I don't know which college I should go to...

College Search & Selection
1

For a loooong time now, I have been wanting to go to college to become a doctor. I do believe I am really smart and am prepared for college/med school. My family really isn’t rich at all so I don’t know which college I should go to.

I live in NC and have thought about going to Pfeiffer University or Elon University then attending a medical school (Duke). But, I personally would rather go to UCLA for my education because I would be living in an apartment with a close friend and all of the fun we would have. But, UCLA has a higher tuition cost out-of-state than Pfeiffer and Elon have in-state. My family isn’t rich at all but I really would want to go to UCLA rather than Pfeiffer or Elon but I do not mind going to those.

2

If you are OOS, then UCLA will cost you and your family $55K/year = $220,000 over 4 years with little to no financial aid available to you. If you plan to go to Medical School, you want to keep undergrad costs as low as possible since Med School will only cost you more.

3

I think you will have much better opportunities getting into medical school with an undergraduate degree from UCLA. Name matters, unfortunately, and UCLA has top-tier STEM programs. If living with your friend is the main reason you’d prefer to go to UCLA, I would say start looking for other reasons UCLA is a better choice and decide from there.

Have you tried looking into financial aid opportunities and/or scholarships? You can also try taking out a loan. Also, keep in mind that the cost of living is quite expensive in California, Los Angeles in particular.

4

@Gumbymom‌ Getting into grad school takes more than MCAT scores. Your undergrad alma mater does come into play, even when applying for a fellowship after medical school (not to mention that you should also go to a top-tier medical school to receive the best fellowship, career options, etc… Name really matters in medicine.)

@afausnett‌ UCLA can’t be your only other choice! There are other top-tier schools for better prices that you can look into, even within North Carolina. What about UNC Chapel Hill?

5

@imthereal: I was just stating that since money may be an issue for the OP’s family, spending $220K for an undergrad education at UCLA while also considering Medical School is really unjustified, especially just to “have fun with a friend”. I will not deny UCLA’s reputation is worth considering, but not for that high amount of debt.

6

When I mentioned I was staying with a friend in an apartment, I didn’t mean as if that’s the only reason I was going, but as a perk of living there.

7

@imthereal - Medical School admission is almost entirely numbers based. GPA, MCAT score, and letters of recommendation matter. The name of the college on the diploma barely matters at all.

8

@Gumbymom‌ I agree completely with your outlook if OP is really only considering going to UCLA to “have fun with a friend.” If OP is seriously interested in medical school; however, the debt may be justified, though I do think that there are many better options for a lower price.

@happymomof1‌ I have cousins are extremely well-qualified, high-achieving students (in high school they were NMF and top in their classes), but my overprotective aunt forced them to stay in Texas to attend A&M (albeit not a bad school). My aunt also forced them to go to UT Southwestern for medical school, and although they’re ranked top in their class (1 and 2 respectively), they’re currently having problems getting into top-tier programs for their intended specialties (dermatology and pathology). I would say that name matters in the long run. Furthermore, if you want a better MCAT score, you will get one from receiving a better undergraduate education. Also, it would be more beneficial to receive a letter of recommendation from a more established professor.

9

@imthereal - I know you don’t want to believe this, but there are no bad med schools in the country. Period. Medical School can be paid for entirely with loans if a student wishes to do so. That your cousins chose a cheap in-state option rather than graduating from somewhere else (assuming of course that they had multiple acceptances) shows that they were thinking ahead about the money. Competition for residencies is tough, but that is not news. Where your cousins land their residencies will have precious little to do with the name of the medical school they graduate from.

10

@imthereal: I do not know how any person can justify going in debt for $220K just for undergrad, unless they are independently wealthy, which OP has stated his family is not. UCLA will give OP little or no FA, so how would an undergrad with limited funds get loans to pay for this education? OP will only be able to take out $27K in loans over the 4 years. The rest would be up to his parents and they may not even qualify for that large amount. How will OP pay for Medical school, when his and his parents already have $200K+ debt before he even starts? These expectations are unrealistic. We need @WayOutWestMom‌ to chime in. She seems to be the expert when it comes to Medical School wannabe’s.

11

@happymomof1‌ I think name does matter; the directors of residency programs do look into the quality of prior students and directors of different medical schools. Besides that, the opportunities also matter. You’re going to have more opportunities to do “field work” at a medical school with a well-established hospital, and that will benefit you when applying for residency and getting inundated with interview questions. Which medical schools are going to allow you to treat patients at these hospitals? The big name-schools. Doing work in well-established hospitals also provides medical students with the opportunity to treat things that you wouldn’t normally see in a smaller hospital, which can be a great learning experience. Furthermore, it’ll be much more beneficial to be doing intense, true-to-life disease treatment in a hospital than going over textbook cases. Many times, real-life disease varies so much from the textbook that it can be easily misdiagnosed if one is not experienced. It’s not just about receiving your MD and specializing; it’s about the quality of your work in career.

12

@Gumbymom‌ I can agree with that call on UCLA, but I do think OP should look at better schools for lesser prices.

13

@imthrereal: I agree ^^^^

14

@imthereal - those are all issues related to the reputation of the medical school. I don’t necessarily agree with all of them, but they’re irrelevant in this discussion because the OP is choosing an undergraduate school, not a medical school. On that front, I totally disagree with you - name doesn’t matter that much when applying to medical school; students go to top medical schools from all over the country. I also find it hard to believe that fellowship directors (who are accepting you after you have completed an MD and a residency) are going to care where you went for undergrad either.

Your threads seem to indicate that you are a senior in high school, so I am curious as to where you are gleaning these conclusions. Your cousins’ situation is unfortunately - but they’re also an N = 2, and there are many other factors at play wrt competition for residencies.

Besides, whether or not UCLA will do better than Elon or Pfeiffer at getting OP into med school is kind of irrelevant, too, because UCLA is an OOS public for the OP. It won’t offer much merit aid, leaving the OP faced with paying nearly $220K over four years before even going to med school. That means she would face around $400K in debt after medical school - which is unsustainable even for well-paid doctors.

OP, in addition to looking at places like Elon and Pfeiffer (which are both private) you should also check out your state’s really good public universities - not only UNC-Chapel Hill and NCSU but also UNC-Asheville, UNC-Wilmington, Appalachian State, UNC-Charlotte and UNC-Greensboro.

15

@afausnett‌

If family finances are a consideration, you should not go to UCLA. UCLA will not in any way better prepare you for med school over your local and less expensive options. In fact, given UCLA’s notoriously poor pre-med advising, you might actually be better off going elsewhere.

Med school admission committees will not be impressed by seeing UCLA on your diploma. You do not get “bonus points” or special consideration just because you graduated from UCLA. (Or any other school, for that matter. Med school admission is meritorious—based upon achievement, not cronyism.)

If medical school is in your future, you need to look at schools that provide the best combination of fit, cost and opportunities.

Why?

Fit because you want to be happy and engaged at your college. Happy students = better grades. (And there’e empirical evidence to support that.)

Cost because med school is breath-takingly expensive and there is very, very little aid to pay for med school except for loans, loans and more loans. (Ask me – I have 2 in med school!) Trust me, you really don’t want to be carrying thousands in undergrad debt that will be accumulating interest during your med school and residency. If you or your family need to take out significant loans for you to attend UCLA, Pfeiffer or Elon, look at your state Us. North Carolina has several excellent and inexpensive options. (And if your family doesn’t need to take out loans, ask your parents if any $$ saved on the cost of your undergrad can be used to help pay for med school.)

Opportunities because ECs are critical for med school applications.

Now let me tell you a story: I have two children, both in med school. One went to the local state U; one went to a top 30 research U. Were their experiences different? Of course, they’re very different individuals with very different interests. But both had the opportunity to TA, do meaningful research, earn awards & recognitions, to form relationships with their profs, gain leadership roles, etc. Both applied to med school and both received multiple admission offers.

It’s really not about what school you attend, but what you do at whatever school you choose.

16

I think I am just going to go to Pfieffer… Thanks people (:

17

Start by learning more about what becoming a strong med school applicant takes. The school isn’t what makes you a strong applicant, its you doing the right things as post #14 points out. Read thru the very informative FAQ at http://www.rhodes.edu/hpa/15890.asp They also have a nice writeup in the PreMed Essentials link on the left side of that page. There is also an excellent online handbook at Amherst http://www3.amherst.edu/~sageorge/guide1.html

I always ask kids that say they want to be doctors, why an M.D? Not that I know it is wrong for you, it may be the right fit, but have you actually looked into the medical field and considered the alternatives? From the day you start college it will be 11-15 years before you are a practicing doctor, depending on what field you go into. In other words, think back to 1st grade; all those years since then matches the minimum it will take to become a practicing doc! Its almost a reflex action among HS kids, they think of a career in medicine and its “I’m pre-med!” Doctors are far from the only ones in the health field that help people. Physical therapists, radiology techs, nurses, speech pathologists, to name but just a few. Before you go heavily into debt and commit so many years I suggest you explore the alternatives.