Based on the overall quality of the two universities, the more credible reputation of UMich, and the modest difference in cost, I’d pick UMich over CMU. There is, as well, a non-zero probability that the applicant will choose a different major or a different career after being exposed to the far-ranging curriculum opportunities in college. One of the reasons for attending college is to discover possible career interests and alternatives, as well as aptitudes that can hardly be known in high school.
@QuantMech I’m aware that MSU and CMU aren’t similarly ranked. However, I don’t put nearly as much stock in prestige as many on this forum do. I was told repeatedly when I was deciding between the two that I was an idiot for turning down U of M.
I think where you’re comfortable IS important to a college decision. If you feel more comfortable at CMU, you’re more likely to seek out opportunities, build networks, etc.
You’ll also notice that I DID recommend picking UMich.
The OP appears to have disappeared, but taking his/her word on being premed and wanting to become a doctor, he/she should pick the school where he/she can achieve the highest gpa and save money/have no debt because med school is very expensive. He/she has the best chance of a higher gpa at Central Michigan and it is a full ride/zero cost/no debt! Central Michigan has a med school so the OP can have a chance to shadow doctors perhaps engage in research there. And he/she can stand out from his/her peers academically. In contrast, if the OP went to Michigan, I think he/she would face an uneven playing field—he/she would be competing against one of the wealthiest student bodies (the 45% out-of-state students, most of whom are in the one percentile of family wealth, and who come into Michigan with some of the highest stats of any students in the country, and thus they have the resources to pay for private tutors for difficult premed classes, have family connections for medical internships and shadowing, & can afford the best test prep course for MCAT)—-this would be the OP’s competition— plus the competition against the highest achieving students from in-state Michigan high schools. So the OP faces an uphill battle right from the start against his/her premed classmates for earning top tier gpa and overall med school credentials which are needed to gain entrance to medical schools. Because medical schools will pick the best candidates from each school. The OP has a better chance of being the best med school candidate at Central Michigan. And if he/she changes his mind after freshman or sophomore year and decided against premed/med school, then he/she can likely be able to transfer to Michigan and earn that coveted University of Michigan degree.
romanigypsyeyes, I am not making a recommendation based on the prestige of the University of Michigan vs. Central Michigan. My recommendations are always based on the quality of the educational experience available at the two universities (well, practically always). There is essentially zero faculty movement between the University of Michigan and Central Michigan University. The only counter-example to this would be that perhaps sometimes the Central Michigan University faculty take a sabbatical at the University of Michigan. The courses delivered at the University of Michigan in my field are just substantially better than the courses at Central Michigan.
trackmbe3’s post #58 is an example of what is wrong with the current medical school admissions process: A student whose actual performance is at the same level is much more likely to have a high GPA at Central than at the University of Michigan (I think this is true). That yields a higher probability of admission to medical school, presumptively. But this is not necessarily so. I know of one student with a 3.95 from a less competitive college who did not get into any medical school that offers an MD.
A student does not need to have family connections to participate in medically related research at the University of Michigan. Family connections and wealth are being over-valued by trackmbe3. While tutors can no doubt help, it is actually possible to do very well in classes at the University of Michigan without a tutor, by being reasonably intelligent and working hard. A student would need to be able to purchase the course books on time, and I know that can be a challenge for some students.
If you go to
https://medicine.umich.edu/medschool/education/md-program/our-community/students-faculty/admitted-class-profile
you can see the undergraduate colleges of the medical students at the University of Michigan in each year.
Clicking on the earlier year’s data, you can see for example for the entering class in 2018, 47 were undergraduates at the University of Michigan, and two or fewer came from Central Michigan.
I am a professor and pre-med advisor at CMU. I disagree that the basic premed courses are defacto better at U-M. We teach many intro bio and chem courses in active learning classrooms with fewer than 100 students, using innovative and engaging pedagogy. When I toured Mich. with my son, the tour guide had never heard of active learning classrooms. It will really depend on the student as to which environment will work best for them to learn the material. We have many students who turn down Mich because of the full ride at CMU, and most do very well, going on to med and grad school. It is true, of course, that CMU doesn’t have the cache of Mich, and if your aspirations include very selective med schools, then Mich. May be worth the cost. If you hope for an in- state med school, other than Mich., schools like CMU will prepare you very well for the MCAT and success.
Nice post above. The truth is that the vast majority of premed students do not want the top few medical schools. Remember- even the lowest standing graduate of the last ranked medical school will have earned the MD degree and qualify for licensure after meeting a state’s requirements. They all can be competent physicians. This is unlike law schools and some other post grad programs.
Both my (retired) in-laws were faculty at CMU. FIL chaired a department for many years. CMU has made vast improvements in its programs in the decades since I first became related to this family and now has a very solid reputation. My SIL pursued an MBA at Central and is now CIO for one of the largest counties in the country. Many here post similar anecdotes from other non-U-M universities. I believe engaged students can get where they want to go from just about any school. CMU will do the job just fine for the OP if s/he stays on the pre-med course. If money were no issue, I would say that U-M is the better choice for breadth of programs if the OP changes course, but money is an issue, so CMU seems a no-brainer to me.
Full ride all the way
I think that you have to look at the full picture of what both schools offer. You are looking at premed, but do you have other interests that one campus can fulfill better than the other? I imagine Michigan offers more programs overall, whether academic or extra curricular. There is so much to do there, it really is an amazing school. But of course that has to be worth it to you.
I’m extremely fortunate to have to choose between a full ride to Central Michigan (tuition+housing+$500 for books every year) or a regular admission to University of Michigan with in state tuition (right around 30,000 with tuition and housing). I have no idea what to weigh in this situation.
I am not entirely clear on what career path I’d like to go on. I’m currently debating between medicine or law as my top two choices. (they’re so different so I know this doesn’t help much) My current mindset is that UofM gives me more room to explore academically and more wiggle room, but the financial burden is still a lot to consider. Central Michigan has a medical school so that would be the only path I would seriously consider at central.
My parents are helping out with what they can, but will most likely leave me to pay for the last two years of my undergraduate degree if I choose UofM. Chances are I will go on to either law school or (hopefully) medical school.
Any idea on what I should do? I would appreciate any insight!
Why do you keep asking the same question? What feedback aren’t you getting that you need?