@collage99 The price tag difference is obvious. Just as important, Pre-med programs are filled with weeding-out classes - let that be some incredibly fast-paced “Freshmen-level Bio” classes or wait until they slam the brakes on you with “Orgo I/II” in Soph. year. You need to make sure you could stay on top of these classes, along with the shadowing, EMT classes (if needed), volunteering etc. Also, check the specific core curriculum requirement for each school. Some students love to do nothing but STEM (so some programs will allow students taking grad-school level bio classes - like pharmacology/adv. immunology- in senior year), others like a mix with other humanities, and foreign language (the students here will be more inline with the garden variety background for a bio major).
My D2 is attending CMU now (so next to Pitt) and her bf is doing pre-med in Pitt. He loves it there (and he got in CMU MSC for biology but he decided on Pitt instead due to similar considerations - finances vs hefty debts before med-school).
If you are 100% certain you will go for med-school no matter what then save the money and go for Pitt. Otherwise, UPenn will give you the prestige and could help in the 1st job application immediately after college. That said, UPenn pre-med will not be a cake-walk for sure, considering the academic baselines of the students attending there. My D1 is attending JHU for her MD, and many of her classmates came from state universities, so I am not sure getting an “Ivy” will give much of a boost. IMO, it all depends on the specific candidate and how much is being accomplished during the few short years before the application.
@prezbucky@Mickey2Dad thank you so much! I plan on focusing on classes more for the first year at least and building EC credenrials once I’ve gained my footing. And I do have grad school aspirations even if I don’t go to med school- but they’re all still related to public health and life sciences which is still in Pitts wheelhouse (epidemiology, genetic counseling, public health/policy). I’m also planning on a double major in a more humanities/social sciences field that will give me a good mix of courses! For a double major I’m considering going for something that Pitt is also really well known for: writing, international studies, history/philosophy of science, etc.
Unless your family has that $200k to spend without affecting quality of life, if you are planning on grad school of any kind, Pitt – due to the cost difference – is probably the better choice.
@prezbucky yeah, thanks so much for the advice! my dad and I were talking in the car today and we are pretty sure I’m headed to pitt. I might not even go to Quaker days at Penn, just because I don’t want to fall for a school I’m not going to (and my mom can’t come anyway for the date)
but I am revisiting pitt on the 14th, I now have a lot of questions to ask and I am a lot more assured of my decision. Thanks all so much for your help!!
You could save that $200k during your undergrad years and spend it on Penn for grad school, med school, law or MBA – wherever your opportunities and preferences lead…
@prezbucky thanks, that is my plan as well! I know for sure - no matter what I pursue - that this definitely isn’t my terminal degree. So it’s best to avoid debt now
Honestly, my friend had to make a similar decision between Princeton (full pay) and Rutgers Honors College which was free tuition. Ultimately, he chose Princeton and after his first year, transferred to Rutgers. He didn’t like the Ivy vibe and saw the financial burden he was placing on his family (even after one year). I think it would be wise to attend Pitt, especially since you are planning to pursue medical school- another very expensive cost.
Most students who start as premed change their minds and of those who actually apply 60% fail to get even one acceptance anywhere. All US med schools are good schools, getting into one is quite the feat and can act as a platform to where one wants to go in medicine. Although the name of college attended is not of zero importance, what gets you into a med school is a competitive application in all respects (eg GPAs, MCAT, ECs, LoRs, PS, interview). As you seem to realize, both schools will provide the opportunities and resources to produce a competitive app.
As med school is very expensive and typically paid for by loans, it’s wiser to try to graduate from college with as little debt as possible (aka Pitt). Why would you stress your family and saddle your parents with huge debt at this point in their lives, when their salary is uncertain and they’re currently paying for grandparent’s health expenses. The added economic stress to your parents will be detrimental to their health.
All other things are never equal. No two med school apps are ever the same.
Pitt has more than one hospital to pursue shadowing or volunteer opportunities (UPMC - incl Children’s Hospital, Magee Women’s, Presbyterian plus VA, plus Western Psych) and is consistently ranked #5 in total $$ awarded by NIH which translates down into many easily obtained medical research opportunities. Pitt has also excellent placement stats for premed. I am not sure why @angelbaby30 feels it has no other good depts besides premed, but my experience (3 of mine have been engineering at Pitt) has been that Pitt is extremely well respected in the sciences and engineering. One of my kids had 5 (yes 5) publications from the resesarch she was involved with during Pitt. This helped her with grad school acceptance at both Penn, UCSF/Berkeley this past year. My 3rd (current Jr at Pitt) also received that full tuition scholarship and it’s been great - I’ve been able to support her studying abroad due to the savings and graduating debt free is really undeniably great if you are heading to med school. Hope you enjoy your visit.
Thank you all so much I’m sorry I didn’t reply to the last few comments, but I wholeheartedly agree and I did commit to Pitt!!!
I plan on pursuing a double major, getting involved in neuroscience research and being pre-med…I hope to take full advarange of every opportunity in this awesome school thanks again!!
@collage99 Congrats and good luck on your decision as to Pitt.
Why the double major? …Out of interest in material, or Plan B if you change career goals, or to impress med schools, etc. Med schools may be impressed if you do well with double major, but you won’t get a pass for deciding to double major and then having it drag down your GPAs. Do major reqs overlap?
If medical school is the goal, it would be an amazing opportunity to not have any debt from your undergrad education. For that reason, I really believe Pitt would be terrific!
@Jugulator20 multiple reasons. 1) pure interest: I love bridging the sciences and humanities and pitt is a wonderful place to do that 2) the history and philosophy of science program at pitt overlaps very nicely with any science major so I am thinking of doing that combination
Really surprised when I saw this thread bc I applied to Pitt and Penn too for Neuroscience and a pre-med track and I committed to Pitt. I also am in the Pitt UHC and have about a full scholarship (I turned down the loan part that would’ve made it full). At first, I was really broken bc I am a big person on prestige but after reading this thread I feel a lot better and happy to see sb in the same boat lol
thanks again!!