Pre-med choice VT vs GMU

Colleges and Universities A-Z Virginia Tech
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<p>So ive applied to seven schools but am reasonably sure ill have to choose between VT and GMU (because of the cost of private (richmond) and my GPA dragged down by grades 9 and 10 (WM/UVA)).</p>

<p>Just a little background. Im one of those smart kids who didn't have any reason to care or try at the beginning of high school (not trying to complain, act superior or anything). I'm currently in my senior year with 6 APs with As in 5 of them and an A+ in my non-AP/honors class (couldnt choose the AP option for the last) and it doesn't feel too hard now that i care enough. I scored a 33 ACT (27E 33M 34R 36S) on my first go. Freshman year i had a 3.3ish, So 3.6ish, Junior 3.87, and Senior 4.69 (first semester only).</p>

<p>And yes I've seen the pre-med to med school matriculant list on VTs website.</p>

<p>I'm confident that I'll be able to score highly on the MCAT and have a high GPA at VT (for Biochemistry) or GMU (for bioengineering or Neuroscience or MAYBE the chem with biochem concentration) and would be interested in both schools with those majors. </p>

<p>THE REASON THAT I'M DECIDING BETWEEN THE TWO is 1) Cost, 2) Academics, 3) Friends, and 4)opportunities/internship</p>

<p>1) Cost
-I'll eventually be going to Med school and calculating based off of the net cost ill save approximately $8000 by going to GMU over VT. </p>

<p>-Every dollar helps right? Im wondering if saving 8k at a apparently lower ranked school will prevent me from going to a nice med school (at least UVA med).</p>

<p>2) Although I'm not so trusting of stigmas and rankings (at least as an absolute) i do recognize that VT is probably a little better academically. </p>

<p>-Its just my interpretation that VT is mainly respected due to its engineering program rather than its science program. </p>

<p>-Also VT accepts 70% of applicants!! Whereas GMU is closer to 54%. Can it be that students with lower GPAs just dont apply to VT? or do the engineering students compensate for them?</p>

<p>3) I have friends that go to both VT and GMU who both equally love the schools. I dont actually know what the people at GMU are like since i only have 3 close friends who go there (one of which was in the top 10 of his class placement wise). </p>

<p>-The people who have already gotten accepted ED to VT i can see myself befriending but this is more of a Q for GMU: is it really that hard to make friends or that boring at GMU?</p>

<p>4) VT and GMU are both close to hospitals which is great! But GMU is near INOVA which is slightly more respected? </p>

<p>-Anyways, from what I've heard, since INOVA is near GMU there are more opportunities to internship/volunteer their with very accomplished physicians i.e. harvard/hopkins med.</p>

<p>-One of the biggest arguments FOR GMU is its experience opportunities, in this i am asking does VT have anything to offer for a pre-med student that far exceeds GMU. </p>

<p>SUMMARY
I'm confident that at the very least i can get into UVAs med school and probably higher. Im putting this in VTs thread and GMUs to get both sides views. VT has slightly better academic reputation I don't know if it does for sciences more so than GMU. I can see myself going to either school and would enjoy the people at both. Also my parents (my mom) are pushing me to go to GMU over VT because of the cost.</p>

<p>Please if you're a VT student don't immediately bash GMU or vice versa. I know this is long, but if you've read this and decide to reply, I genuinely thank you in advance.</p>

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<p>Hello - I’ll try to give you as unbiased of a response as possible. I’ve had ties to lots of different parts of administration at VT and have heard bits and pieces of things about admissions from my connections.</p>

<p>As far as general med school experience - if you’re aiming to stay in VA for med school, you should go where you really want to. I’d say the school you go to only counts for 5% of your med school app, the rest is really about you and what you do in undergrad.</p>

<p>Cost: I’m assuming you’ll save at GMU by commuting? If this is the case and you are more concerned with saving money over everything, then commute! If there are other factors, though - Tech is a GREAT deal in terms of tuition and cost of living. Everything’s cheaper in Blacksburg because it’s rural. I pay $300/month for rent, for example. But like I said before, if you can excel at GMU, it might not make a huge difference in if you end up at certain med schools.</p>

<p>Acceptance rate - I’ve heard from higher up administrators and admissions offices that the most applicants to Tech are very qualified. Like 5% of the applicants have less than a 3.4 GPA or something. Also, unlike GMU, Tech doesn’t have the luxury of having many local students, so they get less applications overall and have to accept a certain amount so that they can fill their freshman. </p>

<p>Tech also has a certain formula they use to calculate how many students they can accept in order to fill the seats for the freshman class. Although we have a high acceptance rate, over 40% of the students accept the offer of admission, while GMU only has 29% or so based on their admissions statistics. Tech also has a much larger freshman class than GMU (over 5500 students).</p>

<p>A better way to judge the caliber of the applicant pool are the stats for the incoming freshman, seen below:
Number of valedictorians and salutatorians in the freshman class: 152
Middle 50% GPA of students offered admission: 3.78–4.23 (Only 25% have below a 3.78)
Middle 50% SAT Reasoning Test score of students offered admission: 1,160–1,340</p>

<p>Opportunities: I’m not a pre-med student, and I believe that regardless of which school you choose, you can find opportunities that benefit you so long as you seek them out. Virginia Tech has pretty good career/academic advising and extracurricular opportunities available for its students that are pretty well known on campus. We also have quite a few pre-professional societies and organizations, a few of which are dedicated to pre-med students.</p>

<p>GMU has the benefit of being in Nova, so that comes with great opportunities in itself outside of the campus.</p>

<p>Reputation: Virginia Tech overall has a great reputation in all their programs, but it is most known for engineering. If you are planning on staying in VA though, Tech has a great reputation and alumni all over the state who love hearing about other Hokies :slight_smile: If you are planning on going outside of VA, Tech is more known outside of the state while I think GMU is the most known in VA and the DMV area.</p>

<p>Either way, if you are very confident in your skills and ability as a student, then it’s really up to you to make the most of wherever you end up. I’d say pick the best fit. Outside of academics, Virginia Tech has a great environment and is an amazing campus to be on. There are lots of ways to supplement your education and make you a better applicant for med school and give you great college experiences to prepare you for lots of things later in life.</p>

<p>Best of luck to you with whatever decision you make!</p>