I’m wondering which one would be better for pre-med because I really want to go to medical school. I’m in-state for UTKnox but COA isn’t a factor anyway. I like Yale a lot more so it seems like a no-brainer. However, I’m concerned that if I go to Yale I won’t have a med school worthy GPA due to being in pre reqs with world class students who went to prep schools like Stuyvesant. I went to a tiny local religious private with a average ACT 26 and I’m worried that I will not be prepared for the rigor, let alone doing pre med there. What should I do?
If Yale accepted you then they feel you can handle it. They turn away a lot of qualified candidates. That being said a 26 ACT is well below the bottom 25% (32-35 is the 25-75% range). A lot of students arrive at Yale to find they are not the top student anymore.
For med school you are correct that GPA is very important.
@MA2012 , I read that op’s HS avg act was 26, not op’s. Is that right?
OP, you will need to work hard, but I agree, Yale would not have admitted you if they didn’t believe you could do the work. And you will likely have more opportunities even if your GPA is not amazing. And there are no guarantees it’ll be amazing at UT KNOX either…
@gardenstategal - thanks for the correction. That makes more sense.
At Yale there will be a mix of students. Yes there will be prep school students and kids from high achieving public schools, but there will be others from various backgrounds.
Make a pro/con list for each school and highlight important factors for you.
Thanks for the input. I’m almost certain about Yale but this has been the main thing keeping me back.
Yale students are more likely to get A’s than utk students (look at grade distribution if you can find it.)
Plus, if you don’t make it into med school, graduating from Yale will mean many more opportunities.
True @MYOS1634 but what about the overall caliber of students at Yale? I’m OK with not being the/a top student in the class anymore but GPA is critical for med school admissions. Idk I just feel that I will have to punch above my weight to contend for B+'s to A’s in the pre reqs against students from elite prep schools. It’s the only thing holding me back.
Well, more than half the students get B+ to A and they offer A LOT of support. They wouldn’t have admitted you if they thought you couldn’t make it. Basically, being about average at Yale means you have a pretty good shot at med school. Do you feel you can be average? 
Also, 60% Yale students come from public schools (and many from elite prep schools may be more interested in being bankers or tech millionaires than being doctors, not to mention of course that for the truly wealthy pursuits like “starting an organic farm” or “backpacking around the world” are considered worthy post-graduation goals - both real examples BTW.)
Go to Yale.
But…do not believe the hype that Yale gives nearly everyone A’s. Why that may be the case in many classes, it’s not true for premed prereqs. Those are still weeder classes.
When my son was a freshman in college, I was chatting with an old friend whose son was a frosh at Yale. Both kids premed. My friend was very concerned because her son believed the grade-inflation hype that everyone gets A’s at Yale. Her son was partying a lot. Rarely studying. When she voiced her concern, he’s spout off some stat that XX% get A’s. That percent misleads because it’s not true for the premed prereqs. Sure it may be true for the many english, history, psych, socio, whatever else classes that are offere, but the bio, chem, physics, etc, classes will still weed. Anyway, her son ended up with a GPA that wasn’t med school worthy and had to pursue another career path.
So, go to Yale, but do your very best. Take advantage of the research opps that you find. Be proactive!
That is reassuring.
One does not turn down Yale in favor of Tennessee except for financial reasons.
@Alexandre I know I really like the school it’s a great fit and everything I just was wary due to having to compete with such a strong student body for a good GPA to get into med school.
Go to Yale and work hard like you did in HS to get there and you’ll do great. Also never think that you don’t belong there because you do. Even if it looks like to you that you are the only one working hard and stressing about grades and every one else is coasting on their massive intellects and getting A’s - that’s not the case. People are just good at hiding that.
They could have admitted many, many students. They chose you. So, clearly, you can handle the work.
Don’t expect to go and coast for an A. No one gets into Yale without powerful brains and time management skills.
Neither university will offer a “coasting to an A” option ;D
In addition it should go without saying that if you party all the time and don’t study, you’re not going to get med school worthy grades. (That’s not what people call “weedout”, ie., the deliberate culling of students through curves and exam questions whereby only 20% may get an A. To compare, the strictest Ivy was Princeton with 35% A’s and they had to stop that “grade deflation” practice to go back to Ivy level grading;, ie., more A’s than that).
Premed courses are tough everywhere. How did you get into Yale if you did not embrace challenging yourself?
The challenge level of the classes at Yale is likely to be higher, but the quality of academic help and of the premed advising is likely to be better as well. Take advantage of every single thing.
I wouldn’t call stuyvesant a prep school… more like a magnet school… but in any event.
despite your reservations, you may have an easier time getting a higher GPA at Yale than at UTknox.
If premed UTknox grades on a straight bell curve than it can be difficult to get good grades (where only top 10% get As)
if Yale doesn’t grade on a straight bell it may actually be easier to score a better GPA there.
premed classes at many schools are weed out classes… ie org chem and they grade on a straight bell so it’s difficult to score well. (there are ton of smart kids that go to UTknox too and competition will be fierce in these classes)
A lot of folks decide medicine is not for them and go into something else. Yale would be the better option in that case too. good luck!