Picking a college advice needed PLEASE ;)

[helpmepick]

I'm not sure I will get much feedback here, but I figured I would give it a shot! 

About me:

Highschool Senior, 3.91UW, 32ACT, 3 summers volunteering at a hospital, medical mission trip with a healthcare team in Haiti, I just completed my MA certification taking night classes and am starting my 160 hours of externship after school and 2 Saturday's a month.

Here is the question:

I'm accepted to Rhodes, Kenyon, Denison, Trinity University (Texas), SMU, LSU, and waiting on Emory/Oxford, but I was alwas accepted to a small program at a small school that has a specific program focused on premedical professional paths. It was a competitive program only a few people were accpeted (I was one of them) preparing kids for future graduate work (PA, MD, DO, Dentistry, PharmD). It includes 120 shadowing hours built in, study abroad built in, research paper built in, and you graduate in 3 years, mock interviewing built in, MCAT prep, etc.

I'm torn as which school to go to. I love them all, but I keep thinking if I truly want to be a PA why not do the small medical focused/tailored program. I just keep second guessing because Kenyon, Trinity, Denison, Rhodes and especially Emory (if accepted) are all very awesome schools with great name recognition (I've toured them all).

My parents keep saying it is your choice and the goal is the license to practice, good fit, and a high GPA. I'm torn what would you do? Assume cost is all withing 10k a year of each other.

[UGoLong]

First of all, congratulations on having options and parents who are supportive. You are about to start a great adventure.

As is the case with your parents, I wouldn't want to interfere on what is your choice: it will be your life. My only bit of advice is this: lots of people change career directions at least one (and often more) after high school. People change majors in college. After all, at 18 you haven't been exposed to a lot and a good part of college is to give you that exposure so you can make life decisions with more knowledge.

I would recommend that (a) you pick a school that would give you exposure to other careers (and students pursuing them) so that you can be flexible and (b) a school and a degree program that leads to a job you would enjoy even if you decide not to become a PA (or whatever). A small school geared only to preparing people for medical careers might prove to a be a bit narrow, should you change your mind and realize you would rather be a chemical engineer (or whatever).

Your life can still go in a thousand different directions and that's OK; honor it. Pick a school that supports that flexibility and can lead you to employment, while enabling you to  meet prerequisites for a PA program (if that's still what you want to do in four years.)

Best wishes; your story brought back lots of memories to a guy who graduated from high school 55 years ago. Godspeed, young adventurer!