@Lindagaf agree with OPs immediate needs, but if you put OP in grand schema of long term GPPA does provides the environment to develop same traits while relatively staying closer to home and family.
I am not advocating 45 minutes commute, even though lots of kids do it, staying on campus can provide best of all. Daily commute is just one commute, OP also needs to commute for ECs, this is where Chicago transportation is best, it offers U-pass, valid for CTA buses and trains, for convenient commute in Chicago area that will be very handy when activities are scattered.
Nothing in life comes that easy, who knows that better than OP?
I got lost… is UIUC off the table (by choice)?
Issue is how much will he gain by going traditional path vs GPPA? yes, he can make it work with UIC but why limit himself? Not adding to student debit crisis is patriotism 
UIUC is great for engineering, not pre-med. Being IL state public colleges, UIC and UIUC, UIC triumphs UIUC for pre-med/medical. TLDR, I am not sure what OPs likes/dislikes for academia.
@PPofEngrDr , OP has stated that being near family is not part of his decision.
You also mentioned Fulbright. I don’t recall if OP has said he is interested in applying for scholarships such as that, but if those types of opportunities are of interest, he will have much better odds if he chooses one of the LACs. Top LACs typically have advisors who help students craft the most compelling applications for prestigious scholarships.
@Groundwork2022 , I think UIUC isn’t a strong contender “because of concerns about ongoing eligibility for the full ride.”
I’m one of those following mostly silently, and have been from the beginning. My two cents is this: there is almost complete consensus from the parents on CC that Bowdoin would broaden your horizons and give you more, more than you can imagine now, than commuting. These parents haven’t steered you wrong yet, @HKimPOSSIBLE so I’d urge you to not dismiss their point of view lightly.
And finally, when I had a job offer but was going off to a year of grad school, and I called to accept the offer because it was a bird in hand – the hiring partner said, "OK, from the firm’s perspective, I’ll say, ‘Great, welcome aboard!’ But from my personal perspective I will tell you not to accept the offer. The best things happen when there is no safe harbor in sight. " I took his advice and he was 100% correct – there were so many opportunities I couldn’t see at that point, opportunities that were orders of magnitude better.
Life is full of constraints, OP knows much better about it. The opportunity that GPPA provides, with his economic background, at the same time remain closer to family, I am certain staying closer to family matters with OP socioeconomic background. IMO Chicago city will be able to provide all opportunities that OP needs vs some rural area.
Other UGs are not bad choices, GPPA is just an inch better for a long term.
Looks like staying close to family is not a primary consideration for OP (as stated by another member). I still don’t get GPPA is better argument. May be one got to live in Chicago to get it 
oh well OP said ‘staying near family is not part of decision’ thanks @Lindagaf . Still believes city of Chicago offers ample opportunities for OP to grow, as long as medicine is passion.
Fully covered room and board is worth something and frees up family finances a bit versus commuting, doesn’t it? Wealthy private colleges include a lot of things for their tuition and fees, which you will have covered. I think a college like Bowdoin is like an all you can eat buffet, no nickel and diming for little extras here and there. Congratulations! You have many great options! Your hard work has paid off.
I corrected for family part and seems our posts crossed each other. It is not living in Chicago, rather what Chicago can offer to a student like OP background. While studying at UIC, doing ECs in underprivileged demographics, OP will have that moral booster satisfaction that a UG in another corner of country may not able to match. In other words, OP will shine in GPPA, as long as medicine is passion.
If it did not actually cost them extra to go this route this would be a stronger argument. A few thousand in loans a year might not mean much to you, it’s a lot to them - this was made clear in earlier posts.
Agree with this. Not to mention the $ cost of commuting, buying food on campus, books. We have already identified the non financial costs of commuting.
All of the other schools being considered have opportunities to work with underprivileged groups.
I’m totally guessing @PPofEngrDr that perhaps your background is not dissimilar to that of HKim. You’re approaching things very practically, and your arguments have validity. But your arguments don’t acknowledge that OP should also consider his own mental well-being when he makes this decision, rather than strictly focusing on the greater good or the sure thing that’s actually going to cost him more in the long run.
The fact of the matter is that OP has the opportunity of a lifetime. He’s already done a ton of hard work, he’s already scrimped and saved and made sacrifices. All of that has paid off in spades. Sure, he will achieve his goal of becoming a doctor if he chooses UIC. But he will STILL achieve his goal of becoming a doctor if he attends Bowdoin or W&L, with the added benefit of personally growing, being in a fulfilling environment, being intellectually stimulated, and maybe even having fun.
Choosing one of the LACs won’t preclude him from working in underprivileged communities and it won’t stop him from experiencing moral satisfaction that comes from helping others. Choosing UIC will likely be less personally satisfying though.
Choosing the LAC route means he will have the best of both worlds, while choosing the UIC route will not provide that.
I have to laugh. We’re having a heck of a debate here about someone we’ve never met.?
OP might ask himself the following question: if money is no object so that he lives close to campus with either choice, where does he see himself?
Because he seems to have the best of two extraordinary options (once you remove the further financial considerations). UIC GPPA would be hardcore Pre-Med no looking back. Bowdoin would be like OP’s prior top choice, UChicago. One is very focused, the other will allow for some intellectual exploration, even a bit of meandering as you pursue new opportunities that open up to you (things you simply can’t see now. Trust me on that one).
Once OP says “This school is where I see myself thriving” then he has to make the touch choices to make that work. Those would primarily have financial consequences if UIC*, and working to overcome the lower theoretical probability of med school acceptance (and some travel costs) if Bowdoin.
Neither is without shelling out some bucks. Both have tremendous potential outcomes. I wouldn’t be looking at this from a financial viewpoint any longer. I’d be looking at which program is the best fit. A best-fit program of study will maximize the probability of personal and financial fulfillment.
*OP will very likely need to live Very Close To Campus. Just expect that. The model isn’t that UIC is a “commuter school” but is something more like “where are the top students pursuing Pre-Med living?” OP needs to do the same in order to ensure his success. Study group, night-time labs, evening tutorials, etc. will be driving that academic schedule.
@JBStillFlying aka where OP will shine! He has thrived being in Chicago area, don’t see why don’t anymore.
@HKimPOSSIBLE, if you have any interest in community medicine outside of IL, consider being a part of the Maine Track program at Bowdoin/Tufts. It offers students at Bowdoin, as well as some other Maine colleges, who are willing to commit to spending much of their med school career working in Maine, an early acceptance to the Tufts Medical School during sophomore year of college. You would need a GPA of >3.5 and a B+ or better in your bio, chem and physics courses but you would not need to take the GMAT. You would still submit your HS standardized testing, which IIRC is a 35, a great score. The program also has really good medical school FA. 1/5 of all students at Tufts Med come in through the Maine Track program.
This may not be something you’re interested in because of its heavy Maine focus, but it may be worth looking at.
https://medicine.tufts.edu/admissions-aid/admissions-program/special-options/early-assurance
I know @PPofEngrDr, @PPofEngrDr is friend of mine and @PPofEngrDr is not OP. Does this sound familiar to anyone
.
I do not think OP needs the LAC option to grow - I think he is plenty grown up, and LACs, with their boarding school atmosphere and wrap around care can also be infantilising. (That’s a very European perspective, where OPs plan would be considered the totally normal route to becoming a doctor…). It’s more about having a few more years being a kid, enjoying the money and resources thrown at you.
It’s very special, no other country in the world will offer you that experience, for four years, for free! But the rarefied air at a rural LAC might also sometimes make you shake your head. I do get the pull of UIC. Fit right in, hit the ground running, laser sharp focus on the goal. Rural Maine or Virginia (was it?) being a much more circuitous route.
I just wouldn’t recommend for you to commute, not 45 min, no way no how
Commuting AND maybe having to work to cover the cost of it is such a time and energy suck. Most of us will have to do it at some point or another out of necessity; one shouldn’t choose it at 19.
OP, how serious was that plan of your family’s to relocate closer to campus? Was that just something thrown out in desperation to get us to shut up? Because moving costs money, too, and house hunting is almost impossible right now. But if it were, say 15 or 20, a trip one could make several times a day if necessary…that would already make a difference.
Just keep us posted!