So I have been banging my head on the wall trying to make a decision for the last few weeks now, and I am really at my wits end. I have narrowed my choices to: Temple University, Eastern University, St. Joseph’s University, and Lebanon Valley College, and Immaculata University.
I want to go into medicine, hopefully orthopedics but I am also interested in physical therapy, so any info about the strength of the science programs at these schools would be awesome.
I will also be participating in music; I have it as my major at Eastern, Lebanon Valley, Immaculata, and St. Joseph’s (I would either double major with biology or do a minor in biology), so I would also welcome info on the music programs. My major at Temple is Biochemistry because their music major has a rather large number of credit requirements and I want to make sure I keep my GPA for the sciences up. So music will be a minor at Temple.
The reason I am doing music in addition to biology is because it is something I love and am passionate about, and it would be a good fall back for me if I can’t make it to med school because my teacher has a lot of connections in the industry and would be able to get me a job. However I obviously can’t get a job with a minor so that may be a consideration when it comes to Temple, but definitely not a deal breaker by any means.
The other consideration for me is athletics. I play ice hockey, and Lebanon Valley College has offered me a spot on their D3 team for next year, which I would love to accept. St. Joseph’s University has a women’s club team, but Temple, Eastern, and Immaculata don’t even have a club.
Finances are about the same Temple, Eastern, and St. Joes, coming out to 5-6 thousand a year after scholarships and financial aid. Lebanon Valley is more because it is the only school that is not within commutable distance from my parent’s house. So it will be between 5-10 thousand more(I have appealed my financial aid package and am hoping to get a little more, hence the range). If it’s only 5 thousand more it shouldn’t be a huge problem for my family to pay, but if it’s ten thousand more I think it would make things a little tougher, and we may need to take out a small loan. Also Immaculata gave me a huge music scholarship so it would only cost about 2 thousand a year, but it was my least favorite school when I visited, and I’m not sure about it’s academic rigor, so this scholarship is pretty much the only reason I’m still considering it.
I’m just trying to figure out which school will prepare me best for medical college(I know people say it doesn’t make a huge difference but I feel the quality of the science program will definitely make a difference in preparing me for the MCAT, and I want to make sure none of these schools have crazy grade deflation or anything), and which school will provide me with the best musical education at the same time. Also does it make a big difference to live on campus, and will it be worth a little bit more money, especially because Lebanon Valley is pretty much my favorite at this point and will offer me the opportunity to play D3 hockey?
I would prefer a school without a huge party scene, but I don’t really have a preference as far as a rural or urban campus, as my two favorite campuses were Temple and Lebanon Valley and those are pretty much opposite!
Any other information or experiences with these schools even if it doesn’t exactly pertain to my majors will be appreciated.
Thank you!