College advice on which schools to pick! Please help!?

Question

In a perfect world everybody would go to harvard for their undergrad and their graduate education, but as one of a set of triplets from a middle income family, this is not realistic. especially because i want to obtain a career in the medical field.

is it better to go to a high ranked (and probably more expensive) university for pre-med and a lower ranked (less expensive) college for med school?

or is the opposite true? would going to a lower ranked college for pre-med decrease the chance for acceptance into a higher ranked college for med school?

is going to a high ranked college just for undergrad really worth the money? Please help me! Thanks.

Answer 1

A higher ranked undergrad school is not guaranteed to cost more. There are tons of good public universities and if one is in your state that would be your cheapest option (think University of Michigan, any UC schools, UNC) and many private schools offer tons of financial aid because they have lots of wealthy alumni who donate. Apply to the best schools you think you can get into with your grades and test scores, and apply to a few lower schools to see if you get any amazing financial aid packages. See what kind of offers you get and decide. It also might help to call the schools before you apply and talk to the financial aid people. Give them your parents income information and see if they can give you an estimate on financial aid available for you. Then decide where to apply, since these days even applying usually costs money.

Answer 2

Well, more expensive does not mean better; I would look at the academics, whether the school is accredited, and location.  I went to a inner-city community college which I thought was was a very good school to go to.  I believe smaller schools give you the best chance to have a smaller class.  A bigger college might mean 200-800 students per class.  What if you have a question?  How do get a teacher's feel with a big class?  Take tours and consider your options!

Answer 3

With a graduate or professional degree, the school you got the last degree (MD, JD, PhD) matters much more than the undergrad school.  So if you can go to a crappy 4-year college but still get into a great med school, that's the way to go (although not all that likely).