<p>My daughter was admitted by McGill bio-medical undergraduate program. Also she was admitted by Pepperdine University and got 4 years scholarship which means tuition is free for her at Pepperdine. She still decided to go to McGill until recently we got to know more than 80% Pepperdine pre-health students could go to medical schools. I checked with Pepperdine science division. Every year around 100 students selected pre-health program. The medical school acceptance rates were around 85%. At the same time, I was told only about 5% McGill undergraduate students could get chance to go to McGill medical graduate school. We are Canadians. The total cost still will be between $15,000 and $20,000 to go to McGill. Now the decision becomes very difficult.
McGill? or Pepperdine? Please vote for us!</p>
<p>I find those Pepperdine figures suspect. At most schools many, if not most, pre-med freshmen decide not to apply to medical school, usually due to a relatively low GPA. At some schools there is a pre-med committee that issues recommendations for medical school applicants. If the committee feels that a student has a low likelihood of med school acceptance, there is no recommendation. My guess is that at Pepperdine, 85% of those students who get the green light from the pre-med committee are accepted into medical school, not 85% of all pre-med hopefuls.</p>
<p>I also find the 85% number a bit suspect and would encourage you to get a bit more information on the origin of that figure. This is purely anecdotal, but we live in the Los Angeles area and I can tell you that Pepperdine was not on my daughter’s radar (she also is “pre-med” and attends McGill) when she was developing her college list, nor was it on any of her friends’ lists who were similarly inclined. If Pepperdine’s acceptance rate for med school is in fact 85%, I am quite certain it would have been on everyone’s radar! Pepperdine does have a good name locally, but is not considered to be in the same league as UCLA, Berkeley, UC San Diego or USC for those going into the sciences.</p>
<p>Also, I am sure you have researched this already, but I am not sure what impact being an international student might have on your child’s acceptance chances to a U.S. med school compared to chances at acceptance to a Canadian med school as a Canadian citizen graduating from a Canadian university. Another aspect to consider…</p>
<p>Best of luck whatever you decide and congrats to your child on the scholarship offer from Pepperdine! (And I can say with complete confidence Malibu winters are a bit better than Montreal winters )</p>
<p>I am interested to know how your daughter is enjoying McGill. My daughter accepted at McGill and turned down both USC and Pepperdine. Wondering if she made the right choice …</p>
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