<p>I have been given a full ride at Wayne State and Oakland and am going to be accepted at the University of Michigan. I want to become a doctor so I would have to get into med school. I heard that all medical schools care about is your MCAT score, GPA, and extracurriculars. They don't care about where you went or the academic rigor of your courses so much? Can anyone vouch for that? If that is the case then I will go to WSU or Oakland since they are easier colleges and it's much easier to get a 4.0 at these colleges compared to a 4.0 at U of M. However, even though I would get a higher gpa at WSU or Oakland, I believe that I would learn more at U of M since U of M is one of the best schools in the nation and the courses are much harder. Therefore, I would be better prepared for the MCAT. However, my gpa might also suffer diminishing my chances at getting in med school. I am really conflicted right now. Please give me some advice. Thanks.</p>
<p>I love to pick for someone else. I pick Michigan for the overall better college experience and academics. I was also once engaged to a MD who went to Michigan for undergrad.</p>
<p>Please read the med school forums for detail multiple discussions on this topic.</p>
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<p>That seems to be the consensus among informed posters on College Confidential. I’m a little skeptical that this is the whole Gospel Truth. I don’t doubt that GPA matters more than the college brand, per se. Nevertheless, I would expect medical schools to make some adjustments for different grading standards.</p>
<p>The trouble is, it is hard to find comprehensive, apples-to-apples comparisons of admission rates for various combinations of feeder colleges, target med schools, MCAT scores and GPAs. Maybe you can find good comparative data for those 3 colleges. Absent such data, I would not base your choice on an assumption that you will get a significantly higher GPA at Wayne State.</p>
<p>do you like to compare yourself to your peers and compete to do better than them? do you like to work independently of your peers and avoid conversations about grades?</p>
<p>If going to Wayne state or OU, you need to be in the Honors College and take all-honors courses so that you’re prepared well enough for the MCAT. One issue may be peer disinterest (students may commute and be less willing to spend time in study groups, or may have other interests beside college, or may not be all that academically inclined, although the scholarships are likely to attract very bright students). You’d have to stay motivated on your own. At UMich you would not have problems with the rigor of the classes or how driven the students are (mostly…) but you’d have to fight, not with yourself, but to keep your grades up. I’d say Michigan may prepare you better since you’d have better rigor and an atmosphere more similar to med school, and they’re likely to have better Health Advisers.
Can you look at the stats range for each on College Data? Are you in the top 25% for Michigan?
Finally, college doesn’t make a big difference, except for some specific majors (premed isn’t one of the specialties) and some students: immigrant students, first gen students, URM students - in that case, the more prestigious university asks as the “family network” middle/upper middle class students take for granted. So if you’re among one or more of these groups, I’d pick UMich.</p>
<p>there are huge advantages to a full ride when one is going off to medical school. your parents get four more years to save towards retirement and/or towards medical school. Given that you like to work independently of your peers, you’ll be able to do that more easily at the first two schools because you’ll be at the top of the scrum and not struggling with two dozen yahoos, just in your dorm, who are as talented as you are. You’ll find it easier to get professors’ attention at the first two schools because professors will see in class that you stand out from your classmates. It may also be easier to get research experience when you’re the big dog in your science classes. Search out 2 or 3 intellectual peers at one of the first two schools and compete against them because when you get to med school it’ll be good to have some humility because med school is UMich on steroids every day. </p>
<p>This is a no-brainer, unless UMich comes up with an awful lot of money. </p>
<p>(Geez, it’s good to be the king, BrownParent!)</p>
<p>First of all, don’t make a 4.0 your goal. Really. You’ll just frustrate yourself needlessly. It’s not impossible, but 4.0s in college are pretty rare because grades aren’t weighted, and you don’t need a 4.0 to go to graduate school.</p>
<p>Second of all, to me this totally depends on price. Michigan’s a great school, and you would have a good experience there (likely). But are you in-state to Michigan? And if not, have they offered you any financial aid? Remember that med school is expensive and usually financed completely by loans; by the time it’s all said and done, you will probably owe $200,000 or more.</p>
<p>But if Michigan doesn’t offer you significant financial aid, even if you are in-state the CoA there is around $30,000 (IIRC). First of all, dependent students can’t borrow that much - you are limited to $5,500 in your first year. And second of all, even if you could get a co-signer, why borrow $120,000 in loans only to add another $200,000 to that? And what if you don’t get into medical school? Then you have $120K in debt that you will most likely be unable to repay.</p>
<p>I would go to Michigan if your total indebtedness would be $30,000 or less (that means about $7,000 per year).</p>
<p>If you want to go to med school out of Wayne State or Oakland, you will need something very near a 4.0. Your GPA would not need to be as high at Michigan, but it is a much more demanding school academically. Given where this student has applied (Wayne, Oakland, and Michigan), odds are 99% they are an in-state student.</p>
<p>My assumption was that you’re a Michigan resident and have financial need- UMich has decent financial aid for in-state students so as long as all they require is the $3-5,500 federal loans, I don’t think costs will be a factor. While it’s important to minimize debt in preparation for med school, half students who survived the weed out process don’t make it into med school and there a Umich degree would help.
BUT if UMichigan turns out much more expensive than that (more than $5,500 in loans plus whatever you can afford out of pocket) I’d go with Oakland Honors or Wayne Honors.
So, wait till you have all 3 financial aid awards. :)</p>
<p>Yes I am in-state. Also, I don’t think that I will receive much financial aid from U of M. If I went to Oakland or Wayne would it be necessary to go to their honors college? Wouldn’t it be good enough to get a really high gpa at their regular undergrad programs? Thanks to all of the people who posted so far. Your advice has been very helpful so far.</p>
<p>If you choose a third tier university, you will need to prove your excellence by choosing everything that can possibly challenge you. So, yes, you’ll have to be in the honors college (if you keep the same plans as before). It’s exactly like regular college prep vs. AP in high school - highly selective colleges don’t really like “regular” classes when they have lots of applicants with Ap’s. In the same way, if you choose a university where the classes’ depth isn’t on par with your most competitive competition, you’ll need to show you took the most challenging curriculum available and that means Honors College. Not only that but you will also have to get involved in summer research, volunteering, shadowing, etc, etc. and prove yourself every semester.</p>