Prestige vs. Price?

<p>I was recently accepted to UMich EA as well as several other state universities (mostly Big 10), including University of Nebraska-Lincoln where I was offered a full merit scholarship. Michigan was my first choice, and my family has the financial means to pay full tuition, but the prospect of a full ride at Nebraska has caused me to reconsider, especially since I will most likely also need to pay for med school after undergrad.</p>

<p>How much does the prestige of your undergrad university affect options for med school? Is it worth paying full tuition for Michigan over no tuition at Nebraska, in light of the disparity in prestige (and potentially, academic quality) between them?</p>

<p>I'm deeply conflicted on this issue and I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.</p>

<p>For application to medical school, school prestige matters much less than for some other goals, like investment banking or management consulting. MCAT score and GPA are the big initial factors, but the medical school admission process has other factors like interview, expected pre-med extracurriculars, etc… See the pre-med forum. But note that many pre-med frosh abandon the idea after getting too low a GPA or too low an MCAT score, and only half of those who do apply to a US MD medical school get even one acceptance.</p>

<p>You may want to check out medical school tuition here:
<a href=“https://services.aamc.org/tsfreports/”>https://services.aamc.org/tsfreports/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Saving the full price of $220,000 for four years at Michigan ($108,000 if in-state) by taking the full ride at Nebraska could make a big dent in keeping total debt down after medical school if you do get in.</p>

<p>listen to ucb.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice UCB! While I do intend to apply to medical school as of right now, obviously my feelings may change or I may not have the stats to get in…</p>

<p>So perhaps in a more broad view, without considering med school plans, is it “worth” paying full OOS tuition at Michigan or Wisconsin over a full ride at Nebraska (honors program, if that makes any difference), based on their current standings?</p>

<p>Honestly, Nebraska getting expelled from the AAU three years ago does not sit well with me, especially considering my intended field of study…</p>

<p>What is your intended field of study? Other threads hint at biology, which may not have the best paying job and career prospects after graduation:
<a href=“University Graduate Career Surveys - #69 by ucbalumnus - Career Opportunities & Internships - College Confidential Forums”>University Graduate Career Surveys - #69 by ucbalumnus - Career Opportunities & Internships - College Confidential Forums;

<p>The AAU / Nebraska thing is the subject of controversy:
<a href=“Ouster Opens a Painful Debate Within the AAU”>http://chronicle.com/article/Ouster-Opens-a-Painful-Debate/127364/&lt;/a&gt;
Nebraska is structurally disadvantaged in the AAU rating formula due to its medical school being a separate administrative unit (so that research money there does not count in the AAU rating formula), and much of its faculty being in agriculture, which is funded non-competitively (counting little in the AAU rating formula).</p>

<p>In any case, $220,000 is a lot of money and unlikely to be worth it.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t get bent out of shape over Nebraska getting expelled from the AAU. For instance, Notre Dame, University of Miami, Wake Forest, Arizona State and SUNY Binghamton are not members. I wouldn’t say that Notre Dame or Binghamton are lacking academically because of their exclusion. A medical school isn’t going to prohibit you from consideration because your UG isn’t an AAU member. If you are looking beyond medical school, you have to consider each schools separately for their pros and cons. If someone offers you $100,000 for free, you seriously have to have a very good reason to say no! The whole ranking system has negatively transformed our education system in a way where people are more concerned about a number instead of whether the school is an optimal match for them.</p>

<p>What does Nebraska have that you like? Anything you don’t like?
Where do you see yourself working if you don’t get into med school?
Graduating debt free from the honors college could be worth it - look at how many classes are specifically for the honors college students.
What about the other schools you applied to?</p>