I’ve been set on attending Penn State UP for Pre-med since I’ve been accepted in the fall. Now that the time to make a decision has come, my mom has been saying it would be best to attend a cheaper and smaller school such as West Chester. She thinks it’s better to save money and that I’ll have a better learning experience in a smaller class. Although I’m worried that when I apply for med school, West Chester won’t look too great on my app.
Generally speaking, I’d agree with your mom about smaller classes and saving money. Med schools are not particularly prestige sensitive assuming the school is reputable. That said, up to 80% of pre-meds end up doing something else. Would you be happy at West Chester if you change your career goals? And exactly how much of a financial difference are we talking about here - and how tight is money at home? A few thousand dollars a year plus or minus is a rounding error in the calculation of medical school tuition - but 10s of thousands is significant.
Finally, why not get in touch with West Chester to talk about their level of support for medical school placement? They probably have a student club for pre-meds and the club officers can give you input (if they don’t, that’s worth knowing and may suggest a problem). They must have pre-med advising - whoever is in charge of this should be willing to talk to you. They should tell you if they prepare a committee letter for their pre-meds when they apply to med school, and if so, will they do it for anyone who asks or only students with specific GPAs.
Once you have specific answers from West Chester - and a better sense of the costs and your own needs, you’ll be able to make this call.
Why don’t you tell us more about yourself…
What are your test scores and GPA>
What is the highest level of bio, math, and chem that you’ve taking in HS, and what were your grades?
Why do you want to become a doctor?
Is it possible that your parents can’t afford PSU so your mom is pushing for West chester?
it did not matter for my D. and many of her friends. I cannot speak for entire population of pre-meds. What greatly mattered for my D. was to choose the college that matched her expectations and criteria. It happened to be in-state public. It happened to be tuition free for her. Yes, it is correct, the best for pre-med is to attend the cheapest college and save money for the medical school. But the college still should be a good match for a specific student to optimize the success.