My S has two tuition-free options in Florida (UM, UF) and two very expensive options (Cal, UCSD). He ‘may’ want to pursue medical school someday, but doesn’t want to decide now. We do not mind paying his way for whatever he wants (not rich, just single-child guilt syndrome), but his concern is that the competitive Cal might make his grades go down and he won’t get into a medical school or a good grad program after that. I would love for him to go to Cal since I think a Berkeley degree will open more doors even if he decides to not pursue grad school.
We are going nuts! Please help us decide!
Full pay for OOS at Berkeley in order to get into Haas or CS might be worth it, but either full pay California school for pre-med makes no sense. I am sure others will chime in, but California is the most competitive state in the country for pre-meds, and the California public schools are stocked with highly qualified students. Take a look at the UCB and UCLA acceptance threads, and see the high-stat kids that are denied admission to the top UC’s. Many of these denied kids would get massive merit aid at a school like Miami.
Either UF or UM would be fine for pre-med, and save the money for med school or another graduate school.
The cost difference would go a long way to paying for medical school. Also, being in FL will make it easier to go to medical school interviews in FL public medical schools.