UPenn vs. WashU vs. UT Austin CNS Dean's Scholars Honors Program

[laurrrrr]

So I was recently admitted to the University of Pennsylvania, Washington University in St. Louis and the College of Natural Sciences Dean’s Scholars Honors program at University of Texas at Austin.

I haven’t received all of my financial aid packets due to some complications and other things, but disregarding financial aid, I need some opinions on each school’s programs and ability for me to fit in and have a successful future.

I’m majoring in biochemistry, I’m interested in doing research as well as taking classes in Spanish and gender studies, and I hope to attend a top medical school after I graduate.

Prior to being awarded a spot in the UT honors program, UT wasn’t a front runner. However, the program has a 100% acceptance rate to med school (meaning 100% of the students that applied to med school got into med school). The program would also reduce a lot of my classes to small numbers of solely honors students instead of having to attend impersonal huge lectures and the scholars are connected directly with professors and guest speakers for dinners and lunches. I’m torn because it seems like schools like WashU and UPenn already have these characteristics (not specific to honors students but throughout the entire campus) so I’m not sure if, in comparison, the UT program is superior or equal in quality and advantage. I’m also worried about not having as many networking options and not being pushed as hard, academically, at UT, as I would be at Penn or WashU.

Moreover, I’m trying to figure out where I’d fit in the most socially. I like to go out and have fun, party every once in a while, but not all of the time. I come from a low-middle class family so I won’t have a bunch of money to just go spend which makes me hesitant about going to an ivy/more prestigious school where a lot of the students are more well off. I like nature in addition to the city which is something that draws me to UT, but I’ve always pictured myself up North with gorgeous Autumn seasons and long trench coats haha and I think UT’s campus is ugly. This section isn’t as important as the academic comparison, but it is something to take into consideration.

So, opinions? Which school do you think will be the best for my degree and future plans? Which school do you think I’d fit in the best at? I HAVE THREE WEEKS TO DECIDE.

[hebegebe]

You have only good choices here, as your chance of entering medical school from any of the three is quite high.

I suspect it will come down to finances. Note that WashU is traditionally stingy in terms of financial aid because their endowment was simply smaller than Penn’s, even though both have significantly grown the last several years. So even if WashU meets full need as they define it, some of the financial aid might be loans that you have to repay. In contrast, Penn has no loans.

On the positive side, WashU has the midwest-friendly vibe going for it, and the cafeteria food is very good. Safety can be an issue off-campus though, so that’s something to think about, but that’s true of the UPenn area as well.

The students that are in honors programs at places like UT-Austin are every bit as smart as the kids at WashU and UPenn. So you will have plenty of peers at your level, and because the honors program is a small community, these will likely be your really good friends.

Penn can provide a different set of opportunities if you decided that medical school is not for you. The worlds of consulting and finance are much more easily accessible from Penn than from WashU and UT-Austin.

[ucbalumnus]

Medical school is expensive, so cost should be a factor to save money for medical school.

If you are a Texas resident, Texas public medical schools are relatively less expensive than other medical schools; being in Texas undergraduate can make getting to those medical school interviews less difficult if you do apply to medical school.