Hey I have a tight schedule at work and so will respond by weekend. Hope you have enough time. But looking at the choices, I would rate the following as top of your list in no particular order. I will go over the pros and cons of each later.
UW, UPitt, UTD, SLU, UToledo
More later.
I ended up not applying to UToledo’s scholarships because I had a bunch of other deadlines around that same time. In all honesty, I applied to the Bacc2MD program on a whim 
Are you considering it?
In terms of “BSMD”, it’s a better “deal” than SLU Med Scholars, although I would go with one of your cheaper choices (OR Emory if it’s affordable and your family’s fine with it).
@MYOS1634 If i understand the thought process here…
Do you think that some private schools/UG Schools prepare the student better for the MCAT or the whole MCAT prep is on the student?
Thanks
Does SLU need 3.65 GPA every semester of 4 years of UG or average ?
Its not each semester, its for each academic year 3.65.
Maintain a minimum 3.65 cumulative GPA, and a 3.65 math/science GPA (calculated at the end of each academic year).
After all the costs and location considerations (and may be other factors that you deem important), you should eliminate more than half from that list for you to get constructive feedback! Basically, you should eliminate those schools that no one on this forum would be able to convince you irrespective how great they are for different individuals.
Sounds good! I would also go with one of my cheaper choices.
Good news! I was just informed that UW-Madison has reviewed and approved my application for admission into the CALS Honors Program : )
Congratulations!
Well, now, UW has the lead, right? And if you really want to go OOS, you have Pitt or UTD…
I’m not hearing you defending Emory or UNC strongly so they’re probably out?
If UToledo interests you, see if you can still qualify for scholarships to lower that cost, otherwise just cross it out - if you can’t be bothered to try and decrease that amount through scholarships you could get easily, then you’re not really interested.
@L4fe4sFa4r
it’s a bit more complicated.
First, you need a combination of 1° a strong enough university that if you don’t go to med school, it’ll provide you with options, with strong enough academics that both your major and premed pre-reqs are rigorous enough WITH 2° you’re also in the top 25% students (in other words, where you have academic peers but aren’t average-for-that-university.) Once you have that standard, you can choose the least expensive, or the best fit.
I’d say that most national universities in the Top ~100, most LACs in the top 125, most regional universities in the top 15-20 for their region will provide strong enough academics. But taking a “full ride” to nowhere is not a good idea (ie., a regional university ranked 77 in its region…) nor is picking the most prestigious college you got into where your stats place you in the bottom 50%.
Once you have the right value for money and academic-challenge-for-you, there’s fit:
“Fit” will be personal (what makes the student most comfortable thus most successful) but generally will also mean a university that offers the support premeds need: known for its collaborative mindset, rather than competitive (which, for premeds, turns to cut throat pretty easily - all premeds are competitive since basically they need to rank in the top 20-25% in every class they take, so competitive premeds in a competitive major in a competitive college… not a pretty sight), plenty of academic and other supports - advisers, free/walk-in tutoring, stress relief opportunities…
Keep in mind the majority of premeds switch along the way or never get into any med school, so “saving for med school” is not necessarily a good idea! On the other hand, “blowing it all on college” is not a good idea either :D, so you can see college as an investment that should strengthen the odds of med school, while keeping some $ aside, perhaps to help with expenses (MCAT prep; med school application process - expensive; rent/food where the med student will be, for instance) then anything that can reduce the loans.
Hi! UW does have the lead right now : ) I still am considering Emory and UNC, however, I’m considering UTD, Madison, and Pitt more than Emory, and Marquette and SLU about the same as UNC (just factoring in all of the program aspects and distance and stuff).
@MYOS1634 Thank You for the detailed explanation. That helps a lot. I have been trying to put together my thoughts after i read your response 2-3 times and going down our current list and figuring out the “fit”. This is a very tough decision to make. I have asked my Son to give me his choice, however as a parent i myself am going down the list and collecting more data.
Given that he got waitlisted in 5 schools is making it even harder.
In my opinion a waitlist = soft rejection. However, this cycle, not sure what to make of it.
So, in my world, i am not going to consider any school where he is waitlisted, but will make a ranking on the list and be prepared should something change.
Sometimes i feel just go to UIC Honors Program as that is the least of all, and honestly that would be where he would have gone had he got the BS/MD, and since he is already doing a research there. The National Ranking for that however is 112.
Will gather more thoughts and for sure will write to you. But Thanks again for your insight, really Appreciate it.
Thanks
This is really late, but here is the info from the UW-Madison student:
Is there mcat prep help?
○ Yes there is MCAT prep help! Visit this link for more information
■ MCAT Study Prep Workshops – Center for Pre-Health Advising –
UW–Madison (wisc.edu)
○ There are study prep workshops and forming study groups with your peers
can also help
Do you have stats on gpas and med school placement
○ We do not have specific statistics on GPAs and Med School placement. We
would encourage you to reach out to the pre-health advisors at this link for
more information on preparing for med school
■ Center for Pre-Health Advising – Pre-Professional Advising for
Students and Alumni Pursuing the Health Professions –
UW–Madison (wisc.edu)
Where else did you apply and why did you choose madison
○ I started in biomedical engineering with the idea of moving forward into
med school. I applied to Madison because I knew that whatever I ended up
majoring in, UW Madison has resources that would get me prepared for
medical school. My first meeting with a pre-health advisor, they told me
that they had Dance majors go onto medical school. UW Madison has
many top programs so I felt comfortable knowing I would get a top notch
education no matter where my path took me.
○ I applied to mostly engineering schools because of my major - I looked at
Purdue, Northwestern, and the University of Minnesota.
Tell me a little bit about weed out classes
○ All majors have “weed out” classes. They are difficult but GUTS (the
greater university tutoring service at this link) provides so many resources
to make sure you pass with flying colors. I actually jumped up a whole
grade letter after using their services in my Organic Chemistry class
■ Greater University Tutoring Services – University of
Wisconsin-Madison – UW–Madison
● What kind of ec activities are available on campus
○ SO MANY
○ There is everything from professional organizations to the UW Madison
cheese club (where you just taste cheese!) Check out all of our student
orgs here
■ Organizations - Wisconsin Involvement Network (WIN)
○ There are also non-UW affiliated opportunities throughout Madison. This
website has a bunch of information on things to explore
■ Destination Madison | Find Things to Do, Restaurants, Events &
Hotels (visitmadison.com)
How are you relatively doing so far
○ Personally, I am doing ok. There are times that school is difficult and I really
need to buckle down and get things done but I do feel like this is
something I am able to handle. Building relationships and creating a
support system is crucial to any situation but especially college. Tutoring,
like I mentioned before, is also a big help in academic struggles.
■ We also have counseling services available all over campus. I’m not
saying you’ll need it but it’s there if you want it.
● Mental Health – University Health Services – UW–Madison
(wisc.edu)
How big are classes like organic chem?
○ Your general eds will typically have a large lecture section (I think mine had
200-300 students) and small discussion sections (30 students). In lecture,
you’ll learn new material. In discussion, you typically do practice problems
and ask more questions about the lecture. Because of this mix of lecture
and discussion, I never felt like I was overwhelmed by the size of lecture.
Also, pro tip: sit towards the front of the lecture hall so you can’t see all
the people behind you. It sounds silly but it helps.
Does being a UW student play a factor when applying to med school there vs in
state from some outside school (if you know)
○ I know people look fondly upon UW Madison but your institution should
not be the deciding factor
Do you know any other students with research publications
○ Yes! I was also invited to join a research team post-graduation by one of
my professors. Research is something you can start as early as your first
year. I had a friend who was published by her sophomore year through her
lab. Getting involved is as easy as sending a professor whose research you
are interested in an email!
■ Research | UW–Madison (wisc.edu)
How accessible is the med school from the main campus for any volunteering or
extracurriculars
○ The med school is walkable from the main campus but it does take some
time to get there. We do have both the campus and city busses which are
what I take to get down to the medical campus. We are provided a bus
pass which is paid for by our tuition. That’s what I use! We are also the 8th
most bike friendly city in the US. If you are into biking you should never
have an issue getting around (even in winter!)
Good that you have done your home work and posted here for the benefit of other in similar boat or further down the line in future.
So if medicine is a top choice profession, it should be combination of two things. How well you will be able to do at undergrad level and how you can conserve the finances for paying for med school after the undergrad. I will let you ponder over the finances aspects with your family and decide the comfort level. But below are some of my takes based on general awareness.
UW:
Pros:
Cons:
How confident are you of the rigor of your current high school? Have you spoken to any prior students from your school who went to UW and how they find the rigor and competition? How about checking with your school counselors?
SLU:
Pros:
Cons:
UPitt:
Pros:
Cons:
Same as SLU above, if for some reason medicine were not be the final destination, not a fancy brand name to have undergrad degree from
UTD:
Pros:
Cons:
I think competition. It seems UTD has been in an active drive for the last decade or so to raise their profile by trying to woo top students who would otherwise go to UT Austin. So expect a lot of very good students to compete against. The competition may be similar to as at UW, if not more
Research funding and opportunities most likely won’t be as good as UW and Pitt and as mentioned above, not so fancy school to have a degree from.
UToledo BACC:
Pros:
Cons:
I haven’t mostly ignored the other schools like Duke, CWRU etc. assuming you won’t get either merit or need based awards and also because your priority is to going to medicine for which you need to have healthy balance of finances and good undergrad experience (gpa, competition etc)
Great! Thank you so much : ) If I end up going to Madison, I won’t be able to go from home (I live about 1.5 hours away), however, since I have a large amount of scholarship, my parents are allowing me to stay in my own apartment which is located near Witte and Sellery residence halls (but far enough away because I don’t want to get caught up in the partying/drinking culture at UW). I am very confident of the rigor of my current high school. I was able to maintain all A’s, including in my AP classes that include AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics, and AP Calc (I have other AP’s as well, a total of 12). I know many family friends who have gone to UW, graduated, and matriculated into a medical school. What’s a bit funny is that family friends who went to places like Emory, WashU, Rice, etc. all ended up in medical school at Medical College of Wisconsin (unranked as far as I know), but the one family friend who went to Madison is now at UW-Madison medical school (I believe ~20 ranked). I think my counselors are confident in my ability to succeed.
Agree with most of the post but your observations about Pitt. It’s not a charm school. They have some top notch programs. Engineering, CS, Business, Nursing, Chem, and Bio to name a few. A few spots below UW on the public rankings…Tied with UMD, above UWash, PSU, Rutgers, UMass…
Anything pre-med at Pitt will be very competitive. One of my son’s classmates last year turned down Penn for Pitt’s GAP program. OP was a semi-finalist.
Just wanted to thank everyone for their guidance through this process! I have decided to attend UW-Madison and will be officially committing this week : )
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
They’re luck to have you. Have a ball, learn a lot, and don’t forget to return to give news on the UWIsconsin forum next year when other seniors start agonizing about their choices. 
Thank you so much OP and all that have contributed.
This has helped me greatly because I am in about same situation as the OP right now.
I got into the following BS/MD schools:
Seton hall - balance to pay - 11,000
UToledo - balance to pay - 14,000
SLU - balance to pay - 5,500 (I interviewed for the MLK scholarship, may receive an additional 5,000)
I was accepted to Undergraduate programs for all the bs/md schools I applied to including:
Case western - Balance - 3,700
Pitts - Balance - 9,000
University of Arizona - Full ride
Wayne State - Full ride
RPI - Full ride
University of Rochester, UAB, Stonybrook, Notre Dame, etc
I was accepted to John Hopkins with full ride.
I am confused!
I really want to be a paediatric surgeon and do not care the school.
I understand that there is no guaranteed seat for the BS/MD schools I got into, hence my confusion.
I will work hard in whatever school I get into… I really do not know which to choose…
Please what will you advise me to do?
Your kind assistance will be highly appreciated.
It’s hard to beat free with good options for that, including JHU. Then study, etc, and get some good ECs in. Enjoy the journey along the way.