To the OP:
My recommendation is to pay attention to great schools with good biology programs, but understand that majors, and career plans, change ALL THE TIME. Allegedly half of the kids at my undergrad enter as "pre-med," and approximately 20% are medical school bound at graduation or within a year or so. Not all doctors were science majors, either. I have a friend finishing up med school now who was a fine arts major, who just took her pre-med requirements (and aced them).
Her top choices are great across the board, so this is less of a problem than if she went to a science-heavy school and decided that she didn't want to pursue that as a career.
Also, there's this program:
http://www.mhec.org/MSEPFAQ
The Midwest Higher Education Compact allows students from one midwestern state to attend a state or private school in another midwestern state at a discounted rate, instead of paying the full OOS tuition. It's not quite in-state, and in my opinion, Michigan is probably the best of the bunch, so it might not be that great of a deal.
My final recommendation is go to the best school that you can afford comfortably without taking on substantial debt. Going to the regional college (as opposed to a flagship or a well-regarded private) is fine if you know for sure that you're going to remain in that same region for the first few years of your career. I knew that I never wanted to live in Florida ever again after my 18th birthday, so I applied to schools with great national and international reputations. I find now that my undergrad and grad school affiliations open doors for me, both professionally and personally, that I would never had known about if I had attended my regional college.
Good luck!
Hybrid Mode
