<p>I am currently in a dilemma of trying to figure out which of the two listed colleges I should attend. I know they're not fancy ivy leagues that many other people post but please bear with me. </p>
<p>Here's the current situation... I've been admitted to both of the colleges, and Truman State is offering full ride while Reed has not yet given me a determined amount of financial aid. It would cost 50k to attend Reed a year and I should be getting an estimated financial aid package soon but I'm not expecting much. There's a very good chance that I won't be able to afford the tuition.</p>
<p>I would like to go into pre-med and eventually into med school. Neither of the colleges actually have a pre-med major but there is a track. Unfortunately I'll be going into a biology major (not the biggest fan of biology but Im thinking it would help with med school application... I'd rather do sociology/psychology/anthropology). I'm guessing classes at Reed at much tougher and it'll be near impossible to get a high GPA. Also I believe Reed doesn't give as much credits for AP classes, if I attended Truman I should have about 44 college credits from the start (from my AP classes if everything goes well). </p>
<p>However, I think I would enjoy Reed's social atmosphere a lot more. I'm a fairly liberal and eccentric person, and after reading about Reed I think the environment is a perfect fit for me. Plus the town of Portland seems much more appealing than Kirksville (no offence if anyone lives at the latter). I think I would have a much better time socially, although I can get along with mostly anyone in any social situation. Still, I would prefer a more counterculture, intellectual environment over a more conservative, mainstream one. But, what I'm concerned with is that Reed's freshman class is only about 350 people a year, while Truman has ~1500. One of the high schools in our city has more people than Reed. </p>
<p>Also, my parents are leaning towards Truman, so if you are recommending Reed please also post a few points that would help me convince them as well.</p>
<p>Although I think both are good colleges, I'm afraid that I'll mess up and make the wrong decision. There's always this little irrational voice in the back of my head that says if I pick the wrong one then I might end up miserable for four years and/or turn out to be a failure. O_o</p>
<p>If you are sure you are premed, save every dollar you can. You are going to need it. It's hard to make an evaluation without knowing what Reed is offering.</p>
<p>There is no reason why a premed has to be a biology major. (At my alma mater, premeds who are music majors are fairly common.)</p>
<p>First off, I am NOT going to tell you and your parents to shell out roughly $200,000.00 for four years at Reed. Especially when you have a full-ride on the table from another school. That is a very large amount of money which your parents may not have. And, if you are set on medical school, you can count on having a huge tuition bill for all of those four years, so I say save your money now.</p>
<p>As to the "what can my major be if I want to go to med school?" question, the answer is: Anything, anything at all. I know music majors who went to med school and a classical archaeology major who went to med school, and a math/statistics major who went back to college to do a post-bac pre-med program for two years and is currently awaiting admissions decisions to med school. What counts for med school admissions includes (not necessarily in this order) scores on the MCAT exam, college GPA, GPA in the pre-med sequence (bio, chem, organic chem, etc.), letters of recommendation. If you really like anthropology, go ahead and major in that. Just keep your grades up, and do well in the pre-med sequence, and things should be OK.</p>
<p>Truman State has a great reputation. It isn't Reed, but then Reed isn't Truman State, either. At just about any university on the planet, once you get through the introductory level classes (which you may be able to skip anyway depending on your credit and placement from AP coursework), you will be pretty much out of the huge lecture situations.</p>
<p>It sounds to me like Reed is your "dream" school. Ask yourself which dream is more important: Reed or med school. Your financial situation may answer that question for you.</p>
<p>I wish you and your family all the best as you make this difficult decision, and I wish you much success wherever life leads you.</p>
<p>I'd to ask a further question... which of the two is more accepted by graduate schools? For example, if I want to go into psychology and eventually apply to Stanford grad school for psych as an alternative to pre-med.</p>
<p>Reed is among the top colleges in the country for graduate school acceptances. BUT, some of that is because they self-select for, pardon me for this but I think Reedies would agree, geeks. If you are, however, top of your class at Truman State, and middle of the class at Reed (remember, no matter how you slice, 50% of students are in the bottom half of the class), you will get better recommendations at Truman State, so it may turn out to be a wash. </p>
<p>Assuming no financial aid: Truman State PLUS $200k is better - educationally - than Reed, if you spend some of that $200k on education. 3 years of med school; years in grad school; 5 years working for free in public health in Africa; 5 trips around the world. No matter how you slice it, $200k can buy a lot of education outside of four years of undergraduate college. It can jumpstart your life. Alternatively, major debt can shackle you.</p>
<p>And, yes, Reed has quite a counterculture, intellectual environment.</p>
<p>I must admit from the start here that I know about Reed only from second and third hand stories, and not too many of those. I am not extremely familiar with Truman State either, but I do know a number of students who currently attend or have graduated in recent years. The former include a lot of students who will be applying to medical school, and the latter include people who went on to become lawyers, graduate students and various types of professionals. </p>
<p>The town of Kirksville does not get rave reviews from anyone, but the university does. Students think the professors are generally great and accessible, the classes rigorous and the feel of the campus cozy and friendly. The town is not near any city, however, and it is not a cultural hot-spot--or even close to one. The Amtrak comes daily to a station about 10 minutes from campus and will get you to Chicago in a pleasant four hours.</p>
<p>I noticed on the Truman web site (I have a 10th grader who is looking over our in-state options) that they claim to have a very extensive study abroad program. In fact, I think they claim to have one of the largest ones around for mid-size schools. If you are interested, it would be a lot easier to afford something like this at a school that has offered you a scholarship.</p>
<p>Just one more note. Recently the Goldwater Scholarship winners were announced (this is a national competition for science, math and engineering majors doing research at their universities, and is considered quite prestigious.) One of the six winners from MO schools attends Truman State.</p>
<p>I think there probably are significant differences in the feel of the two campuses, and in the type of students who choose to attend them. However, the cost difference is substantial, and you can't really just ignore it if you are looking at medical school, I think. You will find many other good students at Truman, a lot of other students who have been enticed to save their money for medical and law school.</p>
<p>A fellow potential Truman State student has a thread titled "Truman State vs. Randolph-Macon vs. Wittenberg" in the College Search & Selection forum. C12112 seems to be facing concerns that are similar to yours. Perhaps you could PM each other. It might be nice to share your thoughts with someone who is in your same situation.</p>
<p>That said, graduate school admissions are based in large part on (and not necessarily in this order): undergraduate GPA, GPA in coursework related to the projected field of graduate study, letters of recommendation from your undergraduate professors, GRE exam scores, undergraduate research experience. Every year exemplary students from "no-name" colleges and universities get into graduate programs at "famous-name" universities. What you make of your undergraduate experience is mostly up to you.</p>
<p>One reason some colleges have such excellent placement rates into graduate programs is because the students who enroll in those undergraduate colleges are already heavily "pre-grad school". Let's say College A is 90% "pre-grad school" and in the end all 85% of the students go directly to grad school - the placement looks really good doesn't it! But how about we look at College B where 30% of the students are "pre-grad school", and in the end 30% do go directly to grad school. College B has actually gotten all of the "pre-grad school" kids into grad school, so while their over all placement is a measly 30%, their actual placement is 100%.</p>
<p>I think it was your fellow Missourian Mark Twain who coined the comparison between Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics.</p>
<p>Yeah, I guess the biggest factor that draws me to Reed is the student body. I think I would definitely be very motivated and happy to work amongst a talented, intelligent and unique group of people.</p>
<p>I called their financial aid office again today and they said a large majority of people who were offered aid have accepted the offers... meaning that it would be closer to May 1st before those on the waitlist (me) will find out if any financial aid is given. I guess I'll be planning for Truman unless otherwise.</p>
<p>I've also got another problem. For several reasons my parents are quite opposed to me going to Reed, their reasoning is that; </p>
<p>Oregon is too far away from my home state of Missouri.
There's not enough people or classes there.
They've never heard of Reed.
They think I'll at best make average grades and end up not getting into med school and I'm being unrealistic about life (well, that one's mainly directed against me more than the school). Are there any bits of statistics that would help me convince them to at least consider the school? For example, how many students from Reed get into which medical schools each year, etc. I've seen the list of med schools that Reedies end up going to but never specific numbers. Does anyone know where I could find that?</p>
<p>And words cannot describe my gratitude for all the help. :)</p>
<p>Hi, piezor!
It is really a very tough decision...People in our country know little (almost nothing) about Truman State University, but some of them heard of Reed College. Reed seems to have a better reputation......I think Reed could be better......but financial aids really counts for you (and me)>''<
I hope you could make a decision as soon as possible :)...May 1st is coming...</p>
<p>I think these are two TOTALLY different kinds of schools - very hard to compare. Reed is unique and seems to attract a very intelligent, quirky type of student from all over the world. I am not sure Truman State has a student body on the same intellectual or international level.</p>
<p>My sister and her family are from Missouri. My brother-in-law calls Kirksville "the armpit of Missouri" - his words, not mine. I do not know your stats, etc., but my nephew's high achieving friends from high school tell him, "Truman State is just not hard" - meaning, they are not challenged. Most of the kids he knows who go there, go for the money, pure and simple.</p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with going some place for the money - especially if you plan to go to graduate/professional school afterwards. You have to look at your family's financial situation first and foremost.</p>
<p>You only do undergrad once. Go to Reed and expand intellectually and culturely like you never would in Kirksville. You can save that for a DO degree at KCOM later. There are so many ways to pay for med school, HPSP, going to a rural area after graduation and having the town picking up the tab for you after paracticing there for X # of years, etc. Reed will take you where you'd never go at TSU, and you'll be a more complete person b/c of it. The students are quirky and often act hyper-intellectualized, but overall if you can handle the rigor of one of the last spots of a true academic institution you should not pass it up.</p>
<p>You can get a bit of a feel for the make-up of the student body at the two schools by looking at their Institutional Research sites. Just to get you started, the last data reported for entering Reed students (class of 2011, I think) shows an average ACT score of 30; average gpa of 3.9; 8% of students are international. The latest data I came up with for Truman (2005), shows average ACT of 27.5 (it is higher now), and average gpa of 3.76; 4% of students are international. There is definitely more geographic diversity at Reed. </p>
<p>As expected, the statistical profile for Reed students is a bit stronger, but not shockingly so. Reed's reputation is a school that requires a lot of work from everyone. I have heard from strong students at Truman that their courses are rigorous, but it is probably quite variable depending on major and course choices.</p>
<p>One issue that doesn't seem to have been addressed: </p>
<p>"Also I believe Reed doesn't give as much credits for AP classes, if I attended Truman I should have about 44 college credits from the start (from my AP classes if everything goes well)"</p>
<p>Reed does not give credit for APs the way many schools do - they count as a credit each - depending on the score (classes are 1 credit generally - sometimes 1.5 credits). I think you need a total of 30 to graduate. They can't be used to fufill distribution requirements, or division or major requirements, but can be used to fufill prerequisites. They do count in your total also - but the above requirements pretty much take four years to meet.
(in other words - you can count on four years at least to get through)</p>
<p>From what I understand - many students at Reed end up with an average GPA (They talk about this on their website - I remeber it being just over a B average). However, from what I've heard, most Grad schools understand that Reed has a different attitude toward grading and that that has resulted in a lower average than might be expected at other schools. You can ask to see your grades and track them - if that would motivate you.</p>
<p>My reedie has found a lack of grades has motivated him to work harder than he ever has - there is no longer the option of doing just enough to slide by with a decent but not stellar grade - and loves it there.</p>
<p>The money is a tough downside though - Good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>Well, it's final. After calling their Financial Aid for several weeks, unfortunately they told me that there's no Reed grant left over for those on the financial aid waiting list. =</p>