Hofstra vs TCNJ vs NYIT BS/DO (Undergrad Help)

[Dunbacca]

Hey sdn. It's time to decide which college to attend. I have no personal preferences towards any, and I'd be equally happy attending any of them. Financially, they'll come out to almost the same cost. I just need your advice on which college will best help me succeed and matriculate into med school. (I'm an ORM)

Hofstra Undergrad:
Pros:
- Generous scholarship
- Has a medical school which opens up some doors.
Cons:
- Kind of low ranked (140 on USNews)
- No stats on how many students go on to medical school.

TCNJ Undergrad
Pros:
- State school, so tuition is manageable.
- Ranked #4 regionally on USNews, and is a pretty school with a good rep.
- Has a pretty good track record of sending kids to top medical schools, which is my goal.
- Commuting distance from my house.
- Lot of hospital$ in the area sets you up pretty nice for shadowing, scribing, and other clinical volunteering.
Cons:
- As a public health major, it might be hard to sign up for Pre-req classes, as they get filled pretty easy. (Any advice on ways around this would be appreciated.)
- Heard academics are pretty rigorous. Might be harder than Hofstra to get a 4.0 GPA.

NYIT BS/DO
Pros:
- Generous scholarship.
- Guarantee of becoming a doctor. No gap years, reapplication, anything like that. (So long as I get a 3.5 GPA and 505 MCAT).
- 7 year program. Become a doctor at age 25, which is pretty cool.
- No required Extracurricular's. (Might actually be a con, I sort of want to do EMT and shadowing and research. Just scared I might not get the opportunity to do all that because of how many premeds are vying for those same opportunities.)
Cons:
- Essentially that it's locking myself into DO. I've had exposure to fields like ortho and ENT in the past, and thought they were really cool. I'd basically be giving that up if I chose this route.

So basically, I have a month to decide where I'll be studying. Like I said, I have no personal gravitation towards any of these schools, and was hoping you all could point me in the right direction. Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[EagerYoungPremed]

If you're confident you could go to a traditional undergrad,excel, and apply traditionally. Going to the DO is secure, but maybe you'll do great in undergrad and go MD.

 

[Toutie]

Go where you feel most comfortable, where you can get the highest GPA, and will leave you with the least amount of debt. Those should be your main criteria when choosing a school.

As you said going DO will lock you out of many specialties, so you could live to regret that choice. And consider this...if you are able to have a 3.5 GPA and a 505 MCAT at any school, you will be able to get into most any DO school. If you are able to do better, then MD schools will be open to you.

Major in something you will enjoy and be able to get the highest GPA as possible. You can major in absolutely anything...history, classics, political science, french, whatever. As long as you also take the required pre med courses you will be good to go. In fact many med schools like to see applicants with majors and interests outside of the common Bio/Chem majors.

 

[longhaul3]

If you have gotten into a BS/DO program, you are in the position of power. They have seen something in you that suggests they need to lock you down now because it would be hard to get to come once you graduate college and apply normally. In return, in my mind, they're not really offering anything that justifies you giving up that potential. Sure, guaranteed med school acceptance, but the fact that you got in now suggests that you would surely be able to get into a DO program after college.

I simply don't think it's wise to commit to a DO school as a high schooler.

 

[AllBleedingStops]

Hofstra or TCNJ, whichever you are more comfortable at.