<p>I got accepted into all four of my schools (UM, FIU, UF, and UCF). I’m majoring in Biology with a pre-med track and mainly considering FIU and UM because they’re both close to home and have advantages. </p>
<p>FIU: full ride scholarship (with highest bright futures award), acceptance into Honors College and invitation to QBIC</p>
<p>UM: $8,000 Presidents Scholarship (don’t know my need-based aid yet, coming in April); prestigious but tuition alone is about $50,000</p>
<p>Now, people always give FIU a bad rep because it’s not everyone’s first choice. But what am I supposed to do when this kind of thing happens? </p>
<p>Where should I go? Will it hinder my chances of getting into JHU Med School or anything? Will going to FIU open as many doors as UM would if I put enough effort into it?</p>
<p>You can get into med school going to either school. If you go to FIU, you’ll need to take advantage of what’s offered (honors, research, etc) and not simply focus on grades. Be proactive and you can be successful.</p>
<p>But first, plan on how to pay for med school, it’s going to cost a bunch… You don’t want to be in huge debt, before your first day in med school. The less debt, the better.</p>
<p>Also, take into account that you may want to change out of pre-med; about 70% of freshman change majors at least once.</p>
<p>Good Luck!!</p>
<p>Definitely take the full scholarship at FIU.</p>
<p>My understand of medical school selectivity is that your GPA and test scores matter much more than the prestige of your undergraduate college. If you have plans for graduate school, you should be a cheap as possible during your undergraduate. </p>
<p>And don’t worry about getting into a super-prestigious medical school. All US medical schools are good. Having a “Doctor” in front of your name should be all of the “prestige” that you need.</p>
<p>The U is not worth $50K more than FIU…maybe $10K. </p>
<p>I went to Hopkins for grad school and know that your grades/MCAT/extracurrics/accomplishments matter way more than FIU vs UM. From the perspective of Hopkins, all the FL schools are unremarkable.</p>
<p>The reality is that the top-rated schools will generally take a few kids from the non-Top 20 schools to add to diversity. Is it still very hard to be one of those few kids? Sure, but that’s up to how you perform and build your story.</p>
<p>I think it’s great to aim high for a prestigious school. It doesn’t mean you should tie your self-esteem or value to it, though.
If there is a residency or job that pays very well…it is usually very desirable… going to a top-rated school can help. But focus on doing well in undergrad first, otherwise it’s all a moot point. Good luck at FIU.</p>
Im assuming you’re a great student i would pick FIU. If you study and work hard like you probably did to get all these scholarships you will go anywhere you want.