I have narrowed down my choices from the colleges I have been accepted by to the University of Rochester, the University of Pittsburgh, and SUNY University of Stony Brook and am in a pickle in making a final decision. I got excellent scholarships and financial aid from all of them, so cost is negligent.
I am majoring in biology and am hoping to go to a “top” medical school. Herein lies the problem. How much does the prestige of your undergrad school matter when getting into a top medical school?
Prestige won’t matter nearly as much as what you do with your time at any college you choose. It’ll be your grades, your MCAT score, your ECs, etc.
Since cost is negligent, pick whichever school is most appealing to you. That’s what my guy did. URoc was his top choice. Pitt was second. (Stony Brook was never a contender for us - we’re not NY residents.) He liked that URoc has more of a defined campus and their more open course choices, etc. He was not into sports. He spent the night and really clicked talking research and attending a music related club with his hosts.
You aren’t him though. You’re you. Pick a college that appeals to you. Then do well.
The name of your undergrad has much less influence on gaining an acceptance to a medical school than people want to believe.
Your grades, MCAT, ECs, LORs, personal statement & essays, and interviewing skills are all much more important than where you go to undergrad.
Choose the school that offers you the best combination of fit, opportunity and cost.
And consider that 75% of freshmen pre-meds never even get to the point of applying to medical school. Make sure that your college choice offers you plenty of Plan B opportunities.
BTW, what’s your issue with “top” medical school?
Medical education in the US is relatively flat and the medical curriculum is highly standardized. All US medical schools teach the same things and all US medical students take the same national standardized exams at the end of MS2 and MS3. Score well on these standardized exams and whether you graduate from Stanford SOM or Mississippi State SOM, you will have the same opportunity to match into competitive specialties or land prestigious residencies. And where you do residency is about 100x more important than where you go to med school.