Purdue University V. University af Arizona:Pre-med

[Cho6464]

I have been told that it does not matter what undergrad you go to for medical school and i have done some research on both schools and they offer good research opportunities but i want to know will the Purdue name give me better edge then the UofA name will. If you have other info on either school to help with my decision will be a great. Thank You

[mom2collegekids]

No…Purdue’s “name” means nothing more to a med school than Arizona’s “name” does.

Please don’t assume that med schools care how US News ranks schools.

Are you instate for UAz? Will they cost the same?

[Cho6464]

No I’m out of state for both colleges

[Jugulator20]

i want to know will the Purdue name give me better edge then the UofA name will.

What will give you a better edge is a competitive GPA and MCAT, strong ECs, LORs, a compelling/interesting PS, and doing well on interview, not so much name of your diploma. I’d guess both schools will do the trick, but as med school is expensive and most students borrow they way through, pick a school where you can graduate with as little debt as possible, usually that’s your state school…

[Cho6464]

@Jugulator20 Both Purdue and UA are out of state for me with Purdue having a slighter less out of state tuition for me

[MYOS1634]

Do you have instate options?
Will you be able to pay either UA or Purdue without loans (or with just federal loans + work study)?

[Cho6464]

@MYOS1634 I have wonderful in-state options to choose from to which I applied but only as safeties because I discussed cost with my parents always having in mind wanting to go to a out of state school or private one so cost is a factor to me but not a large deciding factor

[MYOS1634]

^this doesn’t quite answer the question;)
What’s your parents "out of pocket " budget (how much they said they can afford without any Heloc, parent plus loan, etc)?
Can you list net price for each?
To find net cost, do:
(tuition+fees+room+board) - (scholarships+grants) =

[i_wanna_be_Brown]

5. Remember whom you are asking for advice here: A bunch of strangers on the internet with no real experience or knowledge other than our own personal journeys (and certainly no knowledge about who you are as a person). I and the other students went to one college. I have no idea how the departments at two other schools are. The parents maybe got exposed to 2 or 3 schools but not as students, just hearing 2nd had from their children. You should be talking to your parents, teachers, recent alumni from your high school, college counselor, etc, not us.

point #9 - Don’t come on here asking for info about specific schools [go post on those school’s sections on CC: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/alphabetic-list-colleges/]

One of the most important skills you learn in college is how to learn on your own (and it’s a critical skill for medical school). Know that on the pre-med forum here, the odds that someone has intimate knowledge about any particular school is slim to none. The way to find out the pros/cons of various schools is to ask people who go/went to those individual schools and then compare your answers (there are specific forums on this site for many schools). Don’t ask them to compare and think for you, just ask them about their own and then using the info you collect, make your own assessment about what’s better.

I recommend trying to ask questions with “objective” answers as opposed to opinions because unless you know the person answering has the same perspective as you, you can’t trust their opinion. For example, don’t ask if a school prepares you well, ask for examples of things the school did to prepare them. What each student needs to feel prepared is different so a school that does little might be good enough prep for one person while not enough prep for someone else. Don’t just ask if there’s lots of advising or if there is plenty of research, ask for details about how advisors are determined, how often you get to meet with them, what sorts of things they talk about. For research ask them how they got the position, how long it took them to find one. Stuff like that. You want concrete answers that YOU can apply your opinion to, not just blindly follow someone else’s.

The approach I outline in this post is also good for picking med schools when you eventually apply to them too.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1484178-if-you-are-in-high-school-please-read-this-before-posting-p1.html