<p>IT's almost two or three days until I have to decide which college I should go, but I STILL haven't decide!! I need all of your help!
I want to go to medical school.
My choices for pre med are
Rice
NYU
BU
Reed
SUNY Buffalo</p>
<p>I really want to go to Rice since it has residential college system and great faculties. Everything seems perfect for me at Rice, except the fact that I am not sure if I get the good GPA. I know it sounds foolish, but since there are great students at Rice, I feel that it will be hard to stand out among those kids. </p>
<p>So to get a good GPA, I was thinking about SUNY BUffalo. I received the scholarship so I would pay almost nothing. If I go to Rice, I did not receive any FA, so I would have to pay everything.</p>
<p>But, I do not know if SUNY is the wise choice. Sure, I would get better GPA easily, but the college life? My highschool was really small so I know the benefit of going to a small school. I heard that SUNY Buffalo is a real party school. I like parties but 24 partying all day is not really what I want.</p>
<p>Maybe the answer for my dilemma is in the post, I guess. I should go to Rice and risk everything....I'm just not sure if I can do it or not....
ANYWAY I am posting because I want to hear second opinion from other people! SO please give me many advices</p>
<p>SUNY Buffalo is not a warm, nurturing environment for pre meds. None of your choices are. You would have been better off at a school like Hartwick College or Sienna. They can really up the odds on someone in your situation. Rice is truly a school that is not easy on premeds. The competition is keen and the number of kids who start out premed and have to drop it because of grades is very high. Those who make it through the grade and course gauntlet have an excellent chance not only in getting into med school but in some of the top med schools.</p>
<p>As for money, well, unless your parents are willing and able to pay for college and med schools, you are in for some big loans. If finances are at all an issue, UB is really the way to go. IF not, go where you want to go.</p>
<p>You shouldn’t sacrifice 4 of the potentially most rewarding years of your life for a GPA. Med school is something that you might well change your mind about. A kid who has applied to Rice and Reed and gotten in to both sounds like a kid with a strong intellectual bent and intellectual needs. Go to a school that will fully support that. Rice is a great choice. (As is Reed.)</p>
<p>If you feel Rice is the best fit for you and money is no object go for it as it sound like the school calls to you. But if you do want to go med school that can add up to a great deal of loans. A full ride for undergrad should be strongly considered not just because you think the academics may be easier( which isn’t necessarily true). My dtr is a freshman at UB in engineering, she also got a full ride and chose to go there because she got a good feel from her visit ( I wanted her to go to Cornell where she was also accepted to Eng and I was willing to pay). Fast forward a year and she couldn’t be happier, has made wonderful friends in the honors dorm, not major partier’s but have lot’s of fun, was chosen for NSF summer research experience at University of Iowa and just found out she got a Student assistant position for the Fall. She has connected with her professors and is doing well academically. I have another friend whose son graduated from UB as an undergrad loving every minute of his 4 years and is now at UB School of medicine. He will eventually graduate with min debt and be a wonderful doctor. You are the biggest factor in the equation of your success at whatever school you go to. Good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>“So to get a good GPA, I was thinking about SUNY BUffalo. I received the scholarship so I would pay almost nothing. If I go to Rice, I did not receive any FA, so I would have to pay everything.”</p>
<p>Everything here depends on what having to pay everything means for you. If your family has a nice big college fund, and you can graduate from Rice without taking any loans, then go to Rice. However, if attending Rice would mean you end up in debt, go to Buffalo instead. Run the numbers here and see how they compare: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid)</p>
<p>Medical school is ridiculously expensive. If you are certain that med school is your goal, you want to make your undergraduate education as cheap as possible. Remember college isn’t the “dream”, practicing medicine is.</p>