<p>Well the topic pretty much summarizes the question. My long term plans include attending a med school. I am a canadian student. I am applying to low-medium-high canadian universities as well as several Ivies. That raises a question: is it better to go to a prestigious university, experience the atmosphere of an Ivy, meet great people, and have wonderful yet tough 4 years or go to a regular university get a higher GPA with less challenge? I guess this is an opinion based question but if someone can provide stats that would be appreciated</p>
<p>For your goal of attending med school, it’s better to get a high GPA. Even for many very smart people, some classes at Ivies have multiple choice tests that’s not exactly fair or easy to ace every time. However, for the experience, Ivies all the way. I think the best of both worlds would be to attend Brown, since you have unlimited number of Pass/Fail options.</p>
<p>If you’re going to Med school, go to the best school you can that is as cheap as possible. I think GPA is more important. Don’t go to a school like Swarthmore that is known for its brutal grading.</p>
<p>There’s a trade-off; you also want to maximize your MCAT score, and the most brutal schools get a plus for that (the harder you have to work, the more you learn). Med schools already know the grading curves for their feeder colleges. E.g., you’re better off with a higher MCAT and lower GPA from Swarthmore, than a lower MCAT and higher GPA from an easier school, IMHO.</p>