<p>I love to be U Chicago but after series of discussion with my parent I am currently in anguish.
Since I want to go to medical school, there is a big risk not having great GPA at U Chicago because of very competitive classes among academically great students. (I'm pretty good at high school along with perfect SAT & SAT Subjects. But there will be many students like me. So, simple mistake may ruin my career plan, changing to other plan.)
The 2nd is the cost since Baylor's full ride truly includes everything even with summer tuition and room and board plus study abroad.
Is it better to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond in order to go to medical school ?
Thanks for your opinion and advice in advance.</p>
<p>Free ride? Take it! You will be facing crippling debts from medical school, and lessening the overall burden with a free ride from undergrad will give you more than a little flexibility later on… and if you got a free ride for undergrad, you should in no way be worried or intimidated by your abilities to go toe to toe with students from other colleges!</p>
<p>Assuming you’d have to pay full freight for Chicago and/or take out significant loans, I’d take the ~$200,000 and save it for medical school.</p>
<p>But there is big reputation gap between two schools although I’m not sure if the gap is $250K worth or not. </p>
<p>
I think that most smart students take the tried-and-true route of going to the best school they can and maximizing their GPA. The answer to the big fish in a small pond question might lie in a consideration of college admissions. Is it better to go to a top private high school, or is it better to go to a uncompetitive high school in hopes of gaining admission to a great university? Wealthy, experienced parents recognize that the former is more advantageous than the latter. Students from top schools are less risky. That might serve as a useful analogy for your decision.</p>
<p>In my experience, medical school admissions committees try to look at applicants as whole people (I knew a surgeon at Hopkins who was on the admissions committee for many years). Being at one school or another is only one piece of the puzzle. And getting a full scholarship at a school like Baylor is a recognition of how promising and good a student you are. If $250k is not a lot of money for you or your family (and there are people for whom it is small change), then don’t worry about the debt and make your choice accordingly. But if $250k is a lot of money, then go with Baylor. I say this as someone who faced a similar choice for law school. I was choosing between Yale (which offered me a normal financial aid package), and NYU which offered me a free ride for the tuition only. I chose Yale, because when I figured in the living costs in NYC as opposed to New Haven, I realized the difference between the two packages was about $45k over three years, or only about $15k a year – not enough to warrant attending NYU as opposed to Yale. I stand by that choice. But there is a world of difference between graduating from college debt free and graduating with $100k, $200k, or more in debt. Don’t misunderstand me: I loved going to the U of C as an undergraduate. But you will meet amazing people at Baylor and find incredible mentors there too. They are both excellent schools, and you are clearly a superb student if you got into the U of C and got a free ride at Baylor. </p>
<p>@DanielHendrycks, Although my high school is a public school, it is nationally high ranked school, giving tough challenge to students. Former students told me that college is much easier than my high school.
@2manyschools, I already met a couple of Baylor pre-med advisers who sent many students to top medical schools. As I mentioned early, I am 95% sure I will be an MD if I choose Baylor. And U Chicago doesn’t give me strong confidence going to medical school even at the cost of $250K. So, I understand many others’ advice to go to Baylor with full ride but it’s hard to eliminate a doubt.</p>
<p>If you go to Baylor, make sure you are in some sort of program (honors college, business fellows etc) that puts you in a group of high achieving students. Those students will have similar test scores, academic and extra-curricular achievements, etc as you seem to, while still offering diverse backgrounds and personalities. You will also be in challenging classes, should you choose to be. My daughter was surprised how many pre-med students, even NMF, chose the easy route. She was also surprised at how challenged she was her first semester. She managed to pull out straight A’s but she worked harder than she ever had to in high school, and even had a few moments of concern 
She loves the school and the honors college and the friends she has made. Try not to think only about “prestige” even though I know that is difficult to get over. Think about the money/debt, think about the overall experience and fit for you.</p>
<p>Yes, I am accepted into UScholar, one of the Baylor’s honors programs. Thanks for your kind advice. It’s now 3:1 in taking Baylor over U Chicago.</p>
<p>Chicago. It is one of the top schools in the world, and you will be with a fantastic cohort. It is a once in a lifetime experience. Yes, it will be tough but life is about meeting challenges. </p>
<p>Something like half of freshmen in college say they are premed. The other half are probably engineers! You may change your mind. And if you don’t, you will still have the U of C experience behind you. You will be read for whatever comes next.</p>
<p>3:2 in Baylor full ride over U Chicago prestige</p>
<p>UChicago and Baylor are in a different league. If there is no issue on financial, take the academic challenge and go to UChicago. </p>
<p>Although EFC is high as a middle class family, my parent will financially suffer if I decide to go to U Chicago. Furthermore, I’d like to go to medical school of which cost is extremely high. I know U Chicago will give me academic challenge because of competition, not because of $200K worth education quality. As I know, Baylor sent pre-med students to top medical schools although it’s total acceptance rate cannot match with U Chicago pre-med program.
With your input, it’s now 3:3 in Baylor full ride over U Chicago prestige. Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>Additionally, many, many students find out later on that they do not want to go to med school. It’s best to keep your career options open, and UChicago can do exactly that.</p>
<p>Furthermore, since I will make some of lifetime friends from college, U Chicago may be better since they have similar personal characteristics to me in study habit and social life, even in passion. We can grow together. Although I will be in highly selective honors program at Baylor, I have a doubt.
By the way, I’m 90% sure of my medical career aspiration. </p>
<p>Have you visited both campuses?
If you would have to take out a loan, have you done the calculations to see exactly how loan payment will work out (how much over how many years)?
Have you picked out a couple of medical schools and looked at their admissions statistics?</p>
<p>I just came across this thread you might find helpful:</p>
<p><a href=“Rankings and perception - Baylor University - College Confidential Forums”>Rankings and perception - Baylor University - College Confidential Forums;
<p>Yes, I visited Baylor, but not U Chicago yet.</p>
<p>Post your question in the Pre Med forum and you will get a very clear reply for sure!</p>
<p>Thanks, I will do it tonight.</p>