Big Decisions - Pre-Med - Baylor vs UTD (Austin, Sherman: schools, universities)

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by EDS_

You've misread the OP's financial thesis entirely.

This post was less about OP’s problem, more about choices faced by families with similar finances.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

This post was less about OP’s problem, more about choices faced by families with similar finances.

Ah.....I see your point and tend to agree. Thanks for the clarification.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by arkroyal2223

Congrats to your son.......

Just as perspective from an attending physician (MD). I went to UT Austin and graduated from the engineering college. Had to choose between UT vs UMich in Ann Arbor for college and ultimately cost was the deciding factor. I wanted the whole big time college campus experience i.e. college football games etc etc so only applied to 3 schools and never considered any other schools in Texas aside from Austin. UT is definitely not for everyone as you can get lost in the chaos and UT is notorious for squashing the dreams of many a pre-med at least while I was there. I have been practicing for quite a while now and still have colleagues who are still complaining of paying off college loans so I would definitely take that into consideration. And I may be in the minority in this opinion but kids should go away for college provided they have that option

Good post. Size of the school, right fit , size of the loan, value of non academic aspects of education, space to spread wings to lear flying independently, all are important points to consider. Picking a college is a complex decision.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Ah.....I see your point and tend to agree. Thanks for the clarification.

Annual admission cycle conundrum of not poor but not exactly rich, eligible for no financial aid-hoping for no loans, tier of parents trying to find the right answer. Hard working and intelligent students with big aspirations discovering sobering realities of this system. I’m questioning if a successful pair of hard working professionals has no real options but to send kids to public schools K-12 and then to free colleges then what’s the point of working hard? Do we need to switch to a free education for all set up? What if he didn’t have UTD and Baylor scholarships? He’ll still need an education. It seems community college is the only answer.

[iloveplano]

Originally Posted by EDS_

FWIIW our son is a PGY-2 medical resident whose progression was Baylor Waco, UTSW and now his residency.

If I were paying the bills I'd make a forceful case for UTD. It's pre-medish degrees are strong and it appears you could save a bundle.

So far as acceptance rates. All three produce a good number of docs to be. UT the most in gross terms by a lot. Both Baylor and UT have been supplying medical schools with doctors to be for about 100 years. That said there is virtually no downside risk to UTD.
A degree in say bio. @ 3.8+ GPA from any of the three and a 514 or better MCAT should get the job done.

EDS_ He has opted Neuroscience as major in all three colleges.

[platon20]

Originally Posted by EDS_

So far as acceptance rates. All three produce a good number of docs to be. UT the most in gross terms by a lot. Both Baylor and UT have been supplying medical schools with doctors to be for about 100 years. That said there is virtually no downside risk to UTD.

The prestige/quality of undergrad IMO has almost no bearing on what med schools you get accepted to.

I went to Johns Hopkins for med school. We had a lot of people from Harvard there, but we also had a lot of people from colleges I had never heard of before. It quickly became apparent to me that the undergrads at Harvard would have gotten accepted to Hopkins even if they went to a local state university; and it was also apparent to me that the folks at Hopkins from the "no-name" undergrad schools were superstars that could have gone to Harvard.

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by platon20

The prestige/quality of undergrad IMO has almost no bearing on what med schools you get accepted to.

I went to Johns Hopkins for med school. We had a lot of people from Harvard there, but we also had a lot of people from colleges I had never heard of before. It quickly became apparent to me that the undergrads at Harvard would have gotten accepted to Hopkins even if they went to a local state university; and it was also apparent to me that the folks at Hopkins from the "no-name" undergrad schools were superstars that could have gone to Harvard.

But as many are pointing out, this ONLY works for medical school, and OP's son is 4 years and lots of pre-med classes away from getting in to med school. It holds a little for law school, but corporate lawyers with a strong network from undergrad will have an advantage in business development once they get to partner level. There are not a ton of other high paying professional paths where it won't matter a bit where you went to undergrad, or I should say, where you can be assured that it won't matter.

[UnfairPark]

Even if it doesn’t matter to anyone else, it matters for a young person’s own growth that he is getting more from his education than basic 2+2=4 of some trade required to earn a living.

[calgirlinnc]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

Even if it doesn’t matter to anyone else, it matters for a young person’s own growth that he is getting more from his education than basic 2+2=4 of some trade required to earn a living.

You've completely lost me.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by calgirlinnc

You've completely lost me.

I’m sorry.