<p>Hi!! I am currently a freshman at the University of Illinois. I am currently undecided but am on the pre-med route. The school is veryyyy big and veryyyy Greek (I didn't join a sorority). I wasn't very happy here during my first semester, but I did manage to do well in my classes. I find it is very hard to meet people here and there is really no sense of "community" (besides Greek Life). I am considering transferring to Marquette University as a Biomedical Sciences major. I am wondering if I should transfer to Marquette University. It is much smaller and more of a community??? But I don't know how good their pre-med program is??? If any one could offer any advice!!! Please!!! I am torn and don't know what to dooo!!! thanks</p>
<p>Or should I suck it up and stay here??? help!!!</p>
<p>Any advice will be useful!!! Please!!!</p>
<p>You got some answers on your thread on Pre-Med Topics. I’m a Marquette alumnus (Eng. '83), as on the other thread you must make sure you can afford going to Marquette. Do your parents know? Have you visited Marquette? aside from those issues Marquette Bio programas are very good and you will be well prepared for pre-med. I have a S who is a sophomore in engineering and really loves the school, has made a lot of friends, and even has friends from the fraternities (only 5% of the students). Make sure you visit at least overnight and talk to your parents about the situation. Hope this helps if you have any questions about Marquette lmk.</p>
<p>oh great i will check there too! But thank you!! Yes I have talked to my parents and visited overnight!! I guess it is just up for me to decide now…If i have any other questions i will let you know! thank you again!</p>
<p>Eeyore11,
Sorry for your pain in college. The Big U can be a big, lonely place. I graduated in the 1970s, went to Med School and now am an Associate Professor in a private Med School. I am also on the Admissions committee of the med school. </p>
<p>No one can really answer the question that you posed, but you. However, I will give you a few perspectives. First, if you are going to get into med school, ultimately, you will have to find some joy in your undergraduate years or you won’t be able to keep a good GPA. It gets harder to study if you remain unhappy. That might mean a transfer. You received some good advice from newsdrms. Transferring is a big step and you need to be sure that it will be a good move. Additionally, the transfer can put you in a little hole regarding your classes/major since not all credits may transfer. On the whole, it MIGHT be better to stay where you are for that reason alone. </p>
<p>Getting along at the U of Ill, or any big university, usually means making a small u out of the BIG U. Extracurricular activities can help. I joined one and it made a big difference in how I viewed my time there. The group became my social outlet in addition to the time I spent doing things in the activity. So, if you have not tried some activity, that is a MUST before you give up on the U of ILL. Second, I also was admitted to the Honors Biology Program. There were 14 students in my semester and we took three semesters of very rigorous but very rewarding biology classes together. By the middle of the first semester, we had gotten to know each other so well that any ‘cut throat’ competition disappeared and a real sense of collaboration took its place. If you did well in your first semester classes, and are interested in biology, I am pretty certain that such a program still exists and it would be worth your consideration. Even if it is not to your liking, programs where students are selected to be in them will enhance your U of I experience. You have to stick it out for several more months. So, if you can’t get out of it, GET INTO IT. Try. Good Luck.</p>
<p>Thank you rpg1 !! Your advice was great/very helpful…!!! I will look into the biology honors program…just another quick question, on the admission committee at a private med school, do you think receiving an undergrad degree from U of I will “look better” or increase my chances of acceptance as opposed to receiving a degree from Marquette? Or does it not really matter where you receive your undergrad???</p>
<p>Your question, (reframed) “Is a degree from a public university vs. a prestigious private university looked at differently?” is a good one. This depends, of course, on the university. Ivy league-type schools are viewed slightly better but our view is NEVER undersell the quality of public university students since the economics play a role in college selection, especially when it comes to those considering med school. Superior students may have chosen a public university simply because of cost. Some years the largest number of students from one college is our states university, even though we are private and take a number of our own students. </p>
<p>The best way to answer the question has more to do with the GPA. A mediocre GPA at a prestigious university will generally NOT be better than an excellent GPA at a public university. There are exceptions but overall, it is the GPA that matters most. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>Marquette isn’t really even on par with the University of Illinois to begin with. It’s not exactly a “prestigious” private school. It’s just a private school that also happens to cost a lot of money, like most private schools.</p>
<p>When I think of “prestige”, I’m thinking Harvard, Princeton, UChi, Northwestern (to an extent), Notre Dame (to an extent), etc. Not Marquette.</p>
<p>Money paid =/= quality of education received. You’d be hard pressed to find a better public school in the Midwest than the University of Illinois barring UMich.</p>
<p>Immy991 You are entitled to your own opinion, but I think you are not very well informed. People place too much importance on overall rankings. Marquette along with UMich. was one the first institutions in the late 70’s to have Biomedical as a major and this program has always been very highly regarded.</p>