Help! I don’t know how to make the right college decision!
I got accepted to VCU honors and UVA, but I’m not sure which one to choose that would give me the best pre-med and college experience.
UVA is a well-known school in Virginia, with a great sense of community as a whole. Plus, their reputation could help (however, idk if prestige matters when applying to medical schools). However, I’ve heard that the rigor and competition is extremely intense, and their pre-med track isn’t the best (according to friends’ older siblings and upper classmen).
VCU is not as well-known, and seems to have a more disconnected vibe (but again, I’m not sure, I’ll have to visit campus again to see). However, people have said their pre-med track is better, and it is cheaper than UVA. Also, since its the VCU honors program, I think it means I can connect more with staff and faculty, maybe?
Any thoughts/feedback would be great! Especially if you have any better knowledge/info about UVA or VCU, I would be extremely grateful to help me make my college decision!
Both schools are good. Being in an honors program at VCU would give you priority registration for classes. Lots of opportunities for shadowing and clinical experiences at VCU. The campus of each school is very different. (Charlottesville vs Richmond) What are you planning to major in while in college? If there is a chance you may decide to not be premed in the future UVA has some nice depts. that you could switch into. (engineering/business) It is really a matter of personal preference. Did you visit both college campuses? Which one did you like better? Is the cost of attendance much higher at one school vs the other for you?
Thank you for your response and advice! I think I’m going to be majoring in biology or chemistry, because I do feel more inclined to one of those two sciences over physics. I am worried that I might consider the premed route not to be for me, however I can’t think of another route that I would want to take either.
I did visit both college campuses, but I didn’t really get a “special” feeling when I visited either of them. I think I could see myself at both, but both still feel a lil scary. I think I could be happy at either college, but I’m afraid of making the wrong choice and somehow hating my choice in the future (I don’t think I even understand what I said). The cost of attendance at VCU is cheaper, since they gave me a small scholarship to help me pay my tuition.
Either school will prepare you for premed well and most premeds do not finish their curriculum and apply for med school for one reason or another.
You should make your college decision without premed in consideration. It will be easier that way.
The locations each have a different feel. VCU being in the city and UVA being in Charlottesville. VCU is good about giving scholarships to high stats students. One thing I remember about VCU was that students in the honors college had their own single room living arrangements which was nice. I found VCU to consist of a very diverse community. I think it’s a matter of deciding where you can see yourself being happy the next four years.
On my freshman hall, it seemed every other guy was premed at the start. Although 5 or so did end up graduating from medical school, a fair number changed their minds pretty quickly. I think that is pretty standard. For that reason, I would recommend not basing your choice on premed.
The only other advice I can give you is once you decide, don’t look back. Much is made of college admissions, but the school itself doesn’t determine your future. You’ll need to make your own way.
Honors will give you an edge - better recommendations w more opportunities, and priority registration is worth it’s weigh in gold.
But if you don’t end up in pre-med then UVA may help in some fields.
Do visit, spend some time there, attend a class or two.
Btw, avoid biology - there’s an oversupply of them right now.
Thank you all so much for the advice! Ahh, so I visited UVA today, and I really loved it. We’re visiting VCU again this weekend, but I really loved the people, the environment, and the campus at UVA. However, I know that being in the VCU honors college would give major perks (like the priority registration). I know that in the end I’ll just have to choose which one works best for me, but how do you choose which one is better when they both have major benefits that pull at you?
That’s true, I feel like the school that has a lower cost would be my choice. But what if I feel strongly about wanting to go to UVA, but I know practically VCU has more value?