So I need to choose a college soon and I need help. I have 3.96 weighted GPA (3.73 unweighted) and 1410 SAT in high school and plan to go to medical school after my undergrad. My two undergraduate choices are the University of Michigan or Michigan State University. On one hand at MSU I got into Lyman Briggs (the science residential college) as well as the honors college. Likewise, UMich is a very highly regarded university and I did get in immediately without being deferred. At MSU I’d definitely stand out and be able to maintain a much higher GPA while UMich I’d just be average, however UMich does has a higher rate of applicants getting into medical school. So any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated.
I am assuming that you are an in-state student with my response:
So I am currently in a similar boat to you, with the University of Michigan and Michigan State University Honors College as options. That being said, I am an out-of-state student, so I’ll try to word my response considering this.
If you are an in-state student, the costs will likely be around the same for both schools. In that predicament, here’s the argument I would present for both schools:
-I would choose Michigan if you are willing to take advantage of all the resources available to you and stand out from the crowd. Given the higher prestige of the university compared to MSU (especially with recent scandals), the school will have a greater outreach of connections and opportunities at your disposal if you seek them out. Outside of academics, I personally found my impressions of campus life at UMich to be superior when I visited and love Ann Arbor.
-I would choose Michigan State because the honors college and Lyman Briggs provides a tight-knit community and preferential treatment compared to Michigan (as you said you’d be average at UMich). With smaller class sizes and a greater variety of classes, you’ll have richer interactions with your classmates and professors, and also get more out of the experience. Especially in the case of professors, having great relationships with them could prove advantageous for co-op/internship opportunities and stellar recommendations if proceeding to graduate school.
Now in terms of what I would choose, I’d likely go to MSU simply based on the notion that you’re in the honors college and I feel that the experience you have there would put you in a better position for attending a top graduate school for medicine. But I also don’t think that you would go wrong at Michigan if you choose that pathway.
The honors college will not make the difference in med school admissions. Research opportunities, internships, GPA, taking the requirements, and MCAT matter. A top med school will not care if you have honors next to your diploma. Go to whichever school will allow you to make the most of your undergraduate experience. You don’t need to stand out in your school, you need to stand out to a medical school adcom when you’re competing with EVERY school.
Honors college will not make you a better candidate for med school unless you feel you will thrive in that environment and thus do better academically /grade wise when in a more rigorous academic environment and when you are a big fish in a small pond. See Malcolm Gladwell research on this. Some honors colleges grade easier, others are more grade deflating, while others it makes no difference. You should ask, and you should pick whichever school you think you will perform best at. If you have a higher gpa at MSU and do well on the MCAT and do internship/shadowing, research and community services, you will have a better chance at Med School than if you have a mediocre gpa at Michigan. As a premed the competition for top grades will be a lot tougher at Michigan in my opinion.
Lyman Briggs is very competitive even without the Honors College. With it? … even more so.
I agree with Quincy. In highly competitive honors programs, even the best students will be “average”, and this will be reflected in the curve and in your grades. I would not choose MSU because it will be easier to get a high GPA. That may be the case if you were taking regular classes with regular students, but not as an Lyman Briggs Honors scholar.
If you are 100% certain that you are going to go to medical school, it does not matter which university you go to, as long as it is well regarded, and both Michigan and MSU are well regarded. You are talking two of the best universities in the country. I would just go with your gut.
However, if you are not certain about medical school, I would recommend Michigan as it probably has more to offer beyond Lyman Briggs.
Thanks for everyone’s input… a lot to consider XD