<p>I'm stuck between going to Penn State, where I've been admitted to a combined degree program in which I will receive my BS in 2 years from Penn State and will then go straight to Jefferson Medical College for my MD without having to reapply for med school, and Northwestern University, where I will take the traditional 4 + 4 track to get my MD.</p>
<p>This whole time I was leaning towards Penn State until last week when it changed to Northwestern. Now I really want to go to NU but my mom wants me to go to Penn State and finally she decided to tell me the ultimate decision is mine but I still know that she wants me to go to Penn State. My parents are doubting that I will be able to handle myself at Northwestern and I won't get into medical school, that I don't have the right personality to excel at NU. I'd like to think I'll be able to do it but I don't know.</p>
<p>What would you guys do if you were in my position? Where would you decide to go?</p>
<p>The cost for four years at NU works out to be about the same as two years at Penn State because I did receive financial aid from NU. At Northwestern I would probably be a Cognitive Science major and in Penn State’s program I would assume everyone is a Biology major. NU is a BA degree and PSU’s is a BS if that makes any difference.</p>
<p>Omg are you serious? Go to grad school faster, that’s what you need. Why would you spend two more unnecessary years?I would go to Penn State without any thinking.</p>
<p>Just be aware that going to NU doesn’t guarantee you a med school admission. What the student does is far more important than the college, at least based on my anecdotal experience. DD, mid 2200 SAT, went to NU and when the time came, really struggled to get accepted into a tier 3 MD program. What we were really disappointed with them was that even though she had made her viewpoint clear that her ambition was med school, the guidance she received in curriculum and progress were very mediocre. When DD didn’t make the best choices for courses or test-taking, she didn’t get advice that would have put her back on track - the counselor’s favorite quote was for her to take a gap year and get her credentials up. But again, it’s ultimately the student’s responsibility and performance.</p>
<p>Don’t know anything about the Penn State program or what your view is about non-medicine related courses - I can tell you it was infuriating to watch DD take a bunch of junk courses on her way to getting the BA - don’t know if it was by choice, or if her options were limited, but there was a lot of irrelevants in her four years.</p>
<p>I would recommend NU over Penn State out of personal preference for culture and an overall better education with more opportunities. </p>
<p>Obviously going to Penn State saves time, but are you sure you want to go to medical school? Many students change their mind once they get to college. With Penn State you seem ‘stuck’ in continuing on to med school. </p>
<p>Like I said personally, I would go with NU and would recommend NU – but it’s your decision and you should pick whichever you think will suit you best.</p>
<p>The direct admit to med school is HUGE! I almost always would opt for the higher level school, but in this case, if you KNOW you want to be a doctor, the combined Penn State program sounds very hard to turn down.</p>
<p>Penn State without a doubt. Even Northwestern only has med school acceptance rates of 60-75%. I would take the accelerated track even if you were guaranteed med school acceptance after 4 years at Northwestern. </p>
<p>Imagine how terrible you will feel if you bomb a weeder class like organic chemistry or if you get a lower score on the MCAT and can’t get into med school. </p>
<p>Even studying for the MCAT will be terrible because you will know that you could already BE IN medical school if you chose Penn State.</p>
<p>Since you have to take the MCAT anyway, and a 32-34 (while certainly not easy) can get you into much better medical schools, I would definitely choose NU.</p>
<p>^ you could study very hard and try to get higher than 30, but a 32-34 doesn’t guarantee anything which is part of the stress of pre-med. Just looking at the MCAT ignores the stress associated with maintaining a high gpa while spending time on activities like research to boost one’s resume. And all the hard work and stress could be to no avail as per the competitiveness of med school admissions. Honestly, I think one would have a better time at Penn State, less stress and less pressure, than at NU.</p>
<p>Jefferson medical college is pretty good, I thought. So I’m not so sure that NU is going to get you into anything better. Plus, it would take a lot longer. Sounds like PSU makes more sense.</p>
<p>I think your decision depends on how much you value the undergraduate college experience. Will you feel you missed out on something to rush off to medical school after 2 years? There are liberal arts opportunities at Northwestern that you will miss out on in a 2 year BS program.</p>
<p>You are almost in a similar position to a college basketball star deciding whether it is better to leave early for the NBA.</p>
<p>Is your program a Guaranteed Admit to Med School? Or do you need to maintain a GPA/minimum MCAT.</p>
<p>If it’s a guaranteed - it’s very hard to turn this down, especially, since the only downside would be if you decide not to become a doctor – then you wind up with a Penn State Degree (which frankly ain’t half bad).</p>
<p>I do need a minimum 30 on the MCAT and a 3.5 GPA but I will not have to reapply to medical school so I won’t have to worry about research and philanthropy (although I plan on doing those anyways) and writing essays.</p>
<p>I’ve decided Northwestern. I know it’s going to be tough. It seems everyone who has an opinion on this thinks I should go to Penn State, but I’m just not sure. I guess I just want to know, am I making the right choice?</p>
<p>Once you’ve made up your mind, it is time to stop asking for other people’s opinions. Go to Northwestern, have a great experience, work hard, and don’t look back!</p>