USC pre-med w/ Trustee vs. Case Western med program?

<p>Hi! I'm struggling to decide between going to USC, who offered me the Trustee scholarship, and Case Western's Pre-Professional Scholars Program, with a half-tuition scholarship.</p>

<p>If I choose USC, it is only for undergrad, not their 8 year med program. However, Case's PPSP is their 8 year med program, which basically guarantees me admission to their medical school after undergrad.</p>

<p>So money-wise, the difference is not as big as it could be, which makes my decision lean more on what my undergrad experience will be like and the oppportunities these schools will open up for me after graduation.</p>

<p>I'm from SoCal, and though I would like to go somewhere different, I'm not sure that Cleveland really fits that.</p>

<p>Any thoughts and ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!</p>

<p>Case Western will guarantee you into Med School? As in, you don’t have to take the MCAT and it doesn’t matter what your GPA is? If that’s true, go to Case Western, duh.</p>

<p>I have to maintain a 3.6, but the MCAT isn’t required. It seems an obvious choice, but the thing that’s stopping me is how different the student populations seem to be. At USC, there’s the Trojan family. People are really close-knit, and there’s so much pride and love for USC there. It seems to be the opposite at Case… when I visited, people were always walking by themselves, not talking to other students, and they looked really stressed out.</p>

<p>Oh goodness. Well, on the outlooks I would say go with Case simply just because the MCAT isn’t required and all you need is a 3.6 GPA and you are GUARANTEED into Medical School.</p>

<p>I think you should talk to students/alums of each school and their experiences. It’s important to know that your school will your home for the next 4 years. I can’t speak for Case, but I know USC is a very large school, in spite of it being a private school. Just like any large university, you’ll have to find your own group of friends. The good thing about USC is that it’s very diverse and you’re almost guaranteed to find at least a couple of people who are like you and share your interests. You are also right about USC being very spirited. It’s famous for its football team and other athletics. Having one of the top college football teams in the country, it’s no wonder there’s so much pride and “rah rah” at USC. If you’re not into football or sports, you may want to take that into consideration when deciding because USC football plays an influential role in the lives of students and the university. I’ll be honest though, most of my friends at USC, in general, really love their school and are the most boastful Trojans I’ve ever met (it’s a good thing). Again, that’s attributed to the athletics, the prestige, the rivalries, etc.</p>

<p>As for the networking, quite honestly, if you’re going to Medical School, it shouldn’t be too much of a factor. While the Trojan Network could be especially helpful for Business majors and whatnot, chances are you’d have little to no trouble finding a job with a M.D.</p>

<p>Lastly, aside from the community and social factors, consider this:</p>

<p>1) If you go to USC, you are not guaranteed to Medical School and will have to fight with everyone else. This means you will have to maintain a high GPA, take the MCAT and get a high score (mid 30s), and get a lot of hands on experience via shadowing and volunteering. At the same time, if you find out that Medicine/Biology/Chemistry isn’t for you, you can always change majors, something that USC is very flexible with.</p>

<p>2) At Case, I think many students in the country would literally KILL to have the opportunity to simply maintain a GPA and avoid the MCAT and essentially be guaranteed admission to Med School. At the same time, you have to consider: how difficult is it really to maintain a 3.6 GPA at Case? Also, what happens if you don’t want to become a Doctor anymore - does this mean you wasted 4 years of my life going to Case and having to live in Ohio when you never want to practice Medicine?</p>

<p>So think about those things. IMO, if you are absolutely sure you want to be a doctor and think a 3.6 is manageable at Case, I’d say go to Case.</p>

<p>If you are unsure about Medicine and would like to have more options available, though at the risk of having a smaller chance of getting into Medical School, I’d say go to USC.</p>

<p>In perspective, you can’t really go wrong with either school, but USC is hands down the better school overall in general.</p>

<p>Lastly, I just want to say, the most important thing to consider, and I am emphasize this because many high school students overlook it, is where you think you will be happy. You can go to USC or Case and be a doctor or whatnot, but if you are not happy and hate college to the point where you just can’t bear to even go to class anymore, what’s the point? Go where you think you will do well, where you feel you will be given better opportunities to pursue your dream, and most importantly, where you will be the happiest.</p>

<p>P.S. I apologize for the grammar and spelling errors. I’m writing this at 2 AM and am too lazy to proofread lol</p>

<p>We have near the same problem: USC Trustee (not combined), Case PPSP with 10K/yr, but also BU 7-yr and Stanford (no money). The others are Rice and Penn.
USC really wowed us at the time of the visit. A USC education is superb, if only Keck came with it!
Let us know what you decide. Will have to visit the schools and follow the threads!</p>

<p>i love USC but guaranteed med school admittance is absolutely amazing.</p>

<p>go to case.</p>

<p>I go to Case, and I know several people who were freshmen this year, and are having trouble maintaining the 3.6. Classes at Case are HARD. But if you are willing to put the time and effort in, it’s definitely a good choice.</p>

<p>Also, people at Case don’t have a lot of school spirit but we do have very close knit groups of friends. I’m a Bio major, but I have friends who are Engineers, English majors, and Psychology majors. That means that we don’t have many classes together, and therefore don’t walk to class together. That’s probably why you saw people walking by themselves. And people at every good school are stressed…no matter where you go.</p>