Lafayette, Hamilton or U of Rochester full price vs. Wooster with $32,000 merit scholarship

My son has been accepted all four and is interested in pre-med and would major in either Chem or Bio. We have over $210,000 currently in 529 plans and the ability to fund him for four years at any of the full pay schools. We are eligible for no financial aid although we may in his final two years as we are both retiring this year. At this point does he seriously consider Wooster (his safe school) or do we tell him to go where he wants. From what I read if he has the grades at Wooster and a high enough MCAT he can get into Med School. Thoughts? Experiences? Any help is appreciated.

Wooster is a great school. Might be best choice, even money aside, for premed. You want a nurturing environment, one to promote the chances of getting into med school, not a gate keeper type school.

Also, med school is expensive and doctots’ Pay not what it used to be. The money you have saved up can pay for that or other advanced degrees.

If he likes Wooster, that sounds like a good option. If he doesn’t, why not? Is there something at one of the other schools that could make it worth the difference?

He can get into med school from any option. What’s his Plan B if he doesn’t make it into med school? Would that have an effect on where it seems best to go? (All med school student wannabes need a Plan B.)

I know students who have gone to each of those schools and loved their time at them. Any can be a good choice for the right student.

Of some interest, Hamilton and Wooster both appear if you search “15 Best Value Small Colleges for a Chemistry Degree.”

Wooster is a terrific school, and every student gets a heavy dose of research experience through the required independent study project. It’s hard to beat a 50% discount unless he really, really loves Hamilton, Lafayette, or Rochester.

As Amherst’s pre-med guide correctly notes, it is up to the student to take advantage of available resources. A motivated student has a great shot at medical school regardless of whether s/he is coming from any of these four colleges – or less selective colleges, for that matter.

For chemistry, it’s worth noting that Wooster has produced noticeably more chemistry PhDs than any of the other three schools, even the much larger Rochester.

80 Wooster
63 Rochester
39 Lafayette
37 Hamilton

The order is a bit different for biology, though Wooster still fares pretty well.

504 Rochester
113 Lafayette
103 Wooster
75 Hamilton

Though it tends not to be popular on CC to mention entering student profiles, they can correspond to the level of classroom instruction and expectation, which will, through four years, comprise a major aspect of a college experience. With respect to these particular schools, the ACT middle ranges extend from 24-30 on the low end of the group to 31-34 on the high end. Even if one believes that no firm conclusions can be drawn from these figures, it nonetheless should be recognized that these differences are not trivial. Taken a bit further, I think you should ask, at least as an exercise, whether these schools truly represent comparable academic entities.

Woo is great place.

@merc81 he scored 800 math 670 on his SAT. That is part of the struggle, does he go where it is less costly where he would be at the upper end of admittees or does he take on a school that more closely tracks to his score range and capabilities he has demonstrated academically.

Indeed, it is impressive to see how colleges can be less selective in admissions and yet turn out graduates as accomplished as those of more selective colleges. No doubt this is one reason Wooster is one of the Colleges That Change Lives.

https://ctcl.org/college-of-wooster/

As I commented on your other thread, if your son would like to explore some of the deeper and more interesting realms of a field such as chemistry, then one of the more academically challenging and highly-resourced colleges on his list might be appropriate. If he truly wants a high level of engagement suitable to his academic level, then in my opinion the four formative years of college should be regarded as an opportunity that will not be available in the same form again.

I agree with merc81 - what does he want to get out of his undergrad experience?

You have enough saved to fund his years of undergrad but what about four years of medical school. If he chooses the less expensive option, that money will be available later. I also believe that if he is truly committed to medicine, being in the upper range of talent at the college is a plus. He will need very high grades to have a shot at medical school and that may be easier if he is in the top of the class. It also depends very much on the student. Is he likely to thrive as a larger fish in a smaller pond or does he need to be pushed by being surrounded by people as smart and smarter? There is no right answer. I know both kinds of kids.

So many people underestimate the value of being a star. It is good for the confidence, it is good for the GPA, it is good for getting that ‘wow is this kid amazing’ rec- so many pluses.

My favorite med school story is one of the top pediatric orthopedic surgeons in the US (on any top 10 list you can find). He went to a college that I had genuinely never heard of- we went home and looked it up. Super small, local, admit rate over 75%. Even with the rising tide of schools since his college days it is still exceptionally low ranked. But it was local and it was what they could afford and it prepped him well enough that he got into Penn med school, and he is now the famous specialist you hope your kid gets. Nice guy, too.

And if you can save that money and your son gets to med school, he will value it 100x more grateful than he will value the difference between these colleges. If he doesn’t get to med school, but graduates with no college debt that is a huge gift in itself and you end up using those funds to help with a down payment on his first house, again, he will be massively more appreciative of what that does for his adult life.

I think we can all agree that if he’s laser focused on med school, Wooster is a great idea. But if money isn’t really an issue (or not a big issue) and if he’s not completely sure he will end up in medical school, there might be other considerations here.

(And I’m mostly just writing because I had started writing something else, decided against it, and would rather post something than have a draft sitting here in the box for all of eternity - lol)

I think he should go to Wooster. If he wants med school, Wooster will serve him better by having a higher GPA and being in a place that will boost his confidence. If he wants something else it’s a nurturing environment and will help him find his calling. In most cases, going to the most competitive school you get into doesn’t serve you well for med school, engineering or research based sciences. It’s been shown that going to a “B +” school and thriving will lead to better outcomes (staying in the intended major, research published and career success) than going to the “A” school and floundering amidst super competitive peers and tougher grading systems. The people who thrive in the A schools are the ones who could have gotten into “A+” schools but chose something more manageable. The ones who thrive in “A+” schools are truly exceptional prodigies.

For the most part, I like what I’ve seen of Wooster, but I don’t think that outcomes really have been considered seriously on this thread. Wooster registers a 72% percent four-year graduation rate and early career salaries over 25% lower than some of the other choices. Also, its worth noting that of the students at a school such as Hamilton – of which many would have had opportunities for merit scholarship recognition elsewhere – roughly half originate from full-pay families. As stated above, if the OP’s son is laser-focused on medical school, then Wooster will be fine. However, under broader considerations, the other colleges should be fully in play.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/highest-grad-rate
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/college-of-wooster-3037
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/hamilton-college-2728

@Theoden LOL or the kids of Hollywood celebrities re: A+ schools

I’m sure you realize this, but many students who start on the pre-med track change their field of study during college. Medicine is a profession we are all familiar with, but students experience a broader range of possibilities during college. When I was entering college, pre-med and pre-law were the goals of high achieving students. That has now expanded to computer science, engineering, and finance.

You have been very diligent in saving up for your child’s college education. Hats off! Where does your child really REALLY want to go? If you have the ability to give your child that experience, maybe you should do that. Your son will only have one opportunity to be an undergrad, and you clearly are invested in your child’s educational experience. If, on the other hand, he is not showing a strong favorite, Wooster is the easy choice.

If my daughter had these options, I would encourage her to choose Hamilton in a heartbeat. Just such a cool school. But that’s MY preference, maybe not your son’s!

How certain is he about med school (ie., has he shadowed a general practitioner, volunteered at a clinic, worked with homeless people…?)