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I've heard rumors that these colleges both have grade deflation and very competitive. Where do you think I would get a nurturing experience that would better my chances to get accepted into med school. I don't drink and I am not into the frat life, but I think that could be an advantage because I am assuming that those who party do worse in school than those who dont... right?

Cornell has a lot of parties, but Chicago does not.

By Rana (Rana) on Monday, April 26, 2004 - 05:34 pm: Edit

I wouldn't call either one "nurturing"; you say you dont party or drink...wait til you see the work load you have to deal with at each one, you might want to add "yet" to that statement...

...which school "feels right" to you? Both are such great schools, and both will be quite demanding, pick the one you would most enjoy being at...you have visited the campuses, right?

As for party boys making it, ask Bush about that!

By Imho (Imho) on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 02:16 pm: Edit

Any college that you pick will be waaaayyy better than any high school..everyone tells me that. The thing is, you're not trapped into seeing the same people over and over again, and you can pick and choose what you wnat to do. I don't think y ou'll have any problem whereever you go. Although, for Prestige, Cornell is hard to beat.

By Nicksummers (Nicksummers) on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 04:24 pm: Edit

Confused, you have all sorts of posts on here looking for weird little "advantages", like going to a party school because it must have a weaker studnet body, or going to a school with grade inflation because it looks better....these aren't grad school advantages at all, though you seem to believe they might be.

Go to the school YOU enjoy. There will be tons of alcohol (and pockets of drugs, etc.) at both of those schools and almost every school in the country. Nobody's there to pressure you into doing any of it, but it's always there.

There's nothing wrong with parties and little wrong with college drinking, but it's only a choice. You seem to be off the waaay deep end by associating parties with a poor college environment. Most top students (@ top colleges) that I know DO party...it's an important outlet. College is NOT just about getting top grades to move on to the next stage (for you, med school). A lot of it is about learning to live, in all aspects of your life...

That said, UChicago has a much 'nerdier' reputation than Cornell, but neither school is built for slackers. If you don't work hard enough, you flunk out.

By Nanagose (Nanagose) on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 11:27 pm: Edit

Cornell premed is brutal. I stayed overnight there and heard horror stories (esp of orgo, but I guess that's to be expected). Cornell is tough enough as it is, and premed is even worse.

Chicago had a much more intellectual atmosphere than Cornell (I thought). They seems more philosophical and interested in talking about issues, problems, and literature. Overall, I thought that the Chicago students were much more fun (they were ultra-sarcastic, artistic, and witty), but they find their fun in different ways. The people at Cornell seemed a little more average, not quite so interesting.

Also keep in mind that Cornell is buried in Ithaca while Chicago is right smack in the city. I believe that one of the reasons that the stress levels get so high at Cornell is that all Cornell students see all day is other Cornell students. That kind of stress tends to bounce off of people and be magnified (I feel tremendously more stressful after having a college conversation with friends...the stress is just fed into). I felt like Chicago kids got out into the city more and got away from their bubble. Cornell is very secluded, and you should consider factors of safety (the area that Chicago was in wasn't very pleasant and turned it from my first choice school to one of my bottom options).

Also, Cornell is massive, while Chicago is much smaller.

I don't believe either was really grade deflated to a level you should worry about. I don't think you're worried about grade deflation in terms of getting into grad school, but just in terms of stress level. In any case, I have heard that students accepted to med school from Chicago have one of the lowest gpa's of any school in the country. So, yes, if you were to go there, you might have a lower gpa than if you went to cornell, but it all evens out in the end.

I truly believe that wherever a premed chooses to go, they will be fine with getting into med school if they are right for the medical profession and are willing to put in the hard work (which obviously, you are willing to do).

I'm not a partier either, but even schools that I know like to party (Northwestern), I always felt while I was visiting there that nobody really cared if you partied or not.