Weill Cornell Med School v.s Undergrad at UPenn

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Ok, so I'm a high school senior and I recently got accepted undergrad at UPenn with the intention of doing premed. However, at the same time I also applied to the Weill Cornell Medical College at Qatar. I'd already made my deposit at UPenn by the time Cornell got back to me, but I got accepted there too. My problem is right now that I don't know where to go. </p>

<p>At Cornell, I'll be doing a two year premed program and then reapplying again for med school. I know it's weird, but they created the program here to encourage the Qatari citizens to pursue medicine with an incentive of 6 years over 8.</p>

<p>I know that if I go to Cornell, getting into med school is a shoe-in, at least unless I get a good MCAT score and high GPA. I even looked up the curriculum for the actual campus in New York, and the classes are exactly the same here as there for each year.</p>

<p>On the other hand, if I go to UPenn, I'm not sure that I can get that kind of guarantee to get into a top notch med school like Cornell. I mean comparatively, the chances are really low, even with a good GPA and MCAT score (I know UPenn is supposed to be great for premed). But at the same time it's a really awesome school, it's in america for god's sakes, and i'll get a bachelor's degree.</p>

<p>But then again there is the whole 6 year v.s 8 year thing. Plus apparently, some graduates from the Cornell Qatar branch have been matched at the NY Presbyterian hospital -which is ranked #7 in the world. So I guess it can't be that bad.</p>

<p>My main concern is to become a doctor. So with that in mind, what do you guys think I should do?</p>

2

<p>It really depends on where you live, and where you want to practice. If you’re from a Western country, I wouldn’t recommend Weill Cornell in Qatar. It will be very different from what you’re used to, and not necessarily in a good way. If that’s not a concern for you, then you should think about where you want to practice. If your ultimate goal is to be a doc in the US, then I would personally choose Penn. Cornell in Qatar, though the classes are the same, probably doesn’t hold the same weight as Cornell in NYC. Sure, some people get matched to NY-Presbyterian, but that’s because it’s affiliated with Cornell. Do they get matched at other top US hospitals? Probably not so much (although to be honest I haven’t looked). Plus, there’s always a chance you’ll change your mind about medicine. If you go to Cornell, you won’t really have any fallback plans. At Penn, you’ll be in good shape since you’ll get a bachelor’s degree.</p>

3

<p>Hey congratulation in your acceptance to WCMC-Q, Can you please tell about your SAT scores or what you wrote in your essay?</p>

4

<p>I’m taking Middle Eastern Politics right now. I don’t think you’d enjoy Qatar very much… It’s a non-free country sustained by ridiculous oil profits. Think of Las Vegas, except not full of sin.</p>