I am OOS and was admitted to UNC Chapel Hill this past month under early action. I know Carolina is well known for biological sciences and I am planning to major in one of them next year (biology or chemistry), alongside a minor in business related field. UNC’s medical school is excellent and surrounding hospitals have lots of opportunities for shadowing, research, etc. Since I’m on the pre-med track, I was wondering what other students and parents know or have personally heard about UNC, in terms of the sciences. Are there a high number of graduates who matriculate to medical school? Is UNC OOS worth selecting over a cheaper in-state school (Ohio State)?
Ohio State is an excellent school. If you are serious about medical school… you might want to think about the cost differences between OS and UNC. Can you speak with somebody at OS who can answer your questions regarding premed? Please be aware that many premeds change their mind.
The sciences at UNC are outstanding and research is available for those who are interested. There are premed advisors on campus who guide students on how to get shadowing hours, etc.
Whether UNC is worth it or not will depend on a variety of different factors… cost, fit, etc.
Were you admitted to the Honors college? Are you among the very top students (above the top 25%) at UNC?
Getting into med school means being in the top 10% of students taking science classes.
Another aspect is cost. If you can afford UNC, ie., no parental loans and preferably no loans for you, then you’re free to choose UNC. However if you need your parents to take on loans for UNC, it’s not worth it.
Btw:
Avoid majoring in biology, as there’s an oversupply of such majors currently and not enough jobs - biology has the lowest ROI of all majors (stricto sensu, you’d be better off with English).
@twogirls Thank you for your response. Yes, I agree. The fit is not a problem…have family in right by Chapel Hill…visit often. Cost is not a problem; I am just factoring it into the equation
@MYOS1634 I was not admitted to the honors college, but I have heard that only 10% of admitted students are accepted into honors college, with a majority being in-state. Correct me if I’m wrong. There will most likely have to be loans involved, since UNC is 50K OOS. I just primarily chose biology, but what other majors do you recommend in the sciences that have a higher ROI? Should I pair another business major alongside the science degree? I know it will be difficult, but paired with AP Credit + Smart scheduling it can be done. What are your thoughts? Thank you for your response
The honors program is hard to get into as an OOS student. Graduating #1 in HS along with very high scores etc… does not mean you are accepted. I think most spots go to NC students… fewer to OOS.
My D is in the sciences and is very happy. She has a double major ( foreign language). She is taking all of the med school prerequisites but is not quite sure yet if she will go the med school route… or something else. She has met with an advisor just to make sure she is on the right track with everything…
How much in loans… that’s important to consider.
If you need loans* for UNC, it’s not worth it.
A pre-med should choose the best value option and avoid loans (since me school will be all loans).
Can you consider doing something other than medicine?
Other fields: bioinformatics or biostatistics, applied data science have good ROI.
- Beside the federal loans that must be in your financial aid package. What's your parents budget, out of pocket (from income and savings)? What's the net cost (without any loan) for UNC?
Oh my gosh!! I am having the same dilemma with UNC vs. Ohio State!! Ohio has given me enough money to match my in-state flagship so I know I will definitely be traveling out of state, but as of right now I am deciding between UNC and OSU because my other acceptances are too expensive for the education (UMich costing 62k for a public education is outrageous)
Pick the school where you can obtain the most rigorous undergrad education that you can also be successful at GPA wise, and which provides the foundation needed to score high on the MCAT. GPA and test scores are going to weigh heavily in the admittance to Med. school. Designation in the Honors program is not. Many students choose to avoid the HC designation to focus on GPA. If you want the rigor of the Honors class, UNC lets you register for those courses without being in the designated program so that should not be a concern. Think about where you might end up for med school too. Besides saving every penny (including loans you need to take) for post grad work, some states have med school programs that choose first from in-state residents.
I would contact the Pre-professional advising office at UNC and Ohio State and ask a bunch of questions about the programs and services they offer. Good luck!
When you’re comparing OSU vs UNC, there really isn’t that much difference. What’s really going to matter are your grades and MCAT scores. There’s no need to take out that much debt for an out of state school when you have Ohio State right in front of you. Also, most state medical schools give preference to residents. Also, if you’re looking for something employable to major in, in the event that you don’t get accepted into med school right away…major in nursing. You might need to take an extra semester or two to make sure you have all the prerequesites for medical school, but it’s a very strong major.
While med schools don’t care about the honors designation, the perks of honors help because both offer a form of priority registration (better at tOSU though) and because the weeding took place prior to admission to the honors college, honors classes aren’t weedout. In addition, the more in depth and often interdisciplinary classes that focus more on critical thinking are useful for the MCAT and the special advising office (for health, fellowships, other opportunities such as internships at a hospital) is an essential resource for premeds.
Check out the tumbler by AFrenchie36 who is a very successful pre-med in an honors college for an example of what to do or not to do and how to utilize the resources of an honors college.
Do you have other affordable choices?