Easy School or Hard School

[mpgrizz33]

I have a choice of either going to University of Mississippi or Rhodes since they are both close to home and i want to stay close to home. I want to do pre med and major in biology. I am pretty sure that the University of Mississippi is much easier then Rhodes. Could anyone tell me which college to go to? I am sure I could get a better GPA at University of Mississippi then I could at Rhodes. But would Medical School Admission people know that and would I be more prepared at Rhodes for the MCAT then I would be at the University of Mississippi.

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[LossForWords]

I have a choice of either going to University of Mississippi or Rhodes since they are both close to home and i want to stay close to home. I want to do pre med and major in biology. I am pretty sure that the University of Mississippi is much easier then Rhodes. Could anyone tell me which college to go to? I am sure I could get a better GPA at University of Mississippi then I could at Rhodes. But would Medical School Admission people know that and would I be more prepared at Rhodes for the MCAT then I would be at the University of Mississippi.

Wasn't there a forum created for this kind of question?

GPA is important. You can study for the MCAT on your own and score well on it regardless of your undergrad institution.

First, go where you'll be happy. Second, go where you will do well.

 

[silverlining1]

First, go where you'll be happy. Second, go where you will do well.

Agreed. It's hard to do well and get active in extracurriculars if you hate the location, weather, class sizes, professors, student life, etc.

 

[UTnut]

While there may be some correlation between your undergrad institution and MCAT score, I don't think this has much to do with the classes or level of education. Most of the students who do extremely well have studied long hours independently.

I know from my personal experience, the preparation I gained from my coursework was limited at best.

Make your decision based on other factors like cost, location, curriculum, and most importantly whether or not you feel like you could be happy there.

 

[student1799]

Go with the GPA. Med schools don't really give you much credit for the difficulty of your institution, so you're generally better off with a higher GPA from an easier school.

I'm learning this the hard way. I did postbacc at a really tough school, and now I feel like I'm at a disadvantage next to students who got 4.0's from easier places.

 

[wolvbb]

while ole miss is very easy to get into.... it's far from a cake walk once your in. In the pre-med arena your going to learn the same stuff for physics, gen chem, orgo (to a degree) and gen bio as the guy going to LSU or Auburn or Bama etc.

just because its easy to get into, does not mean its an easy college

 

[ylrebmik]

I have a choice of either going to University of Mississippi or Rhodes since they are both close to home and i want to stay close to home. I want to do pre med and major in biology. I am pretty sure that the University of Mississippi is much easier then Rhodes. Could anyone tell me which college to go to? I am sure I could get a better GPA at University of Mississippi then I could at Rhodes. But would Medical School Admission people know that and would I be more prepared at Rhodes for the MCAT then I would be at the University of Mississippi.

hmmm well there is a lot more that goes into choosing a school than that. Do you like the campuses? How are the academics different? Small school vs. large school? Rural vs. Urban? Clubs and activities? There are so many more things to consider when looking at a school. However, if you like Rhodes for everything except it being harder... I would say go there because that would suck to go to a school that you didn't like as much but it was just easier.

 

[bcat85]

Easy vs. Hard is ultra-ambiguous. Both school's pre-med programs are going to be difficult, as the material is difficult in and of itself. Pick you school based on other criteria (where you actually WANT to be).

 

[gasdf1234567]

The school you go to will have close to zero bearing on your MCAT score.

 

[DdrumbumD]

True, I went to University of Chicago for undergrad, pretty hard school, ranked top ten in the country, but does that really matter? I might have learned from world-class profs but through and through, the material is pretty much the same so it really depends on how hard you try. Also, going to difficult schools brings down your gpa for the most part (harder competition) but your mcat should go up (my school had the highest average MCAT in chicago but we also had about an average GPA since more of the student body is "smart and its harder to get good grades".....anyway it all depends on you and you dont need to go to an Ivy league school to go to med school. Just study hard and show the admissions committee that you are dedicated to medicine.

 

[wakeboarder56]

Go with the GPA.

Choose the school where you believe you will do your best and be the happiest. GPA and MCAT is what will get you into medical school, school prestige really has no bearing.

 

[mike1618]

If you are already looking for the easy way out, you are going to have a tough time in undergrad. Pre-med is hard whereever you go. You have to learn all of the material to do okay on the MCAT. If you happen to go to a school who's pre-med program is not as in depth as others, you will have to spend more time studying on your own to learn the material for the MCAT. The MCAT is not a general knowledge test like the ACT or SAT; it tests your science knowledge and your reasoning and reading skills. Ultimately, it doesn't matter where you go. What matters, is what you put into it.

 

[lemoncurry]

don't ever take the easy way out because it will bite you in the butt in the long run. Go where you want, work as hard as you can and get those grades. if you're happier, your mental well being will be better and you will be more motivated to perform well. don't deliberately take on harder courses to push yourself to the limit, because that's just foolish, IMO. You've got 4 or 5 years of undergrad to enjoy, explore, and learn as much as you can. Go where you feel comfortable, but hopefully the place also has a good biology dept.

 

[Terpskins99]

I have a choice of either going to University of Mississippi or Rhodes since they are both close to home and i want to stay close to home. I want to do pre med and major in biology. I am pretty sure that the University of Mississippi is much easier then Rhodes. Could anyone tell me which college to go to? I am sure I could get a better GPA at University of Mississippi then I could at Rhodes. But would Medical School Admission people know that and would I be more prepared at Rhodes for the MCAT then I would be at the University of Mississippi.

Imo, it depends on how much better you think you'll do.

A 3.7 at state university trumps a 3.4 at the Ivy's any day of the week. If you're talking 3.7 versus a 3.6 then the better school will probably be worth it. I don't know what you have against Ole Miss though, I think you'd have a great time there and have access to a ton of terrific extracurriculars.

As others alluded to, the college you go to probably won't make much difference with regard to the MCAT. You're on Studentdoctor, which is already a good sign. You'll get plenty of advice and tips on how to study for that exam.

 

[mpgrizz33]

i am happy both places because they are both close to home. and i know that pre med course will be hard anywhere i go. Rhodes is a smaller college. I like that about rhodes alot cause i went/am going to a high school called mississippi school for math and science and the classes were so much smaller then normal high schools. I love the size. ole miss is much larger. So i should go to Rhodes? i appreciate the help guys

 

[Terpskins99]

i am happy both places because they are both close to home. and i know that pre med course will be hard anywhere i go. Rhodes is a smaller college. I like that about rhodes alot cause i went/am going to a high school called mississippi school for math and science and the classes were so much smaller then normal high schools. I love the size. ole miss is much larger. So i should go to Rhodes? i appreciate the help guys

It is not unusual for large university programs to have 500+ students in a lecture auditorium (particularly for core pre-med classes like biology or chem). If this is something you don't feel you would be comfortable with, then Rhodes may be a better fit.

 

[Aesculapius]

Do the hard school, with the better academics. Challenge yourself.

 

[kastle6797]

I have a choice of either going to University of Mississippi or Rhodes since they are both close to home and i want to stay close to home. I want to do pre med and major in biology. I am pretty sure that the University of Mississippi is much easier then Rhodes. Could anyone tell me which college to go to? I am sure I could get a better GPA at University of Mississippi then I could at Rhodes. But would Medical School Admission people know that and would I be more prepared at Rhodes for the MCAT then I would be at the University of Mississippi.

I was a premed at Rhodes and was recently accepted into medschool. PM if you want to ask some more questions about the school and premed program.

 

[CurrySpice]

I bet the smaller school will have a better support network for you if you ever start to have trouble in your classes. University of Mississippi may be easier in general, but you're on a very specific track that is difficult regardless. I would rather have the support and guidance of a small school than the possibility of an easier time at UMiss. However, I love having professors with whom I can have great conversations and get one-on-one help. I learn on my own, but sometimes it helps to have them help you with the material. Then again, my sister picked a large university and she loves the independence and the opportunities she gets there.