<p>Now that its getting to be decision time...I'm not really sure I am making the right choice. </p>
<p>My Options:
neoucom
ohio state (undergrad)
case western (undergrad)
northwestern (undergrad)</p>
<p>so right now i am leaning towards ohio state for various reasons--good scholarships, i like the campus, and the general feel of the school.</p>
<p>but am i making a mistake turning down guaranteed acceptance to med school?</p>
<p>depends...wat do you wanna do with ur life?</p>
<p>if medicine, then do you want to do family practice or something high profile like derm? if ur looking to be a pediatrician, then neoucom would be a great choice, otherwise, i'd try ohio state (honors college i hope) and try to get into a better med school</p>
<p>Why not Northwestern?</p>
<p>no im not really interested in primary care which is what drew me away from neoucom. and yes, honors college at osu.</p>
<p>northwestern, well firstly financial. my family really cant afford it even with the financial aid. also i visited, and wasnt really into the college much. i dont think it would be that good a fit for me. i mean the campus was pretty, but from what i gathered, its just not the type of school for me right now. i applied to it because i would give it a little extra consideration if i got into hpme, but i didnt get into that.</p>
<p>Hm. Same concerns for Case, I assume? Sounds like it's OSU time.</p>
<p>yes i guess i just like big schools. i just hope i dont regret this in the future</p>
<p>I don't think you'll regret things. By guaranteed medical school admission, I assume that's some form of joint program with NEUCOM and one of the NE state schools or is undergrad actually done at NEUCOM?</p>
<p>In either case, I think you'll be much happier at Ohio State: better undergrad education, college environment and so on. And if you do well there, you'll have much stronger med school options than NEUCOM.</p>
<p>its guaranteed admission at neoucom for med school, but i would be doing undergrad at akron</p>
<p>Nothing against Akron; it's a fine school that's come a long way the last ten years or so. That being said, it's still a local, regional college. Ohio State is a national university. You'll have far more opportunities for majoring in nationally ranked departments with National Academy members on faculty as well as the undergraduate research opportunities that will come with that.</p>
<p>Also, consider that if you get a year or two into college and just decide that you don't want to be a doctor, then you've limited yourself to a regional commuter college for no reason. If you're at Ohio State, you'll have a much wider and higher quality breadth of programs to choose from.</p>
<p>Also, consider the quality of the students that you'll be with. At Akron, only 1 student in 50 scored a 30 or higher on their ACT composite. At Ohio State, the number is 1 student in between 3 and 4.</p>
<p>I'm not familiar with the UA-NEUCOM program, and I'm sure that it has a lot of positive aspects beyond the guaranteed med school admission, but here are the positives that I see for going to Ohio State.</p>
<p>Better college environment/community
More residential student body
Brighter, more accomplished student body
All of the resources of a major, national research university
A wide breadth of highly ranked colleges and departments
If you do well at Ohio State, it will open a lot more med school options than just NEUCOM, which you can always attend if it makes sense at the time.</p>
<p>yes those are many of the reasons why i want to go to ohio state. </p>
<p>ive just heard a lot of horror stories of kids doing really well in college and then still not getting into med school, so it makes me a little worried that i could do well and still not get in. then i might regret turning down this guaranteed admission. </p>
<p>but then, i want a good college experience, and i think that osu could provide me with that much better than neoucom could. </p>
<p>however my dad disagrees and thinks i would be crazy to turn down the guarantee and that the college experience is not a big deal to give up in exchange for it. he also says that since the GPA required to stay in neoucom is not that high, that program would not be as stressful as being a premed at osu and trying to get a very high GPA, mcat score, and other activites to have a shot at med school.</p>
<p>from my point of view, developing into a well-rounded person is extremely important and that would probably occur much more thoroughly at osu. i dont know if im being short-sighted--but my dad seems to think i am.</p>
<p>of course he says he will support me any decision i make, but he has expressed his point of view to me. my mom refuses to say anyhting because she wants me to make the decision without her influence.</p>
<p>Have you talked directly to a pre-med adviser at Ohio State and expressed these concerns/questions. I highly suggest that you do so. If you're pre-enrolled into Honors & Scholars, I have to imagine that you you'll be able to talk to somebody directly about your odds of getting into med school after Ohio State. Their answers might be what it takes to push you in one direction or the other.</p>
<p>Personally, I think your dad is being somewhat short sighted in focusing too much on a guaranteed med school admission in exchange for turning down a great overall education in favor of a regional commuter school. With all due respect to Akron U, Ohio State is worlds above it as a university.</p>
<p>Yes, you'll probably have to work harder and face harder competition in class at Ohio State, but that will only prepare you better for the rigors of med school.</p>
<p>Again, I'd seriously advise you to talk--in person if possible--to a pre-med adviser at Ohio State and ask them to directly spell out what you need to do during your time at OSU to get into a top med school and how difficult that would be. If they've pre-enrolled you into Honors, they clearly want you to come to Columbus, so a little bit of their time shouldn't be an imposition on your part.</p>
<p>As far as guaranteed spot at NEOUCOM, not really. You still have to earn your admission to NEOUCOM, which can be terminated at any time. You must get at least an 8 on each section of the MCAT and each year the GPA bar rises. There is somewhat of a guarantee.</p>