Would like to check better choice between UIC vs Depaul vs Augustana, my D got accepted in these colleges for Pre-Med (Biology Major) in Honors. Would like to check better option which boosts her MCAT preparation as well.
What would the finances look like for each of them? Would you be able to afford any one of them without taking on any debt at all for a bachelor’s degree?
Got Scholorships for both Depaul and Augustana, so cost for these colleges are same and I can afford.
No school will prepare your D for the MCAT. MCAT prep is entirely on the student. Classes will provide the knowledge base, but what the MCAT tests is far beyond the knowledge base. MCAT prep requires 4-8 weeks of full time review & practice of things that won’t be covered in her classes.
I recommend she choose the school that offers the best combination of fit, affordability and opportunity.
Fit because happier students do better academically
Affordability because med school is breathtakingly expensive and pre med should minimize any undergrad debt because they’ll be borrowing $250K to $500K to pay for med school.
Opportunity that includes the chance to form close connections with faculty (who will be needed to write strong LORs for med school), the chance to get involved in campus activities (because adcomms want well rounded students with interests outside of science & medicine; med schools also expect an applicant to have demonstrate leadership skills), the opportunity to explore other areas of interest and potential careers (because 2/3rd to 3/4th of freshmen pre meds never actually apply to med school because they find more more interesting careers along the way)
If all 3 school fulfill these criteria, then consider which school is closer to clinical volunteering sites, has better pre-med advising and more lab or clinical research opportunities.
Also find out whether any of these schools use a heath committee letter of recommendation for professional school. Committee letters are used by colleges/universities to artificially limit which students are permitted to apply to med school.
1 Like