren’t free, Dude, but they are better than no-choices.</p>
<p>Do you know what being a doctor involves? Have you ever participated in any medically related ECs? Are you prepared to go through four years of medical school followed by poor pay as an intern and resident? I ask because there are so many “premeds” who think they want to do medicine but jump the boat after realizing that being a doctor is not what they thought it was.</p>
<p>I am as sure as can be that I want to enter the medical field; specifically, I would love to stay involved in sports in my career. IF, for some reason, med school didn’t happen, I would have no problem using an engineering degree for something else. I believe if the right thing came up (i.e. a job offer at Riddell (helmet company)) prior to med school, I would even consider not attending. Sports practically runs my life, but in a good way. i have participate in multiple ECs that are medical related.</p>
<p>As for the finances:
My parents have saved a good amount and make decent money; I sit on the line where the Notre Dame’s and Dukes of the world will give me $15k and tell me to make up the next $45k. My parents have told me they would pay for my undergraduate education, but I am on my own for graduate school. We have a 529, and I would get that to put towards medical school if my undergraduate study is paid for. I do not want to debt my parents, it just doesn’t seem right to me. And how do pre-meds at UPitt and Purdue (along with other schools mentioned above) tend to do? I know UPitt’s research is likely better (UPMC), but what about everything else?</p>
<p>And as for the sports comment, I was trying to say ho much I have followed collegiate and professional sports; I grew up around Purdue basketball among other things. I always wanted the experience of being in the Paint Crew (Purdue), the Oakland Zoo (UPitt), the general ND population, or the Cameron Crazies (Duke). I always want to be able to look back on my college years and be able to continue to follow my team even after I graduate.</p>
<p>Thank you so much everybody. This is wonderful advice, and I could not be more thankful.</p>
<p>Also, my best friend’s uncle is the football coach at UPitt and told him that if either he or I went to Pitt, we could gain a sport in sports medicine the day we enter campus; ideally, this would prepare me and lead me to a career in sports medicine, neurology, or orthopedic surgery.</p>
<p>You can get whatever you want out of Pitt, I’m convinced. You just have to work the system, and it sounds like you’re doing that already with the football coach. D is accepted there and I am very impressed with the place. If you get the tuition scholarship (or win the Chancellors’), you could do a lot worse than going tuition-free to Pitt. You’ll have great classmates and still probably be at the top of your class. the research opportunities at Pitt and at UPMC are many. More than where you went to school, your GPA, MCAT, and letters of rec will determine whether you go to med school. And when you go to med school, you will have more money in the 529 and less debt when you leave your studies. This sounds like a great opportunity, but you are in competition with my D ;+)</p>
<p>If you don’t go to med school, nothing much changes. Pitt is still more well known in the east than Purdue, and it is sufficiently large that it has every major that most of us can think of, some of them like English and neuroscience among the best in the land. What’s not to like?</p>
<p>Duke is a fantastic school and has a top5 Medical school on campus, ND is top20 school with no med school. In the EAST, Duke, Hopkins, Holy Cross, Tufts, Brown have great pre-med reputations. Holy Cross is top25 LAC smaller version of ND. Holy Cross is need-blind for admissions(meets 100% demonstrated financial aid) and has JAN 15TH application due date. Tufts-very good school with Div3 sports.</p>
<p>I can attest to the quality of education at Pitt. My daughter had her sites set on Yale or Duke, but she had to “settle” for a full tuition scholarship at Pitt. She was not looking forward to it.</p>
<p>She was in the honors college dorm, and the first day they shared their “war” stories of being rejected by Ivies, not having the money to attend an Ivy even though accepted, and choosing Pitt as their consolation prize. By the second day, they were all in love with the school.</p>
<p>My daughter has had more experiences at Pitt than she would have had at an elite school. Pitt helped her win a highly coveted national award, and she is in the process of earning a Fulbright Scholarship, to name a few.</p>
<p>Pitt feels more like a small school, and if you are in the Honors College, you will have tons of opportunities to enrich your education.</p>