<p>Hey CC, I'm currently a HS senior awaiting my admissions decisions. I applied to many west coast schools, and I currently live in Nevada.</p>
<p>I was planning to go to University of Nevada-Reno because I wanted to save up money for medical school by going to the best in-state school. If I attend Reno, I'll most likely major in English w/ a writing specialization and music, two subjects I've always wanted to dive into during my undergrad years, then I plan to study study study in medical school for my grad years. While I've heard the academics at UNR suffer, my mindset is that it really depends on the student, which is why I don't mind going to a Tier 1 school rather than a more prestigious school like a UC or UW. Also, if I go to place where there's less competition, I feel like I could achieve better grades. Also, I'm not the the best musician out there--I've only played piano for six years--so I feel a less musically focused university like UNR will allow me to learn at my own pace. To me, the teachers, private lessons, and my own practice and learning habits matter when it comes to music, not the school. As for English, I love writing more than reading, so I love the idea of a Wiring specialization at Reno. Basically, I was comfortable with the idea of going to Reno since it offers me what I want and it allows me to save money. </p>
<p>However, if I get accepted into medical school after taking the prereqs, I know I'll be taking out student loans. This made me think... if I'll eventually pay off the loans when I'm a physician, should I just throw myself in a more prestigious undergrad university NOW? Is it really worth it given Nevada's seemingly bad reputation? I honestly don't know how bad Nevada REALLY is in academics, but to me, it seems just fine. But if I go to University of California, Berkeley (my dream school; reach for me), is it worth throwing myself in a competitive environment and spending more money for an education that may very well be the same at Reno? Intro to Bio is intro to Bio no matter where you go anyway, not including grading systems, tests, and teachers, right? Is an environment with more academically focused students worth the out-of-state tuition? Is the prestige worth it? Maybe it's better to go to Reno so I challenge myself rather than a multitude of others? Will the added student loans bite me in the future? </p>
<p>I realize in the long run, it won't matter what undergrad I went to, esp. if I get accepted to med school, but these "passive" benefits of taking out more student loans for med school so I can go to a prestigious undergrad leaves me questioning my short and long term goals. </p>
<p>This is assuming I get into medical school, and I'm not even going to begin to explain my motivations for med school because it is very personal to me, so I'll leave it at that. </p>