<p>I am deciding between TCNJ/UMDNJ and Rice undergrad, not Rice/Baylor. I know I want to be a doctor someday and I would prefer not to take more than 8 years to complete undergrad and med school. </p>
<p>TCNJ will cost about $17,000 per year for three years. Rice will cost about $23,500 per year for four years since I was awarded their top scholarship. I think I like Rice better in terms of undergrad experience but TCNJ is okay too. Both campuses suit me pretty well and I think I will meet intelligent students and faculty at both. At TCNJ I would be more relaxed since I would not have to apply all over again for med school.</p>
<p>I am willing to study for the MCAT and work hard in college, but I'm not sure if Rice undergrad is worth the hassle and additional cost. I might not be accepted to UMDNJ even if I do well at Rice. Plus, I have not had much luck with multiple degree programs (accepted to 2 out of 17; waitlisted at one; not interviewed at most), Ivies (accepted to 1/3), or top-20 schools (Rice is the only one offering any scholarships besides NMF money). I think my essays, recs, and interviews were fine, so my extracurriculars must not have been enough.</p>
<p>Background: I did not have the best or the most medically-related extracurriculars in HS, and know that I should do more in college no matter where I go. I have good stats (4.0 GPA, rank 1/500+, 2400 SAT) in a decent public school with a very heavy workload.</p>
<p>I would prefer not to pay $65,000+ for a private medical school unless the school is far "better" than UMDNJ (I don't think many are). I do not want to incur too much debt. Unfortunately, I do not qualify for need-based aid and think it would be a major stretch to spend $400,000+ for eight years of undergrad and medical education. I know merit aid is almost nonexistent in med school.</p>
<p>Other idea: Should I go to a decent state school for free, without any med school guarantee, instead of choosing one of these two options?</p>
<p>Hi hokkien, I am also in the exact same situation and am completely confused about what I should do. I am assuming that you already decided where you wanted to go, so I want to hear your opinion. I was also accepted at Rice (with no aid or scholarship though), but received admission in the TCNJ/ UMDNJ- NJMS program. I am not sure what I should do at this point, but I am leaning towards the 7 year program. What is your opinion, and which school did you choose?</p>
<p>Anyone that does not choose the TCNJ/UMDNJ is crazy. You are guaranteed to become a doctor. It costs less and takes less time. I don’t even know how it is even a question.</p>
<p>You do realize that this information is useless to the OP since pre-meds cannot adequately assess the importance of medical school ranking in terms of how you match, right?</p>
<p>Well, I guess it’s information for future students to look into. XelbMS, Don’t tell me these kids don’t look at US news rankings, regardless of if they understand what they mean or not. I’m sure you looked up the rank of the medical school you’re attending too, even though it’s indeed useless.</p>
<p>Look, I’m just tired of this question coming up ad nauseum on these forums, but it seems as if the question is never answered outside of citing some specific, uncommon cases for which prestige does have an effect. Usually, a flame war erupts, with both sides utilizing relatively subjective evidence to support their claims. In the end, nothing is learned, because the likely truth is that no one really knows the full effects of school prestige.</p>
<p>Because of this, I personally believe that the best advice for most medical students (excluding the few with specific plans that clearly do benefit from prestige) should be to ignore prestige entirely and simply try to get into the school that best fits them. Factors such as the school’s location and cost are far more important and will have a far more salient effect on the student’s day to day life. Moreover, I am very insecure about the validity of the ranking system used to categorize schools (especially when given the methodology used to compile them and the fact that not all schools openly participate), I am a believer that the rankings can easily be manipulated by schools and other interested organizations, and feel that too many people place too much importance on rankings at times because it is not always very clear what a “higher” or “lower” ranking even means for one’s education and opportunties as a medical student. If anything, it is simply a system that we use to better organize all of the medical schools and inject additional value (whether or not it is even merited) into a decision-making process that can be both difficult and frustrating. The USN&WR has recognized this “human need” and responded accordingly in a way to satisfy said need and make themselves money.</p>
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<p>@Chillbro: Congratulations! Your Dimaggio-like streak for saying nothing even remotely interesting is still alive and well (and it’s only your seventh post)! :D</p>
<p>Xelb, I get that. Why do you think I turned down “prestigious” schools just to go to VCU GMED? I know the ranking system is stupid and manipulative, but we can’t deny that all of us (you included) went to US news to look up the rank of the medical school we’re going to. Yes, it doesn’t mean anything, but we still want to know.</p>