Michigan State MD scholar

<p>Accepted!!!!</p>

<p>I guess I got rejected considering I never got an e-mail? Lol.</p>

<p>yeah, i got accepted too, out of state! will you all be attending msu.</p>

<p>To Those Who Got Accepated,</p>

<p>Please shares your stats as the followings:
State of residency
SAT1
ACT
SAT2
AP
HS Rank
Essay, Recommendation letters, Interview
ECs
List of BA/BS-MD program that you applied
Others .......</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>I got put on the alternate list...out-of-state.</p>

<p>What attracted you guys to this program? (other than the obvious guarantee) because I got in (:) ) but am deciding between this and an ivy...</p>

<p>i'm pretty set on going next year...anyone else?</p>

<p>as for why i like the program
the guarantee plays a pretty huge part since i like the idea of exploring whatever intellectual whims i have without having to worry about how it looks on a med school application.
the people in the program seem to really take care of their medscholars too...with opportunities and perks etc.
finally, they have a sort of mentor system going on with the upperclassmen and that type of communication can be useful...
besides that, MSU has a great environment and a pretty campus :)</p>

<p>accepted OOS! idk if i wanna go here, it's between this and UIC GPPA. any suggestions?</p>

<p>also, can anyone find specific pricing info on OOS medical school prices? i can only find a generic statement that says 'approximately 55,000'</p>

<p>OOS is usually around 70 thousand per year for the total cost of attendance
UIC on the other hand is like 20 thou cheaper..i think
imagine in 3 or 4 years or so what the cost will rise to...</p>

<p>Pick MSU. The vast difference in your undergraduate experience alone is enough to make up for the greater expense.</p>

<p>peinguin-
what do u mean by 'vast difference in ug experience?' please elaborate--i want to make an informed decision!</p>

<p>UIC is not the "typical college experience." I'd say about 80% of the students commute, so you're not getting the feel that you would at a Big 10 school like Michigan State with dorm living, frats and sororities and all the different student groups, etc. Michigan State is also a decent undergraduate curriculum...UIC is not very well known for any academics, period. I don't know how the medical schools compare in ranking, but I do know that U of I has the biggest medical school in the nation, which I've heard from some GPPA students is not the best thing in the world. If you want to stay in Chicago and be in a big city and that's the deciding factor, then by all means pick UIC. I think that, if you look, there may be more opportunities off-campus in such a large city. However, Michigan State is a HUGE Big 10 school and I'm sure there's lots of opportunities there, too, especially research since it's one of the Top 40 Research Universities or something like that. When I interviewed for the GPPA, it seemed like a dead end to me, there was really not much to do. And I've hung around UIC, my best friend goes there, I drive by it every day on my way to school...I think MSU is a much more complete and "typical" undergraduate experience.</p>

<p>UIC is in a state of transition from a commuter to a more residential school. This year, overall, 25% of students stayed on or near campus. For freshman, though, 50% stayed on or near campus. They define near campus as within a mile from the campus.<br>
UIC is well known school in many areas. UIC is a top ranked health science school. The Med school is the weakest of all the health science colleges. Most of the other programs, nursing, pharmacy, etc, are top 10 programs. UIC has the highest ranked undergraduate business school in the entire Chicago area. No one at UIC complains about the academics. There are very good and competitive. UIC is a top 50 research school, something which University of Chicago cannot say. It is a respected school in the sciences and engineering. There was this big engineering competition for schools in the midwest, and UIC won. They beat out traditional engineering powerhouses like UIUC. People complain about the UIC culture, but that is in the process of changing.
The UIC Greeks reported an increase of pledges this year. A Greek store just opened on campus. UIC has many clubs.</p>

<p>UIC is well known school in many areas.</p>

<p>Since when? It's not known on the West Coast OR the East Coast. That's the reason why every one of five graduates from UIC who are geared in a professional direction AND every one of six graduates from the medical school become a physician in Illinois (every one of two become one in a state contiguous to Illinois).</p>

<p>No one at UIC complains about the academics. There are very good and competitive.</p>

<p>Wrong. I know at least 10 people in the honors college, all of which are kicking themselves for not going to a different school. 6 of them are transferring next year. Same goes for the GPPA. I know several who are disappointed with the program and wish they'd gone the traditional route instead because there is no liberal arts education at UIC. The sciences and mathematics can be rigorous, but nothing else is.</p>

<p>UIC is a top 50 research school, something which University of Chicago cannot say.</p>

<p>...But Michigan State can say that.</p>

<p>My bottom line is that (and it seems to be a very proven point among people who have posted in the GPPA thread) it's a big sacrifice to go to the GPPA over another program unless you absolutely love UIC or you're strictly looking to be oriented in science and engineering. And even then, Michigan State is pretty comparable in those areas because the Michigan public schools have much larger endowment than Illinois public schools, especially when you compare MSU to UIC. It's ultimately your decision but I think it's foregoing a lot to go to the GPPA when you have at least another program at a bigger university. I think that the previous post has a lot of blanket statements that I'm sure are true for some people, but I know a lot that don't like the culture, think the Greek scene is a joke, dislike the classes, don't find the school challenging and wished they'd gone somewhere else.</p>

<p>In my field, UIC is known nationally. It is one of the best. Like I said before, the medical college is the weakest of the health science colleges. If you were in pharmacy or nursing, you would know UIC. The fact is the school is changing. I've been there long enough to see the change. The current freshman do not have that perspective. I've been to night events which just a couple of years ago had less than 15 participants, and today have over 50. The graduation rate has increased by about 15 points since I started.
The spirit of the average undergraduate student is better today than it was a few years ago. They have fixed the problems surrounding getting into those classes. There is better control over admissions.
UIC has never been known for its liberal arts programs except for psych and communications. It's not a hidden fact in UIC's agenda. It is very wide known. Being strong in liberal arts is not going to help the people of the state of Illinois and Chicagoland. Since when does a large, public, urban university which was built for commuter students have large Greek scenes? None of them do. You can easily find the information which says less than 5% of students are involved in social Greeks.
All of the public universities in Illinois have had their state endowments shrink from about a third to 20% from 2001 to 2003. They are all having to come up with ways to get more money. This is an issue which has to do more with the governor and state legislature than the actual schools. UIC does not receive a specific endowment. The umbrella University of Illinois receives the money and then doles it out to the three campuses. That has been an issue because UIC does have the highest expenses of the three campuses, but the cost of living adjustments haven't been large enough.</p>

<p>i do care somewhat about the ranks of the medical schools.
uic college of medicine is ranked 59 on US NEWS medical school rankings for research (there are 126 med schools in the country, us news ranks only 60 top ones).</p>

<p>msu college of medicine is not ranked for research, but is ranked #18 for primary care. i would have to say that college of medicine ranks are comparable for both uic and msu.</p>

<p>as for undergrad--msu is ranked 71. uic is not ranked, and quiite frankly, sucks. </p>

<p>msu is a better overall option in the rankings regard--med schools are comparable but undergrad is significantly better ranked.</p>

<p>cost is another concern. uic undergrad: 22k/yr. med school: 40k/yr
msu: about 5k/yr (after hefty scholarships). med shcool: 65k/yr</p>

<p>msu in the long run turns out to be about 30k more expensive (uic is 250k, msu is 280k).</p>

<p>these are basically the stats i'm considering, and i'm reallly leaning towards msu right now...any comments?</p>

<p>oh and i'll be majoring in chem for undergrad. which school's better for that undergrad portion?</p>

<p>and Nova--are you a GPPA applicant, in UIC already, or what? i just want to understand the level of response i'm getting</p>

<p>If you're majoring in Chem, it's pretty comparable. I also know MSU does dole out med school scholarships. I'm not sure if U of I does.</p>

<p>MSU gives out scholarships like hotels do toiletries.</p>