<p>Hello everyone!
I'm a senior in high school, and I've narrowed down college list to Rhodes College in Memphis, TN and University of Alabama at Birmingham (Honors Program). </p>
<p>I plan to study Neuroscience/Pre-med with a minor in Psychology. I eventually want to be a Psychiatrist or a Neurologist.</p>
<p>Money-wise, both schools work out to be about the same. </p>
<p>What do you guys think is the best choice for me academically? I think I would be happy both places. </p>
<p>I’ve heard very good things about Alabama, but I’m not as familiar with Rhodes.</p>
<p>As you say, you would be happy at either. Look at how far each school is from your home, and what the transportation costs would be. You want to consider the costs to travel back and forth.</p>
<p>Rhodes being a small liberal arts college, and having a student /faculty ratio of 14, will provide a more close knit learning experience. Rhodes takes pride in being able to offer one-on-one academic advising, especially for those interested in pursuing health care related careers. </p>
<p>Alabama (B’Ham) has the advantage of having highly reputed hospital & medical college near their campus. Shadowing psychologists/psychiatrists may be somewhat more accessible; of-course, it depends on the demand from the number of students who may want to pursue such internships/shadowing & the available spots. </p>
<p>Rhodes will definitely provide a more cosmopolitan learning atmosphere. </p>
<p>Alabama (B’Ham) has less than 7% out of state students, and roughly 2% foreign students. </p>
<p>See, I live in Memphis and Rhodes is only a 30 minute drive from home, whereas UAB is a only three hours. I would live on campus both places, so I don’t see distance from home being a big factor in my decision. </p>
<p>Rhodes is incredibly reputable from pre-med and nearly 90% of their students are accepted into medical school. UAB doesn’t publish these stats, but if I were to attend UAB for undergrad, I would get in-state tuition for their medical school.</p>
<p>Important question is whether 90% of Rhodes’ pre-meds gain admission to med schools in TN. We all know that out-of-state or private medical school tuition is much higher than in-state tuition. </p>
<p>If one attends UAB, and does not gain admission to their med school, how difficult is it to gain admission at other med schools in Alabama (ex. USA), and will they offer in-state tuition?</p>
<p>Rhodes tends to name…brand name schools when referring to the universities where their students have ended up, such as Vanderbilt, John Hopkins, Yale, etc… However, they do mention that some of their students have ended up at University of Tennessee, but do not say how many. </p>
<p>Yes, the students that attend UAB do receive in-state tuition at schools like USA. </p>
<p>I suppose I’m having trouble choosing because I do not know which school would give me a better chance of being accepted into any medical school.</p>
<p>If you are out-of-state for Alabama, I would go to Rhodes (even if you are out-of-state for Rhodes) I do not think an out-of-state student at a public university will be happy enough if they aren’t at the flagship location (Tuscaloosa in this case)</p>
<p>90 % admission rate for pre-meds to any college of medicine, as reportedly claimed by Rhodes, seems very high. </p>
<p>Couple of years ago, the School of Medicine (SOM) at UAB would not offer in-state status to someone who finished their UG at UAB, but whose state of residence was elsewhere. If UAB SOM has recently changed their policy on granting in-state residency, it needs to be confirmed. </p>
<p>Rhodes students are getting accepted to medical colleges in Tennessee. For example, in the 2012 profile of UT College of Medicine, Rhodes College is one of numerous UG institutions of their admitted students; however, the profile does not mention the actual number of Rhodes students who were admitted to their med school. </p>
<p>UT SOM admissions office will likely provide the number of students from Rhodes who were admitted into their med school in 2012. Rhodes, hopefully, will be able to provide the contacts. </p>
<p>Sometimes it is difficult for pre-med advising offices to provide accurate information about the actual medical school admission statistics, since the advising office usually collects information reported by their (pre-med) students, which in many cases may not be complete. By doing a little bit of due diligence, one can piece enough information to check the veracity of claims.</p>
<p>but if I were to attend UAB for undergrad, I would get in-state tuition for their medical school.</p>
<p>there is no assurance for that, at all. However, USA SOM sometimes gives scholarships to OOS students who attended AL state schools to bring their tuition to instate. However, the two students that I know who got those had high MCATs. </p>
<p>What will you do at either school, career wise, if early-on, you don’t have the grades for med school. Your UW GPA in high school isn’t high. What will you do if your college grades end up not being high enough for med school? Or if your MCAT isn’t high enough?</p>
<p>agree with m2ck…you need to confirm the instate tuition for med school at uab… as far as i know they require the 12 month period (non educational purpose) for in state…</p>
<p>my son applied to both schools and is attending uab. He got about 1/2 tuition/coa merit from rhodes which left about 24k per year… there were very few merit awards higher than that. i think bellingrath scholarship is only given to a few people for full cost. UAB’s cost would be 28K total and if you qualified for blazer elite that leaves you about 10-12 K per year out of pocket.</p>
<p>if you attend uab you would still qualify for in state rates in TN as it is your home state unless you declare residency in alabama going through all the requirements. </p>
<p>to clarify UAB is about 11k undergrads and an urban campus. with so many research opportunities. The neuroscience program is very selective… only about 15 students accepted per year. so quite an accomplishment to be admitted to the program. It is a joint program with the school of medicine also. </p>
<p>UAB is now about 12% oos students, and it is in the top 5 for diversity and race interactions.</p>
<p>I totally disagree with snug pug… just because a school is not the flagship does not mean the student wont be happy. UAB has a very different vibe than the flagship. It is not a party school, It is only about 6% greek. It does not have a huge football mentality. It is known in state as the school for sciences and medical related majors. </p>
<p>UAB med school has many programs listed in the top ten…It may not be talked about on cc very much but it is definitely known in the medical world. </p>
<p>the mom of a student that is in the neuroscience program at uab has posted on the ua forum… you should contact her.</p>
<p>I qualified for the Blazer Elite Scholarship, which is 15k. UAB’s cost of tuition to graduate in 4 years is 19k. food, books, etc is another 10, bringing it to 29k. I average transportation costs to be about 3k a year. At Rhodes, I received a 30k scholarship. I pay about 18k if I dorm. </p>
<p>@m2ck, my UW GPA is a 3.9, but I do understand your point. If I do not get into medical school, I will either get a masters in Neuroscience or apply to pharmacy school. Perhaps I will pick up another degree during undergrad along with Neuroscience- I am not sure yet. </p>
<p>I have visited both campuses and am completely in love with both.</p>
<p>nothing wrong with a 3.9!! (not sure why that would be considered “isnt’t high”. Congrats on your achievements! you have 2 great schools to choose from, dont think you can wrong with either, with your current goals</p>
<p>I am similarly unable to make a final choice. I got into the Honors Program at UGA and qualify for HOPE. I was offered a full ride to UNC Chapel Hill as a Carolina Scholar and was also invited to be a part of the Honors program there. Which one do I choose?
I know that the obvious choice for some would be Chapel Hill, but the CURO (Center for Undergraduate REsearch) program at UGA is pretty comprehensive and the Honors Program is well respected. I just don’t want to make the wrong choice :/</p>
If I do not get into medical school, I will either get a masters in Neuroscience or apply to pharmacy school. Perhaps I will pick up another degree during undergrad along with Neuroscience- I am not sure yet. </p>