Ivy League or Guaranteed Admission to Med School?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey all,</p>

<p>So waiting for admissions decisions was tough, getting rejected from my top choice college was really tough, and now deciding between my choices is super tough! Right now I am trying to decide between the RPI/Albany Medical College combined program and Brown University, and I'd appreciate hearing some of your thoughts on this matter.</p>

<p>First of all, I am not completely positive that I want to be a doctor, but given how difficult it is to get into medical school these days (I just had to watch my brother go through the medical school admissions process), I think I'd prefer being in a combined program instead of going through the traditional route and applying in 4 years. Additionally, RPI has offered me some merit money, and I'd get a bit of a tuition break at AMC because my father is on the faculty. At Brown, my family would have to pay the entire bill because we do not qualify for financial aid (but my family probably could foot the entire bill...).</p>

<p>However, at Brown, I would still be able to pursue premed and also anything else that interests me. At the same time though, I am not sure if I would enjoy being premed at Brown. I applied for the PLME program and did not get in, and as shallow as this sounds, I am not sure if I would ever feel comfortable around those PLME students (who would most likely be in a few of my premed classes), knowing that they were smarter and thus got into the program over me. On the other hand, Providence is a much more thriving city than Troy (which could hardly be called a city), and I feel like Troy is a bit too close to home.</p>

<p>Making my decision even harder are my interests outside of Biology, creative writing and graphic design. Brown obviously has the advantage that I can take courses at RISD (though I'm not sure if many students end up doing this) and its English department is probably much stronger than the one at RPI, a primarily engineering school. Campus life is also better at Brown, but again, I must think of cost, etc.</p>

<p>Ideally, I would have liked to take a gap year and pursue my interests in creative writing (and finish a novel?) and graphic design before going to RPI/AMC, and then perhaps reapply to a few colleges if I realized that medicine was not what I wanted to do. I am also a bit younger that most of my peers, and the RPI/AMC program is accelerated (7 years), so I would like the time to mature. However, RPI/AMC will not allow me to defer my admission. Therefore, I am stuck and have no idea what to do. Please help!</p>

2

<p>This is kind of time sensitive; I have to send in my commitment card in a week! BUMP.</p>

3

<p>"At the same time though, I am not sure if I would enjoy being premed at Brown. I applied for the PLME program and did not get in, and as shallow as this sounds, I am not sure if I would ever feel comfortable around those PLME students (who would most likely be in a few of my premed classes), knowing that they were smarter and thus got into the program over me."</p>

<p>What are you talking about? The PLME program is ridiculously hard to get into. You will see premeds "smarter" than you anywhere you go, including RPI. The PLME program really depends on your conveyed passion for medicine (did you shadow, do research, and a very unique community service ?), not how smart you are (your scores and such are just to weed out people, not to choose who gets in).</p>

<p>In any case, if you commit yourself to work as hard as you did in HS, you can get into a medical school from any undergrad school. You do not seem sure if medicine is your end-goal, so I would say to choose an option that you can get a BA or BS at the end of 4 years.</p>

4

<p>a lot of people go to a school planning on some guaranteed or accelerated program, then change their major. you may decide you dont want to be a doctor, and are stuck at a lower quality college, although RPI is pretty good. I'd take brown.</p>

5

<p>As a Providence Resident, I really like brown, many friends of mine are going there, my friends parents teach there, my dad went to med school there, its a great place. Im thinking about pre-med too, but from all the stories ive heard, if you work hard enough, you can get into med school. Sometimes that means taking a year off to put some more work in, but why have a miserable 4 (potentially 8) years if the end result will probably be the same.</p>

6

<p>Go to RPI; defer Brown for a year. If you like RPI you can take next yr off and return to Troy in the Fall 2010. If RPI is not for you-- the deferment at Brown is waiting. After your yr at RPI, your first yr at Brown'll be a cake-walk feeling like a yr off.</p>

7

<p>So the general consensus is for Brown, even though it costs more?</p>

<p>Charlie--I'm pretty sure I cannot attend another university full time if I defer at Brown...</p>

8

<p>Brown for the win.</p>

9

<p>If you don't tell Brown. Students often do pre-med req. at other schools during the summer, if they bomb the course, they never tell their home school. Of course you might lose one yr of credit, etc. But, you should do RPI anyway. More serious than Brown and you always have the med school in your backpocket...</p>

<p>Do RPI.</p>

10

<p>"Go to RPI; defer Brown for a year. If you like RPI you can take next yr off and return to Troy in the Fall 2010. If RPI is not for you-- the deferment at Brown is waiting. After your yr at RPI, your first yr at Brown'll be a cake-walk feeling like a yr off."</p>

<p>Wow. Are you serious? To defer you have to enter into an agreement with Brown that you will not enroll in another school as a degree-seeking candidate, and your plan would be to turn around and do exactly that?</p>

<p>Bad advice. Go to Brown.</p>

11

<p>I'm a former combined BS/MD program grad (Northwestern HPME) and generally very supportive of the programs. Everything you tell us with the exception of the money issue (which you say is not critical) supports a decision to go to BROWN.</p>

<p>RPI is a niche place. You have no commitment to engineering, you enjoy and have significant interest in pursuing the humanities, you understand the limitations of Troy, NY. Brown will position you well for any future career you choose. Nothing will be guaranteed, but I'd never suggest you or anyone compromise a choice as otherwise as wonderful a fit for you and your interests as Brown unless you were certain of a career in medicine AND believed you'd enjoy both RPI and Albany Med.</p>

12

<p>brassmonkey, it's been done before; even though it's not kosher, it's the one way VF can have their cake and eat it too. </p>

<p>Better yet, VF go to Brown and/or RPI for summer terms. Even though summers are different from regular terms it should give you a strong indication which one is right for you.</p>