Please help! Tufts, Vanderbilt, U of R, TCNJ, and others (likely Pre-med)

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey,</p>

<p>So I've been having a huge struggle determining what school I want to go to and am quite desperate for some help. Choices that I haven't cut off my list yet are currently Tufts, Vanderbilt, University of Rochester, TCNJ, Boston College or, Emory, Rutgers (Clearly, I have still a huge range of colleges that I don't know how to choose from)</p>

<p>I currently want to go to medical school (but then again, who knows where I will end up). I don't know what I want to major in yet, probably neuroscience, psychology, or biology, or even perhaps visual arts. If I don't major in art, I likely will try to minor in it.</p>

<p>I'm looking for a school that is really great for pre-med students but while I am certainly planning on working really hard, I want to try to avoid schools that have really cutthroat competition or screen out kids. And of course, I'm looking for a school that offers great opportunities and fits my personality. If this information is at all useful: I can be a bit of an introvert but I do love going out and having fun. I really enjoy playing board games and reading. I don't tend to like really huge and noisy situations/ places.</p>

<p>Oh, and I also really want a school with a strong community and campus feel. </p>

<p>My parents are great and have been saving a long time so I don't have to take out a loan. They say that if it plays a big role in my happiness then to go to the college of my choice, regardless of price. However, given the exorbitant price tag on colleges and the fact that I have to consider not just funds for college but also grad/med school, the difference in prices is hard to ignore. </p>

<p>TCNJ: I have visited and essentially... meh. I'm not fond of the surrounding area and while their biology department seems really good I was not blown away. I'm afraid if I go here I will end up stuck in NJ as most premed kids there end up going to a med school in NJ (Rutgers, UMDNJ,etc. ) I guess I just didn't like the feel of the school. However, with the scholarship it will only be 16k a year.</p>

<p>Rutgers: Haven't visited yet but I am pretty averse to big schools. People say you only interact with your department but still..... Although, it is hard to say no to a cost of 7k/yr.</p>

<p>Rochester: I went there for a summer program and while I liked it, I don't know how I feel about 4 years there. I also have a scholarship for 15k/yr there. Cons are the cold (I do NOT do well with cold) and the surrounding area which just seems lackluster and empty.</p>

<p>Tufts: I went on a campus tour and really felt this school was right for me. My guidance counselor doesn't seem to like it though and says that its classes weed out premed students really hard. </p>

<p>Vanderbilt:I haven't visited it yet but Nashville so far seems like a city I would really like. However, I worry about the big Greek presence there and also its reputation for slightly snobby kids. </p>

<p>Emory, BC: I have only visited BC but I don't know that much about either of these schools. I am a bit apathetic to them: neither for or against.</p>

<p>So far, I like Tufts and Vanderbilt the best but I don't know if that makes the price difference worth it. I know that college is not the last stop and is therefore not that crucial but I can't help but be panicky about choosing the school I think would have the best chance of getting me where I want to end up and would make me the happiest. </p>

<p>So yes, sorry about this HUGE blurb of stuff. I'm just hoping that this would help in getting the best advice possible. I would appreciate any tips or opinion and information about the schools (especially regarding pre-med). Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it!</p>

<p>Thanks!!</p>

2

<p>Who is going to pay for med school? The usual CC advice is to go to undergrad for the lowest cost possible (within reason). Rutgers is a perfectly reputable school and offers a lot of alternative majors if you change your mind about pre-med. You should visit it. It does have several campuses and I’m not sure about which campus the pre-med courses would be on. Do you have a net cost for Tufts and Vanderbilt? If these are full pay, I would say save your parents’ money for med/grad school and go to Rutgers.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your input!</p>

<p>Well, my parents have a set fund set aside for college +med school and I will pay the overage. How much that would be dependent on which med school and how much tuition rises by that time. </p>

<p>I know Rutgers is a great school, my brother decided to go there. And I have walked around it a couple years ago. I just don’t know if the size is something I can deal with, especially the huge class sizes. I have visited other large universities when I was figuring out where to apply and decided that I just had to limit all my colleges to under 10k undergrad. I only applied to Rutgers because I’m instate.</p>

<p>As for Tufts and Vanderbilt, yes, they would be full pay which is why I’m leaning toward TCNJ and Rochester. My mom feels that if I go to Rochester because of the scholarship then it is not worth it. According to her, 60k less over four years is not a big difference (dunno, it seems pretty big to me, although I do get that compared to TCNJ and Rutger’s price it is not that much less) .</p>

4

<p>I would leave NJ. I think you should have a good college experience- who knows what you will ultimately decide about med school. Rutgers and TCNJ are not thrilling, no matter how you spin it. You would love Nashville, but Vanderbilt does have a large Greek presence and a big sports scene. I think it is fun, but you might not. Emory is great for pre-med and doesn’t have the sports scene. Rochester seems like a good compromise in terms of cost. If money were no object I would say it should be between Vanderbilt and Emory.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for your reply,</p>

<p>I couldn’t find the medical school acceptance rate for Vanderbilt but I assume it is similar to Emory’s. However, do these schools try to pressure kids to drop out if they are not doing extremely well in order to have relatively high acceptance rates?</p>

6

<p>I don’t think that happens at Vanderbilt. I think attrition sort of takes care of itself.</p>

7

<p>Save your money and go to Rutgers - Rochester is NOT worth the extra $</p>

8

<p>I think it is. He would have a better overall college experience, but I would still lean towards going somewhere where he likes and is excited about.</p>

9

<p>If you go to TCNJ/Rutgers, will your parents pay for medical school? If so, that could be a huge opportunity you might not want to turn down. Remember that one reason why alot of Rutgers students go to NJ med school is because they don’t get into better ones (there is a less intelligent student body). This doesn’t mean that YOU won’t get into a med school outside of NJ, having a Rutgers diploma won’t close any doors for med school. </p>

<p>BC and Vanderbilt don’t seem like they’d be good social fits.</p>

<p>Emory and Tufts have a edge in prestige over UR, but academically its close enough that it comes down to money/fit (and 60K should be a big enough deal to be a consideration, thats 1 year of med school!). </p>

<p>As a UR student, I know that there isn’t any pressure to drop if they are struggling in their pre-med classes. Even though I’m not pre-med, its generally accepted that the classes are tough, but not unfairly so. Alottt of students are premed, but in spite of this (or perhaps because of it) there is a lot of collaboration between students. I always hear that schools with alot of premeds are cutthroat but this definitely isn’t the case at UR. We offer more opportunities for research than there are students (with only slight exaggeration). If you look at per-capita reserach expenditures for natural sciences, UR is often near the top of the list. you can sift through this pdf, I can’t find a per capita ranking right now: <a href=“http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf11313/pdf/nsf11313.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf11313/pdf/nsf11313.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If you want to do international medicine, its hard to turn down the resources of the Fletcher School at Tufts though. Tufts’ small size also allows for research opps for undergrads, I’m sure. </p>

<p>I personally know nothing about Emory though so can’t really comment, though I know that it is a top notch university.</p>