Purdue and IU for pre-med?

[Anonymous]

We are considering it for our DS because the in-state tuition (we moved to Indianapolis just as DS started high school) would make it easy and he wants to be a doctor, and Purdue has a good pre-med program. However, I wonder if we're not shortchanging his future. DH and I can't afford to pay out of state and we have one more child to pay for (our DD is 15). But DS has a 3.43 GPA and 2060 SAT and doesn't want to-retake it, and decent ECs, so I don't think DS has a chance at a much better school.

All I've heard from Purdue is that it is a decent engineering school, though not the best, and it's the worst school in the Big Ten. IU is more of a liberal arts school. I'm just worried that I'm not picking the best options for my son.

[Anonymous]

IU might be the better choice, as it is strong in the liberal arts and has a med school.

I honestly think your son would do just fine there.

--Hoosier native

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are considering it for our DS because the in-state tuition (we moved to Indianapolis just as DS started high school) would make it easy and he wants to be a doctor, and Purdue has a good pre-med program. However, I wonder if we're not shortchanging his future. DH and I can't afford to pay out of state and we have one more child to pay for (our DD is 15). But DS has a 3.43 GPA and 2060 SAT and doesn't want to-retake it, and decent ECs, so I don't think DS has a chance at a much better school.

All I've heard from Purdue is that it is a decent engineering school, though not the best, and it's the worst school in the Big Ten. IU is more of a liberal arts school. I'm just worried that I'm not picking the best options for my son.

what the ?

-boilermaker

[Anonymous]

http://www.studentsreview.com/big_ten_compare.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are considering it for our DS because the in-state tuition (we moved to Indianapolis just as DS started high school) would make it easy and he wants to be a doctor, and Purdue has a good pre-med program. However, I wonder if we're not shortchanging his future. DH and I can't afford to pay out of state and we have one more child to pay for (our DD is 15). But DS has a 3.43 GPA and 2060 SAT and doesn't want to-retake it, and decent ECs, so I don't think DS has a chance at a much better school.

All I've heard from Purdue is that it is a decent engineering school, though not the best, and it's the worst school in the Big Ten. IU is more of a liberal arts school. I'm just worried that I'm not picking the best options for my son.

what the ?

-boilermaker

Exactly. I can't quit rolling my eyes at op.

[Anonymous]

Purdue is one of the top 20 public schools in the country.

[Anonymous]

"Decent engineering school." Holy, crap, op, please educate yourself a little.

[Anonymous]

You realize that Purdue Engineering is notoriously difficult, has zero grade inflation and a harsh grading curve, and one of its Thermodynamics classes is regularly listed as one of the hardest college classes in the country?

[Anonymous]

OP must have gotten all of her information from an IU grad...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
All I've heard from Purdue is that it is a decent engineering school

So the top ten are now considered only "decent engineering schools"? Making MIT as "decent" of an engineering school as Purdue is, got it.

[Anonymous]

For med school, your grades (especially science GPA) and MCATs matter most, followed by volunteer and research experience which can be a tie breaker. It doesn't really matter where you go to undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are considering it for our DS because the in-state tuition (we moved to Indianapolis just as DS started high school) would make it easy and he wants to be a doctor, and Purdue has a good pre-med program. However, I wonder if we're not shortchanging his future. DH and I can't afford to pay out of state and we have one more child to pay for (our DD is 15). But DS has a 3.43 GPA and 2060 SAT and doesn't want to-retake it, and decent ECs, so I don't think DS has a chance at a much better school.

All I've heard from Purdue is that it is a decent engineering school, though not the best, and it's the worst school in the Big Ten. IU is more of a liberal arts school. I'm just worried that I'm not picking the best options for my son.

what the ?

-boilermaker

Worse than Maryland and Rutgers?

[Anonymous]

I'm going to guess OP left out a word and meant to say, "not the worst school in the Big 10".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For med school, your grades (especially science GPA) and MCATs matter most, followed by volunteer and research experience which can be a tie breaker. It doesn't really matter where you go to undergrad.

A bit of an overstatement.

Let me put it this way: a great MCAT score may compensate for an undergrad at a middling college. But going to one of the better regarded school and doing well there is likely to compensate for a less than great MCAT score.

[Anonymous]

I would worry about other things. A 2060 SAT does not indicate a strong likelihood of med school. Certainly, that might not reflect his best effort, I understand.

IU might be the perfect school - if he can handle a big school - for getting the necessary pre-reqs out of the way.

Purdue with their emphasis on engineering will tend to weed-out students in calc & chemistry - unnecessarily. I would go with IU.