Is it worth it?

<p>Hey, i am still only a junior, but im looking to go into pre-med somewhere in massachusetts. i could go to umass lowell relatively cheaply (in-state tuition + mcas scholarship), but i am wondering if it would be worth it to try to get into BC or BU. i know those two schools are better than umass lowell, but i am wondering whether its worth the extra 25,000 ish (at least) in cost. my parents can only help me so much, and i dont really want to leave my undergrad years with a huge loan, but if it is worth it, i am willing to undertake the tuition if i get accepted. i could also go to umass amherst, but i dont really see the need to pay for room and board. u-lowell is about 10 minutes away from my house, so it would be very easy to go back and forth. </p>

<p>are there any pre-med (strong science) schools in massachusetts that really stand out? i am also wondering, between BU and BC, which one has the better pre-med program, or if their is an even better school that is worth the money.</p>

<p>any advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>I applied to UMass-Amherst and BU early decision. No doubt that BU is better than the UMass schools and that UMass-Amherst is the best of the UMass schools. Why wouldnt you want to go to the best school you can?</p>

<p>i do, but the difference in tuition is so large. i just dont know enough to tell if the difference you get in education, and my chance to get into a medical school (or possibly a dental school) increases by alot.</p>

<p>i also forgot about tufts. where do you think that ranks with bu and bc?</p>

<p>Look at Holy Cross, Wheaton, Clark, Tufts.</p>

<p>Tufts definitely ranks above BU and BC in every way. Tufts' pre-med program is excellent and med school placement is great, too. Plus, there's a fast-track program whereby y ou can get into Tufts Medical School as an udnergraduate if you've taken the courses necessary to apply earlya nd done well in them.</p>

<p>do you think my stats are good enough to get into these colleges? i havent taken sats yet, my gpa is 3.771 (probably higher now (3.82?), after first quarter report card), and im top 10 percent in my class. i take all honors and 2 AP (biology and statistics). my school doesnt offer AP's before junior year. next year i plan on taking AP chem, calc, and maybe some type of AP history. i am in NHS and S.A.D.D., and i also play intermural (sp?) sports, but i dont play anything for the school. i have also done a good amount of volunteer work, so im not really sure where all of that puts me in terms of possible acceptance into some of these colleges, but hopefully i stand a chance.</p>

<p>Apply to BU GS...</p>

<p>could you please tell me what GS stands for?</p>

<p>school of general studies.... you have better grades than the typical GS student... apply to the regular school, definitely not GS</p>

<p>
[quote]
i know those two schools are better than umass lowell, but i am wondering whether its worth the extra 25,000 ish (at least) in cost.

[/quote]

Well, what do you think? Medical school is very expensive, and it could be a while before it pays off. Would you rather spend a lot of money on an undergrad school or save that money to go to the best med school you can? </p>

<p>You should apply to range of colleges, and start looking for outside merit scholarships. </p>

<p>Boston U has an accelerated medical program that would be worth looking into.
<a href="http://www.bu.edu/cas/academics/programs/medical.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bu.edu/cas/academics/programs/medical.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
school of general studies.... you have better grades than the typical GS student... apply to the regular school, definitely not GS

[/quote]
</p>

<ol>
<li>We dont know his SATs</li>
<li>Some of us actually do as well as he did (not me, but still...)</li>
</ol>

<p>well what kind of SAT score do you think i would need to get in?</p>

<p>about 630+ on each section.</p>

<p>undergrad school has little impact on med school admissions. Remove that from your decision process. Also there are only 125 medical schools in the US. All are excellent, all are expensive, all will give you an MD to practice medicine, so don't worry about "top tier" b/c all the schools are top tier. Also, everyone gets loans and graduates from medical school with massive loads of debt (average is over 110K and some people are over 250k in debt when they leave). So just assume that you will too, and then ask yourself if it is worth it to have another 80k in debt from undergrad.</p>

<p>when trying to choose a school find the one that is the best fit for you, the place where you will have the greatest opportunity for success academically, socially, physically, and emotionally.</p>

<p>The way the academic job market is these days -- lots of PhDs and not enough academic jobs -- there are fabulous professors at nearly every university. </p>

<p>That said, UMass-Amherst is a fine choice. It has wonderful scholars and researchers, with national and international reputations. The honors college is also first rate and gives some good scholarships, which would further reduce your cost. Plus the honors college funds some students to do independent research, of the sort that will look great to a medical school admissions officer/committee.</p>

<p>Here's the GS link:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/class.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/class.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Great program, similar to Oxford College of Emory University:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.emory.edu/OXFORD/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.emory.edu/OXFORD/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>so what is the difference between the regular school and the school of general studies?</p>

<p>GS = less qualified students
GS = covers more general classes. it has been compared to 2 more years of high school. however by completing GS you graduate from Boston University in 4 years which is good.</p>

<p>There's very little difference betweem CGS and the reg. school. The 2 more years of HS thing is pretty juvenile.</p>

<p>There is little difference between GS and LAS.</p>

<p>And, it is not like two more years of high school...it is more structured, and more likely to make you well-rounded than LAS.</p>