Rhodes OR Wake, down to two!!

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>OK!! The offers are IN! And it is down to two schools, for my son, 33ACT, Eagle Scout, pre-med major thinking neuroscience.</p>

<p>Both have their pros and cons, as I see it. And I don't think he can go wrong at either. My concerns are:</p>

<p>possible grade deflation at Wake
finding "like minded" students at either...he is conservative, non drinker, non drug user, Christian, INFJ, and social.
best undergrad prep for med school
(cost is not an issue, or at least not where I want him to make his decision)</p>

<hr>

<p>Pros for Wake are possibly better national name, bigger student body, has med school, school spirit/sports
Cons for Wake are grade deflation</p>

<p>Pros for Rhodes are great support for premeds, easier to get the GPA, more familiar with
Cons for Rhodes are less national profile, small...altho he doesn't mind that.</p>

<p>Overall concerns are "will this undergraduate route be a great support to get me to med school", one on one relationship with profs, small class sizes, not unnecessarily hard, finding like minded friends, drug use at school...esp harder drugs, just don't want to be around that, want an academic environment where learning is "cool", not a means to an end, with partying the real reason for college, alum support would be great.</p>

<p>ANY FEEDBACK IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!</p>

<p>He plans to attend both accepted student days, and has visited both campuses.</p>

2

<p>The only really important question is:</p>

<p>which school would he choose to attend if was NOT a pre-med?</p>

<p>Take that issue out of the equation–then make a decision.</p>

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<p>good point…i think wake is a bit more ‘exciting’ to him, possibly because he has been ‘in’ rhodes since fall</p>

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<p>WOWmom, and you say that due to the numbers of kids that change from premed, correct? He says, “it is hard to turn down the highest ranked school that I am interested in”. (and i might add, he didn’t apply to any he wouldn’t go to, except one local state school just in case)</p>

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<p>My D is a 2012 Rhodes grad, and is currently an MD/PhD student. She was not premed until the summer after her junior year–not at all a typical path. She started college completely undecided–foreign language? Religious studies? Biochemistry? She had a great experience exploring all those areas (and more), and got wonderful advising both before and after she decided to apply to MD/PhD programs. She found friends who didn’t drink (or didn’t drink much). The full spectrum is there–liberal to conservative. One of the biggest pluses at Rhodes is the availability of great volunteer and research opportunities. Good luck with the decision–both are good schools.</p>

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<p>I say it for 3 reasons:</p>

<p>1) the percentage of kids who start out as pre-med then later change their minds is very high. ~65-75% (But you’ll say: my kid won’t–but you really don’t know. There are entire career fields out there your kid has never even heard of yet! )</p>

<p>2) playing the numbers game for med school admission is rather pointless. Admission is a moving target. You have no idea what med school admissions will look like in 4 years. Guessing if this school or that school will be “easier” to get a high GPA is an exercise in futility. There are smart kids everywhere. (And its corollary is also true: no matter where you go there’s going to be someone smarter than you.) If your kid is highly motivated and has good work habits, he should be able to do well enough at just about any school to get a GPA high enough for current med school admission standards. </p>

<p>3) there are objective data that demonstrate happier student = better grades</p>

<p>Go for the best fit.</p>

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<p>WOW, yes, happier student is the overriding deal here…and yes, my kid may, and very well could, change, so i hear ya…the moving target, true. thanks great info…</p>

<p>Shy, I have heard similar stories about this at Rhodes…and that is a big plus…</p>

<p>Any vague idea where a more conservative student body might be…the drug stories i hear at both, and everywhere frankly make me want to home school…even w and l, notoriously conservative, has issues, i am sure…</p>

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<p>anyone else have a thought…one day it is rhodes, one day it is wake…agh!</p>

9

<p>any thoughts anyone? he is at accepted students day at wake today, thinks it feels homey, not concerned about WORK FOREST…i don’t want to over mother the guy…thoughts?</p>

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<p>try contacting the poster Curmudgeon–his daughter went to Rhodes for undergrad, she is at Yale Med now. Hem might be able to answer some questions for you.</p>

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<p>Boysz3, i have and he is quite helpful…just looking for the “other” perspective too…can’t really see a strong reason to go to Wake…yet</p>

12

<p>well, son came back from two days at Rhodes. He came back a bit troubled. More kids with weird piercings and odd colored hair than he expected. Went to a org chem class, which he followed the subject matter fine, despite, what he said was a rather hard to understand accent wise professor. noted that the interaction with St. Judes was perhaps more for research than he expected. liked the psych class he went to. noted the Search class curriculum, which he would do, was a bit more reading than he had expected, daily reading, altho he was surprised, but that was ok, he is a reader. Really like his meeting with the premed advisor/dept head. thought it felt a bit smaller than he remembered. </p>

<p>wrote his thoughts in a letter to me and himself in the Memphis airport, ending with “If St. Jude were here in the Memphis airport with a gun to my head to make a decision, he would go to Wake.”</p>

<p>So. The plot thickens. Woke up today without a Wake tshirt on, as I expected to see him. Eyes bleary from lack of sleep, and said he wished he would have applied to more colleges. He said going during classes made a huge difference, (I wonder on this, as the first time we went was during Spring Break junior year. so yes, no kids. But he went in the fall of senior year, October and spent night on campus and went to classes…) Any way, he said he wished he would have applied to more schools. But always thought Rhodes was the one. I asked him where, he said Boston College, Vanderbilt. Furman, which we visited but he declined applying to. We talked about the pros and cons of those schools, And what his decision was at that time, and that they were wise decisions.</p>

<p>At the end of the day, His options are the schools he applied to and was accepted. Baylor (he hates), Trinity in SA (which he got good money from but wants to go out of state), A and M (which he visited, and had not much interest in pursuing, too big, TA taught classes, wants to know his professors). He visited but declined applying to Furman, Davidson, W and Mary, wait listed at URichmond…idk…this is stressing me out beyond my limits!! :)</p>

<p>Says the only school he wants to go to that he applied to is Wake. And it is mega expensive and has a reputation for grade deflation so it is going to be extra hard to get the gpa he needs to get to go to Med School.</p>

<p>That, my friends, is where we are. I would appreciate any input. 7 days til decision day.</p>

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<p>Cost -wise- Wake is not hugely different from his other possible (if he had applied) Furman, Vanderbilt, Boston College. All are within similar costs (without merit aid which is rare for any of them) and all are hard as far as grading goes. He didn’t like aspects of Rhodes, and liked Wake, but there are probably going to be pros and cons to both colleges along the way.</p>

<p>Is Rhodes significantly less costly? Does he have a merit scholarship there? If he does, then these are usually awarded to entering freshmen. I take it he does not have one for Wake. This would make a difference if he decides to transfer at any time. You can consider some scenarios:</p>

<p>If he starts at Wake and transfers, he won’t likely be eligible for a merit award and his merit opportunity at Rhodes is lost. This is only an option if he absolutely is certain he does not want to attend Rhodes.</p>

<p>He can start at Rhodes and tries to make it work and transfer if it does not. If he stays there a year or two, it might cut down on total costs, and if he decides to stay it would save some money.</p>

<p>He can take a gap year (not enroll in any college level classes or he can’t be eligible for freshman merit) and re apply to colleges he regrets not applying to. </p>

<p>He chooses Wake, and faces the consequences of his decision with regards to possible grade deflation. Some students from Wake do go on to med school and some do not, just like many schools. </p>

<p>I think, once you have given him choices that are within your possibility, and he has considered all the aspects, then he can own his decision, and the rest is up to him to do what it takes to meet his goals. </p>

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<p>I like the way you lay it out there. Yes, Rhodes gave him approx 20 a year. That brings it down to state school costs. From a parenting perspective, you have laid it out well. and definitely HIS decision. Were it me, and perhaps I should keep this to myself…but i would say…</p>

<p>Life is short. Go for opportunities that you might regret NOT going for (me, a job in NYC with a window office at 26, but chose the safe route and stayed in Dallas!) Not that that wrecked my life, I love my life…but, why NOT? He can transfer if it is NOT ok. But he will never get the opportunity to try it freshman year. He is a level headed kid, smart, good study habits…everything he needs to succeed. IF you have the money to go there, which I know all do not, and some would incur debt. he is not one of them, so…IF you have the money to go there, go…be an RA to save room/board costs on later years if you want. skip the fraternity cost. and go, holding your head high as you stride across that beautiful campus!! yes, you forgo the scholarship money, but this IS your life, too, and, for him, (NOT for everyone) he does not HAVE to put a price on his life. His age 19 year is not for sale. it is HIS. and if this confident choice does NOT pan out…he still has options, all he has lost is two things. NOT spending your freshman year where you will graduate from (i didn’t and lived), and a bit of money at a school he didn’t really want to go to socially. </p>

<p>IDK. I am sure I am biased. One thing worth noting is, just as SURE as he was that Rhodes was the place, this IS the same person that is right now SURE medicine is what he wants to do…Great, smart, level headed kid…but still 18, and…well, we were ALL 18 once. I BELIEVE that he WILL pursue medicine, but to make this choice poised on that, and mainly that call, IDK, I don’t think is worth it. </p>

15

<p>Well I’ll chime in on the grade deflation issue. If your DS is a good student and is dedicated, then grade deflation is a non-issue. My DS is finishing his junior year at Princeton–which is well known for its grade deflation. His GPA is similar to his unweighted HS GPA (Very high). Not straight A’s, but he’s done extremely well but he’s also worked hard. He loves school and I think he loves the challenge. His GPA will not hold him back in his medical school applications. I’m sure there are students out there with perfect 4.0 GPA’s but his is definitely very good. </p>

<p>I think the ultimate decision on which school to choose should come down to finances and where your DS fits best. Ask him to ignore the name/location of school and think about the qualities of each and where he would be happiest and enjoy the most. If you are somewhere you love, it’s much easier to work hard and have a good time!</p>

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<p>If Rhodes is cheaper and if OP is happy being there for 4 years, by all means go to Rhodes. Don’t get me wrong, Wake was my dream school and I wanted to transfer there many moons ago. But for pre-med, have high GPA is utmost important and a happier student gets higher grades.</p>

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<p>wake it is, details later…basically, he felt like he liked the student population better at wake. fit in more. i am glad to be on this side of the decision, and have met some incredibly helpful people here. so thank you, and i intend to pay it forward!! thanks all!!</p>