Yes, you can select the flag (at the bottom of your first message or at the bottom of the thread) and then select “Something Else” or similar and put your request in there.
I have private messaged you.
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Thank you. I have replied to you. I would like to remove the word “Mediocre” from my first post.
Thank you for your response, those are some good points. Do you know if Tufts would be considered a LAC like Colby?
Tufts has highly regarded medical school, dental school, the superlative school for diplomacy, etc. So no- not considered an LAC in any way. Too many graduate programs to be an LAC!
negative. Tufts is a mid-sized Research University, carrying the R1 designation for highest research activity
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Reading your update about what your daughter has done and the fact that you can afford it, Tufts would be at the top of my list (while still letting my kid actually choose).
A private school often does have better advising.
She did well in high school to get accepted, so should be able to handle the classes.
Then I recalled what my kid told me visiting his brother’s college in FL. “This place is nice, but I’d worry with all the nice weather year round that it would be easy to put off studying.” Future med school students need good grades and ECs of all sorts. They need to have fun while doing it, but if they have too much distraction, it could actually hurt them, esp if they aren’t used to ignoring nice weather. Combine that with the distance from your house and I’d swing Tufts (or Case Western, but you said she doesn’t like that one).
Your daughter sounds like she’ll be able to be competitive for Med school if she keeps up with what she’s been doing and still wants to aim that way. Definitely share the U Rochester med school link with her so she can get ideas. She can skip the first few pages of fluff if she wants to, but later on they mention good info.
And if it turns out that she finds something she likes better, Tufts won’t hurt her in any way. It could help TBH.
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Your daughter has great options. I’d say don’t stress too much and just help her make a decision. Any college will have pros and cons. Nothing is perfect. Visit, talk to other students, talk to staff & faculty. Check about pre-med advising.
As for major, kids change those all the time. It’s not good to focus on just medicine, CS, finance or engineering. There are a lot of fields out there and people do those jobs and enjoy them.
My daughter is a freshman who told me over spring break that she’d declare her major when she went back after the break. Then changed her mind. She still has a year to declare. Meanwhile she is taking the courses that she wants to and keeping on track for the various majors she is interested in.
There is a lot of discussion about ROI and whether the high tuition is worth it. In your case, it sounds like you can afford it and told your student that you were ok with it. I suggest letting her decide. Maybe tell her that she should consider all factors including the cost to figure out what college best appeals to her.
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I’ve noticed that the kinds of students, who get into med school, ARE the ones whose grades DONT suffer when they multitask. They memorize facts extremely well, and run on adrenaline, which is what it takes to stand hours on end, doing rotations, getting vomited upon, seeing continuous death/refrigerated trucks throughout COVID, and living on Kind Bars out of their white coats.
Yes, our daughter was busy in high school, and we were worried because we thought she was doing too much, but she needed her high school sports teams as a release. Despite her insane activities, she had an almost perfect GPA. I think she had a B in one of her AP Physics classes but it didn’t seem to faze her. (The med school interviews did focus and ask questions about hobbies and sports.)
Undergrad was completed at Davis, which has a very collaborative environment at the campus. They have an awesome pre-health advising team with references to clinical volunteer positions and lab jobs on campus. (Tangent: There are 40K bikes there!) The students look so happy there, (must be the coffee shops) and it is opposite of what she saw at Berkeley when she toured. She was also accepted at UCSD, near home, but in no way wanted to deal with the competitiveness there, plus she wanted a very social environment. All of our kids got into USC but, we’d be full pay there. Our youngest was NM and received half off of tuition but, overall, Caltech was “cheaper”.
USC does take care of their “own”. My sister is alumni. Med school admissions are TOUGH! It’s a strong campus, and they have the KECK SOM, which also admitted our daughter. If, however, your daughter isn’t admitted, or changes course for med school, there are a LOT of other options there.
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Thanks for your response and I agree with all what you have said. I will surely share this with her when we talk. While everyone is different, these are some important facts she needs to understand that all this will become part of her life. I am very happy for your daughter because she truly deserves it. And for you as well. UC-Davis is a great school and you paid in state tuition which is so reasonable compared to what we are looking at for USC. Not sure if USC tuition is lower for CA residents or its same for everyone.
USC is a private school, so it’s hefty tuition and fees are the same for every student. Hence, part of the reason none of our kids attended.
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USC is a private school. Tuition is the same for in-state and OOS.
Let me share another perspective.
Both my d are physicians so my n=2.
One d went to the in-state flagship (ranked #200-210 nationally). One went to a mid-30ish ranked private research U. (She got big merit money or she wouldn’t have been able to go. there.) Both got marvelous opportunities to do everything they needed to apply to med school. The both were involved in research. Both found excellent mentoring from professors. Both worked as TA, SI and tutors at their respective Us. Both were able to engage in wide variety of activities (including recreational and social activities) they enjoyed. Both were able to earn the grades & scores they needed to be a good candidate for med school. And both had multiple med school acceptances. (including one T-10 acceptance and 2 T-30 acceptances)
Both decided to attend our mid-ranked state med school due to financial reasons. (Tuition was only $13-14K/year vs. over $60K for the OOS publics and all the privates. Nice to be able to graduate without having a half million $$$$ in debt hanging over you head.) Both did well in med school. One did her residency training at Yale. She’s now in private practice in SoCal. The other is finishing a fellowship that will allow her to be one of only 10-12 fellowship trained, board certified specialists in her field in the country. She just signed a contract for her dream job and will start work in August.
So it’s not so much where your child goes to college, but the mettle of the child themselves.
Don’t try to overthink the decision about what college to attend too much. In the long run, the choice isn’t that important.
My advice is to pick a college where your child will be happy, have opportunities to explore careers BESIDES medicine, and be able to get involved in a wide range of activities. Being a bit farther away from home if possible is good because it encourages your child to develop the maturity and independence needed to be a successful adult in whatever career she chooses.
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When my guy would relate things going on in undergrad, we often wondered if he slept. Now that he’s in his 2nd year of Residency there are weeks when we wonder the same thing.
He still loves it all and has all the way from undergrad on. Some kids are built for the job and thrive on it. These are the ones med schools are looking for.
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Also agreed with this. Medicine isn’t a career for the faint of heart. It take stamina, fierce dedication and strong stomach to be a doctor. Strong stomach isn’t just referring to the smells and bodily fluids. As a doctor, you get to see all the worst parts of humanity.
P.S. Sleep? Sleep is for the weak…
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For sure. My guy got knocked out once by a patient - out of the blue, so no one saw it coming. When they know a patient is violent there are restraints, but this guy had been fine - until he wasn’t.
Fortunately, no serious harm done, but the hospital monitored him for a little bit to be sure.
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I am sure the doctor’s are not giving this advice 
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UConn will be just fine for her. Neither Tufts nor USC is worth an extra 200K over UConn for a student who’s planning on med school, which will cost you another 300 - 400K. She can major in anything she wants at UConn and still get into just as good a med school as from USC or Tufts, as long as she gets a very high GPA, does well on the MCAT, and does the shadowing, research, and clinical hours that they want to see. Unless there is something that you’re not mentioning, there is nothing that USC or Tufts can offer her over UConn that would be worth an extra 200K. Unless you are so wealthy that you can afford to pay an extra 200K for college, then 400K for medical school, pay for college for your other children, and fully fund your own retirement, without it meaning a thing to you, I would not pay for USC or Tufts over UConn.
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Pretty sure the OP said they are
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I hope you know that by the time this kid gets to medical school (if she does) the annual cost will easily be $100,000 a year.
I agree with this. Our kid went to undergrad school in CA. We are also from CT. One criteria for my kid was “pleasing weather” so even though she really liked to ski and liked winter, she wanted a break from that. She went to an expensive private university…BUT we were very clear that we were paying only for four years of undergrad…and that was it. She fully understood that…and her professional school education is on her dime. Fully.
I’m going to give you my opinion. I hope you and your daughter discussed and agreed on her application list. At this point, she has acceptances at colleges that presumably you agreed to let her attend if she got accepted. If anyone is doing any second guessing…it should be your daughter (unless you regret allowing her to apply to these colleges).
My CA college grad did not choose the least costly option. But like I said…she knew we were only “in” for four years of costs. Any summer classes or any additional time to complete her undergrad degree was financially her responsibility. And yes, she took a summer class which she paid for. She did do one class to complete her degree the summer after her June graduation…but we agreed to pay for that because she had a medical emergency her senior year and had to withdraw from a couple of classes.
So…I guess what I’m saying is…any of these schools will be fine for medical school. Your total out of pocket for four years of expensive private university plus four years of medical school will be very close to $800,000. If you have that…kudos to you!! And your daughter is indeed very lucky.
As mentioned above…every student thinking about medical school needs a Plan B. Make sure she understands that as well.
Good luck.
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I’ll chime in here because I visited both of those schools with my daughter (who was a prospective biology or neuroscience major wanting to go to med school). They are both nice places that can get your daughter wherever she wants to go as long as she takes advantage of their resources and does well.
Assuming you agreed with your list of schools to apply to, I’d suggest that you visit and let her decide where she thinks she will fit in and do well. They are two VERY different campuses, with very different vibes and student bodies. I would be surprised if, after spending some time at each, she couldn’t make this decision for herself. They are really not alike at all when you visit in person. I also know happy and successful graduates from both institutions.
I thought they were both great schools, but let my daughter choose where she wanted to go. She ended up choosing a small LAC on the east coast and has no regrets. She just finished her M2 year of med school. As others have said, it’s not the school itself, but the student and what they do during those years. Any of the places you mentioned (incl. Colby and UConn) are perfectly respectable and they all have students who get admitted into medical schools.
I understand the worry. I have just one daughter, too. Let her see what she prefers. (I say all this seeing that money isn’t an issue - if it was I’d strongly suggest no or very small loans for undergrad).
Hope this helps.
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