<p>Hey guys, I have been admitted to a few good colleges that I applied to, but I also received a huge scholarship at my state university with research and other kinds of benefits. I feel much more comfortable with the state college (which is pretty good for Biomedical Engineering too, my intended major), but I worry about getting into a good grad/med school in the future. Will going to a state university be a major disadvantage for acceptance into top medical schools, as opposed to top 20 colleges?</p>
<p>Long story short - Nope</p>
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<p>I can’t tell you how many medical school professors and physicians in private practice whom I know personally who are sending their kids who want to be doctors to the state university for undergraduate education. Medical school is expensive, and even these relatively affluent people do not think it is a wise use of money to do undergraduate pre-med at a school that is going to cost them many extra tens of thousands of dollars.</p>
<p>And that isn’t even getting into your statement that you “feel much more comfortable with the state college”. (I’m assuming you don’t mean a lower tier regional four-year public with limited opportunities.)</p>
<p>What does lower tier regional four-year public mean really? I’ve seen it get tossed around on CC a lot, that if you plan on med school, go to your state flagship if you don’t qualify for aid/dont get merit aid. </p>
<p>At what point does spending more money become worth it? What type of schools are four-year, lower-tier regional publics that hurt your chances of getting into “top” med schools (assuming one wanted to do research/go into academia)? Specifically in NY and CA.</p>
<p>*Will going to a state university be a major disadvantage for acceptance into top medical schools, as opposed to top 20 colleges? *</p>
<p>Since you say that the school is strong in bio-med engineering, then certainly that is a good thing for med school. If you do well with that, get very good grades (especially in organic chem) and do well on your MCAT, you can get into a good med school.</p>
<p>It is far better for you to spend less for undergrad, so that you’ll have money or borrowing capability for med school. you might ask your parents that if you spend less for undergrad, will they help with med school. That is what we’re doing for our pre-med son. </p>
<p>What type of schools are four-year, lower-tier regional publics that hurt your chances of getting into “top” med schools (assuming one wanted to do research/go into academia)? Specifically in NY and CA.</p>
<p>For Calif, it would probably not be a good idea to do pre-med at one of the lowest ranking CSUs (CSU-DH, CSU-Bakersfield, CSU-LA), unless they are particularly known to be strong in sciences. Remember, you have to do well on your MCATS, so if a low ranked school can’t prepare you for that exam, your chances for med school admission will be compromised.</p>
<p>What does lower tier regional four-year public mean really?</p>
<p>There’s no set definition. In my county, a student could go to the local state school and get a fine pre-med education - even tho it’s 3rd tier. However, I wouldn’t necessarily say that about another low tier school in the next county. </p>
<p>A lot depends on the school’s science facilities, the profs, etc.</p>
<p>I don’t think that attending a state school is too detrimental.</p>
<p>No one is going to look down on you for going to a public flagship. There is a reason, though, that so many people are willing to shell out all that money for to privates. Most importantly, you’ll have much smaller class sizes. Chem 101 at a big state school will be several hundred people, at a private, it’ll be more like 60. Privates give you more opportunities to get to know professors and so forth, which is a big plus. Generally, there are also more opportunities in labs as well. At some big state schools the student-faculty ratio is in excess of 20 to 1. At every decent private it’s under 10 to 1 and the best ones are more like 6 or 7 to 1. That really does make a difference.</p>
<p>The ratios matter because:
- Most people learn better in smaller classes
- Having better ratios helps you get to know faculty who then write you good recommendations
- Being involved in research is a huge plus on med school apps.</p>
<p>A lot depends on which state school you are refering to.</p>
<p>Since you have received a big scholarship, I am going to assume that you will be in the top 10% of the students at your StateU.</p>
<p>I am going to further assume that this means you will likely be among the best students in your major. This gives you access to professors at StateU that you would not get if you are not top 10%. Logistically impossible for a professor at StateU to allocate time to the bottom 90% of the class… there aren’t enough hours in a day.</p>
<p>Therefore, your access to faculty mentoring, internships, resources, recommendations, and research opportunities as a top 10% student at StateU will be very little different from what you might have expected at an LAC or smaller, highly ranked university.</p>
<p>My answer to you would have been completely different of course if you were to be a 60% student at StateU… that is truly a black hole. In that case, Potatoes345 post above lays out the reasoning for the better choice being a smaller university.</p>
<p>I was a student (long story) at both Stanford and UCLA. As a middling student at Stanford and a higher end student at UCLA, my experiences (except for logistical issues) were equally positive.</p>
<p>Going to the state school won’t hurt your chances for post grad opportunities.
If it’s where you feel most comfotable and have a scholarship to boot, you shouldn’t hesitate to go. If you are planning on grad/med. school, you will be glad to not have a lot of undergrad. debt.</p>
<p>“huge scholarship” that sure sounds good to me. Sounds like someone is giving you an incredible opportunity.</p>
<p>Assuming we’re not talking about some totally obscure state school, your UG college will have less effect on your admissions to med school than will your GPA and MCATs. This state school, it sounds like, will also provide excellent opportunities for research and interaction with professors in your major, simply by virtue how highly you rank in comparison to your peers.</p>
<p>Hey guys, thanks for all the responses!</p>
<p>To be more precise, I want to attend Mississippi State (hopefully not too obscure) and the scholarship I was awarded includes full tuition, board, books, etc. plus two summers of paid research and a stipend to do study abroad or interships.</p>
<p>MSU is not obscure. It’s strong in engineering, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s also strong in sciences.</p>
<p>Is that their NMF scholarship?</p>
<p>It is their Distinguished Scholarship… I think something like 600 people were put in a pool for it, and nine were chosen as recipients</p>