PLEASE HELP

I need help choosing between UVA and UIUC. I got into both for biology and UIUC is my state school. While I am trying to go on the pre-med track, it’d also be great to get involved in like biology and business fields like med consulting and biopharma etc to avoid med school entirely. UIUC costs 43k for me and UVA costs around 75-80k not including transportation.

I am also looking to possibly transfer to a school like Northwestern or Ivy where I’d most likely focus on startups focused on biology and biotechnology. I have a lot of friends going to UIUC as well so it’d be easier to fit in, but UVA ranks better at everything, has nicer dorms, and is more prestigious. Also if I do end up transferring idk which college would provide more leadership roles and research roles as a freshman. But if I don’t transfer I’d be locked into going to med school at UIUC and idk about that either. Idk I am more leaning towards UIUC still bc its also closer to home and cheaper but could use some advice.

Posted Apr 4, 2026, 1:13 PM UTC

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