[wnewport]

I'll be a senior this year at my local public high school. I'm looking to attend medical school, but right now I want to concentrate on where to go for my undergrad. Everything and everyone has told me to go where I can get the best "deal" (Scholarship, credit, etc.) for my undergrad.

I have plenty of extra-curricular activities, a varsity sport, and I am enrolled in all honor (IB) classes, straight A's (Some A-'s), and a whopping 29

on my ACT which I will retake in a few months. I am not a bookworm by far, nor a jock. I am more laid back- listening to my music or drinking coffee and hanging out with friends is what I basically do all school year.

I really don't have specific questions, but here are some concerns...

Should I go to the best college I can get into (assuming that I like the school)? Or go to a good school that will cost a lot less?

Essay suggestions, warnings/cautions, ????

What sort of things should I make sure I bring to college, TV's, Laptop, Desktop, amount of clothing, fridge, money, bicycle, ????

Any tid-bit of information you have from your own experience would be useful. Personal experience would be the best.


Thanks,

Wyatt

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wnewport Should I go to the best college I can get into (assuming that I like the school)? Or go to a good school that will cost a lot less?

For medical school, do the latter: go to a good school that will cost a lot less. Pedigree isn't important for medical school admissions; go where you will be happy and save the most money.

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teerawit For medical school, do the latter: go to a good school that will cost a lot less. Pedigree isn't important for medical school admissions; go where you will be happy and save the most money.

Unfortunately, he's right. If you want rigorous academics or an academic adventure and growth, then go to a "name brand" school (not that you won't necessarily get this at so-called "lesser" schools). However, for med school, the rigor can hurt. Most of what the med schools will really care about are MCATS and GPA, the latter being easier to attain at a less rigorous institution.

 

[Jmmmmm]

The reputation of the college you go does affect your chances of getting into medical school, but it's much more important to make good grades and whatever school you're at. An A from a school with a strong science program will mean more than an A from an average state school, but a C at either one isn't going to get you anywhere.

You have to balance the program against the cost difference; my advice is to do your research, apply to a variety of schools, and see how it turns out. I ended up at a good-but-not-quite-ivy college because they offered me a good scholarship, and now I'm very glad because it got me where I wanted to go and I don't have much debt from undergrad.

 

[deadie]

Wyatt, here are a few things to consider....

1) Stay in state, go to a good state school on scholarship, and then expand nationwide for med school (assuming you want to get out of MO). Result: cheaper undergrad, but expensive med.

2) Attend a private or public school in another state, establish residency for the 4 years you're there, and attend med school at resident rates. Result: expensive undergrad, cheaper med.

3) Or just go anywhere for both undergrad and med, and be prepared to spend (or rather borrow) up the wazoo.

My wife and I attended a private liberal arts college in LA, and we moved down to San Diego after she got accepted to UCSD med. As I stated in example #2, since she lived and worked in CA for the 4 years of undergrad, she received in-state rates for med school. She stayed at UCSD for the 4 years of residency, and is now a pediatrician here in town.

It was a VERY long haul. The 8 years after we left college through med school and residency were interminable. We're finally doing well now, but it was a hard period of scraping and eating pasta and pork-n-beans for a long time.

That dirt poor lifestyle combined with the heinous hours and little sleep made for a tough life. I don't know how my wife did it.

It was also interesting and sober to witness many of her classmates dropping out during residency! You excel in high school to get into a good college, to kick ass to get into a good grad school, to do well again there to go into a good residency program, then to drop out? Being derailed after such a long period of intense, singular focus was devastating to some of them.

I don't say any of this lightly, nor to dissuade you from pursuing your goals to become a doc. Just from my own personal experience of watching what my wife went through, and what some of her friends went through, I can only say to be very very sure that this is your path. Is the end goal worth it? Of course. My wife can't imagine doing anything else but caring for children.

My recommendation is, while you are still at this period of relative calm in your life, deeply consider the ramifications of your decision as it will impact the next 12 years of your life from here on out. Make sure you're doing this for you, and not to live up to other's expectations, i.e. becoming a doc b/c your dad or your favorite uncle was one. So many of my wife's friends grew up in that parental environment that they didn't see any other choice, but when it came time for them to step up to the plate and face the occupation's staggering responsibility and culpability, they folded.

Do it b/c you truly care about the well being of people. Don't do it for the money, as managed care and out of control insurance policies in 12 years may very well negatively impact the profession. And do it only if you truly give a damn, b/c as a member of society, I sure as hell don't want a half-assed doc caring for me or any member of my family. Do it b/c it's your calling, because you want to help people, and if you can keep that spirit throughout all the hardship and hassle of the next 12 years, then the financial rewards will fall into place.

Good luck.

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmmmmm The reputation of the college you go does affect your chances of getting into medical school, but it's much more important to make good grades and whatever school you're at. An A from a school with a strong science program will mean more than an A from an average state school, but a C at either one isn't going to get you anywhere. You have to balance the program against the cost difference; my advice is to do your research, apply to a variety of schools, and see how it turns out. I ended up at a good-but-not-quite-ivy college because they offered me a good scholarship, and now I'm very glad because it got me where I wanted to go and I don't have much debt from undergrad.

Unfortunately medical school admissions is a very hazy area, so nothing is determinate. Sure, common sense says that all else being equal, the student from the more prestigious school will have a better chance. However, people from my state school (#58 on USNews) go into ivy league and top-tier medical schools every year. I think it's more to do with personal drive, ambition, and accomplishments -- prestigious schools will harbor more of such students, which is one reason why the top tier medical schools have more students from big name undergrads than lower-ranked schools.

As long as you excel, you'll be fine no matter which undergrad you choose.

 

[uzziah]

your first sentance made me laugh. "i'm in high school, want to go to MD school, but i think i should try an undergrad first"...... lol good idea

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadie Wyatt, here are a few things to consider.... 1) Stay in state, go to a good state school on scholarship, and then expand nationwide for med school (assuming you want to get out of MO). Result: cheaper undergrad, but expensive med. 2) Attend a private or public school in another state, establish residency for the 4 years you're there, and attend med school at resident rates. Result: expensive undergrad, cheaper med. 3) Or just go anywhere for both undergrad and med, and be prepared to spend (or rather borrow) up the wazoo. My wife and I attended a private liberal arts college in LA, and we moved down to San Diego after she got accepted to UCSD med. As I stated in example #2, since she lived and worked in CA for the 4 years of undergrad, she received in-state rates for med school. She stayed at UCSD for the 4 years of residency, and is now a pediatrician here in town. It was a VERY long haul. The 8 years after we left college through med school and residency were interminable. We're finally doing well now, but it was a hard period of scraping and eating pasta and pork-n-beans for a long time. That dirt poor lifestyle combined with the heinous hours and little sleep made for a tough life. I don't know how my wife did it. It was also interesting and sober to witness many of her classmates dropping out during residency! You excel in high school to get into a good college, to kick ass to get into a good grad school, to do well again there to go into a good residency program, then to drop out? Being derailed after such a long period of intense, singular focus was devastating to some of them. I don't say any of this lightly, nor to dissuade you from pursuing your goals to become a doc. Just from my own personal experience of watching what my wife went through, and what some of her friends went through, I can only say to be very very sure that this is your path. Is the end goal worth it? Of course. My wife can't imagine doing anything else but caring for children. My recommendation is, while you are still at this period of relative calm in your life, deeply consider the ramifications of your decision as it will impact the next 12 years of your life from here on out. Make sure you're doing this for you, and not to live up to other's expectations, i.e. becoming a doc b/c your dad or your favorite uncle was one. So many of my wife's friends grew up in that parental environment that they didn't see any other choice, but when it came time for them to step up to the plate and face the occupation's staggering responsibility and culpability, they folded. Do it b/c you truly care about the well being of people. Don't do it for the money, as managed care and out of control insurance policies in 12 years may very well negatively impact the profession. And do it only if you truly give a damn, b/c as a member of society, I sure as hell don't want a half-assed doc caring for me or any member of my family. Do it b/c it's your calling, because you want to help people, and if you can keep that spirit throughout all the hardship and hassle of the next 12 years, then the financial rewards will fall into place. Good luck.

that's really quite excellent advice.

btw: IMHO, you have no clue what you'll want to do. you'll probably change your mind a hundred times. i'd say just pursue what you want. but then i despise the grade system in this country

 

[viator122]

I think the others have given you good advice, but I do want to point out one caveat: the overwhelming majority of college freshman who start with the intention of becoming doctors drop out of premed programs within the first year. Biology and organic chemistry are tough classes that make people reconsider their choices, plus the university experience exposes people to many other disciplines you don't get in high school. So if you don't end up going to med school, your undergraduate school is going to mean a lot more.

For this reason, you might want to consider attending a "name brand" school. I understand and respect the other posters' points - they gave you good, practical advice. However, in my view it's best not to go shopping for the best "deal" in education. Your education is something that stays with your for you whole life and it can be quite determinative early in your post-college career.

Just something to mull over...

 

[viator122]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wnewport What sort of things should I make sure I bring to college, TV's, Laptop, Desktop, amount of clothing, fridge, money, bicycle, ????

Bring as little as possible. It's likely your dorm room will be very small. It's a lot easier to move in and out with less junk and it's easier to live in your room when it's not crowded.

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by viator122 I think the others have given you good advice, but I do want to point out one caveat: the overwhelming majority of college freshman who start with the intention of becoming doctors drop out of premed programs within the first year.

Ah yes, statistics

totally escaped my mind. Did I mention that for law, the undergrad doesn't matter as well?

Dunno about other disciplines though.

 

[vibin247]

It's good that you're focused on going to medical school. I once was focused on the same goal, but I changed my mind, and wanted to do other things (which is why I ended up with a Fine Art degree and looking for a solid opening to a career for over a year now). It's important to use those years as as an undergraduate to figure out if the medical field is where you want to go. I would go to a state university since the tuition is much farer, and you'd probably get the same kind of education as students who go to more expensive institutions. Take advantage of elective classes that aren't geared towards getting those credentials for medical school, like Archaeology, European History, and other subjects that can broaden your perspective as a candidate.

 

[marvin]

Some advice.

No matter how good of an idea it may seem at the time, any degree with Engineering in the title is not a good pre-med major.

Biology is also a poor pre-med major. It's fine if you get in, but crappy if you don't. Biology degreed ex-pre-meds are legion and their pay reflects that.

Your advisor isn't kidding when they say 21 hours/semester is a lot.

Cultivate more profs than strictly needed for rec letters. You never know when they'll keel over or disappear.

Show up to class.

You can know absolutely no organic chemistry and still do pretty decent on the MCATs.

Volunteering/Leadership looks good on applications, and beats the hell out of having blank spaces there.

Dentists get paid much more with better hours than docs.

 

[aroon]

heres my advice: dont plan too far ahead. going to med school is a great plan and you should definitely have goals but at the same time realize that things will change. you may not want to go to med school two years from now. lemme just tell you my story and you can decide for your self =]

sounds like i was a lot like you in high school except my grades werent as good, haha. i had a ton of extracurriculars though which is what got me accepted to some great schools. i finally chose Carnegie Mellon over gatech and ut austin for various reasons:

first, CMU was my reach school. statistically speaking id be the idiot at that school. my SAT score and GPA placed me at in the bottom 25% of my starting class at CMU. to me, that was great. if i was going to be shelling out a boat load of cash for school i wanted to make sure that every person i met was smarter than me so i could learn from them. i knew it would be hard but i knew i had more potential for growth if i surrounded myself with people that were (at least on paper) better than me.

second, CMU is really good at a lot of different things. our CS and Liberal Arts programs are very strong. Our business school is earning all kinds of recognition and our ece school was just ranked #1 a couple years ago. So i figured if i ended up not liking physics (which is what i entered CMU studying) I could always switch majors and not have to worry about suddenly not being at a good school. this was a good choice for me personally. i ran through a ton of majors in my first two years. i started in physics, went through mech e, ee, business, IS, history, spanish, and finally landed up in computer science. im kind of a wierdo though

lastly, and i hate to say it, but the name of your school _DOES_ count. im a firm believer that you can make it if you work for it but reality says having a good name to back you sure makes it a lot easier. if you get into and can afford to go to a really good university id say go for it. if you can't afford it, id say don't sweat it. just work hard and you can and will make it. but moral of the story, have goals but dont bank on them working out just as you hope they will. and embrace your whims and accept change! don't be afraid to investigate further on your love of xyz. it could make you a lot happier in life and thats whats important.

oh yeah, things to bring to campus! id say this really depends on how far you're going. if you're going to be close to home then id say bring very little. you can always bring more stuff as you feel you need it. if you're going far away...thats a tough one. i went far away but my situation was a bid...odd. i ended up just permantly moving to pittsburgh because my parents moved from texas to ny the same day i went to college. so i took everything...and i also never lived on campus. the only advice i have is talk to your roomate before you head to school so you don't end up with two microwaves in a room the size of...three microwaves. =]

 

[viator122]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teerawit Ah yes, statistics totally escaped my mind. Did I mention that for law, the undergrad doesn't matter as well? Dunno about other disciplines though.

Well I am a law student and I went to a very prestigious university for my undergraduate. It's true that we have students here from undergraduate schools ranging from the very top to the mediocre. However, from speaking with admissions staff at various law schools, I've learned that while your undergraduate isn't determinative, it is considered. Everything else being equal, a student who went to a top-tier undergrad will get in over the same student coming from XYZ State.