<p>I'm a rising senior at a Louisiana high school. I plan on staying in-state for undergraduate studies and I'm trying to get an idea of what would be a better choice for a Biology/Pre-med student. By the time I'm done with high school I'll have a 3.8-4.0 GPA and my ACT is a 29.
I know that Tulane is much more expensive than LSU, but it is more prestigious with harder academics. Fortunately, money is not too big of a problem is Tulane will help me more in medical school admissions. For medical school I heard GPA/MCAT matters much more than the prestige of the undergraduate university. How true is this? I'm shooting for medical schools like Baylor College of Medicine, UT-Southwestern, UCSF, UCLA, etc. Not exactly Ivy Leagues but somewhere up there.</p>
<p>Should I: </p>
<p>A) Go to Tulane where it's more expensive and has more challenging academics; OR</p>
<p>B) Go to LSU Honors where it will be easier for me to make As but I'll have more time for internships and volunteer work.</p>
<p>What would help more in medical school admissions? I feel like I will do well at Tulane, but if I go to LSU I'm sure I could stand out.</p>
<p><- 3.5 GPA student with a 33 ACT. I’ll try to give my opinion.</p>
<p>1.) Science courses are pretty much standard across the board for every university. The difference in Tulane vs LSU would probably be how much attention you get from teachers, and how the quality of the teaching. You will learn the same things at LSU, but it will probably require more effort on your part to teach yourself.</p>
<p>2.) Med school doesn’t really care about prestige outside of places ranked up with Harvard or Stanford. Even then, Med school admissions are much more about numbers then they are about prestige, all else being equal.</p>
<p>3.) Expenses matter. Federal stafford loan limits cap out at 32,000 dollars, and then you would have to get private loans, unless your family doesn’t make a lot of money. If you can keep costs low while going to Tulane, then choose between them, but if you are a full pay to Tulane, then don’t go. Coming out of undergraduate school with $200,000 in loans is extremely inadvisable, especially since Med School will probably cost another $200,000.</p>
<p>Even at a low interest rate of 6.8% a year, you would be tacking on another 27,000 dollars a year just out of interest when you finally leave Med school. </p>
<p>If money is no object, then go where you feel you will do best. You’ll be happier, and it will probably have a more positive effect on your grades then if you chose a school logically, thus increasing your chances of going to Med School</p>
<p>I am curious as to what part of LA you are from. (I am from there too) I also have the same ACT and GPA… strange right? As to your question, I don’t see why you shouldn’t explore out of state options. With those scores and good EC’s you could get into some much better places. I will be applying out of state. But if you are really set on in-state then I would personally go to LSU honors. I am familiar with both colleges, visited both many times. LSU is for people who want to socially be in a place of more diversity and have the chance to meet new people, while also saving money in the end and get a good education. Tulane is for people who want a small school, and who are less intent on having a wide diversity of people to meet. That combined with the drastically higher tuition turned me off but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go there. I just prefer a bigger school.</p>
<p>Hey fellow peers from the class of 2013. @BK1349 I wouldn’t think that learning exist only inside the classroom. If LSU is easier than you have more time to learn things that you are interested in or MCAT material. Also remember fiscal responsibility; debt, especially full tulane tuition debt, is not something to take lightly.</p>
<p>@jay9990 sorry, but I can’t send PMs right now so I will ask hijack the thread for a bit. Are the out of state options more promising when looking at it financially? I am a low income 3.9 gpa, top 5, 31 act - 33 superscore, lots of community service, extra currics, 3 sports student</p>