<p>Hi Guys,
I'm in a dilemma right now wheter I should go to USC Bacc MD or Duke. Any advice would be really appreciated! And, I'm wondering how USC Keck Med school's financial aid is. Thanks!</p>
<p>Stats:
GPA: 4.2 weighted, 3.86 unweighted
Sat: CR 800, Math 800, Writing 770
Sat 2: Math IIC 800, Chem 800, Japanese 790
APs: APUSH 5, chem 4, spanish 4, bio 5, stat 5</p>
<p>main extracurriculars/awards
-bio research (few hundred hrs), a student research scholarship award/grant
-badminton varsity soph and senior year, jv frosh year
-hospital volunteering (about 100 hrs since frosh year)
-Red cross club, and other volunteering clubs since frosh year
-Spanish Honor Society, Spanish Club Publicity officer junior year
-National Merit Finalist
-A Peace Center Essay Challenge 2nd Place winner
-A summer job at restaurant in soph year
-Art for 4 yrs at school</p>
<p>The problem is, I want to be a doctor but I'm very interested in exploring subjects in humanities. I'm interested in Psychology and Political Science as well as medicine, so I feel that bacc/md might give me a chance to explore that. but still, i'm finding Duke very hard to turn down b/c they have GREAT research opportunities and premed. </p>
<p>I'd appreciate any advice! Thank you very much!</p>
<p>A girl from my school had the same dilemma three years ago and she picked Duke. I got a message from her when I got into the Bacc/MD this year telling me that she made the biggest mistake of her life not picking USC because she was disappointed with how competitive and restrictive the opportunities at Duke were after thinking there were so many. She was also kind of sad she picked North Carolina over LA because she's much more of a city person and she's getting really sick of Duke's location.</p>
<p>As for Keck's medical school financial aid, I heard they're equally as generous as the undergrad when it comes to giving out cash. Not to mention that the Bacc/MD gives you the room to major in something totally different so you have the opportunity to become a USC Renaissance Scholar and get money for grad (or in this case, med) school.</p>
<p>You don't necessarily have to sacrifice your interest in the humanities because you can still major in something like psychology or political science while fulfilling the pre-med requirements, but it may be true that USC can provide more exploration into those subjects. I've heard USC's financial aid is very generous, but I don't know about Duke. PPenguin is a little biased towards USC, so don't assume Duke is as horrible as the post makes it sound.</p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/duke-university/147457-pre-med.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/duke-university/147457-pre-med.html</a></p>
<p>What this decision comes down to is, how much work you want to do in your undergrad years. At USC, you could work for the 3.3 and get into Keck. Or you could work really hard, and apply out. At Duke you could work really hard, and get into some of the top medical schools in the country.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, it's what you want to make of it. If you go to Duke and get crappy grades (less than a 3.4), your chances of getting into medical school aren't any higher just because you're at Duke. But, if you had a 3.6+ and 35+MCAT, Duke would get you to a better medical school.</p>
<p>Also to consider is that Duke enables 85% of its undergrads to get into med school. The advising system is amazing!</p>
<p>I'm not saying Duke is horrible, Duke is fantastic school. I'm just sharing something that my friend told me when I got an interview with the Bacc/MD because she was in the same situation. I would be having trouble making the decision, too, if I were in your shoes, curious. I'm trying to track her down so you guys can talk.</p>
<p>thanks guys! i just tallied the opinions i've gotten from MDs, med students, premeds, and other parties involved, and it's split exactly 7 for Bacc/MD and 7 for Duke. But from their argument, i have a much better sense of what i am getting into and i can make a more informed personal choice.
please give me any advice you guys still might have, i'm trying to get as much info as i humanly can.</p>
<p>Let me know what you decide.</p>