University of Miami vs Penn State University for pre-med?

<p>Hi guys,</p>

<p>I was put on the wait list for University of Miami, and I was accepted into Penn State. I am planning to major in biology in both schools (on the pre-med track). The only problem is that I am SO torn between these schools. Miami is my #1 choice and I really love it because its by an urban city and its a smaller school compared to Penn State (plus the weather beats NY weather any day!). But, Penn State is appealing to me too because of its high reputation and I loved the campus vibe when I visited there. I can honestly see myself at both schools because I love them equally, but I need to know which one would be a better option in regards to my pre-med studies, such as the percentage of people who continue on to medical school and so on. What I plan to do is to put my deposit down Penn State as a safety barrier and if I get into Miami I'll just go there instead.</p>

<p>Assume financial aid is not a deciding factor because Miami will not give me money since I am on the waitlist and Penn State gave me no financial aid whatsoever. </p>

<p>What are your scores and GPA. I’m looking at both schools and I’d like to compare. I don’t know much about their pre-med studies but I’m eager to see the responses just like you.</p>

<p>Crappy ACT (26)
GPA is 3.6 both weighted and unweighted</p>

<p>Probably the reason why I was wait listed was my scores :(</p>

<p>My son was in the same position last year, pre med too. He fell in love with UM and got wait listed there, (with higher stats than yours). He did not get in later either. So be happy that you like Penn State! Stick to your plan and see what happens. Best of luck!</p>

<p>Are you in State for PA? Those are my top schools too and I now have changed my major but I was pre med also last year and did a lot of research. Miami is a private schools so there is no “in state” according to them so you have as much chance of getting accepted into their medical school as anyone who goes to the school … Flordia resident or not. Penn State like any other State school will give their “in state” students a certain amount of spots and then out of state. Your best chance of medical school they say is your state med school or a private school that you attended. Miami also according to the people I spoke to in the bio dept prefers their own students who did undergrad at Miami as opposed to students applying from other schools to their Medical School. I also loved the location of Miami Medical School (close to main campus) and didn’t like having to go Harrisburg for Penn State. </p>

<p>nickhart, sorry for such a late response, wanted to give an update that I got into Miami for the spring semester (woohoo!) which means ill have to attend Penn State in the fall and transfer to Miami in the Spring. </p>