<p>OK, so I am a senior in a high school volunteer at a pharmacy. Today I thought that I would ask the pharmacist for his opinion so I asked the pharmacist to what college I should go for pre-med. This was how it went:</p>
<p>A=Me
P=Pharmacist</p>
<p>P: Go to Hunter
A: But isn't it bad since it doesn't have a well known reputation?
P: Hunter is good. Its free. Why would you want to waste money on the garbage years of college? Med school is what matters and what you'll probably be in debt for.
A: But doesn't going to a top/well known uni help you get into med school?
P: Nope, all that matters is your MCAT score and GPA in your college.
A: Are you sure? Could you give me an example?
P: My sister's daughter went to hunter and now she's is in Columbia Uni (The ivy league) for med school.
A: So you are saying to leave any potential debt and getting a top league Uni for grad school?
P: Exactly</p>
<p>This makes perfect sense.</p>
<p>But deep inside I just have this feeling that I am wronging myself if I go to an average uni.</p>
<p>1-I have time to take the SAT IIs (which I still didn't take) but I have a full plate in my senior year (3 APs, and 3 period of organic chem)...so you might say I'm a bit "lazy" or just don't have the will power anymore to take anymore standardized exams after I took the SAT and ACT. This means that I cannot apply to ivy league Unis.</p>
<p>2-The one that I saw as a very nice fit for me was NYU, it was not ivy...but it was not "average". It was just right. But from what I read I would bury myself in debt since it has a horrible FA, and from what I read on CC...it's just scary. (I know I have a very good shot into getting accepted though)</p>
<p>SO...any help anyone please...I really need it. Im lost O.O</p>
<p>Nope the pharmacist has the gist of it. Save the loan getting and money spending till med school. Go wherever you will get the most money. GPA and MCAT scores and EC’s are the most important. Where you go to school does not factor in significantly. Please do a search and you’ll find your question has been asked a many times. Almost once a week.</p>
<p>Ok. Here’s the long version of picking which college to go to. Depending on your family situation you may get lots of finaid or none. Scholarships to anywhere are always good. I go to WashU and they have a lot of merit based scholarships that pay half to full tuition. Yes they are competitive but you should still apply to all the scholarships available at whatever school you pick. </p>
<p>If you ignore money completely and just look at the merits of the school. Premed classes at all school are basically the same and no school will better prepare you for the MCAT than any other since thats something you’ll have to do on your own or with a prep class. As for GPA, a school that attracts lots of super competitive candidates might take a hit on your GPA. I believe premed classes at any university are curve, they all are at Washu. This means that only 1/3 of the class will get an A or A-'s, you obviously want to be in that third. Other things to look at are research opportunities, if you’re interested in research or want to try it out, pick a school that will allow you to do real research as a undergraduate not be a lab slave and do dishes year around. But you can always find research in your home city though those programs might be tougher to get into.</p>
<p>Go to Hunter and do great. Excel. Shine. Make awesome connections. Save money. Based on your stats posted elsewhere you are not getting a WashU admission much less a scholarship, and I’m sorry to say, unless you have compromising photos of the Dean of Admissions at NYU , you are far from an admissions lock there, no scholarship either. It’s time to get realistic and make the most of your opportunities. I’m betting you can find many succesful MD’s and DO’s from CUNY-Hunter. Be one of them.</p>
<p>it is difficult to provide any advice without info on your families income and your academic credentials. Some of the elite schools have very generous aid program and could potentially cost less than Hunter.</p>
<p>And yeah according to my family’s income Ill get a lot of financial aid.
And haha, I wish money wasn’t the problem. I would have went to NYU. But since it is, as the pharmacist told me, it wouldn’t make sense for me to go into debt for undergrad.</p>
<p>And Ill start looking at Research opportunities but just a Q…what are they for, other then gaining the experience of research Excuse my ignorance.</p>
<p>@Curmugdeon: Thanks for the help!</p>
<p>But please do take note that the SAT score that I posted in the other topic (1890) is a temporary grade. I really studied hard this summer and expect a 2000+ on it this time around (And my GPA is pretty good).</p>
<p>But yes, you are right. As others have said, the undergrad that one goes to doesn’t matter when applying to Med school. Only the grades that you earn do. I’m looking at top SUNYs and CUNYs , but any other colleges that you would recommend?</p>
<p>@Appdad: My EFC will be very, very low (I’m 100% sure).</p>
<p>I go to an elite High School in NYC (specialized High School) that doesn’t release ranks to students or the public, but I would say I’m in the top 10% (my guess).</p>
<p>My GPA is a 93 unweighted…94 weighted (I don’t know how much is that on the 4.0 scale (I get contradicting scales)). My ACT, which I took just for the heck of it, is a 25 (I didn’t and don’t plan to apply with my ACT score). My SAT score is unfortunately low (1890)…I didn’t do much studying since I was studing for AP exams. I took AP Chem-4, AP World-4 and AP US-3. I have a good amount of ECs</p>
<p>I didn’t take the SAT II yet…and don’t really have the urge too :/</p>
<p>Good luck with the SAT! The point of research is that some medschools are research heavy. They’re usually the ones you have heard of (Harvard, Johns Hopkins, etc…) Even for other schools research is good. This doesn’t mean research is necessary, if you dedicate your time to something else (volunteering, school club, internship) then you don’t need research if you don’t like it. Research is just an easy way to show medschools your commitment to science. Some people really find it enjoyable and others hate it. Its not worth doing if you hate it, but if you find that you like it then its great.</p>
<p>And I see now. Well Ill really have to start from now before tomorrow into looking at joining a research group. My definite goal is to go to Yale or Columbia for Med. That I’m certain is what I want and will work for it.</p>
<p>I always thought Hunter was a great school? Isn’t it the poor man’s harvard, or is that another CUNY?</p>
<p>
OP: Just getting a 2000+ won’t “guarantee” admission to WashU or NYU…</p>
<p>
^^^ Is that your EFC from fafsa? Fafsa EFC is USUALLY a lot lower than CSS profile EFC. Schools look at CSS profile because it looks at looks at family assets. For example, my fafsa EFC was around 25K, but my CSS profile EFC was around 40K, really big difference.</p>
<p>Hunter is a great school with a significant amount of name recognition in certain circles. I work with Hunter kids all the time who come to do research and volunteer. You really have to work hard to go wrong as a pre-med in Manhattan.</p>
<p>“I always thought Hunter was a great school? Isn’t it the poor man’s harvard, or is that another CUNY?”</p>
<p>Ehh, I don’t know to be honest…</p>
<p>“OP: Just getting a 2000+ won’t “guarantee” admission to WashU or NYU…”</p>
<p>Of course no one is guaranteed anything. Even people with 2400 SATs aren’t guaranteed into all Universities.</p>
<p>“^^^ Is that your EFC from fafsa? Fafsa EFC is USUALLY a lot lower than CSS profile EFC. Schools look at CSS profile because it looks at looks at family assets. For example, my fafsa EFC was around 25K, but my CSS profile EFC was around 40K, really big difference.”</p>
<h1>I didn’t fill out my FAFSA yet but I used one of those calculator sites. My family has no assets.</h1>
<p>@mmmcdow: Isn’t it true that, that “certain circles” is mainly NYC and not more than New York state?</p>