@MYOS1634 The program director says that it’s 1 GPPA medicine student per year if at all and they usually miss the MCAT requirement by 1-2 score points. Which is a very high success rate I’d say.
I know for WashU’s (WUSTL) their MCAT requirement is a 518…haha
What’s the intake, 10 students?
@srk2017 This year is close to 75 or so students so roughly 50 that would actually matriculate. Which would be 98% of GPPA Medicine students hitting the benchmark.
Do any give up between year 1 and year 3?
Also they aim for 30 first years, have they increased the number?
[518: ?]
Hmmm, I haven’t asked anyone that but you don’t necessarily “give up” so to speak as it’s not like a course you take (more so like a condition of an offer or actually something like the Honor’s College - either it applies or it doesn’t).
But generally dropping out would mean not being able to get a GPA of 3.5 or not being able to hit that 513 MCAT - but I would assume medical school (especially M.D.) would be near impossible with a GPA of below 3.6 unless one has a 528 on their MCAT.
HKim, if you go the LAC route, you’re still going to med school. It’s not like it will be a big maybe. Look at who you are and what you’ve already achieved. You’re going to be a doctor.
Don’t be the person who ends up thinking “I wish I’d enjoyed myself a little more when I was young and had the chance.” By the time you’re a bill paying adult, those opportunities are much harder to come by. I think you’re a pretty linear person, but (again with the road analogy), the straight road isn’t much fun.
ETA: I know a doctor who has said that very thing. She wishes she’d had enjoyed herself a little more as an undergrad. I know you’ll challenge yourself and will end up having a good experience, whatever you choose.
TLDR; can someone just summarize the situation here.
Here goes:
OP is a great student, an even better person.
2019 grad, was DACA then, forced gap year due to no affordable acceptances because had to apply as international student.
Became permanent resident in summer 2019, then could apply as a domestic student. Yay!
Fall 2019 applied for Questbridge, UIC GPPA, and UIUC.
Accepted into UIC GPPA. Full tuition, would have to pay R&B which is not in the budget, would have to commute 45 mins each way, unless the family moves closer to UIC.
UIUC - full ride, qualifes for UIUC Promise
QB finalist, didn’t match, but accepted to a number of great schools RD.
Bowdoin, Grinnell, Macalester full ride
W&L full ride plus Johnson scholar
USC - not playing nicely with FA
I might be missing some acceptances.
Seems OP is down to UIC GPPA, Bowdoin or W&L.
There is also dropping out in medical school and according AAMC that’s higher for BSMD than traditional path (look at the numbers I posted). As I said, since BSMD is only 5%, percentages may have been skewed little bit.
People with below 3.6 GPA do get admissions but with good MCAT (not 528) and good ECs or if you are an URM. Spend some time on SDN. BSMD is driven by ORMs who are risk averse and consider gap years as failure on part of the kid and the parents!
@Mwfan1921 thanks for eliminating all noise. Being IL resident, one S in UIUC CS, another one at NU pre-med track, quite familiar with UIC.
@HKimPOSSIBLE you are a bright student, but don’t know what you want to do down the road, Fulbright? Community medicine? Options are enormous, its seems you are groomed to serve the community and GPPA will provide that big opening. As FA is a big issue, you would run into same issues after 3-4 years of UG at time of med school applications, instead of focusing on applications, always worried about traveling cost.
GPPA is a great program and with your background, will find plenty of opportunities to equally underprivileged community in Chicago area and that will make you shine and provide that satisfaction which will propel you much further. As far as R&B cost goes, it is a matter of 12K that can be funded partially through work study, rest can be loans that won’t be an issue as a Dr. If 45 minutes commute is an issue, how would you manage yourself in other parts of country, away from home? Chicago will provide all necessary transportation for you to do all ECs, unlike some rural places.
UIUC is great for engineering, if your heart is at medicine, GPPA is no brainer.
My vote: UIC only if moving closer is an absolute certainty. 45 min commute each way for years is impractical for a student. I missed whether that time includes walking from train to home and waiting for train. My instincts as a mom would have you ensconced at Bowdoin (or W&L).
for what it’s worth I think @srk2017 has done a TON of research into this (actually I don’t think I know!) Definitely take their advice to heart.
And I also agree with @evergreen5 on the downside to commuting … you’ve worked so hard to get to this moment. Do not deny yourself the truest college experience. The life experience that you will have at Bowdoin or W&L may give a little more weight to your med school applications/interviews down the road. Just thoughts! Best of luck!!
Midwest has at least 10 very good to top medical schools (U Chicago, NU in Chicago itself, U Michigan, WUSTL, Cleveland Clinic/Case Western, etc…) within driving distance from Chicago. So I don’t see travel costs as an issue for interviews or visiting family during medical school. Some of these schools offer merit scholarships and others offer need based scholarships. New Kaiser medical school in CA is tuition free for next 5 batches and they are even paying for interview costs. There are few other medical schools which are offering 100% tuition or COA merit (I am not revealing the list until my S is done with his cycle 
) So by NOT taking traditional path OP is loosing much more than gaining.
My D commuted 40 minutes each way for HS. I really don’t see that as a deal breaker for UIC. And if OP is on the train, lots of opportunity to be productive.
My S also commuted 40 mins in HS and I used to make him take a nap since he wasn’t getting enough sleep with all the school work and ECs.
^^^ I must of stated this before but UIC is partly a commuter school and yes 40 min /each way is normal for Chicago kids
Same with my Chicago kids going to high school
I see the allure of the direct admit also just not at the expense of a free undergraduate experience that would expand his intellectual curiosity more. He will become a doctor if that is what he wants. There is no denying him that
His connection to NW will be waiting with open arms for him in the summer or if he chooses to do something with them and Bowdoin, I am sure he can make that happen. They would probably encourage that also.
In this economic climate I just don’t see “any” advantage of taking undergraduate debt of any type when the opposite offer is a stellar education that has around a 13% admissions rate with kids 3.94 GPA. That says a lot to me.
High school homework is different from college work - especially for premeds.
But the commute is only one issue:
The other issue is that it’s actually more expensive to attend GPPA than either Bowdoin/W&L.
(Please remember that OP lives in a very low income household. Free room&board+expenses covered + a potential stipend aren’t a trifle. It can mean the difference between food insecurity and food security for instance).
Both issues matter.
With OP’s background, OP thrives in adverse conditions. So to suggest 45 commute is a problem sounds oxymoron. Why OP has to commute 45 minutes? Is it from home to UIC? If that is the case, how OP expect to grow if can’t leave the house, at the same time exploring to go at corner of country that needs flight expenses too.
What if OP stays at dorm/apartment on UIC campus, do federal work study to cover partially, rest some loans. Still very affordable from long term point of view.
The community, city and state that harbor you during young age, it is time to demonstrate some patriotism (may be an unpopular opinion).
I also don’t like the idea of a commute to UIC, and think that OP’s commute may be more than 40 minutes. Of course it’s do-able, but far from ideal.
OP: how long will it take you to get to Metra, and how will you get there? Metra will be a minimum of a 20 minute ride, depending on the train…it will be 30 mins returning home if after 7pm. The east side of UIC’s campus is 20 min walk from the train station. I don’t have to remind everyone that this will mostly be in cold weather too…we had a big snowstorm on Halloween, and it’s snowing today.
There is no doubt that having a 1.5-2 hour daily commute will cut in to OP’s ability to:
-be academically as productive as possible
-be part of the campus community (more and more students living there every year)
-complete pre-med patient facing activities, whether volunteer or as a job. IMO NU research is second to getting patient facing experience.
@PPofEngrDr , OP is going to dedicate his life to helping others. While he’s still a young man, he will be doing himself and his future patients a favor by taking care of his intellectual and emotional needs during these formative years.
He will also be helping his family by taking an offer that gives him the better part of four free years room and board.