<p>I'm trying to decide between going to Vandy with full tuition or going to Northwestern with.. a little less than half tuition and admittance to HPME (Honors program in Medical Education)- basicallly I'm already admitted to medical school and I can graduate from there in 7 years (accelerated). on the other hand, I live in Houston, so compared to like.. Baylor Medical school... Feinburg is A LOT more expensive.. I'm thinking maybe I can do Vandy undergrad and go for Baylor Med.. but that would mean 8 years of under+ med school and not the 7 years at NW.. plus.. what if I don't get into Baylor.. which is always a possibility.. however.. if i go to vanderbilt I won't have to pay nearly as much.. ahhhhhh please submit your opinions! I'd realllllyyy appreciate it~</p>
<p>i don't really think that anyone can give you solid, well founded advice. However, neither path seems like it won't provide you with a very bright future. My advice: follow your desires - if you don't, you'll be kicking yourself in the head about it for the rest of your life...</p>
<p>accelerated med programs are the bane of the earth. college is too valuable of an experience to throw away a year of it.</p>
<p>Just a thought:
Both are great schools, but do you really want to commit seven years to a place you don't know for sure you will like? I realize this is just one factor of your decision, but I have heard tales about the cold weather and dismal social life at Northwestern. (I used to live in Illinois and now live in the Houston area so I know you'll find a big difference compared to what you're used to.) Personally, I would save the money on tuition (by going to Vanderbilt) and re-evaluate where you want to go for med school. If you are a strong enough student to merit full tuition at Vanderbilt, as long as you keep up the good work you should have some options when it comes time to apply to medical school. No guarantees of course, so it has to be a decision you are comfortable with.</p>
<p>Well, let's look at some stats first for med school applicants from Princeton:
<a href="http://web.princeton.edu/sites/hpa/data98-03.htm%5B/url%5D">http://web.princeton.edu/sites/hpa/data98-03.htm</a></p>
<p>% accepted to Baylor med school = 26.36%
Average GPA = 3.69
Avg MCAT = 35.23
Princeton med school placement rate is 92% (accepted into at least one school)
Vanderbilt med school placement rate is 70% <a href="http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Admissions/preprof.htm#premed%5B/url%5D">http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Admissions/preprof.htm#premed</a></p>
<p>Given the fact Princeton outperforms Vandy in placement rate, I am pretty certain % accepted to Baylor med school from Vandy would be lower than that from Princeton (26.36%). So don't count on getting into Baylor med school from Vandy. </p>
<p>Choosing HPME doesn't mean you would "commit seven years" like bandmom said. You can always apply to other med schools (including Baylor) but that would mean you no longer can spend only 3 years for NU undergrad; you'd spend 4 years instead. So in the nutshell, you are deciding whether you want to spend $70,000 (4yr x half-tuition/yr) for a guaranteed spot at NU med school (+NU undergrad which is a bit more prestigious).</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you don't apply out, the money spent on undergrad would be half-tuition x 3 since you'd be spending 3 years for NU undergrad. You'd have to pay for NU med school of course but you'd probably have to spend similar amount in any other school anyway.</p>