<p>My D got accepted to University of Virginia, College of William & Mary, and Loyola College in MD (with full tuition scholarship & honors program).</p>
<p>She can't decide . Your advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>UVA is the best of the three, and I'd probably pick UVA because the surrounding area is awesome, and the campus is great. It would be somewhere I'd really like to go--I didn't really like William & Mary's campus as much, but it depends on the person.</p>
<p>Oh, I forgot. My D wants to go to a medical school after her B.A. She is wondering which of the three most likely helps her get accepted to a med school.</p>
<p>with all due respect, loyola is no where near the same league as either UVA or W&M!!! just wondering if you're in or OOS. IF your d is OOS, all the more tragic to turn down either VA school. as far as med school, and her future, there's NO CONTEST ! you are comparing a moderate ( high acceptance rate) Tier II with awesome, impossible-to-get-in Tier Is! are you aware of that? and altho d got Loyola money, the cost for a UVA education is still a deal! there are differences between the two VA schools, with UVA having somewhat greater rep and prestige and both of same academic caliber. feel free to PM me if you like.</p>
<p>happycollegemom,</p>
<p>Thank you for your input.</p>
<p>I would agree with you 100% if my D were interested in any other field, not pre-med. I found this at a UVA thread:</p>
<p>"Okay. I will be honest. There is one big downside to UVA.</p>
<p>If you don't know what you want to major in, it's hard. There are a lot of majors that you must apply for (after acceptance, and even within the College of Arts and Sciences) and that you may not get accepted to. (Thank goodness I just got accepted into my field). Further, many majors require a few courses as prerequisites before declaring (think: Economics, Media Studies, etc.) You should definitely take pre-req courses for a variety of majors your first couple years, so that you have OPTIONS when you are declaring your major.</p>
<p>I am of the opinion that if you are smart enough to get into this school, you should be allowed to pursue your field of interest (slash passion) regardless. Your university should help you in anyway possible pursue your career goals, not hinder you.</p>
<p>Also, watch out if you are pre-med. (We don't call it that- we call it Bio or Chem majors.) But CHEM 141 is incredibly difficult and I have seen so many friends give up on their hope to become doctors because of their poor grades in that class.</p>
<p>It is just a shame because I would rather have a doctor who got a C or D at UVA than one that went to a way worse school, with an easier program, any day of the week. Those UVA students, however, have an incredibly difficult time getting accepted to top med programs because of incredibly challenging premed classes. "</p>
<p>===========
PS.</p>
<p>To be honest, money does not matter here because we have saved enough money for her college. </p>
<p>We try to maximize her chance to get in a medical school after her B.A. And many people would think that it does not matter which school she goes for her undergraduate! High GPA and MCAT scores are very important for med schools!</p>
<p>bln~ whoa! well, again, i'll offer some PMing. i have never heard such a thing. my non-pre-med d has a current UVA grad roommate who is deciding amongst a TON of med school acceptances! UVA, GT to name a few! she did not have any difficulty getting her major, and she was also 1 of a few of my d's roommates during undergrad. the only major i know of that UVA doesn't allow immediate access to is McIntire. with a UVA degree, you look good across most parameters! i would HIGHLY recommend PMing "Dean J" who is an AWESOME UVA rep in admissions. she's all over the threads for UVA and interacts thoroughly. others i've "met" are kids named...powderpuff, shoebox, cavalier. but try to connect with Dean J.
i don't know WHOOOO gave you such negative input, but it's ludicrous! especially since no one KNOWS what your d is capable of <strong>watch out for the posters who are disgruntled and have "issues"!</strong> stay in touch!</p>
<p>Any other opinion ? Please!</p>
<p>Loyola College in MD.</p>
<p>She will probably do better at a school that is smaller and is not as competitive as UVA. Medical schools don't care about the prestige of the Undergrad as much as the MCATs and grades. She would be better off being at the top of her class at Loyola than the middle of the pack at UVA. Plus, you can't argue with free tuition.</p>
<p>This is sort of like comparing apples and oranges. UV and W&M are research universities--with excellent science facilties. Loyola is a good, master's level or regional university. Many of its students are business or education majors. It is comparable to Providence College, or a number of other similar Catholic schools in the Northeast.</p>
<p>Or course, you can take the necessary prerequisites for medical school at Loyola and, if you do very well, stand a decent chance for admission to medical school. But you will not have the research opportunities no the depth or rigor of science education that you would find at UVA or W&M.</p>
<p>If you prefer Loyola for other reasons, some of this can be ameliorated by cross registering for science classes at Johns Hopkins (it is right down the street) through the Baltimore Collegetown Network. Few Loyola students do this because, frankly, the courses at Hopkins tend to be much more difficult--but it is an option.</p>
<p>W&M is a LAC, UVirginia is a research U that is 3 times larger. Both are excellent but very different. ACC sports and raucus Greek scene at UVa. Non conformist, quirky students at W&M. Mountains or beach. W&M has highest acceptance at med school in the state. Go vist both and then decide which feels right. If you are true to yourself you cant lose. Congrats on having great choices.</p>
<p>While UVa is indeed much larger, W&IM is not a LAC notwithstanding the word "college" in its name. It both considers itself and is catagorized (by USNRW and others) as a public national research university.</p>
<p>Thank you all very much for your inputs.</p>
<p>There are two "school of thoughts" here:</p>
<p>(1) NewEnglander23: Go to Loyola, get excellent GPA & high MCAT scores, then go to medical school (prestige of undergraduate school does not matter!)</p>
<p>(2) happycollegem, bonanza and swish14: UVA and W&M are much better universities where one can get a great education .</p>
<p>That is exactly what my D is thinking, and that is exactly the reason why she is still undecided. Why?</p>
<p>· UVA (she has eliminated W&M):a great school, great education, but the “weeding out” process can be severe. It’s possible that my D will get a GPA of around 3.3 (if she is in “the middle of the pack at UVA”).
· Loyola College: a good college, but is not as good as UVA. It’s possible that she can be at the top of her class there. She thinks she would be able to achieve a GPA ~ 3.8+ there .</p>
<p>So, assuming that her MCAT = 32; her GPA at UVA ~ 3.3; her GPA at Loyola ~ 3.80+</p>
<p>Her question is : Based on the above hypothetical stats, which school is more likely to send her to a medical school ? (any medical school would be fine with her)</p>
<p>Again, your thoughts are greatly appreciated</p>
<p>bump. 10 characters</p>
<p>hi bln~ well, as many times as you ask for help, that's how many differing perspectives you'll get! i STILL say that a med school WILL SEE the UVA transcript!!!!! i think they expect a lower GPA at such a school. this is really not so different from what i advise on all the time for high schoolers and their transcripts. a 4.0 from an inferior hs is picked up rapidly by admissions counselors, over a lower GPA from a highly competitve and rigorous hs. PM me if you like. oh, and who says your d will get a low GPA at UVA???</p>
<p>I am not now and never have been an admissions officer for a medical school---but I would guess that: (1) a very high GPA at Loyola is equivalent to a somewhat lower GPA at UVA (I can't quantify that but I'm suspect it exists to some extent); (2)The MCAT serves as the equalizer. I know some applicants this year with very high GPA's from good but not stellar colleges who, as of yet, have not been admitted to medical school because of mediocre MCATs. I also suspect that the MCAT is reflective both of one's natural intelligence and the quality of one's education. Since you can't do much about your natural abililties--I'd opt to get the best education you can and let the chips fall where they may. While the strategy of of going to an easier school for a higher GPA may occasionally work--on average it is difficult to game the system and counterproductive if it results in an inferior education. I'm not saying that your daughter could not get a good education at Loyola; to the contrary, I said before that Loyola is a good master's level university. But clearly, in comparison, UVA is a significantly stronger institution.</p>
<p>As I'm sure you are aware, the med acceptance rate at Loyola has been between 70-90% for the past several years. That being said, UVA and W&M, wow, congrats...What are the acceptance rates there? UVA has to be remarkable based on its affiliations.</p>
<p>That statistic doesn't really tell you very much. Applying to Med School is expensive and emotionally draining and most people aren't going to apply unless they have a reasonable chance for admission based on GPA, MCAT's and recommendations. And you won't get favorable recommendations without the first two.</p>
<p>How many Loyola students in a class get admitted? Hopkins is down the street and is of similar size (slightly larger). It gets over 250 students a year admitted to med school.</p>
<p>Hi greatescape74,</p>
<p>You seem to know Loyola very much. Do you know how many pre-med students got accepted to medical schools last year. Also, do you know how many pre-med freshmen at Loyola last year ?</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>P.S. I would agree with bonanza: the rate does not mean much because we do not know how many students were "weeded out" or dropped out of the program due to low GPA and/or MCAT!</p>
<p>I vote with the early posts. UVA and W&M would rarely be in the same sentence as Loyola. There's a reason why you student got such a good scholarship. I believe she would be better served and enjoy being around students at her caliber at the Virginia schools.</p>
<p>If she has ruled out W&M - the best choice IMO, then I would go with UVA over Loyola. UVA has never been known as a difficult place in which to get a good GPA so I think she would get the rep without harming her GPA.</p>