<p>DS is deciding between the UCB, UCLA, and Duke University for a pre-med major. We would like him to join UCB as we are in bay area but he is insisting on going to Duke.
He is not getting any FA, so there will be a difference of ~28K every year. He can stay at home and commute to UCB.
How should we convince him to stay?</p>
<p>$112k can pay for two years of medical school!</p>
<p>Certainly and it might be more if he stays at home. But someone told him that the matriculation from Duke to Med school is in 70% while UC B is 40%. Is there any truth to that statement?</p>
<p>I have heard that it is much closer to 85% for Duke, keep in mind that a huge portion of the incoming class to duke wants to be pre-med, and very few actually end up applying. </p>
<p>That said though, the pre-med advising at Duke is supposed to be top-notch.</p>
<p>UCB and UCLA are the obvious choices since both are excellent, top-ranked schools and will provide an excellent education. I can’t see passing up UCB/UCLA in-state for Duke unless cost is no issue (and even then it’s questionable). If your S actually ends up going to med school, there’s an awful lot of education expense ahead so saving some money now would be prudent - especially when he’d still be going to an outstanding college.</p>
<p>You indicate staying at home and commuting. This is, of course, an option if money is very tight but if possible, I think it’s good for the student to experience living away from their parents when they go to college. Your S can still do this if he goes to UCB even if you live a short distance away. Of course, it costs more.</p>
<p>Why is your S insisting on Duke? Do you think it might be to move away and ensure he doesn’t have to commute from home or be too close to home? How can you convince him to stay? - Figure out why he really wants Duke. Maybe if he’s permitted to go to UCB but live on-campus and have some assurance the parents won’t be stopping by unless invited he’d find them more appealing. Also, no one is entitled to attend any particular college at someone else’s expense. He needs to understand that.</p>
<p>85% is big, what do you mean by
Does that means there is some sort of filtering mechanism?</p>
<p>I think it his illusion regarding the matriculation rate to Med school.</p>
<p>its not filtering, its attrition i believe. They don’t filter students, Duke’s stats are ridiculously high. 85% is what Duke publishes to incoming students, so I assume that it would be accurate. What I meant by attrition, is that curves and classes according to numerous sources are very difficult at Duke. Therefore often the average is a B- and that means a huge percentage of all hopeful premeds would end up with a C+ or lower, thus dashing or atleast significantly hindering the possibility of getting into medical school. They simply might not even apply, which exaggerates Duke’s acceptance rate due to the level of difficulty. This is what I have heard from current Duke students so some of it might be slightly biased.</p>
<p>All of those statistics are illusory. It doesn’t tell you anything about the pre-med weedout (the decline from entrance to application), nor does it tell you whether the percentage is only for those who received the college’s recommendation, or for all students. </p>
<p>If he can’t make it as a pre-med at Berkeley, he won’t at Duke either. If he does, he could have two or more years of med school paid. </p>
<p>Heck, for $112k, you could put a down payment on a condo in Berkeley! (which you could sell when he graduates, likely at a very tidy profit!)</p>
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<p>That is what I was trying to say with the my comment on the drop from those who want to go into medicine and those who actually apply. Personally I would choose UCB over Duke if it meant saving 100,000. I chose Duke due to the fact my state schools suck (not horribly, but they are simply not that great-they aren’t even in the top-100 schools in the nation) UCB is a very prestigious and great institution. Also my parents had saved up the money to attend a name-brand private since I was little, so there really wasn’t a concern money wise, but that is not the case for everyone. Under the circumstances you described a UC school seems appropriate. I mean I know lots of people that are willing to pay $50,000 to come to UCB or UCLA from Oregon.</p>
<p><a href=“http://premed.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2007-annual-report.pdf[/url]”>http://premed.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2007-annual-report.pdf</a></p>
<p>beware</p>
<p>Post this on the Pre med forum you may get some more informed responses.</p>
<p>Bluedevilmike who frequents the pre-med forum can fill you in on this. I believe that it is accurate that pre-med students at Duke are “weeded out” between matriculation and application time, which is a big factor in their admissions “success.” For what it’s worth Duke sends fewer total students on to medical school than Berkeley or UCLA.</p>
<p>So the truth is probably something like Duke’s class of 2007 had 400 prospective premeds upon school entry, and 109 acceptances to medical school, for a rate of somewhat over 25%, give or take.</p>
<p>I remember my days at #1 LAC. In those days, biology (rather than organic chemistry) was the weed out. It was only offered at 8 a.m., including required Saturday classes. There were 110-115 future premeds, and maybe 5 of us who just wanted to take biology. The class was graded on a strict curve (I got a “C” and felt lucky.) </p>
<p>By the time of graduation, 33 applied to med school, and 30 got in. Better than 90% acceptance rate.</p>
<p>And, yes, some of those premeds “maybe” shouldn’t have been doctors (though they were smart enough to get into #1 LAC). The truth is 80 or 90 of them would have been very, very fine doctors, and likely would be today had they gone to second-tier state universities, where rather than being weeded out, they would have been thought of as stars, pampered with mentors, internship opportunities, and pre-med career counseling from day one.</p>
<p>Perhaps you could present your son with two options:</p>
<p>1) Go to Duke, but pay for it himself.
2) Go to UCB/LA, with mom and dad picking up the tab.</p>
<p>Children do not have the “right” to attend a very expensive university, or any university, for that matter. You and your spouse are extremely generous in presumably offering to pay for his education at UCB/LA.</p>
<p>Beware-There may be another criteria you/your son may wish to consider. The undergraduate population between Duke and the 2 UC’s is considerably different. It may be that your child will actually thrive in Duke’s setting because the undergraduate student body is smaller.
My understanding is that both Cal and UCLA use certain pre-med classes as weed out courses, too.
Finances are an important criteria, and maybe the only one that counts at the end of the day. Or, it may not be for you and your family. There may be other variables.</p>
<p>Of course Duke sends fewer to med schools, it’s class is a fraction of the size of either UC. </p>
<p>How about a compromise, he goes to a UC and gets to live in the dorms. Perhaps DS wants Duke so he has the opportunity to live away from home and enjoy the full college experience.</p>